“This is what the #TruthSocial office looked like in Sarasota, Fl. on Wed. afternoon. There was no one inside the social media company’s headquarters, no receptionist, no business sign, no sign of CEO Devin Nunes, nothing with Trump’s name anywhere in the building.”
Isobel Koshiw reports for the Guardian from Borodianka:
The children and teachers gathered on the grass outside School Number 2 in Borodianka on Thursday morning for the first day of the academic year. There were speeches and a recital of the Ukrainian national anthem, and as is traditional the girls wore white scrunchies in their hair, the boys white shirts. They brought flowers to give to their teachers.
But there will be no lessons in the classrooms of School Number 2 this year. Borodianka, a town just north of Kyiv, was occupied by Russian forces in March. The invading soldiers used the school as a base, before trashing it as they left.
The teachers described returning to the school after it was liberated and finding the soldiers had used several classrooms as toilets, left rubbish everywhere and needlessly destroyed whiteboards, PE equipment, TVs and computers. They also graffitied anti-Ukrainian and pro-Russian slogans on the walls and dug trenches behind the school.
The speeches on Thursday morning stuck to familiar themes of defiance against the odds and freeing Ukraine of the “enemy”. They ended with a minute’s silence for those who have died defending the country. After the ceremony, the teachers and students returned home to start their lessons on their smartphones and laptops. Only year 1 will be learning in person, joining another first-year class at the only school in the town left undamaged.
Oggie: Mathomsays
SC: I think that the morbidity numbers for Russian business leaders must be frightening. Between suicides and unexplained deaths and long illnesses, these people would be horrible insurance risks.
The oligarchs of Russia wanted stability. Putin gave them that. Now, they have the proverbial tiger by the tail. They have to acquiesce to whatever Putin decides to do to recreate the empire myth that exists in his (and other Russian nationalists’) minds or bad things happen. Not to Putin, of course.
Alina Habba, one of former President Donald Trump’s attorneys, sought to discredit the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago earlier this month by pointing out that a photograph included in a Department of Justice court filing late Tuesday was of documents arranged on the floor rather than where they were originally found.
Habba, hours after labeling as “mundane” the statutes in the search warrant relating to espionage and obstruction, spoke to Sean Hannity, who also latched onto the photograph as somehow malicious, missing the forest for the trees.
“Alina, I want to get your take on this, because this was obviously done for public consumption. This was obviously designed to influence public opinion,” the Fox host said. “What happened to the Merrick Garland that said we will do all of our talking in court and in our filings. Where’s that guy?”
“Yeah, nowhere,” Habba replied. “What has happened is now they have put this picture out so that you would assume…I am somebody who has been in his office. I’ve seen it. This is not the way his office looks,” Habba complained.
“They give you this appearance that you walk in and there are these top-secret documents just strewn about,” she continued, adding later that the Department of Justice is trying to turn the case into a “complete public spectacle.”
“Did the FBI do that or was that the way that room looked before they went in there? Do you have any firsthand knowledge?” Hannity asked directly.
“I do have firsthand knowledge, as you know. I have been down there. I’m down there frequently. I have never seen that. I have never, ever seen that. That is not the way his office looks,” Habba replied, adding that the former president has guests often. [That’s right, she mentioned how the frequent visitors to the office where the FBI found top secret documents could attest to the room’s customary neatness.]
“It’s just a joke. They literally must have gone in and taken out documents they wanted or cover letters as it is, and put it about so that the public believes that these are top-secret documents that were on his floor. It’s ridiculous. I can tell you personally, it’s ridiculous. I’ve never seen that.”
From there, Hannity once more tried to assign some nefarious motives on the part of the government in light of the photograph.
“What we are really looking at here is the Department of Justice, the FBI staging a picture to influence public opinion,” Hannity said, later suggesting that doing so would “taint a jury pool.”
Comically stupid.
Oggie: Mathomsays
“What we are really looking at here is the Department of Justice, the FBI staging a picture to influence public opinion,”
Staged to influence public opinion. But the photo was only released because Trump and his ~lawyers put the DOJ in a position in which they had to show the photo as part of the argument as to why a special master is not needed.
ravensays
Here is a progress report on the Kherson offensive from the WSJ.
The tl:dr version.
It is going OK but not well.
Ukraine is advancing slowly but taking heavy casualties.
The Russian army, usually portrayed as a bunch of drunken orcs, seems to be fighting effectively.
I’m not there (obviously) but it would be nice if there was another way to do this then a frontal assault against well armed, dug in Russian soldiers.
Ukrainian Soldiers Say They Are Advancing in the South, but at a Cost
Troops recuperating at a hospital in southern Ukraine say they face fierce fighting in a push toward Kherson
By Matthew Luxmoore Aug. 31, 2022 6:02 pm ET
Ukrainian army units pushing toward Kherson in the south are retaking ground held for months by Russia’s invading troops amid extremely fierce fighting, according to Ukrainian soldiers taking part in the offensive.
Russian soldiers seemed well equipped and were putting up stiff resistance, the Ukrainians said.
“They’re throwing everything against us,” said a 22-year-old Ukrainian soldier who said Russians were fighting with artillery, tanks, helicopters and mortars. “They have a lot of equipment but few men.”
Interviews with eight soldiers who took part in fighting—and were being treated for injuries at a hospital behind the front lines—offered the most detailed on-the-ground picture yet from an offensive that Ukraine hopes will help it seize the initiative in the conflict and show its Western backers, and its own people, that its military can take on Moscow’s army and win.
Ukrainian officials are saying little publicly about the offensive, citing the need for secrecy in military operations.
The Pentagon’s assessment, given at a briefing by its spokesman Wednesday, appeared to support the soldiers’ cautious optimism.
“We are aware of Ukrainian military operations that have made some forward movement, and in some cases in the Kherson region we are aware of Russian units falling back,” Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters. The soldiers and medics at a hospital in southern Ukraine agreed to speak on condition that their identities and location wouldn’t be revealed. All took part in the offensive that began Monday with the aim of seizing the initiative in the war.
The attacks Monday at several points along the front lines came after weeks of softening-up Russian forces with long-range rocket attacks.
Ukraine’s long-awaited thrust in the south is advancing into territory that the Russians occupied in the early days of their invasion, according to soldiers who took part in fighting. But it is a hard slog against a well-equipped enemy, they said.
“The guys are in a fighting mood,” said Ivan, a former construction worker from southwest Ukraine. “They’re moving forward.”
Some Russian troops are fleeing their positions, he said, abandoning equipment and booby-trapping the bodies of dead comrades they leave behind. Ivan showed footage that he said was sent to him by comrades on the front line, appearing to show dead Russian soldiers on the outskirts of a village that he said was seized by Ukrainian forces on Tuesday.
Ivan said Ukrainian forces had thrust toward Kherson, the regional capital, and were trying to clear villages along the way.
Ivan, a 32-year-old private, said his unit’s task was simple: “Go in, f—them up, retake what’s ours.”
He said the offensive started well for his unit, which seized a village from the Russians in the early hours of fighting.
But that same day, Monday, he wound up in hospital with a concussion after a teammate fired a rocket launcher a few steps from where he stood.
Russian military bloggers who are close to the country’s Defense Ministry have noted another Ukrainian advance, across the Inhulets River to the northeast of Kherson. The Russian Defense Ministry has described Ukraine’s offensive as a failure.
“We’re advancing in some areas and being battered in others,” said Pavlo, a 22-year-old soldier who was concussed in a battle on Tuesday and says he now hears a sound akin to a broken television in his head.
The head of the intensive-care unit where some of the soldiers were being treated said the military warned him of the offensive a week in advance, spurring hopes of imminent victories.
“But when they started bringing in such a large number of wounded, then, honestly, I felt sorry for them and I started wondering if this was worth doing at such a cost,” said the doctor. “I don’t know. There’s no right answer here.”
Ukrainian officials and military analysts have said that Ukrainian losses, even if the offensive is successful, could be high as they are assaulting an entrenched enemy with significant firepower that can quickly chew up troops.
At the intensive-care unit, six servicemen in comas occupied beds in two adjoining wards separated by a thin wall. In one, doctors were fighting to save the life of a 47-year-old armor crewman badly injured when his tank was hit Tuesday, his chest heaving as surgeons performed a tracheotomy in a bid to restore his breathing.
One Ukrainian soldier lay in his bed clutching the Russian bullet that had just been plucked from his body after traveling through his left shoulder and exiting through his pelvis. He was shot as he lay on the ground seeking cover from a Russian attack in a village.
We had a feeling that we’d be going into battle, that we were planning something big,” the 30-year-old soldier, Petro, said of the days that preceded the offensive as he struggled to speak under the influence of heavy anesthesia. “We all hope the war ends as soon as possible.”
The doctor said he spends some nights on a small couch in his office after more than half his staff stopped coming to work following a Russian rocket attack on the hospital in August. He said he felt on the verge of a breakdown as he has dealt with more soldiers than at any time since the first weeks of the war.
Faced with the influx, doctors are fighting to save the lives of those in critical condition before sending them on to better-equipped hospitals once they are stable.
The head of the intensive-care unit said that on Monday he took in a 27-year-old soldier with a broken leg, concussion, torn lung and a ruptured liver, stomach, colon and bowel. “Head, chest, limbs, stomach, concussions, they come with all kinds of injuries,” he said. “The effect of an explosion damages everything.”
But among the injured, the doctor said he was most struck by their desire to continue fighting as soon as they are physically able.
Ivan, the 32-year-old private, said his concussion on Monday was his third since he was mobilized at the start of Russia’s invasion, and it was only because his commander ordered him evacuated that he ended up at the hospital.
“I want to get back to our guys,” he said, playing down his injuries despite struggling to hear. “I wanted to return the moment I left.”
Here is an article by the German Foreign Minister about how to deal with Russia.
It is obvious that everything changed when Russia invaded Ukraine. We are now in a new Cold War, Cold only if we are lucky.
The tl’dr version.
.1. Support Ukraine.
.2. Invest in national defense.
.3. Invest in partnerships with other nations in eastern Europe and the Third World.
.4. Support progressive elements in Russia. They exist. Right now they are just keeping their heads down and hoping not to get thrown out of windows.
“On 24 February, the Russian war changed our world. There will be no way back. But there is a clear way forward, which we must take with determination, prudence and solidarity.”
We are in a new Cold War with Russia and might as well settle in for the long haul.
Putin wants to recreate the USSR. Because it worked so well.
So we get Gulags, frequent murders of Russian citizens who get in the way, and…a new Cold War, complete with thousand of nuclear weapons.
Annalena Baerbock, 41, Greens, is the German Foreign Minister.
Russia and Europe: There is no way back | A guest contribution by Annalena Baerbock
zeit.de/2022/3…
No day as Foreign Minister has burned itself into my memory as much as 24 February 2022. I had feared the news for days, but that morning it became a cruel certainty: Russia invaded Ukraine – in blatant breach of our European peace order.
That day changed the world. For six months, it has been a matter of life and death for the people of Ukraine every day, of the survival of their families and their homeland. For six months, Russia has used the shortage of energy and grain as a weapon, thereby instrumentalising the poorest of this world. For six months, Moscow has been blatantly demonstrating: It wants to divide the world into spheres of influence and divide our societies with targeted disinformation.
We have to face reality: This Russia will remain a threat to peace and security in Europe for the foreseeable future.
This sentence may sound harsh. I, too, would like nothing more than for this war to finally stop. That people no longer die in missile strikes on railway stations, that Ukrainian children no longer have to start school thousands of kilometres away from their homeland. And that they can finally hug their fathers in Ukraine again. This wish drives me, every day. But this wish alone will not bring peace to Ukraine.
Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, which was against international law, many thought that Putin would stop at some point – ultimately in vain. Thousands of Ukrainians – and also many young Russian soldiers fighting against their will in this war – have paid for this principle of hope with their lives. We have a responsibility to act towards these victims.
What we are witnessing is a clash of two world views. On the one hand, countries that believe in a rules-based international order. On the other, aggressive authoritarian regimes that want to oppress their own populations and subjugate others by imperial means. Finland and Sweden never wanted to join NATO. Now they are joining our alliance because they are afraid of Putin’s Russia. What kind of signal would it be to authoritarian states if we did not impose sanctions and did not supply weapons? That we accept when a regime invades its neighbour? No smaller country would be safe any more!
That is why I, together with my French counterpart, am campaigning in the EU for a strategic reorientation of European policy towards Russia, specifically in four areas.
First: We do not let up in our support for Ukraine. We will stand up to Russian aggression in the long term. And we will continue to make it clear that anyone who breaks the rules on such a massive scale is isolated internationally. Sanctions are not an end in themselves, but an expression of the fact that brutality and rule-breaking have consequences. Invading Ukraine in winter and then sending your team to the European Football Championship in England in summer, as if nothing had happened: That doesn’t work. With our sanctions, we are not only limiting Moscow’s economic capabilities in the long term, but above all its military capabilities.
Secondly, we are strengthening Europe’s defences. By investing in modern technology and equipment, better coordinating our European defence industries and strengthening the European pillar of NATO. Putin is also targeting our social peace. That is why our society must become more resilient at all levels. We fight back when Russia’s troll armies try to undermine our elections and hackers attack our businesses: with better cooperation between our intelligence services and joint cyber defence.
We are already feeling that we were too vulnerable: our citizens are paying the bitter price for our years of dependence with their gas bills. That is why we are working to get away from Russian gas and fossil energy as quickly as possible. Our strongest shield against Moscow’s power games with coal, gas and oil is targeted support for people who are worried about not being able to heat their homes in winter. At the same time, every cent spent on solar panels, wind farms and green hydrogen plants is an investment in our security.
Third, we need to invest in our partnerships around the world in a more targeted way than ever before. Our message is: we hear you. We stand with you. To do this, we must above all think more strategically about our neighbourhood policy in the East. For too long, we have disappointed people’s hopes in the Balkans, for example. Eastern Europe is not Russia’s backyard. It is in our own interest that Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia join the EU.
But Putin is also trying to expand his influence outside Europe. In doing so, Putin’s propaganda machine is particularly targeting the countries of the global South. He sends mercenary troops to Mali who trample human rights underfoot. He accepts that his grain war threatens to starve countless men, women and children in the Horn of Africa; at the same time, he spreads the false claim that this is the result of sanctions – although there are no sanctions on grain.
We expose these lies by the EU communicating loudly, honestly and with one voice – and by actively contributing to the food security of countries in the Global South. Russia’s support in Africa, for example, is minimal compared to the EU. What we offer are reliable partnerships and fair investments – instead of military dependencies and gagging contracts.
At the same time, we must take note that there are countries that have been dependent on Russia for decades, for example in Central Asia. We should also listen to these countries and make them alternative offers. Otherwise, the demand that other nations stand with us against Russia’s breach of international law remains an empty appeal.
Fourthly, we do not abandon Russian civil society to the stranglehold of the regime. That is why we want to use channels where young people in Russia can still get objective information. Platforms like TikTok or Telegram are in doubt more effective for this than formats like the Petersburg Dialogue, where we also depend on state structures in Russia.
We continue to network the Russian diaspora and promote independent NGOs. We grant targeted scholarships and work permits and support Russian-speaking journalists in freely reporting on Russia. We should also take a differentiated view of the granting of visas instead of stopping it completely – especially for victims of state repression. None of this will change Putin’s world view. But in the case of the biggest breach of international rules, such as the attack on Ukraine, the EU must show its colours.
With these measures, we are protecting the victims of Russian aggression – and we are protecting ourselves: We are making the EU defensible against Putin’s Russia in the long term, and we are investing in our partnerships worldwide.
On 24 February, the Russian war changed our world. There will be no way back. But there is a clear way forward, which we must take with determination, prudence and solidarity.
I wish I had several thousand disposable dollars to send to sign my rocket. It isn’t often that you can be an agent of karma, but an American sending Russia bombs, inscribed from some German people they ‘disappeared’ in Ukraine and Crimea over 100 years ago, would be apropos.
[…] there is one thing that Trump is hurrying to deal with. That’s because he may be a liar, thief, and traitor, but by God he is not a slob! That picture published as part of the DOJ motion? Trump seriously wants everyone to know that this is not how he keeps his stolen, highly classified documents.
He keeps them in his desk, along with multiple passports, or in a cardboard box along with a TIME Magazine cover showing his defeated political enemies.[…]
the presence of a scale and exhibit number clearly shows that these documents were laid out and photographed for the purpose of cataloging their removal.
Trump wanted to know what the FBI took? This is what they took, though some of the documents were so sensitive that even the covers had to be covered before the image was taken.
Astoundingly, the defense Trump has launched regarding these documents […] is not an attempt to justify why he should have been allowed to have these documents, or what conceivable justification he had for ever removing them from the White House. Nope. Trump wants you to know … this is not how he left them.
Trump went on his deeply indebted Truth Social media platform Wednesday evening to complain “documents were sloppily thrown on the floor then released photographically, as if that’s what the FBI found when they broke into my home. Wrong! They took them out of cartons and spread them around on the carpet, making it look like a big ‘find’ for them.” [LOL, confession time from Trump … again.]
Apparently, Trump genuinely believes “they took them out of cartons” makes things better. Is it possible that Trump thinks mishandling classified documents means that he didn’t keep them neatly enough? Sure it is.
Trump then went on the air with Real America’s Voice on Thursday morning to make this even more clear. “A lot of people think that when you walk into my office I have confidential documents, or whatever it may be, only classified, spread out all over my floor,” said Trump, “Like a slob. Like I’m sitting there reading these documents … They put them there in a messy fashion and they took a picture.”
But the best evidence that this is the biggest concern on Trump’s mind is that he’s also dispatched his mouthpieces, including attorney Alina Habba, to make the case against document-scattering. [video at the link]
Donald Trump does not keep his classified documents scattered across the floor like a slob where everyone has to look at them. He keeps them in his desk so that he can show them only to … select visitors. Glad we got this cleared up.
Oh, and it’s now clear what happened with lawyer Christina Bobb, who signed the statement claiming that there were no more classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. It seems she’s not out there making media statements, and her name was missing from the latest Trump filing, because she is now reported to be up for a witness interview with the DOJ concerning her role in this affair.
Habba is probably safe. Lying about how neatly someone stores their stolen goods is not an offense. It’s just hilarious.
Selection of photos available at the link. Really an astounding array of junk scattered all over the place, with Trump proudly presiding over the entire mess.
Oggie: Mathomsays
From the linked article in 13:
As an initial matter, Movant is amenable to certain conditions proposed by the
Government. … Movant also agrees that it would be appropriate for the special master to possess a Top Secret/SCI security clearance.
But I thought that Trump had magically declassified all documents the picosecond they left the Oval Office with his magic ego. Why would the special master need a security clearance IF HE DECCLASSIFIED THEM? They can’t even keep track of their own lies!
Oggie: Mathomsays
And I love this cartoon. Trump’s President’s Day sale. Heh.
Wonkette: “Go Home, Dumbf*ck Trump Lawyers, You’re Drunk. Wait, You Did This Sober?”
As Wonkette explained yesterday, the Department of Justice is done fucking around in re: Donald Trump’s Stolen Traitor Documents, and it told us all about it in a 36-page filing that is the Labor Day weekend lake house read of the summer.
DOJ even included a fun picture of some of the Top Secret documents Trump stole to (allegedly!) hand out as Employee Of The Month certificates for all the foreign spies who currently work at Mar-a-Lago. (Oh you fucking know any foreign intelligence agency has at least thought about it.)
Trump responded to that filing last night. Remember how his lawyers are all from the law firm of Dumbfuck And Dumbfuck, LLP? As we learned this week, this is the case because all the good lawyers in the world are scared to work for Trump because they don’t want to get Dershowitz-ed, which means that as retaliation for repping Trump, their exclusive acoustic unplugged law-talking concert, held each summer in the second conference room on the right at the Martha’s Vineyard library, will be canceled until further notice by a vicious librarian named Ebba.
[…] It is not a good filing.
This one is 19 pages long, which is pretty impressive for a document that has so few legal arguments! Mostly they are just MAD. And they are really hoping Aileen Cannon, the dingbat Trump-appointed judge they were lucky enough to draw, will continue to be MAD with them and appoint a Special Master to sift through the Top Secret documents Donald Trump stole from the United States government, just to make sure none of those documents — that aren’t his — have any attorney/client privilege in them. (This was already done, weeks ago, by the government. And yes, we understand the desire for an independent party to double-check, were we not dealing with TOP SECRET DOCUMENTS DONALD TRUMP STOLE FROM THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT THAT AREN’T HIS.)
Page one:
Three weeks after an unprecedented, unnecessary, and legally unsupported raid
Oh for fucks sake. “Legally unsupported.” For good measure, in the same sentence, they note that Trump used to be president and is also “possibly a candidate against the current chief executive in 2024.” The tune that dogwhistle is playing is an old classic called “POLITICAL WITCH HUNT!!11!111!!”
At the end of that graf, they [complain] that the Department of Justice thinks it should be “entrusted with the responsibility of evaluating its unjustified pursuit of criminalizing a former President’s possession of personal and Presidential records in a secure setting.” We are too busy laughing to comment on the characterization of the room at Trump’s gaudy beach palace where they keep Eric’s extra swimmies and flippers as a “secure setting.” However, we will once again note that these are not his documents. Loser can go to whatever landfill they bury him in thinking they are his documents, but they are not his documents.
On the second page, it whines about DOJ’s “convoluted theory” that “the Biden administration will not allow President Trump to assert executive privilege and consequently he has ‘no right’ to possess Presidential documents.” Yes, what a convoluted theory, that people who used to be president can’t override the current president’s executive privilege. And indeed and forsooth, how convoluted it is to suggest that former presidents aren’t allowed to (allegedly!) put the floor plans of American nuclear facilities on the back of their toilets […]
The phrase “rummage through Mar-a-Lago” is also used on that page, so LOL. Elsewhere in the doc, they refer to “rummaged proceeds.” Word of the day calendar must have been “rummage.”
The lawyers pretend throughout that DOJ is somehow not being serious when it says “this investigation is not simply about efforts to recover improperly retained Presidential records,” but rather also encompasses the literal Espionage Act. Why? Reasons! Besides, all of this is improper anyway, because if the government is saying this all started when Trump turned over those 15 boxes in January — selectively, it appears! — and found “sensitive information,” that’s on them for freaking out, because obviously former presidents have “sensitive information,” stop being so alarmed, you guys:
Simply put, the notion that Presidential records would contain sensitive information should have never been cause for alarm. Rather, as contemplated under the PRA, NARA should have simply followed up with Movant in a good faith effort to secure the recovery of the Presidential records.
And they did, as they have exhaustively laid out. When that didn’t work, they had to pursue other means. Did we all read DOJ’s filing? Do we remember how it said, “The government also developed evidence that government records were likely concealed and removed from the Storage Room and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government’s investigation”?
[…] To rebut some of the Trump lawyers’ more creative arguments for why it SHOULD TOO be able to have a Special Master to delay and obstruct this process further, we will now go to Wonkette’s Liz Dye, who tweeted her way through this document when it came out last night: [Tweet available at the link]
The filing just goes on and on like this.
They are furious that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) […] is doing an assessment to see how much damage Trump’s theft and mishandling of state secrets has already done. They are pissed the government is saying that appointing a Special Master might “interfere” with what ODNI is doing. (Obviously! Isn’t interfering the point? Are we misinterpreting Trump’s point here?)
Affixing the backs of their hands to their sweaty foreheads, the lawyers simultaneously collapse on their settees and commence to dying of consumption as they type that the government opposes the appointment of a Special Master because that would get in the way of “its accelerated attempt to criminalize the lawful possession of presidential documents.” You betcha.
Based on nothing, it would seem, but the huffed paint hallucinations that are apparently a side effect of spending too much time downwind of Donald Trump’s nut sack, the filing argues that “Left unchecked, the DOJ will impugn, leak, and publicize selective aspects of their investigation with no recourse for Movant but to somehow trust the self-restraint of currently unchecked investigators.” Again, fuck off, you clowns.
At the end, for good measure, they whine that “the Government’s Response gratuitously included a photograph of allegedly classified materials, pulled from a container and spread across the floor for dramatic effect.”
ALLEGEDLY classified materials! […]
Holy fuckin’ fuck, y’all.
As Liz Dye summed this whole thing up:
Trump’s super cool Special Master plan:
1) Trump reviews docs and says which ones are atty-client or exec privileged
2) Master says “sir, you’re so wise,” preferably with tears in his eyes
3) Government gets nothing
Trump would also like the special master to save him the trouble of filing a Rule 41 motion for return of property and just give him back his stuff, even though it was taken pursuant to a warrant and that’s not how any of this goes.
Or barring that, carte blanche to have unlimited ex parte communications with the special master. […]
Then they demand relief under Rule 41, although they never asked for it.
[…] And he wants an unredacted copy of the affidavit including the witness information.
Fake university founder Dennis Prager knows who’s ruined society, and it’s women! That’s right. They’re just full of wicked wiles.
Prager wrote a column this week for The Daily Signal with the title “Women Are Disproportionately Hurting Our Country.” Here are some real words and sentences Prager thought people should see:
It’s true that females are not inclined to violence or predatory sexual behavior as men are. But this hardly means that girls and women don’t have to learn to control their natures. On the contrary, as I have been telling parents for many years now, they need to teach their daughters to control their natures just as much as they teach their sons to do so.
Specifically, girls have to learn to control their emotions.
Just as the male sexual drive and violent impulses can overwhelm their conscience and their ability to think and act rationally, emotions can do the same thing in girls and women: overwhelm their conscience and their ability to think and act rationally.
[…] If men like Prager had taken a single class that analyzed gender identity and gendered representation, maybe he’d have some [advanced] insights […]
Donald Trump threw a tantrum and incited an attack against the Capitol because he couldn’t emotionally handle losing an election that he’d clearly lost. Even while he was actively coup-ing, Republicans insisted that this grown-ass man just needed some time to “process.”
Prager himself insists that there was “cheating” in the 2020 presidential election, even though he has no proof, just instinct. But sure, women are the emotional basket cases. […]
Prager argues that “at least two generations of parents” — he’s just making shit up, y’all — “did not teach many of their daughters to control their emotions and think rationally.” […]
The result is that women are disproportionately active in doing damage to our society.
The most obvious example is education. American schools teach less and indoctrinate more than ever before. Big-city public (and most private) schools are damaging young Americans to an extent and in ways no one imagined just a few years ago. Young children are prematurely sexualized—they are, for example, exposed to “Drag Queen Story Hour” in class and in local libraries from the age of 5. These feature a man dressed as a woman reading and dancing for them.
Yes, entire school curriculums are just “Drag Queen Story Hours.” Also, women are usually not drag queens. Shakespeare plays originally featured men dressed as women performing for audiences. Most Victorian-era boys, including future presidents, wore what we now would call “girl’s clothing.”
Prager further rants that women are the diabolical masterminds behind transgender rights and other “woke” ideologies. Women in the clergy have ruined religion. They’ve pushed Christianity and Judaism to the left, and that’s apparently why no one goes to church or synagogue anymore (it’s not).
Of course, the increasingly feminized male clergy go along with their female colleagues.
This gross sentiment contradicts Prager’s expressed belief in rigidly defined gender identity. Men are men. Women are women. It’s all very penis-based. Prager seems to think that someone assigned male at birth can think and feel like a woman … but not in a trans-inclusive sense. No, the so-called “feminized male” is just failing in his job as a man. […]
Oh, and women are “disproportionately supportive of cancel culture, the greatest threat to free speech in American history.” He also has no evidence for this assertion. It just feels right. However, in reality, it’s Republicans who are canceling teachers (most of them women) who dare mention that racism and queer people exist. Prager condemns The 1619 Project as “poisonous,” but apparently that’s not “cancel culture” because journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones is a woman.
If society has gotten worse recently, women aren’t to blame. It’s angry, frightened little men like Dennis Prager.
Yet another young unarmed Black man shot dead in his bed at home by a white cop (Donovan Lewis of Columbus, Ohio, this time) – does this even count as news any more?
Popasna fell on May 7. […] After that grinding push north, Russia looked west toward Bakhmut and Siversk, yet two months later, the front lines have barely budged. (It’s only 30 kilometers from Popasna to Bakhmut.) It was one thing to run north while hugging Russian-occupied territory to the east; it’s another thing to stretch out supply lines—degraded by deep HIMARS strikes—and attack into territory well covered by Ukrainian defensive artillery.
With all eyes on the Kherson front, why bring this up? Because Kherson isn’t the only place reinvigorated by freshly trained and Western-equipped Ukrainian forces. The defenders weren’t just sitting idly by for the past six months, and we are finally starting to see the results of that effort.
As such, this report from Soledar (prewar population ~11,000) by a Russian military reporter with nearly half a million Telegram followers was particularly interesting. Soledar is directly northeast of Bakhmut.
Breakthrough to Kherson. This is where the eyes of all analysts are now directed. We climbed for 2 days near Soledar. Yes, the place is not hype, but it is important for understanding the overall picture on the front.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine recently made a rotation of personnel. Motivated fighters entered the position. If earlier we talked about retention groups consisting of poorly trained reservists. Now they have been replaced by a new set, equipped with NATO weapons.
The new shift switched to the tactics of aggressive defense. Small groups are not afraid to come close to our positions and try to take individual points in a hurry. We walked around familiar places. If earlier they went there during the day, now they move exclusively at night.
[Ukrainian] Armed forces are increasingly using wing-type UAVs. Shooting them down is more difficult, and they fly farther and longer than the Mavics. The number of attacks on our positions has increased markedly. The lack of shells in this sector of the front of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been overcome, and they can work on a single target from 155mm guns.
In addition, I note the counter-battery fight. The new shift brought radars with them, which seriously spoils the nerves of our gunners. In a word, the approach of Ukrainian fresh forces is felt along the entire front line. Shabby connections are brought to the rear. There they will be reinforced, reequipped with NATO equipment and prepared for new attacks. It is important not to underestimate this moment.
Understand the context: Despite flooding Kherson with freshly trained and equipped forces, Ukraine also did the same on the Donbas front, finally relieving ragged Territorial Defense Forces that held the line for months against impossible odds, outmanned and outgunned. Thanks to their heroic defense, and Russia’s inability to breach those lines, Ukraine was able to properly train its reserves, and Russia doesn’t just face better-equipped and trained forces, but more “aggressive” forces, as well. As one comment to that update put it, “It turns out, we could not squeeze out their weak reservists and their untrained, and only now their super pros came? What now?”
Meanwhile, Russian Telegram was on fire last night reporting a Ukrainian offensive toward the Russian border.
The Kharkov front came to life. Even in Belgorod, cononade is heard. According to information from comrades, active work is underway on the rear and the accumulation of manpower at the forefront. APU maneuver.
“APU” is Ukrainian armed forces. Telegram has a translator, hence the clunky language. But the gist is clear.
On the Kharkov front, just tin is going on right now! Everything that is now flies towards Kharkov! Doomsday is no different! I saw this only on February 24 here.
——————-
Powerful. 🔥 Not only near Belgorod. Arta is hammering along the entire length of the Kharkov front. I don’t know the intention, but it looks extremely epic. The guys report that the swatting of the Ukrainian Nazis goes from Grayvoron to Izyum.
This morning, this Telegram channel claimed a glorious Russian victory stopping this supposed Ukrainian advance. No evidence offered.
Along the Kharkov front and the night cannonade, which was heard even in Belgorod. Last night, our aerial reconnaissance, as well as intelligence data, revealed the alignment of small columns of armored vehicles of Ukrainian war criminals in the direction of Udy, Kazachya Lopan, Liptsy, Balakleya. At night, the Armed Forces of Ukraine began to move and immediately came under a massive preemptive strike by the Russian army. From the territory of the Belgorod region, strikes were made by the Iskander OTRK, MLRS, cannon artillery, aviation was working. Ukrainian Nazis suffered losses in manpower (about 50 people) and equipment. The advance of the APU was stopped.
Now this channel, with nearly 60,000 subscribers, isn’t particularly large, and this morning it had some fanfic about a supposed failed Ukrainian amphibious assault at Enerhodar, where the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is hosting International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors today. So don’t assign any credibility to their claims. But it does seem as if something happened around Kharkiv last night, and the Russian side is particularly jumpy. A more aggressive, better-equipped Ukrainian side has seemingly reinforced the entire front and, in addition to the Kherson push, is more aggressively shelling the Russian side along the entire line of contact.
Meanwhile, Kherson remains in an information blackout. Russian sources are funny. Here is a play in three parts by one of the most notorious Russian propagandists on Twitter: [Tweets available at the link]
It’s fake! It failed! Russia is going to take back the lost territory!
[…] the situation is fluid regardless. All we can do is hope that when the fog of war lifts, Ukraine is in a better place than when it started.
#EU is now busy with important decision – whether or not to issue visas to Russians. But radiation doesn’t need a visa to cross borders. If something happens at #Zaporozhye, it will not be about visas, passports or borders.
[…] Throwing dissidents out of windows isn’t just Putin’s preferred way of dealing with opponents, but the obviousness of it all is the point. He wants people to know that he murdered them.
What a depressing, dystopian place.
[…] Meanwhile, here’s a thread of endless hits on Antonovsky by HIMARS the past few days, and Russia is relegated to using barges to cross the river. And here’s a picture of the bridge with 16 holes (which also demonstrates HIMARS’ accuracy): [Tweet and image available at the link]
That was three days ago, and the bridge is still getting pounded, and satellite imagery confirms that Russia isn’t even trying to repair it anymore. […]
Rafael Grossi, the chief international nuclear inspector, has said he saw “the key things I needed to see” and his team was able to gather “a lot of information” during a long-awaited visit to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia plant in Ukraine. “We have achieved something very important today and the important thing is the IAEA is staying here – let the world know that the IAEA is staying at Zaporizhzhia,” Grossi said in a video from Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency.
Here’s more from the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, who said nuclear experts would maintain a continued presence at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant following his visit today.
Grossi, who visited the plant for several hours, admitted to reporters he would continue to worry until the situation at Zaporizhzhia had stabilised.
He said:
We are not going anywhere. The IAEA is now there, it is at the plant and it is not moving – it’s going to stay there.
The UN nuclear watchdog will have “a continued presence” at the nuclear plant with some of his experts who would provide an impartial neutral technically sound assessment of what was happening on the ground, he said.
Grossi added:
I worried, I worry and I will continue to be worried about the plant until we have a situation which is more stable, which is more predictable.
Kellye SoRelle, the general counsel for the far-right organization the Oath Keepers, was arrested in Texas on Thursday after being indicted on four charges in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, the Justice Department said.
A federal grand jury indicted SoRelle on four counts: conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, obstruction of justice, and a misdemeanor count of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds. She has not been charged with seditious conspiracy, as other Oath Keepers have.
The indictment provides few details but alleges that she “did corruptly persuade and attempt to corruptly persuade other persons with intent to cause and induce such persons to (A) withhold records, documents, and other objects from an official proceeding, that is, the Grand Jury investigation into the attack on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, and (B) alter, destroy, mutilate, and conceal objects with intent to impair the objects’ integrity and availability for use in such a Grand Jury investigation.”
SoRelle was on encrypted chats with members of the Oath Keepers, and the FBI had seized her phone last September. SoRelle was featured in the Jan. 6 committee hearings and spoke extensively to the committee….
“Putin’s propagandists on state TV casually discuss terrorist acts against Americans and murdering liberal opposition, all of whom they suspect of working with Western intelligence agencies. They openly advocate murdering Ilya Ponomarev, who lives in Kyiv….”
Federal agents were seen Thursday morning searching an apartment in a Manhattan high-rise and an estate in the Hamptons that authorities allege are connected to a Russian oligarch who recently had his yacht seized, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Homeland Security Investigations and FBI agents, along with New York City Police Department detectives, were seen carrying boxes during a search on Duck Pond Lane in Southampton, New York, and Park Avenue in Manhattan. Records show those properties are linked to the sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, a billionaire and a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, who heads the Moscow-based Renova Group, a conglomerate with interests in the metals, mining and tech industries, according to Department of the Treasury documents.
A search is also underway at a property on Miami’s Fisher Island that authorities say was linked to Vekselberg, according to sources familiar with the matter….
During a video today, Doug Mastriano campaign “prophet” Julie Green claimed (via prophecy): “The truth about the Rothschilds is coming. A whistleblower has the truth, and all they need to destroy their narrative and their power over their wicked and fraudulent government.”
[video at the Twitter link]
Conspiracy theories about the Rothschilds controlling the government have been frequently pushed by antisemites. Mastriano has repeatedly used Green to campaign…
“Ginni Thomas urged Wisconsin legislators, along with Arizona legislators, to overturn those states’ 2020 presidential vote. The new revelations make it even more problematic that Justice Thomas failed to recuse from cases involving the 2020 election.”
WaPo link at the Twitter link.
ravensays
More on the GOP War on Women.
Their is a voter referendum to keep abortion legal for the ballot next election.
They got 750,000 signatures, more than enough.
A state board refused to allow it for no real reason.
They didn’t like the font. Which should be irrelevant since I’m sure it will be reset for the actual ballot.
It may be overturned by the courts.
The GOP always says they are for states rights until the states want to claim rights they don’t like. The GOP wouldn’t exist without hypocrisy.
The Ridiculous Reason A Michigan Board Said No To A State Abortion Referendum
Sara Boboltz Thu, September 1, 2022 at 10:33 AM Huffpost
A Michigan state elections panel voted along party lines Wednesday to block a proposal that could enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution.
The reason? A typography issue.
Words were not misspelled ― nay, there was simply not sufficient spacing between some of them, apparently. (In graphic design, the space between characters is called “kerning.”)
The Michigan Board of State Canvassers deadlocked over whether to allow the abortion proposal to appear on the November ballot after a right-wing group challenged the proposal, which had been organized by the pro-choice group Reproductive Freedom for All.
The right-wing group, called Citizens to Support MI Women and Children, challenged the entire effort because, they said, minimal spacing in the text of the proposed amendment language reduced it to “gibberish.”
The canvassing board’s two Republican members voted to block the proposal, while two Democrats voted in favor of allowing it to appear before the voting public. A staff report from the state bureau of elections, overseen by Michigan’s Democratic secretary of state, had recommended approving the petition.
The drive to cement abortion rights in the Michigan constitution revealed a groundswell of support in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 24 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Organizers needed to collect at least 425,059 signatures. That specific hurdle stemmed from a rule stipulating that proposals to alter the state constitution must be “signed by registered electors of the state equal in number to at least 10 percent of the total vote cast for all candidates for governor at the last preceding general election at which a governor was elected.”
In the end, they managed to collect more than 750,000 signatures.
All is not quite lost for abortion rights supporters in Michigan. The state’s left-leaning supreme court could intervene in the coming days, although they face a Sept. 9 deadline to set the text of the ballot, according to The Detroit News.
Abortion is currently legal in the Great Lakes state. But that could change if a 1931 anti-abortion law is eventually permitted to go into effect.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, has vowed to “fight like hell” to prevent the nearly century-old ban from becoming the law of the land. It criminalizes abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest. While the measure is currently blocked by a judge from taking effect, its conservative supporters say the fight is not over.
Enshrining the right to abortion in the state constitution, however, would settle the issue.
In new interview, Trump says he met with J6ers recently and is “financially supporting” some of them. Then says if he wins re-election he will be “looking very strongly at full pardons” for all J6 defendants, “with an apology” from the govt.
Thomas Webster, a January 6th insurrectionist and former NYC cop who attacked cops and then lied about it in court, just received a 10-year sentence, the longest yet.
This is a serious question for the nation: If Donald Trump were replaced on radio appearances by an impersonator parodying Trump’s positions … how would we know?
That question seems especially pertinent on Thursday as Trump bounces between outlets, supposedly defending himself against the Doc-a-Lago scandal, but actually spiraling down a ramp of nonsense that seems as if it should come with cartoons of wise hookah-smoking dogs, trombone-playing alligators, and a chorus line of dancing turtles. Not only did Trump spend much of the evening insisting that the FBI was trying to smear him because he didn’t spread his cache of stolen, classified documents on the office floor, he kept them neatly in his desk—as the day wears on, Trump’s little grey cells (or … cell) appear to be losing contact with this universe.
It’s a good general policy to not directly repeat or link to anything that Trump says. But this not only works as evidence in the case of Trump versus reality, it also illustrates exactly why Trump is highly likely to be indicted. Because in this interview, Trump says he thinks the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago, including the desk in his office, “looking for Hillary Clinton emails.”
Why has it been so hard to find missing Hillary Clinton emails? Well, those emails are extremely evasive because they don’t exist. Clinton kept a private server, following the advice and policy of previous Secretary of State Colin Powell, and kept that server secure. Multiple congressional hearings and a full investigation by the FBI and Department of Justice failed to find a crime. Still, Republicans have been making so many allusions to Clinton’s emails in their efforts to defend the hoard of clearly marked, highly classified material Trump had stashed at Mar-a-Lago, that The Washington Post did a recap article this week to point out just how silly this comparison really is.
But Trump has taken this a step further. Rather than simply using “she did it too” as his excuse, he’s spinning off a new conspiracy theory: that the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago not because of the classified documents he was holding, but because they thought he had the goods on Hillary. [video at the link]
Trump: “I think they were looking for Hillary Clinton emails. I really think — I think they thought — and who knows? Boxes full of stuff. I think they thought Hillary Clinton. Something to do with the Russia, Russia, Russia.”
That statement earned Trump a “right on” from the host of the program, […] Apparently Trump has run out of weddings to interrupt.
In that same interview, Trump also claims that he is “financially supporting” Jan. 6 defendants, that if he is reelected he will give those defendants a blanket pardon, and that he will deliver to them an “apology from the nation.” That apology presumably being on the order of “sorry we got upset because you tried to kill us, please continue.” [As SC noted in comment 30]
Word that Trump is secretly funding legal expenses of Jan. 6 defendants (pro tip: He’s not. He’s just saying that) seems seriously at odds with statements Trump made just two days ago in which he backed the idea that those assaulting the Capitol on Jan. 6 had nothing to do with him.
For good measure, he’s also promoting a nonsense idea that the FBI and antifa, not his supporters, stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, and a completely false claim about Ray Epps’ wife.
Maybe at this point it’s worth looking back at the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails and just why James Comey announced that the FBI wasn’t recommending an indictment. There were four things they were looking for as evidence of a crime, none of which matched the situation with Hillary Clinton.
“Clearly intentional and willful mishandling of classified information.”
“Vast quantities of materials exposed in such a way as to support an inference of intentional misconduct.”
“Indications of disloyalty to the United States.”
“Efforts to obstruct justice.”
What’s the difference between what Clinton did and what Trump did? All of the above.
Which is why, when it comes to the classified document scandal at Mar-a-Lago, there is absolutely no doubt that Trump should be indicted. Because he checked every box. With a big, bold sharpie.
TRUMP: I think they were looking for Hillary Clinton emails, I really think, I think they thought, and who knows? You know, boxes full of stuff! I think they thought that Hillary Clinton, they were something to do with the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax, they were afraid that things were in there, part of their scam material, because that’s what they are, they’re scammers, and they were thinking things were in there having to do with, can you imagine, Hillary …
Oh God bless Jesus, it is so, so good to hear his voice. His terrified, babbling, stupid traitor piece of shit voice.
The entire time, the host — let’s call her Betsy Bohonkus because that’s more fun than looking it up — was like “right on!” and “you’ve got the goods!” like it isn’t absolutely DSM-V-level deranged to think the FBI is frightened that Donald Trump, the stupidest leader in world history, who believes any conspiracy theory that gets blown up his bunghole, has boxes full of evidence on them.
Of course, if Trump wants to plead insanity, going on make-believe talk shows and babbling about Hillary’s emails probably helps that case.
During the same interview, Betsy Bohonkus asked Trump about the January 6 defendants — you know, all the people indicted or already going to prison for participating in the terrorist attack against America that Trump incited — and he strung together a bunch of words about how he’s going to pardon them all. He said he’s “financially supporting” them and that “they were in my office two days ago.” […] The entire time Betsy Bohonkus looked like she was holding back SEVERE tears about the plight of these domestic terrorists.
[…] We should mention Trump’s slurring. At first we thought maybe it was the shitty sound quality of these people doing “shows” through the walkie talkies their grandma bought them for Christmas, but it’s every video we’ve seen of him today.
On that note, Trump also went on “Real America’s Voice,” slurring and sounding like his teeth got stuck in his breakfast Big Macs and he hasn’t noticed they’re gone yet. And he is just extremely fixated on this notion that the FBI framed him for “stinky.”
The leprous chipmunks who live inside Trump’s brain skull are simply obsessed with worry that Americans think the FBI threw all his precious stolen Top Secret American documents on the floor to make him look like a real Cluttery Cletus.
He was obsessed with it on Truth Social yesterday. And here he is obsessed with it now. This time we included the slurring in the transcript, for the kind of accuracy you’re simply not going to get from websites that are just no fun.
TRUMP: A lot of people think that when you walk into my office I have confidential documentsh or whatever it may be, all declasshified, but I have confidential documents shpread out all over my floor, uh, like a shlob, like I’m sitting there reading these documentsh all day long or somebody elsh would be. It’s sho dishonesht when you look at it. And sho people were concerned because they shaid gee, you know, that’s a shtrange shcene, you look at the floor and you shee these documentsh, right, they have cover sheetsh of documentsh, no, THEY PUT ‘EM THERE, JOHN, and they put ’em there in a messhy fashion and then they took a picture and then they releashed it to the public and thish is what we’re dealing with with thesesh people.
Goddamn.
We wrote earlier that this is the absolute stupidest talking point imaginable. As if he is not confessing each time he insists that his stolen treason documents were organized much more nicely. As if nobody in America has ever seen evidence photos taken by cops.
But look, this is coordinated. His legal moron Alina Habba was on Fox News last night, insisting they staged this so “you would assume” this is what his office looks like. She assured viewers this is “NOT the way his office looks,” and she knows, because “I am somebody who has been […] in his office, I’ve seen it.” We know, Ms. Habba. We know you’ve been in there and you’ve touched everything and personally gone through every drawer in Mar-a-Lago. That’s what you told the New York attorney general, and it’s why a lot of people are just gently suggesting you miiiiiiight need to get a lawyer right now.
Habba also admitted in this video that Trump has “guests frequently” in his office, with the Top Secret docs he stole, we guess, since the FBI said it found Top Secret docs in “45 Office” […] [video available at the link]
I like it. Maybe -a-Lago can replace -gate as the scandal suffix…
Quoted in Lynna’s #34:
We should mention Trump’s slurring. At first we thought maybe it was the shitty sound quality of these people doing “shows” through the walkie talkies their grandma bought them for Christmas, but it’s every video we’ve seen of him today.
Thank you! I was thinking about mentioning it above, but I didn’t want to listen to it again and thought it could be due to the audio (even though it sounded like it was him slurring).
On tonight (& every Friday), 5 pm Adelaide Rundle Mall near the Steel Pigeon Sculpture and Gawler Place intersection. Adelaide Refugee Vigil. Details from their fb page :
Vigil members invite you to join us for this week’s vigil, in RUNDLE MALL, at the intersection with Gawler Place, near the giant silver pigeon.
Late last year the Australian Government announced its plan to abandon the 110 refugee men remaining in Papua New Guinea, having detained them there, illegally, since 2013. That has now been in effect since January 1st, and continues to cause much anxiety.
A new Memorandum Of Understanding was signed with Nauru, enabling the continuation of Australia’s offshore human warehousing to continue there, into the future.
Although most of the Manus and Nauru refugees medevacced to Australia have at last been released into “community detention”, the government’s own figures record 6 as remaining in closed detention in Australia. 216 remain without resettlement in Papua New Guinea and Nauru.
Please help us to keep a spotlight on this wrong, perpetrated in our name, and join us in standing for the freedom, safety and human rights of the refugees the Australian government wants us to forget. Over 200 still being held in inhumane conditions after almost 9 years of punishment on #Manus, #Nauru and now also Port Moresby PNG and Australian Immigration Detention.
The only laws that have been broken in their seeking of asylum are those which Australia itself has an international obligation to uphold, through its signing of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.
Oggie: Mathomsays
Give Us Transparency! Well, except when we want it kept secret. From Newsweek (via a Microsoft feed)
In its court filing this week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said it would be OK with the court releasing its more comprehensive list detailing exactly what was found during the August 8 raid by federal investigators. However, Trump’s team objected to the document being unsealed, according to former Prosecutor Andrew Weissmann.
Thursday’s hearing marked the first time Trump’s lawyers appeared in court for a proceeding related to the Mar-a-Lago search. While the hearing was not open to the public, several reporters were present in the Florida courtroom.
The debate over whether Trump should be granted his request for a special master in the Mar-a-Lago matter is expected to reach a conclusion now that both sides have delivered their arguments to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon.
On Thursday, Cannon held a closed-door hearing to consider Trump’s bid for an outsider to be assigned over the review of documents seized. The judge did not make a ruling from the bench. It is unclear when her written order will come.
Legal scholars noted that Trump’s team had asked for the detailed inventory to be unsealed in its original motion.
“It’s hard to make sense of their legal strategy, which contradicts their public statements about transparency,” former federal Prosecutor Renato Mariotti tweeted.
The court agreed it would not unseal the longer list since Trump opposed, which is in line with legal theory that the privacy of a person under investigation should be protected.
“We’re not going to learn what’s in the more detailed inventory of items seized at Mar-a-Lago despite DOJ’s offer to unseal it, because, Trump doesn’t want you to know,” former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama Joyce White Vance tweeted on Thursday. “DOJ called his bluff. The evidence uncovered in the search must be highly incriminating.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Thursday called on President Joe Biden to apologize for invoking fascism to describe the ideology of former President Donald Trump and his supporters.
McCarthy made the remarks during a prebuttal speech ahead of the President’s prime-time address later in the evening. The speech from the House GOP leader marks an effort to counter the President’s message — ahead of the 2022 midterms as Republicans fight to win back control of the House of Representatives.
“President Biden has chosen to divide, demean, and disparage his fellow Americans — Why? simply because they disagree with his policies,” McCarthy said in his speech. “That is not leadership.”
“When the President speaks tonight at Independence Hall, the first lines out of his mouth should be to apologize for slandering tens of millions of Americans as ‘fascists,'” McCarthy said.
So when do Democratic politicians get to start demanding apologies from GOPers for calling Democrats, and Democratic voters, communists, NAZIs, socialists, and every other thing under the sun? After all, the semi-fascist line was, if anything, an understatement, but all of the things the right slings at the middle-of-the-road Democrats is either a lie or a gross distortion of a tiny glimmer of reality?
Umberto Eco (1932 – 2016) was an Italian philosopher, cultural critic, novelist, and political and social commentator. He grew up in Italy during the years of Mussolini. In June of 1995 he published an article in the New York Review of Books about fascism, a subject he knew well.
In the article, Eco outlined a list of features that are typical of what he called “Ur-Fascism” or “Eternal Fascism.” He allowed that fascism in different countries takes on different combinations of these characteristics and may not have all of them. Yet, he argued, the presence of even one of these characteristics could serve as a seed for fascism to grow anywhere.
1. The cult of tradition. This is the belief that the truth is already known once and for all. Fascists believe there is no need to advance in learning.
2. The rejection of modernism. Fascists reject the Enlightenment and its evidence-based rationality.
3. The cult of action for action’s sake. Fascist leaders act impulsively, without thinking or planning ahead.
4. No analytical criticism. Fascists ignore nuance and see any disagreement as treasonous.
5. Fear of difference. Fascists fear diversity. Thus they are racist by definition.
6. Appeal to a frustrated middle class. An economically frustrated and/or politically marginalized middle class is easy to stir to anger.
7. Obsession with a plot. Because the followers must be made to feel besieged, an internal “enemy” is provided: Immigrants, Muslims, Hispanics, Blacks. (Historically the Jews were often made to be “the enemy.”)
8. Anti-elitism. The followers are made to feel humiliated by the wealth and strength of the educated “elite.” This is used to create resentment.
9. Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy. Fascists believe that life is permanent warfare. Therefore a desire for peace is treasonous.
10. Contempt for the weak. A fascist leader despises his underlings, who in turn despise those under them. They all either mock or ignore the poor, the sick, and the disabled.
11. The cult of heroism. The Fascist is eager to die a hero’s death. In his impatience, he frequently sends other people to their deaths.
12. Machismo. Fascists show disdain for women, disregard for chastity, and condemnation of homosexuality.
13. Selective populism. Under fascism, the “voice of the people” is not the democratic majority, but only the voices of those who support the leader.
14. Ur-fascism speaks Newspeak. Just as in Orwell’s 1984, Fascists use an impoverished vocabulary and an elementary syntax to limit complex and critical reasoning.
1. Powerful and continuing nationalism
2. Disdain for human rights
3. Identification of enemies as a unifying cause
4. Rampant sexism
5. Controlled mass media
6. Obsession with national security
7. Religion and government intertwined
8. Corporate power protected
9. Labor power suppressed
10. Disdain for intellectual and the arts
11. Obsession with crime and punishment
12. Rampant cronyism and corruption
Which political party does that sound like? Which news network does that sound like?
rorschachsays
@39,
“controlled mass media”
On that note, I don’t think enough is talked about the recent takeover of CNN by Warner Bros Discovery and its MAGA owners. They quickly got rid of Brian Stelter, Erin Burnett hasn’t been seen for weeks, and John Bolton is now giving expert commentary to a Brianna Keilor who increasingly sounds like that Bartiromo lady after the third glass of gin. And don’t get me started on Tapper. Which leaves what, ?MSNBC for the occasional balanced reporting for 300 million people. This is a big problem, as anyone who has ever lived in Australia could attest to. For all intents and purposes CNN seems to be cactus, no matter how many crosses to Clarissa Ward with open blonde hair on the streets of Kabul you do.
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian Ukraine liveblog. From there:
Russia suffering ‘significant losses’ in south, says Ukraine
Ukraine’s military has claimed that Russian forces suffered “significant losses” in the southern region of Kherson following Kyiv’s counteroffensive launched earlier this week.
Ukraine’s successes have been “quite convincing”, according to Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for the southern Ukrainian military command.
Humeniuk said:
The enemy suffers quite significant losses — losses in manpower have gone from tens to hundreds. Equipment also burns.
More “positive news” will likely follow “very soon”, she added:
We continue to destroy the enemy in terms of its logistics, capabilities, capacities. Ammunition warehouses explode, pontoon crossings explode. It means that the enemy’s logistics and transport connections are undermined to such an extent that they cannot raise reserves.
Operational Command South claimed that a range of targets had been struck, including a ferry crossing.
Moscow has denied reports of Ukrainian progress and said its troops had routed Ukrainian forces.
The Guardian could not independently verify either side’s claims.
Russian forces are suffering “heavy losses” in the face of Ukrainian resistance that has stalled Moscow’s advance and demonstrated the determination of the Ukrainian people to “retake their sovereign territory”, the UK’s national security adviser, Stephen Lovegrove, has said.
In a statement, Lovegrove said Britain will continue to provide Ukraine with humanitarian, economic and military assistance and that its support “will not waver”….
World food prices have fallen for a fifth consecutive month, partly due to the resumption of exports from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, according to the UN….
G7 agree to impose price cap on Russian oil
Finance ministers from the Group of Seven advanced nations have agreed they will “urgently” move towards imposing a price cap on Russian oil imports, aimed at stopping Moscow from raking in huge profits from soaring energy prices.
In a statement, G7 ministers said they would “urgently work on the finalisation and implementation” of the measure but left out key details of the plan.
They confirmed their commitment to the plan after a virtual meeting but said the per-barrel level of the price cap would be determined later “based on a range of technical inputs” to be agreed by the coalition of countries.
The Kremlin has warned it will stop selling oil to countries that impose price caps on Russia’s energy resources.…
…Activists like [Roni] Lira suspect that the prospect of Jair Bolsonaro’s defeat in October’s presidential election has sparked a last-minute race to raze the jungle, with an unholy trinity of illegal loggers, cattle ranchers and gold miners intensifying their activities before his successor takes office.
“They’ve realised it’s their last opportunity to deforest without having to pay the price,” Lira lamented as he surveyed the desolation below as the number of Amazon fires hit a 12-year high.
“The way they see it, this is the last-chance saloon. Either they do it now, or they do it now.”
…
A chunk of the Amazon larger than Taiwan has already been torn down since Bolsonaro took office in January 2019, with an area nearly twice the size of Tokyo destroyed in the first half of this year.
…
The prospect of political change has offered a glimmer of hope to embattled Amazon activists who watched in horror as Bolsonaro slashed funding to environmental and Indigenous protection agencies such as Ibama and Funai and filled them with unqualified stooges. Last week there were calls for Funai’s pro-Bolsonaro president to be sacked after he was recorded offering support to a jailed official who is alleged to have illegally rented Indigenous lands to cattle ranchers.
The frontrunner to beat Bolsonaro, the former leftist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has vowed to fight deforestation and rebuild those institutions if elected. “We will put a complete end to any kind of illegal mining,” Lula, who governed for two terms from 2003 to 2010, vowed recently, promising to make the climate emergency an absolute priority.
Auricelia Arapiun, an Indigenous leader from the Amazon’s Tapajós region, said she considered Bolsonaro so dangerous she had explained the election to her four-year-old son in terms of a battle between superheroes. “I told him: ‘Bolsonaro’s the evil one, the villain, and Lula’s the superhero who’s going to save … the Indigenous people.
“We have a choice between good and evil: Bolsonaro’s evil or Lula’s good,” added Arapiun who wore a badge honoring the British journalist Dom Phillips and the Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira who were murdered in June while reporting on the Amazon crisis.
Marcio Astrini, the head of an umbrella group of NGOs called the Climate Observatory, recently met Lula and said he sensed a genuine determination to rescue Brazil from Bolsonaro’s environmental “hell”.
But the challenges the former union leader would face if elected were far greater than those Lula encountered when he first became president two decades ago.
“[Amazon] crime has become more economically powerful and more politically powerful and the Brazilian government’s ability to tackle such crime is now weaker,” thanks to Bolsonaro’s “sabotage” of environmental safeguards, Astrini warned.
Having cemented political power on a local level, environmental criminals from the Amazon were now seeking to elect federal representatives who could advance their illegal interests in the capital Brasília and scrap laws protecting Indigenous communities and the rainforest from loggers and miners.
“Before, these criminals would run from the police,” Astrini said. “Now, these criminals seek to get elected to congress.”…
rorschachsays
(via Twitter)
Press conference from Tucumán, Argentina just before.
No new developments so far, according to the local Health Minister.
Death toll still 3.
They are double-confirming the Negatives from Tucumán.
This is bad news. It’s obviously not something as easily detected as Legionella. Even a Covid that has mutated out of PCR detectability is imo very unlikely. Thrombocytopenia was reported, so something possibly hemorrhagic. This won’t be good news, whatever it turns out to be. The hospital is reported to have been locked down now, which feels a tad late.
A third person died from a type of pneumonia of unknown origin in Argentina’s Tucuman province, authorities said.
Tucuman Health Minister Luis Medina Ruiz told reporters that nine people were diagnosed with the mysterious respiratory illness, including eight medical staff at a private clinic.
So far, all the cases were connected to one health clinic. Two health workers and a patient at the clinic have died of the illness.
The latest fatality was a 70-year-old woman who had undergone surgery at the clinic. The victim is being treated “patient zero,” Medina Ruiz said. In medical terms, “patient zero” is the first person to be infected with an illness or disease in a population during an outbreak.
Two people are currently hospitalized with mechanical respiratory assistance and in serious condition, according to the health minister.
The first symptoms of the mysterious illness were recorded between August 18 and 22.
The medical facility has been placed in preventive isolation for seven days as Argentinian health authorities study the origin and nature of the outbreak.
Even though the symptoms appear similar to COVID-19, epidemiological investigations have ruled out that illness, along with both influenza A and B, or hantavirus, spread by rodents. They have not yet excluded toxic or environmental causes.
Hector Sale, president of the Tucuman provincial medical college said that at this time there is no conclusive proof of person-to-person transmission as there have been no cases among those in close contacts of any of the patients.
A group backed by Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and Overstock.com founder Patrick Byrne is challenging the eligibility of tens of thousands of Georgia voters just weeks before the November election in the state where the former president fought hardest to overturn his 2020 loss.
The group, VoterGA, filed eight boxes Monday containing what its leader says are 37,500 challenges to voters in Gwinnett County, a once solidly Republican area of suburban Atlanta that has voted Democratic since 2016.
The move comes less than 10 weeks before the Nov. 8 general election and its tight races for governor and a U.S. Senate seat that could help decide control of the chamber. The challenges promise to make it harder for some registered voters to cast ballots and put a heavy burden on already stretched county elections officials charged under state law with responding to them quickly.
Aunna Dennis, executive director of Common Cause Georgia, said the group has heard of similar efforts in Harris County, Texas; and Florida, but the challenges in Georgia are the most extensive currently underway.
She said it’s also troubling because Georgia law allows the state to take over local elections boards if it finds them incompetent. Many clerks are worried that if they don’t do a quick vetting of the mass challenges or the challenges lead to longer lines on Election Day, they’ll face a state takeover.
FBI agents who searched former President Donald Trump’s Florida home last month found empty folders marked with classified banners, according to a more detailed inventory of the seized material made public by the Justice Department on Friday.
The inventory reveals in general terms the contents of 33 boxes taken from an office and a storage room at Mar-a-Lago during the Aug. 8 search. Though the inventory does not describe any of the documents, it shows the extent to which classified information — including material at the top-secret level — was kept in boxes and containers at the home and commingled among newspapers, magazines, clothing and other personal items.
…
The inventory shows that 43 empty folders with classified banners were taken from a box or container at the office, along with an additional 28 empty folders labeled as “Return to Staff Secretary” or military aide. Empty folders of that nature were also found in a storage closet.
It is not clear from the inventory list why any of the folders were empty or what might have happened to any of the documents inside….
Oggie: Mathomsays
The inventory shows that 43 empty folders with classified banners were taken from a box or container at the office, along with an additional 28 empty folders labeled as “Return to Staff Secretary” or military aide.</blockquote.
Oh, shit and shinola! This is
prima facie evidence of obstruction of a federal investigation. This is also a violation of so many classification protocols that everyone who has ever held a high-level security classification (save those who have hitched their shit-wagons so tightly to Trump’s arse that they cannot see daylight) just experienced their jaw not only hitting the floor, but shattering.
Followup to SC @46 and Oggie @47, yes, it is very disturbing to find out that an alarmingly large number of folders with “Classified Banners” were found EMPTY!
A list compiled by Steve Benen:
[…] 4 documents labeled “SECRET,” including 7 documents from Trump’s office
18 documents labeled “TOP SECRET,” including 7 documents from Trump’s office
31 documents labeled “CONFIDENTIAL,” including 3 documents from Trump’s office
48 empty folders with “Classified Banners”
42 empty “Return to Staff Secretary/Military Aide” folders
More than 11,000 government-owned document and photos without classified markings
The word that jumps out, of course, is “empty.” It suggests there were folders that contained classified documents, which were no longer in those folders.
Just to go ahead and state what’s painfully obvious, it would be good to know what happened to the contents of those folders. […]
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy aligned himself with former President Donald J. Trump’s efforts to undercut federal law enforcement over the search of Mar-a-Lago, condemning the court-ordered seizure of classified documents from the former president’s home as an “assault on democracy.” In a half-hour speech delivered from Scranton, Pa., Mr. McCarthy sought to take the themes that President Biden was hitting in a prime-time address and turn them on their head against Democrats, in a remarkable attempt at political jujitsu aimed at muddying the waters about Mr. Trump’s conduct and his handling of sensitive government material.
Commentary:
[…] The political strategy behind the speech was based on a relatively straightforward idea: McCarthy knew that Biden would accuse much of the Republican Party of abandoning democracy, so the House GOP leader would effectively deliver remarks in which he said, “Oh yeah? Well, I think you’re the one who’s undermining democracy.”
As part of his remarks, for example, [McCarthy] declared, “Joe Biden and Democrats support defunding the police, which led to an historic rise in crime. That is an assault on democracy.”
In reality, Biden and Democratic leaders have repeatedly and explicitly rejected defunding the police; it’s McCarthy’s own members who keep talking about defunding the FBI; sharp increases in crime rates began during Trump’s presidency; and debates over law enforcement funding allocations do not represent an “assault on democracy.”
The minority leader added, “Joe Biden and Big Tech colluded to silence your freedom of speech and shut down your voice on the largest communication platform in the world. That is an assault on democracy.”
To be sure, this might theoretically be a problem if such “collusion” happened in reality, but since McCarthy made this conspiracy theory up, it’s easily discarded.
The GOP leader added, “Joe Biden and the Democrats in Congress are hiring an army of 87,000 new IRS agents, more than the population of Scranton, Pennsylvania, to do what? To snoop around your bank account, your Venmo, your small businesses. That is an assault on democracy.”
Again, McCarthy was just brazenly lying, not only about the number of IRS agents, but also about the nature of their professional work. What’s more, as federal lawmakers need to understand, enforcing tax laws is not “an assault on democracy.”
But the would-be House Speaker then tried to land the big blow: “Joe Biden and a politicized Department of Justice launched a raid on the home of his top political rival, Donald Trump. That is an assault on democracy.”
Of course, as McCarthy really ought to understand, it was Trump, not Biden, who went to great lengths to politicize federal law enforcement — which unfolded during McCarthy’s tenure, though he raised no objections at the time.
But more to the point, the House minority leader has had ample opportunity to learn just how serious the Mar-a-Lago scandal is, and instead of defending the rule of law, he’s still publicly condemning law enforcement — pretending that to do so is to put him on the right side of democracy. Indeed, the Republican suggested yesterday that investigating evidence of a suspected felony is somehow itself “an assault on democracy.”
It seems either McCarthy no longer knows what “democracy” means, or he’s cynically assuming those listening to his remarks weren’t smart enough to know the difference.
Donald Trump now wants to give pardons, apologies, and money to political radicals who launched an insurrectionist attack on his own country’s Capitol.
[…] as The Washington Post reported, the former president went on to break new ground.
Trump, during his conversation with Bell on Thursday morning, also said that he met with some Jan. 6 defendants in his office this week and that he is helping some financially. “I am financially supporting people that are incredible and they were in my office actually two days ago, so they’re very much in my mind,” Trump said. “It’s a disgrace what they’ve done to them. What they’ve done to these people is disgraceful.”
In other words, the former president — the ostensible leader of one of the nation’s two political parties and the presumptive frontrunner for the GOP’s 2024 presidential nomination — wants to give pardons, apologies, and money to political radicals who launched an insurrectionist attack on his own country’s Capitol. […]
[…] according to sources close to Melania, she doesn’t like it when the FBI goes through her underpants drawer and her closet, so she therefore has had to purchase entirely new underpants.
“Melania doesn’t like the idea of strangers going rifling through her things. Who knows who touched her underwear during the raid? She’s never going to feel comfortable wearing those ever again,” a pal tells Radar.
Unfair! And just because she married a guy who literally stole America’s most closely held secrets and stashed them all over his tacky Florida hotel, right there where all the foreign spies who obviously visit the joint can find them.
“Most people don’t know that Melania is a bigger germaphobe than her husband. She hates people touching her and certainly doesn’t want to put on lingerie that FBI agents have had their hands all over.”
You thought Donald Trump would be the one buying new underpants right now. And he might be, for a number of reasons, we are guessing. But you didn’t even think about how Melania might have to buy new underpants.
[…] Besides:
“This is her home. It’s her bedroom. Even her husband isn’t allowed in her bedroom,” adds a friend. “Even if they wore gloves, it is still strangers going through your underwear draws. She has already bought new underwear and thrown everything that has been contaminated away,” sources tell RadarOnline.com
[…] This follows on reporting from CNN that says that, according to one of its sources close to Melania, “She would never allow him to keep his stuff in her room, and he would frankly never ask.” […] CNN said she was “annoyed” by the raid, but that she wasn’t mad like he was mad. “She cared, but not like he cared,” said their source. And she was mad about how her own privacy was invaded:
[The source noted] it was the invasion of her privacy that prompted her to get upset – not the nature of the investigation that sparked the search, or what it meant, or might possibly come to mean, legally, for her husband.
Yeah fuck all that shit.
The rest of the CNN piece is about Melania’s scammy-ass NFTs, and we don’t care.
In order to find out what an ordeal this was for the former first lady, Wonkette did the kind of journalism others won’t do, by which we mean we went to Google Maps and conducted a search for underpants merchants near Mar-a-Lago. See? [map at the link]
Gazprom announces Nord Stream 1 pipeline suspended indefinitely
The Russian energy giant Gazprom has announced that the Nord Stream pipeline 1 will not restart on schedule on Saturday, citing damage to the turbine engine.
In a statement, the company did not give a time frame for restarting the pipeline, claiming it detected an oil leak at a gas turbine during maintenance.
US President Joe Biden will request $11.7bn (£10.2bn) in emergency funding from Congress to provide lethal aid and budget support to Ukraine, the White House has said.
The emergency funding request will also include $2bn (£1.7bn) to address the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine on US energy supplies, according to Shalanda Young, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
The IAEA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi is due to give a press conference shortly in Vienna after returning from the Zaporizhzhia plant. You can follow all of the updates here.
Ukraine declared this week it had begun a counter offensive aiming to retake Kherson – the one city Russia holds west of the Dnieper river – prompting a fog of uncertainty to descend on how the effort was progressing, never mind whether it would succeed.
Oleksiy Arestovych, a key adviser to the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, stressed there would be “no quick wins” as the attack in the south began – a point reflected in a briefing on Friday by western officials.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the officials said Ukraine had “pushed back” the Russian defenders in “several places”, but insisted it was too soon to name villages taken or distances gained while fighting was ongoing.
The caution may be realistic, but it is also telling. This is not, in any sense, a blitzkrieg or a broad front attack, but rather a localised effort to strike at the most obvious strategic vulnerability in the Russian frontline, and to try to demonstrate that Ukraine can drive the Russians back in places before winter sets in.
It is a struggle about Kyiv’s ability to act proactively as much as it is about recapturing the occupied city itself….
Join us for another discussion with Michael Kofman on the war in Ukraine. The main focus of this episode is the southern counter-offensive launched by Ukrainian forces early this week. Mike explains what has happened so far in this operation, centered around Kherson, and how observers should think about it as it unfolds. The two also discuss what Ukrainian combined arms warfare looks like, manpower challenges on both sides, the airpower picture, and how the counter-offensive is affecting the war in different parts of the country. Also, what is happening in Belarus as far as this war is concerned? And is either side prepared for how long this war is likely to last?…
Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive to recover territories in the southern Kherson region is now underway, but the situation at the front remains under wraps. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has barred journalists from reporting in front-line areas and has urged the press “not to question the actions of the command and not to serve as additional tools in the hands of Russian propaganda.” (Russian state media claimed that the counteroffensive had failed before it had even begun.) In this context, one of the only ways to assess the situation on the ground is to sift through and verify bits and pieces of open-source information. Military analyst Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), has been meticulously gathering operational data ever since Russia began its full-scale invasion in February. Meduza sat down with Rob Lee to talk about Ukraine’s push to liberate the Kherson region from Russian occupation….
reporting from CNN that says that, according to one of its sources close to Melania, “She would never allow him to keep his stuff in her room, and he would frankly never ask.”
CNN said she was “annoyed” by the raid
The rest of the CNN piece is about Melania’s scammy-ass NFTs
At the White House press briefing just now, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre spoke on Joe Biden’s speech last night where he warned that Donald Trump and “MAGA Republicans” are a threat to democracy.
“The president was trying to give the American people a choice: how do we move forward in this inflection point?” Jean-Pierre said. “When it comes to the soul of the nation, that is something the president has talked about for years… He has been concerned about where our democracy is going.”
Responding to criticism that Biden’s speech was politically charged despite it being an official White House event, Jean-Pierre said that “standing up for democracy is not political”.
“Denouncing political violence is not political. Standing up for freedom and rights is not political,” she said. “We don’t call any of that political. We see that as leadership and as presidential.”
(I mean, it’s obviously all political; it’s not – or shouldn’t be – partisan.)
Donald Trump will continue to flirt with a third White House run in 2024 in order to raise money but will ultimately choose not to mount a campaign, a Trump White House official predicts.
In communications reviewed by the Guardian on Friday, the official said Trump would look to “Bring in the $$$ then bow out gracefully before announcing”.
The 45th president, in office from 2017 to 2021, dominates polling of possible Republican nominees in 2024. He has amassed a significant campaign war chest and is generally held to have maintained his grip on his party despite being impeached twice, the second time for inciting the deadly January 6 attack on the US Capitol.
On Thursday, senior Republicans sprang to Trump’s defense – and eagerly expressed their own sense of offense – when Joe Biden used a primetime address to outline the threat to American democracy posed by Trump and his supporters.
Trump himself floated pardons – and official apologies – for January 6 rioters should he return to the White House. Lest anyone forget, nine deaths have been connected to the Capitol attack, including suicides among law enforcement officers.
Regarding the former White House official’s prediction that Trump will not run, the Guardian recently reported the contrary view of a senior source close to Trump, who said Trump “has to” announce a 2024 campaign soon, to head off being indicted under the Espionage Act after the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago in August.
That source indicated Trump needed to announce because politically it would be harder for the Department of Justice to indict a candidate for office than a former president out of the electoral running.
[Am I the only one who thinks this is ludicrous? The reason for the DoJ guidelines is to avoid interfering with elections. But if someone openly proclaims their bad faith, *plainly using a candidacy to try to interfere with a likely prosecution* (and to scam more money) – especially two fucking years before the election in which they’d potentially be a candidate – all bets should be off.]
Developments since then have in most eyes increased the likelihood of an indictment over Trump’s handling of classified records. But most observers believe an indictment is not likely until after the midterm elections on 8 November, given DoJ policy regarding avoiding politically insensitive moves close to polling day.
rorschachsays
SC @56,
“JFC, CNN.”
“today’s my last day at CNN”
Holy shit, they are leaving the sinking ship fast. Like I said, this does not get enough attention, the iconic American news channel is being broken up and will be turned into a Fox News Lite. Don Lemon will be next, because why would he stay for all this false balance shit.
CNN White House correspondent John Harwood is leaving the cable news channel, he said Friday.
…
“We appreciate John’s work covering the White House, and we wish him all the best,” a CNN spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter.
It is not immediately clear what spurred on the departure, though Harwood still had plenty of time left on his multi-year contract.
A source familiar with the matter said that Harwood learned about CNN’s decision last month.
Harwood joined CNN in Jan. 2020 from CNBC, where he had been chief Washington correspondent. At both CNBC and CNN, Harwood garnered a reputation for his sharp criticisms of President Donald Trump and the Republican party, which he called “fundamentally broken” in 2019.
And he has continued to analyze and critique the “broken” state of politics since Biden took office. On Thursday night, Biden attacked “MAGA Republicans” as a threat to America’s democratic values in a primetime speech.
“Biden’s assertion that Trump and extremist Republicans pose a threat to American democracy is, undeniably, true,” Harwood said afterward.
During what would be one of his last CNN appearances Friday morning, Harwood added that it is “something that’s not easy for us, as journalists, to say.”
“We’re brought up to believe there’s two different political parties with different points of view and we don’t take sides on honest disagreements between them. But that’s not what we’re talking about,” he said. “These are not honest disagreements. The Republican party right now is led by a dishonest demagogue.”…
rorschach @ #58, Lynna and I posted about it in the previous chapter of the thread (#s 152 and 235).
Tethyssays
But most observers believe an indictment is not likely until after the midterm elections on 8 November, given DoJ policy regarding avoiding politically insensitive moves close to polling day.
.
This sentence is absolutely idiotic. Crimes of treason are not politically insensitive, nor should the possibility of a political campaign affect the indictment and conviction for treason and espionage.
Firing squads vs electric chairs are what news organizations should be putting out there, rather than claiming impartiality while they give fascists miles of rope.
Two of Donald Trump’s former lawyers appeared in federal court today to testify in front of a grand jury investigating the January 6 insurrection.
Former White House counsel Pat Cipollone arrived at the courthouse first and was with the grand jury for over two hours, according to Reuters. Former White House deputy counsel Pat Philbin arrived at the courthouse shortly after and was also with the grand jury for over two hours.
Cipollone and Philbin are the most high-profile witnesses the grand jury has seen. The grand jury is investigating the “fake electors” plot to send fake slates of electors to Congress to fraudulently inflate the number of electors in Trump’s favor, despite him losing the election.
On Monday, Ukraine began a counteroffensive in Kherson oblast. Depending on who you listen to, that effort has been wildly effective, liberating towns and villages from one end of the oblast to the other, or it’s been an utter failure, crushed by Russian troops who now control more territory than they did when Ukraine’s movement began. The truth is almost certainly in the middle.
In particular, there have been claims that what the Ukrainians have done in Kherson is a test of their ability to conduct a combined arms strategy, that this strategy was planned in conjunction with U.S. teams that helped train Ukraine forces, and that, since this was their first attempt to put this training into action, the scope of the effort was deliberately limited. It’s a narrative that probably isn’t completely accurate, if only because it feels so right. However, it would seem to fit with what we actually know of activities in Kherson over the last four days.
Which isn’t much. [map at the link]
On Tuesday, CNN reported that Ukraine had liberated four villages in three different areas of Kherson oblast. One was Arkhanhel’s’ke at the northern end of the area of Russian control, adjacent to the critical town of Vysokopillya. That location has now been confirmed through geolocated images. Vysokopillya itself was reported as under Ukrainian control at one point, though it now seems to be back in the “contested” category. At the moment, Russia seems to be clinging only to a few streets at the south end of town, while Ukraine not only has the rest, but all surrounding villages.
Ukrainian gains across the Inhulets River at Sukhyi Stavok also appear to be confirmed. That effort has pushed forward to reportedly liberate the village of Kostromka, Reports from Russian Telegram indicate that fighting has died down around Bruskynske on the east of this salient, and that Ukraine is instead pushing south toward Shchaslyve. I’ve left both villages marked “in dispute” until there’s more clarification of how this counteroffensive is proceeding. There are also some reports that Davydiv Brid itself is now in dispute, though video from the area on Tuesday showed no sign of nearby military activity. So consider that marker to be “grain of salt white.”
The weirdest factoid of the week may be that all of the news of Ukrainian advances east of the Inhulets is coming from the same pro-Russia sources who, just a few weeks ago, claimed the entire bridgehead across the Inhulets had been wiped out (that this was the second time they claimed it had been destroyed didn’t seem to bother anyone). On Friday, they are again pushing videos that claim to show Ukrainian vehicles near the river crossing being hit by drones or artillery. However, embedded data shows that these are old photos, and geolocation shows they are from somewhere else. I’m mostly accepting this “Russian view on the Ukraine advance” because I don’t see why they would exaggerate Ukrainian success. Plus … it’s all I’ve got.
It’s when you get to the south end of the oblast, that many of the reports from Monday seem to fall apart. [map at the link]
In some of the reports this week, the suggestion was that the main thrust of the counteroffensive was limited to the south. If so, then it seems to have been very limited. On Monday, CNN reported the frankly astounding news that Ukraine had liberated Tomyna Balka and nearby Novodmytrivka. Those gains are still shown here, even though no other source has confirmed them. On the other hand, even those sources that are still cautiously drawing the Russian control boundary to the west of those two villages don’t seem to have any evidence that Russia is still camped out there. I’ve left them blue until I get something better, but I simply don’t know.
In the meantime, Ukraine does seem to have re-re-re-liberated the utterly unholdable town of Oleksandrivka along the coast. If Ukraine does have Tomyna Balka, this offers a chance to clear that whole point and develop a more sustainable position. But that’s only if they control Tomyna Balka.
North of this area, earlier reports that Ukraine held Pravdyne and Soldatske appear to have been reversed. Earlier in the week, it seemed like Ukraine might be prepared to squeeze that salient extending out south of the major M14 highway. Now Russian control in that area doesn’t appear to be in immediate threat. Something similar has happed to the norther around Blahodatne, where Ukraine was reportedly in control after Monday. The latest information indicates that Russia has either rolled back that advance, or it never happened in the first place.
If there is one single, “limited test” of combined underway, maybe it’s taking place in that bridgehead across the Inhulets, because that’s where Ukraine seems to be making the most progress. On the other hand, finally taking out Vysokopillya would be huge. So would confirmation of control at Tomyna Balka.
Was all that confusing enough? Yeah … there you go. Hopefully, we will gain more knowledge soon. And as always, hopefully that means a lot less red on the map.
This is weirdly beautiful. […] [Tweet and video at the link]
Russia spent a good portion of Thursday pointing at shell craters near the plant and blaming Ukraine. Now, we know 1) Russia shelled the facility when taking it because we watched the whole thing on camera; 2) There have been multiple reports of Russian artillery deliberately firing into areas near the plant over the last two weeks; and 3) None of the shells seem to have come from the north, which is the only area where Ukraine is in artillery range. [Tweet and video at the link. “Russian propagandist showing the IAEA inspectors how “Ukrainian” shells make miraculous U-turns.”]
I own a tiny DJI drone. Footage like this always makes me think of sending it off to battle in Ukraine. Like when the Brave Little Toaster goes to war. [Tweet and video at the link]
Former Attorney General William Barr suggested the Department of Justice (DOJ) likely has a strong case that former President Trump improperly took classified documents from the White House when he left office amid an ongoing investigation into the matter.
“Is there any legitimate reason for those materials to be in the former president’s possession?” Barr was asked by Fox News anchor John Roberts during an appearance on the network Friday.
“No. I can’t think of a legitimate reason why they should have been taken out of the government, away from the government, if they are classified,” Barr said.
Barr, who served under Trump, said he was “skeptical” of the former president’s recent claims that he had declassified all of the material in question.
“Because frankly I think it’s highly improbable,” Barr said. “And if in fact he sort of stood over scores of boxes, not knowing really what was in them, and said I hereby declassify everything in here, that would be such an abuse and show such recklessness that it’s almost worse than taking them.” […]
While broadcasters typically air a prime-time address by the president, they determined that this speech was more ‘political’ than newsworthy for live coverage.
While President Biden warned the nation about threats to democracy in a prime time address on Thursday, ABC was airing a game show, “Press Your Luck.”
As Biden spelled out his objections to former president Donald Trump and “MAGA Republicans,” NBC was broadcasting a rerun of “Law and Order.” CBS skipped the speech to show a rerun of “Young Sheldon.”
The networks’ rejection of Biden’s speech — delivered in front of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, washed in dramatic red lighting as Marines stood guard — marked an unusual moment in the long relationship between the White House and the nation’s most powerful broadcasters.
Presidents rarely make speeches during prime TV viewing hours, and typically only do so to address a national crises or matter of exceptional urgency. The networks, in turn, typically carry presidential speeches when the White House requests the time and after previewing the president’s remarks.
[…] Biden’s speech was carried live on CNN and MSNBC, but it was not aired on Fox News, the most-watched of the cable-news channels. Fox stuck with its usual 8 p.m. eastern-time program, a commentary show hosted by conservative pundit Tucker Carlson. […]
I did think Biden’s talking about the laws that have been passed had no place in those remarks. It was both default partisan (since very few Republicans voted for them) and totally irrelevant to the title/rest of the speech.
The murder of Seth Rich in Washington DC sparked a slew of conspiracy theories tying the tragedy to the DNC, Wikileaks, and the 2016 election. But behind the scenes, a grieving family was left bereft of answers and vulnerable to bad actors. Andy Kroll, a reporter for Pro Publica, joins us to discuss his latest book on the matter….
I don’t agree with all of the analysis at the end, though it’s all worthy of discussion. Here’s the organization Kroll mentions – Law for Truth.
The FBI investigation into documents that were allegedly illegally at Mar-a-Lago has brought fresh attention to one of the less-known congressional investigations into Trump potentially having possession of an entirely different set illicit items.
“Former President Donald Trump intermingled classified and unclassified materials in boxes at his Florida residence and had dozens of empty folders that bore a “classification” marking, according to an inventory list made public Friday morning that describes in more detail what FBI agents recovered when they searched Mar-a-Lago last month,” The Washington Post reported Friday. “Several of the retrieved boxes also contain items labeled ‘clothing/ gift item,’ according to the inventory list. While these are not secret or sensitive items, experts said the discovery of them at Mar-a-Lago raises questions about whether Trump followed longstanding rules around receiving gifts domestically and those from foreign governments.”
On Jun. 6, Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) wrote a letter to acting Archivist of the U.S. Debra Steidal Wall.
“The Oversight Committee is investigating former President Trump’s apparent failure to account for gifts from foreign government officials while in office, as required by law,” Maloney wrote. “Information provided to the Committee by the Department of State indicates the Trump Administration ‘did not prioritize this obligation’ and failed to comply with the law governing foreign gift reporting during President Trump’s final year in office. As a result, the foreign sources and monetary value of gifts President Trump received remain unknown. The Committee has also learned that the Trump Administration mismanaged gifts from foreign sources during President Trump’s term and left the State Department’s gift vault in ‘complete disarray.'”
So. Unreported gifts, some from foreign sources, and some with monetary value, in Trump’s Mar-A-Lago storage areas? For a public employee (and the President is a public employee), that is unethical at the least, possibly criminal. Nothing compared to all of the empty classification folders, but still . . .
Oggie: Mathomsays
From Historian Nancy MacLean, part of an article at RawStory:
<
blockquote>My overall response is that this was the most important speech of President Joe Biden’s political career, and it was a wake-up call to the nation, and particularly to the mainstream media, in the nick of time. He was absolutely right, in my opinion, that the Trump wing of the party and the MAGA Republicans have jumped the rails of constitutional democracy, of the factual universe and of representative democracy. You cannot have a democracy in which one party does not accept the legitimacy of the other party’s candidates, elected officials and the outcomes of elections. But that is where we have come with Donald Trump and the MAGA faction since they first questioned the legitimacy of President Obama’s election and denied that he had been born in America. That was the start of all that has ensued since. And it’s really important that President Biden called that out for the nation.<.blockquote>
The whole article is pretty damn good. Trump and his MAGA terrorists are an existential threat to the democracy of the United States. And, thus, an existential threat to the world.
Bolding is mine.
Oggie: Mathomsays
This shit bears repeating. This is from a different article, also at Rawstory :
Immediately after a federal judge released the Dept. of Justice’s detailed list of items the FBI seized from Mar-a-Lago experts agreed among the most concerning details was that there were a large number of empty folders marked “Classified.”
NCRM reported the DOJ’s inventory list included over 13,000 items, including over 100 documents marked with various classification headers.
Also listed were “43 Empty Folders with ‘CLASSIFIED’ Banners,” and “28 Empty Folders Labeled ‘Return to Staff Secretary/Military Aide.”
Glenn Kirschner, a former federal prosecutor of 30 years, tweeted out his surprise and concern.
“OMG!” exclaimed Kirschner ,who is also an MSNBC/NBC News legal analyst. “Court just released an inventory of evidence of crime seized at Mar-a-Lago.”
“Dozens of EMPTY folders labeled ‘Classified’ or ‘Return to Military Aide.’ Trump didn’t pack up EMPTY folders to take with him to FLA. Things just went from bad to worse to unfathomably dangerous.”
Others also expressed concern over the empty folders.
Andrew Weissmann, a former General Counsel of the Federal Bureau of Investigation who has also worked as chief of the criminal fraud section of DOJ observed: “It’s the empty classified folders that are of most concern.”
“Where are the contents? Trump has not addressed that at all in all his bluster and obfuscation. What were you doing with these?” asked Weissmann, who also worked for Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Former Dept. of Defense Special Counsel Ryan Goodman wrote: “This is going to get a lot of attention too: 👉43 Empty Folders with “CLASSIFIED” Banners👈”
“Empty,” he emphasized. “Must be fairly alarming to U.S. intelligence community conducting the damage assessment. Now think about how Trump’s legal team is trying to keep this info from the FBI/ODNI.”
National security attorney Brad Moss wrote, “Very first question the FBI would ask the person who had in their home office 43 empty folders with classified banners is ‘where did the documents from those folders go????'”
And later he added: “Why. Are. There. Empty. Folders?”
Every fucking time any Republican tries to defend Trump, or deflect, or soft-pedal, the one asking the questions needs to ask “Why. Are. There. Empty. Folders?” Loudly. Emphatically. They also need to ask why Trump and his lawyers did not want this list released. Loudly. Emphatically.
StevoRsays
Second launch attempt for the new Artemis SLS rcket happening in 2 hours 51 minutes from now. Viewing on youtube here as one of many Safly that’s going tobe about 3 a.m. my time and much as I struggle to sleep and stay up late and much as its Sunday tomorow here, I’m going to struggle to make..
Every fucking time any Republican tries to defend Trump, or deflect, or soft-pedal, the one asking the questions needs to ask “Why. Are. There. Empty. Folders?” Loudly. Emphatically. They also need to ask why Trump and his lawyers did not want this list released. Loudly. Emphatically.
Quoting for it. Yes!
ravensays
Trigger Alert!!!
This article about the disappeared of Ukraine is a nightmare just to read.
I can’t even imagine what it is like to be the people who actually live it.
This “thousands of disappeared” is off by three orders of magnitude.
The number of Ukrainians deported to Russia at last report was 2.8 million people, 400,000 of them children.
It is the same story. These Ukrainians are being sent to the outback of Russia, the far north and far Siberia, and left to fend for themselves in a strange land with no resources.
‘A country of missing people’: How Russia is vanishing thousands of Ukrainians
The Missing: In her latest investigation, international correspondent Bel Trew reports from Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Poltava, speaking to Ukrainians and families of victims who were captured and taken to Russia in another possible war crime The Independent UK September
It is early March. Just a few weeks into Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and in three different corners of the country, a group of civilians are being “vanished”.
In Trostyanets, a town then under Russian occupation, close to Ukraine’s northeast border, Andriy, 35, a furniture maker, and his father-in-law are making a rare trip out to search for dwindling supplies. A Russian military vehicle quietly pulls up beside them, and the soldiers order them to get in.
Some 140km east, in Kharkiv city, Igor, 33, is finishing a day volunteering with evacuees in the city’s railway station when he realises he has forgotten the keys to his flat. He decides to take shelter during curfew hours in the family summer house just outside the city, but is stopped at a checkpoint on the way.
Meanwhile, 500km south, in Nova Kakhovka, an occupied town on the coast, Serhiy, 60, a journalist, activist and former soldier, is trying to cross a Russian-controlled bridge to deliver supplies to elderly friends. He is pulled to the side when the men at the checkpoint recognise him.
In three corners of the country – in unrelated incidents on a random day, 12 March – these civilians are quietly disappeared by Russian soldiers.
All of them will eventually end up in prisons in Russia, which rights groups say is evidence of enforced disappearance and forcible transfer – potential war crimes. Their families will spend weeks and months desperately, and vainly, searching for them. Only one of them – Andriy – has returned.
“The soldiers said ‘Get into the car.’ They put bags over our heads, they handcuffed us, they wanted to ‘check’ us,” the father of two says, describing the moment when his nightmare began to unfold. “They told us they would take us to Russia, where someone more senior would decide what to do with us.
“When they loaded us into a truck from Trostyanets and started to drive out of the town, it was terrifying. I sat down next to my father-in-law and said, that’s it, we will never return home again.”
Andriy spent a month disappeared in a Russian jail. He is still looking for his father-in-law, who was taken with him
Andriy spent a month disappeared in a Russian jail. He is still looking for his father-in-law, who was taken with him (Bel Trew)
Andriy and his father-in-law were subjected to mock executions, beaten and interrogated, and moved between various detention centres, including a tented camp in Shebekino, a Russian town close to the border. There he was held with dozens of soldiers captured from Snake Island.
He was eventually interned in a prison in Stary Oskol, around 180km east of the Ukrainian border, where he found himself in a cell with civilians who had been taken not only from his region, Sumy, but also from Kharkiv and Kyiv. He said the prison appeared to have been emptied of Russian inmates and filled instead with at least 500 Ukrainians.
“During the journey they almost killed us. One soldier accused us of being members of the military, and attacked my father-in-law with a shovel. They shot twice next to our heads.”
He was held in Stary Oskol until mid-April, when he was inexplicably chosen to be included in a prisoner swap. To this day, he doesn’t know why. After an odyssey around Russia, in which 66 civilian detainees and PoWs were gathered from different prisons, he was dumped back in Ukraine. But his father-in-law and his six cellmates – who included Igor – remain behind bars.
The last eyewitness account of Serhiy, meanwhile, places him in a Russian-run prison in Crimea, a region that Moscow illegally annexed in 2014. But his wife says there are new reports he was moved to Voronezh, a southwestern district of Russia, just next to Stary Oskol.
I sat down next to my father-in-law and said, that’s it, we will never return home again
Andriy, captured by the Russians
And this is what makes the ordeal all the more terrifying for civilians, says Andriy, now back in his hometown of Trostyanets. “I was never charged with anything. I was never allowed to inform my family about where I was. As far as I’m aware, I’m the only person of those detained with me to get out alive,” he says shakily.
“I still have nightmares,” he continues quietly. “The smallest sound makes me jump. Most days I wake up in a sweat.”
Both Ukrainian and Russian officials estimate that nearly 2 million Ukrainians have been moved to Russia since the start of the war. Russia claims this is part of an evacuation effort to save lives. Ukrainian officials speaking to The Independent, along with countries including the United States, have accused Moscow of forcibly deporting civilians.
The key routes by which civilians are being disappeared to Russia
(The Independent )
Russia has repeatedly denied committing any crimes in Ukraine, since President Putin launched his invasion in February. The Russian embassy in London did not respond to requests for comment about these particular allegations, or the testimonies gathered.
But as part of a months-long investigation into the tens of thousands of Ukrainians who have gone missing since the war began, The Independent has found fresh evidence of probable violations of international law and of possible war crimes, including the widespread illegal transfer of civilians and the forcible disappearance of them into prisons in Russia, as well as hostage-taking.
According to evidence from victims, family members of the missing, local officials and international rights groups, it appears that there are three main organised routes by which civilians are transferred to prisons in Russia. They are taken from the northwest parts of the country via Belarus, or from the northeast to transitional military camps along the border, or via annexed Crimea in the south.
As part of its reporting, The Independent has followed the stories of six different Ukrainians who have been forcibly transferred to Russia and disappeared in prisons there. During the process, we were able to locate two men and inform their families of their whereabouts.
We also spoke to civilians who were not interned in Russian prisons but were moved against their will – and sometimes even without their knowledge – from Ukraine to far-flung locations in Russia as part of the controversial process of “filtration” by Russian soldiers and their proxies as they evacuated recently occupied towns. This could also be a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians, and may constitute a war crime.
The Independent also spoke to residents in occupied towns, who said they were told by Russian soldiers that civilians were being deliberately rounded up as leverage in future prisoner exchanges, which may also constitute the war crime of hostage-taking. Andriy said that he and other civilians with him were effectively counted as soldiers during a prisoner-of-war swap in April, when he was finally released (though The Independent was unable to verify this).
Allan Hogarth of Amnesty International, who was sent The Independent’s testimonies, said that the Russian authorities must “urgently” investigate these reports, and that their failure to do should “increase the resolve of the international community to step in and deploy international mechanisms to investigate and deliver justice”.
“Civilians under the power of enemy forces should be protected from any abuse at all times. Their forcible transfer or deportation from occupied territory, and their torture or other ill treatment, amount to crimes under international law,” said Hogarth.
Belkis Wille, of Human Rights Watch (HRW), said that the “disturbing allegations” are consistent with a range of abuses that HRW has documented, including executions, torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, and rape.
Maria spends every day trawling the internet for any news about her vanished husband
(Bel Trew)
THE NORTHEAST ROUTE
The Chechen soldier sitting in Maria’s house had just attempted to rape her, and had only begrudgingly given up after learning she had a disability he mistook for a disease.
And so, warming himself by her fire, to pass the time he started playing with his gun. And as he did this, he told her how Russian forces were deliberately taking Ukrainian civilians to use as leverage in prisoner swaps involving Russian soldiers.
Maria was frozen in terror. She was alone with her 12-year-old son after soldiers had taken her husband a few hours before. All she could do was sit and watch this man methodically take the ammunition out of his weapon and put it back in.
“He told me, ‘We need more of you Ukrainians so we can get more of our soldiers back,’” says Maria, trembling and in tears. “He accused my husband of being a Nazi, all of us of being Nazis.”
That day was 17 March, five days after the others had been taken, in a tiny village just outside Trostyanets.
Earlier that afternoon, soldiers had raided the house, apparently concerned by reports that Maria’s husband Roman, 39, a construction worker and part-time hunter, had a hunting rifle. They broke the weapon and took him. Later she would find out that Roman was one of three men abducted from her village on that day alone. In total, 10 men from the area, all disappeared during the Russian occupation, are still missing.
“I was scared that he would be forced to fight, I was afraid that he could be killed. I asked at all the checkpoints. And then after the Russians left I went to the Ukrainian police, the security forces, I applied to every organisation I could to find him,” she says in desperation.
She even applied to the military administration of the Sumy region, where her village is located, and the capital Kyiv for help. “But we found out nothing. It wasn’t until Andriy was released in April and called me out of the blue that I had any news of my husband.”
We had been waiting so long for information, it never occurred to me he wouldn’t be in Ukraine. And now what? How do we get him home?
Maria, wife of man disappeared into a Russian jail
Just before Andriy was ordered out of Stary Oskol, his cellmates scribbled down the numbers of their relatives on a scrap of paper that he secretly smuggled out. This has now become routine for Ukrainians vanished into Russian or Russian-proxy jails.
As soon as he got back to Trostyanets – like so many others – he called all the numbers he could to inform the families that their loved ones were alive. Among those numbers was Maria’s.
He was able to fill in the blanks: Roman had been taken to a nearby village called Boromlya, and was tortured for 10 days before eventually being taken to Russia, ending up in Stary Oskol.
In a previous visit to Trostyanets, just after Russian soldiers had withdrawn, The Independent was shown photos of bodies found tortured and killed in Boromlya, where Russian soldiers had set up an informal headquarters. We were told of the disappearances of multiple men from the Trostyanets region, among them Andriy.
One man, a retired colonel, who was briefly held in an underground torture chamber we uncovered under Trostyanets railway station, was also apparently taken to Stary Oskol. This had become a well-trodden route from northeast Ukraine to the camps and prisons of Russia.
“When I heard my husband was alive, I was screaming and crying at the same time. I didn’t know what to do,” Maria continues, crumbling into tears. “We had been waiting so long for information, it never occurred to me he wouldn’t be in Ukraine. And now what? What can we do? How do we get him home? “
Igor vanished when he tried to go home for the night after volunteering in Kharkiv
(Bel Trew)
But at least she knew where he was.
Igor was the person appointed to scribble down the phone numbers of the cellmates’ relatives on the tiny scrap of paper that Andriy smuggled out of jail. But in the rush, it seems he forgot to write down his own. It was only when Andriy got home and started making phone calls that he realised Igor’s number was missing. And by then it was too late.
But as part of the investigation, trawling through the online posts of missing people, we located Igor’s family in Kharkiv. After checking Igor’s photo and details with Andriy, we were able to speak to his parents, sadly confirming their fears that he was in prison in Russia, specifically in Stary Oskol.
Igor’s parents said that the electrician had vanished on 12 March after finishing his volunteer work at the main railway station of Kharkiv, which was being heavily shelled. They last heard from him when he called to say he had mislaid his keys to the family flat in North Saltivka, one of the hardest hit areas of Kharkiv.
“We told him to just sleep in one of the local shelters. It was coming up to curfew, but it seems for whatever reason he ignored this,” his mother tells us from the city, which is still under heavy fire.
Andriy filled in the gaps – Igor had decided to drive a few miles north to stay in the family summer house in Tsyrkuny.
He didn’t realise that this area was a moving front line and was partially occupied by Russian forces, and was taken at a checkpoint. He was eventually deposited in a cell with Andriy in Stary Oskol, where they sat day and night, singing songs and reciting poetry to keep their spirits up.
“It is a relief to hear he is alive and being treated OK, but the information from Andriy is now a few months ago and we just hope he is still fine,” his mother continues, her voice aching with grief.
She says that, even with this knowledge, the family “don’t know where to look for help anymore”. “Instead I pray to god every day, and ask him to bring back my son. That is all I can do.”
Konstantin’s family last heard their son was in prison in Russia, but have no idea where he is now
(Bel Trew)
THE NORTHWEST ROUTE
The Russians nicknamed it the Russian highway, and Ukrainian residents of the area quickly learned that crossing it amounted to having a death wish.
This was the northern corner of the Kyiv region, where in the early weeks of the war a 64 km convoy of Russian soldiers, tanks, armoured cars and weapons was spotted on satellite imagery, shakily advancing on the capital.
Along that route lived Natasha and her husband Konstantin, a Russian citizen and longtime Ukrainian resident. On 5 March, Konstantin, fearful his relatives were cut off from supplies in the nearby village of Obukhovychi, decided to risk the “Russian highway” to get food to them.
He never came back.
It was only a month later after a successful Ukrainian counter-offensive and the subsequent Russian withdrawal, that Natasha was finally able to get to Obukhovychi to piece together what happened to her vanished husband. All she found was Konstantin’s empty car riddled with bullets,
Like so many families she applied to the police and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for any information and received nothing back. The Third Geneva Convention grants the ICRC the right to go wherever POWs might be found and conduct interviews with them. But the ICRC has said its officials have not been granted full access to all facilities.
And so Natasha took to Facebook to beg for information.
“Then in May a guy who had just been released from Kursk prison in Russia saw my Facebook post and messaged to say he had been in prison with Konstantin there,” she says.
Kursk is 120 miles north of Kharkiv.
As Konstantin’s family was Russian, they were in a unique position to go to the prison, employ lawyers and demand confirmation that he was indeed there.
And later they went on to fight the charges against him: allegedly working against Russian proxy soldiers in occupied territory over 1000km from where he lived in northern Ukraine.
At the end of June, he was released and able to fill in the rest of the story.
“A Russian soldier stabbed him in the leg while interrogating him, a wound which never properly healed. They stole the shoes off his feet, which were freezing in minus temperatures.”
Only those who had poor quality cheap shoes that no one wanted were permitted to keep theirs. But the soldiers doused them in water which froze to add to the suffering, she continues.
It turns out Konstantin had been ambushed in his car. He was first taken to Hostomel airport which Russian soldiers had captured and then taken to Chernobyl , home to the nuclear plant which blew up in 1986.
They bound his hands and legs so tightly and dragged him so roughly he had muscle lacerations.”
On 8 March, together with 120 other prisoners, he was taken to Belarus by helicopter and then plane to Kursk.
There he said they were held 12 people in one cell and were permitted no exercise or sunlight. They were all Ukrainians from the Kyiv region and their route had been the same: to Kursk via Belarus.
When he was released, he too, like Andriy, memorised a list of numbers of families of the people in his cell and updated relatives on the fate of their loved ones.
“It really feels it is up to chance, to coincidences that someone happens to see your post. It is up to us, the families, to find people,” Natasha adds desperately.
And this is how Marina, 39 found out about the fate of her son Oleksander, 20 who was doing his military service and was by chance stationed at Hostomel airport when the Russians invaded.
She lost contact with him on the first day of the war as he was locked in one of the fiercest battles of the conflict. Living just outside of nearby Ivankiv, the family spent all of March in a basement at the orphanage where Marina works without any electricity, phone signal or water.
“It was only until April when we got internet connection back and we were able to find a Facebook group for those whose children were missing from Hostomel, that we found out what happened,” she explains.
A soldier who had been released on 28 March had posted a list of the people he was jailed with. All of them had transited through Belarus to Kursk like Konstantin.
But she doesn’t know if Oleksander is still there.
A civilian from a nearby village who was also held in Kursk prison and released later, said he saw Oleksander the day before he was freed but was told Oleksander was about to be transferred.
“That was mid-April, we don’t know where he is being held, where he was transferred to. The worst thing is he doesn’t even know if we’re alive.”
And so it is this “human factor” which families of the missing have to rely on, says Gayde Rizayeva, herself a former detainee, who was not tasked by the authorities to coordinate between government efforts, NGOs and civilians to try to locate the thousands of civilians and soldiers which have vanished.
It is sometimes just random luck, she continues.
“Someone could be looking for his son and accidentally finds a different person which makes it easier for us to find someone else,” she explains.
“If anyone is released we ask him – do you have people in your cell? We show them pictures of the missing people.
“But it relies on people reporting their missing loved ones, or on the trickle of people who get let out.”
Olena shows the only proof of life she has of her husband Serhiy who appeared on Russian television apparently under duress after he was detained
(Bel Trew)
THE SOUTHERN ROUTE
Over a month after Serhiy, a journalist and activist, vanished he suddenly reappeared on a news segment of a Russian TV channel.
It caught his wife Olena like a hand around her throat. She hadn’t heard from him since he went to deliver supplies to vulnerable elderly people on 12 March.
And there he was, in a button-down collared shirt he would never wear, with a slight tremor in his hands, sitting in an undisclosed location denouncing the Ukrainian army.
The ex-Ukrainian soldier, activist and journalist, had supported rallies against Russia’s occupation of the southern region of Kherson where he lives.
He was very public in his views about Putin’s invasion and now, this channel was saying, he was cooperating with the Russian authorities.
His wife, who knows his ticks well, can see he is strained. She believes he is wearing a collared long sleeve shirt to cover bruises.
“In the video, it says his location is Russia but we don’t know where. He looks like he has head injuries and broken fingers, and it seems like his lungs are damaged as at points it’s difficult for him to speak,” his wife continues numbly.
“I am sure that he was under duress. He is accusing Ukrainians of targeting civilians. He loved Ukraine with all his heart.”
He vanished on the morning 12 March – the same day as Andriy and Igor.
At 4pm that same day, Oleh Baturin, the editor-in-chief of a well-known pro-Ukrainian media outlet and a colleague of Serhiy said he received a phone call from Serhiy asking to meet.
But it was a trap, Baturin later said in interviews with Ukrainian media and told Olena.
Olena is still looking for her husband
(Bel Trew)
Serhiy was already in detention and was forced to make the phone call. Bqaturin said both he and Serhiy were tortured.
“Until now we have no confirmed information about where he is, how he is doing, how he is being treated,” Olena continues.
“ We think he is in prison in Simferopol in Crimea, or now in Voronezh but we don’t know.”
She fears the worst.
Anti-occupation activists released from prisons in the south of Ukraine speak of horrific treatment.
Maksym, 29, an ecologist who was arrested in March after an anti-occupation protest in the city of Kherson, said he was held for 10 days in an underground basement that was so cramped everyone had to crouch. They were only allowed out for interrogations. He shows us the x-rays of his broken ribs and legs.
Many of his friends who vanished at the same time are still missing, including a Spanish citizen.
“It is worse than hell because one second lasts like an eternity. It’s not just fearing what is happening to you now but what could happen next,” he adds shakily.
“In the occupied south of Ukraine, every family has at least one close person who is in captivity or was in captivity. It’s like a small country of missing people.”
I was only able to survive through this hell only because I had one goal to see my daughter again,
Nadiya, forcibly transferred to Russia
FILTRATION
Nadiya, 71, didn’t realise she was in Russia until she was forced onto a train by a soldier and told she would be taken to the centre of the country.
She had survived the worst of the bombing of Mariupol, in the south of the country, hiding in the basement of a nearby stadium. During the capture of the city, soldiers from the Russian-backed self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic arrived and ordered everyone in the makeshift shelter to walk to a nearby village.
Elderly, caring for a partially disabled adult son, all she could do is comply. She was shuttled between numerous villages along the coast, ending up in the eastern village of Dokuchaevsk for “filtration”. This process the United Nations has flagged as leading to disappearances and arbitrary detention and has warned people are at high risk of being subjected to torture or ill-treatment.
Although she “passed” she repeatedly told the soldiers she wanted to stay in Ukraine but was put on another bus. She only realised she had left the country when she found herself at Taganrog train station, 60 km into Russia.
“There a soldier told me: ‘Go, Babushka, get to the train, or you’ll stay here at the station with the homeless’,” she continues speaking on the phone from France where she is now based.
“I asked the steward on a train where we were heading to and he said Samara [a region over 1000km northeast of Mariupol] in central Russia.
At that point everyone on the train began to panic, even those who had consented to be transferred to Russia did not want to be taken that far. Nadiya says she later found out that civilians had been taken as far as the eastern flanks of Siberia and towns close to the North Pole. The Independent heard some were being forced to fight in the Russian army.
“I told them again and again I wanted to stay,” she says.
She eventually arrived on 15 April in Syzran town in Samara, where she says she was put in a “hotel” that was guarded day and night by armed police.
It wasn’t until Russian residents and civil society members helped her buy a ticket to Moscow that she was able to start the long journey to be reunited with her family.
“I made friends with a man I met in Moscow’s main bus station, who was leaving for one of the Baltic states and he explained to me the way,” she continues.
“I was only able to survive through this hell only because I had one goal to see my daughter again, who I loved so much.”
(Bel Trew)
THE ODYSSEY
The journey home was an odyssey through Russia’s prisons.
That morning the guard at Stary Oskol ordered Andriy to pack his bags – he hurriedly scribbled down the numbers of his cell mates’ families. He memorised messages of greetings. They prayed. They hugged.
He was first taken by aeroplane to Kursk, then Voronezh, then Taganrog, where at each point they picked up other Ukrainian civilian detainees, including policewomen from Mariupol.
The final destination was a three-storey facility in Sevastopol in annexed Crimea – where Andriy described 200 Ukrainians sleeping in bunk beds desperately waiting and hoping to be placed on a Red Cross prisoner swap list.
At dawn one day he was woken up. A group of 16 civilians and 60 soldiers, many badly wounded, were gathered on buses and taken to no-man’s land in the Zaporizhia region.
It was only when peering through the dawn gloom Andriy saw a Ukrainian soldier waving a white flag on the other side, that he believed he could finally be safe.
One by one their names were called out and they made the trembling journey across a broken bridge. Thirty Russian soldiers did the same walk back: A ratio of two to one.
“In all my 35 years on this planet I would never have believed this would have happened to me,” he says, stumbling into disbelief.
“I would never have believed how many Ukrainians, both civilians and military, would be held in captivity. How indiscriminately we were all taken.”
He – like the families of all the other vanished Ukrainians – spends every day trying to locate news of his father-in-law who remains behind bars.
Maria, waiting for news of her husband who is also still in Stary Oskol, says her life stopped the moment he was taken and every day is the same: the fruitless hunt for news.
“After March 17 my whole life just collapsed into emptiness. Until now, I still haven’t slept a single night,” she says, grief etched into her face.
“I spend whole nights looking for information about my missing husband and prisoner exchanges on my phone.
“I have lost everything. Everything has been ripped out from underneath my feet, all my life is gone.”
‘A country of missing people’: How Russia is vanishing thousands of Ukrainians
The Missing: In her latest investigation, international correspondent Bel Trew reports from Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Poltava, speaking to Ukrainians and families of victims who were captured and taken to Russia in another possible war crime
6 minutes ago
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I
t is early March. Just a few weeks into Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and in three different corners of the country, a group of civilians are being “vanished”.
In Trostyanets, a town then under Russian occupation, close to Ukraine’s northeast border, Andriy, 35, a furniture maker, and his father-in-law are making a rare trip out to search for dwindling supplies. A Russian military vehicle quietly pulls up beside them, and the soldiers order them to get in.
Some 140km east, in Kharkiv city, Igor, 33, is finishing a day volunteering with evacuees in the city’s railway station when he realises he has forgotten the keys to his flat. He decides to take shelter during curfew hours in the family summer house just outside the city, but is stopped at a checkpoint on the way.
Meanwhile, 500km south, in Nova Kakhovka, an occupied town on the coast, Serhiy, 60, a journalist, activist and former soldier, is trying to cross a Russian-controlled bridge to deliver supplies to elderly friends. He is pulled to the side when the men at the checkpoint recognise him.
In three corners of the country – in unrelated incidents on a random day, 12 March – these civilians are quietly disappeared by Russian soldiers.
All of them will eventually end up in prisons in Russia, which rights groups say is evidence of enforced disappearance and forcible transfer – potential war crimes. Their families will spend weeks and months desperately, and vainly, searching for them. Only one of them – Andriy – has returned.
“The soldiers said ‘Get into the car.’ They put bags over our heads, they handcuffed us, they wanted to ‘check’ us,” the father of two says, describing the moment when his nightmare began to unfold. “They told us they would take us to Russia, where someone more senior would decide what to do with us.
“When they loaded us into a truck from Trostyanets and started to drive out of the town, it was terrifying. I sat down next to my father-in-law and said, that’s it, we will never return home again.”
Andriy spent a month disappeared in a Russian jail. He is still looking for his father-in-law, who was taken with him
Andriy spent a month disappeared in a Russian jail. He is still looking for his father-in-law, who was taken with him (Bel Trew)
Andriy and his father-in-law were subjected to mock executions, beaten and interrogated, and moved between various detention centres, including a tented camp in Shebekino, a Russian town close to the border. There he was held with dozens of soldiers captured from Snake Island.
He was eventually interned in a prison in Stary Oskol, around 180km east of the Ukrainian border, where he found himself in a cell with civilians who had been taken not only from his region, Sumy, but also from Kharkiv and Kyiv. He said the prison appeared to have been emptied of Russian inmates and filled instead with at least 500 Ukrainians.
“During the journey they almost killed us. One soldier accused us of being members of the military, and attacked my father-in-law with a shovel. They shot twice next to our heads.”
He was held in Stary Oskol until mid-April, when he was inexplicably chosen to be included in a prisoner swap. To this day, he doesn’t know why. After an odyssey around Russia, in which 66 civilian detainees and PoWs were gathered from different prisons, he was dumped back in Ukraine. But his father-in-law and his six cellmates – who included Igor – remain behind bars.
The last eyewitness account of Serhiy, meanwhile, places him in a Russian-run prison in Crimea, a region that Moscow illegally annexed in 2014. But his wife says there are new reports he was moved to Voronezh, a southwestern district of Russia, just next to Stary Oskol.
I sat down next to my father-in-law and said, that’s it, we will never return home again
Andriy, captured by the Russians
And this is what makes the ordeal all the more terrifying for civilians, says Andriy, now back in his hometown of Trostyanets. “I was never charged with anything. I was never allowed to inform my family about where I was. As far as I’m aware, I’m the only person of those detained with me to get out alive,” he says shakily.
“I still have nightmares,” he continues quietly. “The smallest sound makes me jump. Most days I wake up in a sweat.”
Both Ukrainian and Russian officials estimate that nearly 2 million Ukrainians have been moved to Russia since the start of the war. Russia claims this is part of an evacuation effort to save lives. Ukrainian officials speaking to The Independent, along with countries including the United States, have accused Moscow of forcibly deporting civilians.
The key routes by which civilians are being disappeared to Russia
(The Independent )
Russia has repeatedly denied committing any crimes in Ukraine, since President Putin launched his invasion in February. The Russian embassy in London did not respond to requests for comment about these particular allegations, or the testimonies gathered.
But as part of a months-long investigation into the tens of thousands of Ukrainians who have gone missing since the war began, The Independent has found fresh evidence of probable violations of international law and of possible war crimes, including the widespread illegal transfer of civilians and the forcible disappearance of them into prisons in Russia, as well as hostage-taking.
According to evidence from victims, family members of the missing, local officials and international rights groups, it appears that there are three main organised routes by which civilians are transferred to prisons in Russia. They are taken from the northwest parts of the country via Belarus, or from the northeast to transitional military camps along the border, or via annexed Crimea in the south.
As part of its reporting, The Independent has followed the stories of six different Ukrainians who have been forcibly transferred to Russia and disappeared in prisons there. During the process, we were able to locate two men and inform their families of their whereabouts.
We also spoke to civilians who were not interned in Russian prisons but were moved against their will – and sometimes even without their knowledge – from Ukraine to far-flung locations in Russia as part of the controversial process of “filtration” by Russian soldiers and their proxies as they evacuated recently occupied towns. This could also be a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians, and may constitute a war crime.
The Independent also spoke to residents in occupied towns, who said they were told by Russian soldiers that civilians were being deliberately rounded up as leverage in future prisoner exchanges, which may also constitute the war crime of hostage-taking. Andriy said that he and other civilians with him were effectively counted as soldiers during a prisoner-of-war swap in April, when he was finally released (though The Independent was unable to verify this).
Allan Hogarth of Amnesty International, who was sent The Independent’s testimonies, said that the Russian authorities must “urgently” investigate these reports, and that their failure to do should “increase the resolve of the international community to step in and deploy international mechanisms to investigate and deliver justice”.
“Civilians under the power of enemy forces should be protected from any abuse at all times. Their forcible transfer or deportation from occupied territory, and their torture or other ill treatment, amount to crimes under international law,” said Hogarth.
Belkis Wille, of Human Rights Watch (HRW), said that the “disturbing allegations” are consistent with a range of abuses that HRW has documented, including executions, torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, and rape.
Maria spends every day trawling the internet for any news about her vanished husband
(Bel Trew)
THE NORTHEAST ROUTE
The Chechen soldier sitting in Maria’s house had just attempted to rape her, and had only begrudgingly given up after learning she had a disability he mistook for a disease.
And so, warming himself by her fire, to pass the time he started playing with his gun. And as he did this, he told her how Russian forces were deliberately taking Ukrainian civilians to use as leverage in prisoner swaps involving Russian soldiers.
Maria was frozen in terror. She was alone with her 12-year-old son after soldiers had taken her husband a few hours before. All she could do was sit and watch this man methodically take the ammunition out of his weapon and put it back in.
“He told me, ‘We need more of you Ukrainians so we can get more of our soldiers back,’” says Maria, trembling and in tears. “He accused my husband of being a Nazi, all of us of being Nazis.”
That day was 17 March, five days after the others had been taken, in a tiny village just outside Trostyanets.
Earlier that afternoon, soldiers had raided the house, apparently concerned by reports that Maria’s husband Roman, 39, a construction worker and part-time hunter, had a hunting rifle. They broke the weapon and took him. Later she would find out that Roman was one of three men abducted from her village on that day alone. In total, 10 men from the area, all disappeared during the Russian occupation, are still missing.
“I was scared that he would be forced to fight, I was afraid that he could be killed. I asked at all the checkpoints. And then after the Russians left I went to the Ukrainian police, the security forces, I applied to every organisation I could to find him,” she says in desperation.
She even applied to the military administration of the Sumy region, where her village is located, and the capital Kyiv for help. “But we found out nothing. It wasn’t until Andriy was released in April and called me out of the blue that I had any news of my husband.”
We had been waiting so long for information, it never occurred to me he wouldn’t be in Ukraine. And now what? How do we get him home?
Maria, wife of man disappeared into a Russian jail
Just before Andriy was ordered out of Stary Oskol, his cellmates scribbled down the numbers of their relatives on a scrap of paper that he secretly smuggled out. This has now become routine for Ukrainians vanished into Russian or Russian-proxy jails.
As soon as he got back to Trostyanets – like so many others – he called all the numbers he could to inform the families that their loved ones were alive. Among those numbers was Maria’s.
He was able to fill in the blanks: Roman had been taken to a nearby village called Boromlya, and was tortured for 10 days before eventually being taken to Russia, ending up in Stary Oskol.
In a previous visit to Trostyanets, just after Russian soldiers had withdrawn, The Independent was shown photos of bodies found tortured and killed in Boromlya, where Russian soldiers had set up an informal headquarters. We were told of the disappearances of multiple men from the Trostyanets region, among them Andriy.
One man, a retired colonel, who was briefly held in an underground torture chamber we uncovered under Trostyanets railway station, was also apparently taken to Stary Oskol. This had become a well-trodden route from northeast Ukraine to the camps and prisons of Russia.
“When I heard my husband was alive, I was screaming and crying at the same time. I didn’t know what to do,” Maria continues, crumbling into tears. “We had been waiting so long for information, it never occurred to me he wouldn’t be in Ukraine. And now what? What can we do? How do we get him home? “
Igor vanished when he tried to go home for the night after volunteering in Kharkiv
(Bel Trew)
But at least she knew where he was.
Igor was the person appointed to scribble down the phone numbers of the cellmates’ relatives on the tiny scrap of paper that Andriy smuggled out of jail. But in the rush, it seems he forgot to write down his own. It was only when Andriy got home and started making phone calls that he realised Igor’s number was missing. And by then it was too late.
But as part of the investigation, trawling through the online posts of missing people, we located Igor’s family in Kharkiv. After checking Igor’s photo and details with Andriy, we were able to speak to his parents, sadly confirming their fears that he was in prison in Russia, specifically in Stary Oskol.
Igor’s parents said that the electrician had vanished on 12 March after finishing his volunteer work at the main railway station of Kharkiv, which was being heavily shelled. They last heard from him when he called to say he had mislaid his keys to the family flat in North Saltivka, one of the hardest hit areas of Kharkiv.
“We told him to just sleep in one of the local shelters. It was coming up to curfew, but it seems for whatever reason he ignored this,” his mother tells us from the city, which is still under heavy fire.
Andriy filled in the gaps – Igor had decided to drive a few miles north to stay in the family summer house in Tsyrkuny.
He didn’t realise that this area was a moving front line and was partially occupied by Russian forces, and was taken at a checkpoint. He was eventually deposited in a cell with Andriy in Stary Oskol, where they sat day and night, singing songs and reciting poetry to keep their spirits up.
“It is a relief to hear he is alive and being treated OK, but the information from Andriy is now a few months ago and we just hope he is still fine,” his mother continues, her voice aching with grief.
She says that, even with this knowledge, the family “don’t know where to look for help anymore”. “Instead I pray to god every day, and ask him to bring back my son. That is all I can do.”
Konstantin’s family last heard their son was in prison in Russia, but have no idea where he is now
(Bel Trew)
THE NORTHWEST ROUTE
The Russians nicknamed it the Russian highway, and Ukrainian residents of the area quickly learned that crossing it amounted to having a death wish.
This was the northern corner of the Kyiv region, where in the early weeks of the war a 64 km convoy of Russian soldiers, tanks, armoured cars and weapons was spotted on satellite imagery, shakily advancing on the capital.
Along that route lived Natasha and her husband Konstantin, a Russian citizen and longtime Ukrainian resident. On 5 March, Konstantin, fearful his relatives were cut off from supplies in the nearby village of Obukhovychi, decided to risk the “Russian highway” to get food to them.
He never came back.
It was only a month later after a successful Ukrainian counter-offensive and the subsequent Russian withdrawal, that Natasha was finally able to get to Obukhovychi to piece together what happened to her vanished husband. All she found was Konstantin’s empty car riddled with bullets,
Like so many families she applied to the police and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for any information and received nothing back. The Third Geneva Convention grants the ICRC the right to go wherever POWs might be found and conduct interviews with them. But the ICRC has said its officials have not been granted full access to all facilities.
And so Natasha took to Facebook to beg for information.
“Then in May a guy who had just been released from Kursk prison in Russia saw my Facebook post and messaged to say he had been in prison with Konstantin there,” she says.
Kursk is 120 miles north of Kharkiv.
As Konstantin’s family was Russian, they were in a unique position to go to the prison, employ lawyers and demand confirmation that he was indeed there.
And later they went on to fight the charges against him: allegedly working against Russian proxy soldiers in occupied territory over 1000km from where he lived in northern Ukraine.
At the end of June, he was released and able to fill in the rest of the story.
“A Russian soldier stabbed him in the leg while interrogating him, a wound which never properly healed. They stole the shoes off his feet, which were freezing in minus temperatures.”
Only those who had poor quality cheap shoes that no one wanted were permitted to keep theirs. But the soldiers doused them in water which froze to add to the suffering, she continues.
It turns out Konstantin had been ambushed in his car. He was first taken to Hostomel airport which Russian soldiers had captured and then taken to Chernobyl , home to the nuclear plant which blew up in 1986.
They bound his hands and legs so tightly and dragged him so roughly he had muscle lacerations.”
On 8 March, together with 120 other prisoners, he was taken to Belarus by helicopter and then plane to Kursk.
There he said they were held 12 people in one cell and were permitted no exercise or sunlight. They were all Ukrainians from the Kyiv region and their route had been the same: to Kursk via Belarus.
When he was released, he too, like Andriy, memorised a list of numbers of families of the people in his cell and updated relatives on the fate of their loved ones.
“It really feels it is up to chance, to coincidences that someone happens to see your post. It is up to us, the families, to find people,” Natasha adds desperately.
And this is how Marina, 39 found out about the fate of her son Oleksander, 20 who was doing his military service and was by chance stationed at Hostomel airport when the Russians invaded.
She lost contact with him on the first day of the war as he was locked in one of the fiercest battles of the conflict. Living just outside of nearby Ivankiv, the family spent all of March in a basement at the orphanage where Marina works without any electricity, phone signal or water.
“It was only until April when we got internet connection back and we were able to find a Facebook group for those whose children were missing from Hostomel, that we found out what happened,” she explains.
A soldier who had been released on 28 March had posted a list of the people he was jailed with. All of them had transited through Belarus to Kursk like Konstantin.
But she doesn’t know if Oleksander is still there.
A civilian from a nearby village who was also held in Kursk prison and released later, said he saw Oleksander the day before he was freed but was told Oleksander was about to be transferred.
“That was mid-April, we don’t know where he is being held, where he was transferred to. The worst thing is he doesn’t even know if we’re alive.”
And so it is this “human factor” which families of the missing have to rely on, says Gayde Rizayeva, herself a former detainee, who was not tasked by the authorities to coordinate between government efforts, NGOs and civilians to try to locate the thousands of civilians and soldiers which have vanished.
It is sometimes just random luck, she continues.
“Someone could be looking for his son and accidentally finds a different person which makes it easier for us to find someone else,” she explains.
“If anyone is released we ask him – do you have people in your cell? We show them pictures of the missing people.
“But it relies on people reporting their missing loved ones, or on the trickle of people who get let out.”
Olena shows the only proof of life she has of her husband Serhiy who appeared on Russian television apparently under duress after he was detained
(Bel Trew)
THE SOUTHERN ROUTE
Over a month after Serhiy, a journalist and activist, vanished he suddenly reappeared on a news segment of a Russian TV channel.
It caught his wife Olena like a hand around her throat. She hadn’t heard from him since he went to deliver supplies to vulnerable elderly people on 12 March.
And there he was, in a button-down collared shirt he would never wear, with a slight tremor in his hands, sitting in an undisclosed location denouncing the Ukrainian army.
The ex-Ukrainian soldier, activist and journalist, had supported rallies against Russia’s occupation of the southern region of Kherson where he lives.
He was very public in his views about Putin’s invasion and now, this channel was saying, he was cooperating with the Russian authorities.
His wife, who knows his ticks well, can see he is strained. She believes he is wearing a collared long sleeve shirt to cover bruises.
“In the video, it says his location is Russia but we don’t know where. He looks like he has head injuries and broken fingers, and it seems like his lungs are damaged as at points it’s difficult for him to speak,” his wife continues numbly.
“I am sure that he was under duress. He is accusing Ukrainians of targeting civilians. He loved Ukraine with all his heart.”
He vanished on the morning 12 March – the same day as Andriy and Igor.
At 4pm that same day, Oleh Baturin, the editor-in-chief of a well-known pro-Ukrainian media outlet and a colleague of Serhiy said he received a phone call from Serhiy asking to meet.
But it was a trap, Baturin later said in interviews with Ukrainian media and told Olena.
Olena is still looking for her husband
(Bel Trew)
Serhiy was already in detention and was forced to make the phone call. Bqaturin said both he and Serhiy were tortured.
“Until now we have no confirmed information about where he is, how he is doing, how he is being treated,” Olena continues.
“ We think he is in prison in Simferopol in Crimea, or now in Voronezh but we don’t know.”
She fears the worst.
Anti-occupation activists released from prisons in the south of Ukraine speak of horrific treatment.
Maksym, 29, an ecologist who was arrested in March after an anti-occupation protest in the city of Kherson, said he was held for 10 days in an underground basement that was so cramped everyone had to crouch. They were only allowed out for interrogations. He shows us the x-rays of his broken ribs and legs.
Many of his friends who vanished at the same time are still missing, including a Spanish citizen.
“It is worse than hell because one second lasts like an eternity. It’s not just fearing what is happening to you now but what could happen next,” he adds shakily.
“In the occupied south of Ukraine, every family has at least one close person who is in captivity or was in captivity. It’s like a small country of missing people.”
I was only able to survive through this hell only because I had one goal to see my daughter again,
Nadiya, forcibly transferred to Russia
FILTRATION
Nadiya, 71, didn’t realise she was in Russia until she was forced onto a train by a soldier and told she would be taken to the centre of the country.
She had survived the worst of the bombing of Mariupol, in the south of the country, hiding in the basement of a nearby stadium. During the capture of the city, soldiers from the Russian-backed self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic arrived and ordered everyone in the makeshift shelter to walk to a nearby village.
Elderly, caring for a partially disabled adult son, all she could do is comply. She was shuttled between numerous villages along the coast, ending up in the eastern village of Dokuchaevsk for “filtration”. This process the United Nations has flagged as leading to disappearances and arbitrary detention and has warned people are at high risk of being subjected to torture or ill-treatment.
Although she “passed” she repeatedly told the soldiers she wanted to stay in Ukraine but was put on another bus. She only realised she had left the country when she found herself at Taganrog train station, 60 km into Russia.
“There a soldier told me: ‘Go, Babushka, get to the train, or you’ll stay here at the station with the homeless’,” she continues speaking on the phone from France where she is now based.
“I asked the steward on a train where we were heading to and he said Samara [a region over 1000km northeast of Mariupol] in central Russia.
At that point everyone on the train began to panic, even those who had consented to be transferred to Russia did not want to be taken that far. Nadiya says she later found out that civilians had been taken as far as the eastern flanks of Siberia and towns close to the North Pole. The Independent heard some were being forced to fight in the Russian army.
“I told them again and again I wanted to stay,” she says.
She eventually arrived on 15 April in Syzran town in Samara, where she says she was put in a “hotel” that was guarded day and night by armed police.
It wasn’t until Russian residents and civil society members helped her buy a ticket to Moscow that she was able to start the long journey to be reunited with her family.
“I made friends with a man I met in Moscow’s main bus station, who was leaving for one of the Baltic states and he explained to me the way,” she continues.
“I was only able to survive through this hell only because I had one goal to see my daughter again, who I loved so much.”
(Bel Trew)
THE ODYSSEY
The journey home was an odyssey through Russia’s prisons.
That morning the guard at Stary Oskol ordered Andriy to pack his bags – he hurriedly scribbled down the numbers of his cell mates’ families. He memorised messages of greetings. They prayed. They hugged.
He was first taken by aeroplane to Kursk, then Voronezh, then Taganrog, where at each point they picked up other Ukrainian civilian detainees, including policewomen from Mariupol.
The final destination was a three-storey facility in Sevastopol in annexed Crimea – where Andriy described 200 Ukrainians sleeping in bunk beds desperately waiting and hoping to be placed on a Red Cross prisoner swap list.
At dawn one day he was woken up. A group of 16 civilians and 60 soldiers, many badly wounded, were gathered on buses and taken to no-man’s land in the Zaporizhia region.
It was only when peering through the dawn gloom Andriy saw a Ukrainian soldier waving a white flag on the other side, that he believed he could finally be safe.
One by one their names were called out and they made the trembling journey across a broken bridge. Thirty Russian soldiers did the same walk back: A ratio of two to one.
“In all my 35 years on this planet I would never have believed this would have happened to me,” he says, stumbling into disbelief.
“I would never have believed how many Ukrainians, both civilians and military, would be held in captivity. How indiscriminately we were all taken.”
He – like the families of all the other vanished Ukrainians – spends every day trying to locate news of his father-in-law who remains behind bars.
Maria, waiting for news of her husband who is also still in Stary Oskol, says her life stopped the moment he was taken and every day is the same: the fruitless hunt for news.
“After March 17 my whole life just collapsed into emptiness. Until now, I still haven’t slept a single night,” she says, grief etched into her face.
“I spend whole nights looking for information about my missing husband and prisoner exchanges on my phone.
“I have lost everything. Everything has been ripped out from underneath my feet, all my life is gone.”
The VA medical system will begin providing access to abortions when the life or health of a beneficiary is endangered by pregnancy or the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, the Department of Veterans Affairs said Friday…. As federal employees, VA health care providers will be able to provide authorized services regardless of state restrictions, according to the agency.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order Wednesday committing $10 million to build a new reproductive health care clinic near the state’s border with Texas.
StevoRsays
Artemis a.k.a. SLS 1 launch now scrubbed.
Sigh. Frustrating but better they get it right than blow it up.
See youtube clip noted in # 71 (first link) & here :
Artemis I Launch Attempt Scrubbed
The launch director waived off today’s Artemis I launch attempt at approximately 11:17 a.m. EDT. Teams encountered a liquid hydrogen leak while loading the propellant into the core stage of the Space Launch System rocket. Multiple troubleshooting efforts to address the area of the leak by reseating a seal in the quick disconnect where liquid hydrogen is fed into the rocket did not fix the issue. Engineers are continuing to gather additional data.
Micron will invest $15 billion though the end of the decade on a new semiconductor plant in its hometown that the chipmaker said will create 17,000 American jobs.
Sanjay Mehrotra, president and CEO of Boise, Idaho-based Micron, said his company’s investment was made possible by last month’s passage of the CHIPS and Science ACT of 2022, a $280 billion bill aimed at bolstering U.S. competitiveness against China and avoiding another chip shortage like the one that derailed the auto and tech industries during the pandemic.
The CHIPS law sets aside $52 billion to bolster the semiconductor industry, which due to COVID-related supply chain constraints beginning in 2020, has struggled to manufacture the diminutive chips that power everything from smartphones to computers to automobiles. […]
Micron is one of Idaho’s largest employers. The company has several chip manufacturing plants around the world, including in Singapore and Taiwan.
Last week, the chipmaker Intel Corp. announced that it would break ground Sept. 9 on its planned $20 billion Ohio semiconductor facilities. The factories, known as fabs, are expected to open in 2025. President Biden is scheduled to attend the groundbreaking.
Followup to SC @56 and 59. Also a followup to PZ’s main-page post Turn Off CNN.
Josh Marshall:
CNN’s low energy purge of its news staff continues apace. John Harwood apparently got the news this morning that he was out. The clearest explanation of what’s happening is that the company is now under Republican management, specifically top shareholder and Trump donor John Malone. Many at CNN believe his understanding of and exposure to CNN is essentially what he sees of it through Fox News. They’re probably right. But there’s a deeper structural issue at play that is also important to keep in mind.
News networks like CNN are not designed, purchased or run to be niche operations or only to serve a portion of the public. Their potential market is supposed to be everyone. One might say this is impossible in an era of polarization. There’s some truth in that too. But that’s not exactly it either.
Both in terms of audience, potential advertisers and to a lesser degree access to newsmakers, CNN wants to be playing for a national audience. They obviously won’t get everybody in the country. But the economic model is to make a play for everyone.
The problem is that one party is organized around making that not possible. Fox and the GOP have basically defined CNN as the quintessence of the liberal “fake news” that makes life unfair for Trump, Republicans and all true Americans. CNN management is now trying to get out of that box by being more “centrist”, in Malone’s words. Each new firing is greeted by Republicans with rounds of chortling and as vindications of their claims of bias. They continue to give lists of other baddies who need to be cashiered to shed the “fake news” label. In other words, to get access to red America, CNN needs to agree to make Republicans themselves the arbiters of what is biased and what’s not. As the GOP becomes more authoritarian and anti-democratic in character, of necessity, coverage needs to say those things are more and more normal and okay – if at least, they want GOP approval as real news.
This has always been what most of the “media bias” conversation has been about, an elaborate processing or working the refs to ensure a mix of either toothless or defensive coverage of Republicans. But it’s particularly effective with national, mass-audience news brands. Because, again, they cannot afford to be cut off from upwards of half of the population. It’s the same we saw with the big tech companies. They’re under constant assault as liberal bias and unfairness to conservatives. But they can’t afford to be defined that way, both because their business is based on mass audience appeal and access to regulatory decision-making in Washington. So in cases like Facebook particularly you have a company constantly on the defensive for unfairness to conservatives which is simultaneously the biggest amplifier of conservative content and also constantly hiring Republicans and appealing to Republican leaders for love. […]
A guest on MSNBC compared the rightwing’s working-of-the-refs to Victor Orban’s successful campaign in Hungary. He made the media a tool of his authoritarian regime.
One of the constants of the world of right-wing extremists is that their leaders all find ways to turn their authoritarian activism into a moneymaking operation that wrings funds out of their gullible followers. Even if these leaders buy their own bullshit—and most of them do—they also are assiduous in creating revenue streams generated from the eager suckers who lap it up.
Take Patriot Front, the neofascist marching gang that recently drew national headlines for being busted outside a Pride event in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, for example. A recent examination of the organization’s operations by Mackenzie Ryan of The Guardian found that Patriot Front’s ability to spread its brand of hate politics by operating as a “white nationalist pyramid scheme” that recruits angry young men with a vision of creating a “warrior elite,” the reality of which is remarkably buffoonish.
“No other white supremacist group operating in the US today is able to match Patriot Front’s ability to produce media, ability to mobilize across the country, and ability to finance,” Anti-Defamation League researcher Morgan Moon told Ryan. “That’s what makes them a particular concern.”
The man atop Patriot Front’s pyramid is Thomas Rousseau, the 24-year-old Texas man who founded Patriot Front in 2017 out of the ashes of the neo-Nazi group Vanguard America, under whose banner he had marched in Charlottesville on Aug. 12, 2017, alongside James Alex Fields, the man who later that day drove a car into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer.
[…] Rousseau runs Patriot Front in remarkably authoritarian fashion: ordering his followers to follow exercise regimens and to participate both in online ideological discussion and real-world “actions” that both spread the group’s propaganda and line Rousseau’s pockets.
Most of its recruitment begins online, in gaming chat rooms, message boards, or social media channels where they seek out young white males seething with various resentments. […]
Recruits are particularly drawn in by Patriot Front’s emphasis on creating “young warriors” and a “warrior elite,” Moon said. This includes an emphasis on fitness and diet, and is manifested in the real-world paramilitary training sessions it organizes.
Once recruits sign on, they’re quickly drawn up in Patriot Front’s authoritarian operations. They’re required to attend monthly online meetups and street demonstrations, and to meet a weekly activism quota that the group’s top lieutenants, called network directors, monitor with spreadsheets. Should a recruit fail to meet those requirements, Rousseau expels them, Moon said.
[…] The “actions” included a number of criminal acts of vandalism, such as defacing memorials, statues, and murals in highly public places. These included a memorial to George Floyd in New York City, as well as other works of public art that provoked their ire, such as a mural supporting Black Lives Matter in Olympia, Washington, and depictions of Black heroes such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Harriet Tubman.
They also clearly believed they could do so with impunity. “As our recent actions have shown we can walk down busy avenues at prime time in Seattle and deface the largest most well protected mural in shitlib Olympia without so much as being accosted once,” one member who apparently participated in the Olympia vandalization wrote.
[…] In all, Patriot Front records showed the group responsible for at least 29 acts of destruction of public art honoring Black, Mexican, Asian, and LGBTQ people. According to the ADL, Patriot Front has been responsible for up to 14 hate incidents a day.
[…] The group also monitors its roughly 220 members’ personal lives and is fanatically controlling. Members are required to regularly log their weight and fitness regimen, follow an apparently disordered diet obsessively, and update their superiors on their “bad habits,” such as pornography and junk food. Leaders pointedly chastise members for failing to participate in enough chats or meetings or to file their mandatory fitness updates.
[…] Rousseau charges his followers a premium for the same Patriot Front propaganda material that he then requires them to spread, according to Southern Poverty Law Center researcher Jeff Tischauser. Network directors are required to push members to buy new flyers and then spread them monthly.
“In this sense, Patriot Front is close to a white nationalist pyramid scheme,” Tischauser observed.
The scheme has created some internal turmoil. Researchers say Patriot Front chats they have obtained include complaints from members about the constant expense of buying new stickers, stencils, and other propaganda materials that Rousseau both requires they buy while charging them a premium. […]
“Warriors” who long to be told what to eat, what to buy, who to hate, and what to do on a daily basis.
ravensays
from the article above.
Andriy, now back in his hometown of Trostyanets. “I was never charged with anything. I was never allowed to inform my family about where I was. As far as I’m aware, I’m the only person of those detained with me to get out alive,” he says shakily.
This is the same as my old friend who was a slave laborer in a Russian prison camp.
His crime was being young, fit, and…not a Russian, one of the far northern people.
He was never charged with anything.
He never had a trial.
They just picked him up and took him away.
He escaped and managed to run the border.
Who knows what happened to the rest of the slave laborers.
The intention this morning was a “what’s happening everywhere else” update, but it’s hard to get away from Kherson. That’s true both because everyone knows there is active combat in the area, and because Ukraine has practiced very careful operational security, deliberately not exulting over liberated villages. However, on Friday evening there were a few points of news—including from the Ukrainian general staff—that seem to warrant coverage.
First is Vysokopillya. That’s the town (pre-invasion population around 4,000) on the northwestern edge of Russia’s area of control which has long represented more of the most secure, fortified positions for Russia in the region. Reports that Russian forces in Vysokopillya were under attack by Ukrainian troops go back to May, and for over a month it has seemed that the Russian forces inside the town had been isolated as Ukraine freed surrounding villages and all but cut off Vysokopillya from resupply or reinforcement.
On Friday, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense issued a statement saying that Ukrainian forces have “established positions in the town” and that Russia no longer controls Vysokopillya. In addition, some images and footage from the area has appeared which seems to clarify the status as of Friday. One of those is video of a warehouse being shelled, in the middle of a series of warehouses, light factories, and agricultural buildings, which reportedly represents one of the last positions of Russia in Vysokopillya. [Tweet and video at the link]
Looking at a map, reports that Russia is limited to the “southern edge” of the town seem to come down to just a few buildings at the very tip. [map at the link]
The image above is Vysokopillya. That red circle represents the area where any remaining Russian forces appear to be isolated. […] It’s unclear if this group of buildings contains anything like tunnels or hardened locations. It’s honestly hard to know if there are any Russians remaining as of Saturday.
On the other hand, that blue box on the lower right side of the image is the approximate location of a short column of Ukrainian vehicles, including three formerly-Polish tanks along with several trucks, that Russian sources have been showing with the indication that these vehicles were “damaged or abandoned by Ukraine.” This could well indicate that the area is still far from safely under Ukrainian control, though it’s hard to tell if the image is genuinely new and whether the vehicles are genuinely abandoned.
Considering that Ukraine’s own Ministry of Defense is reporting progress in Vysokopillya, it seemed safe enough to repeat what’s being said about the situation there. Now I’m moving on to more of what Russia is saying … which seems safe enough to talk about, since it’s not exactly something that needs to be hidden from Russia.
That something concerns that breakthrough across the Inhulets River. For several days, Russian Telegram has been buzzing with reports from this area, including complaints from Russian sources on the ground, that Ukraine was expanding their bridgehead and attacking in new directions. On Friday, Russian messaging on this area split. On the one hand, Russia began reporting that it had (third time’s the charm) destroyed Ukrainian forces on the east side of the river. It had pushed back their advance, recaptured villages, destroyed a Ukrainian outpost along the river, and even destroyed a Ukrainian command center on the west side of the river. Just a little mopping up to do, folks, and this little issue will be over.
On the other hand, those Telegram sources, and a few Ukrainian voices, continued to indicate that Ukraine’s bridgehead is expanding, pushing farther to both the south and west. In fact, this now appears to be the biggest territorial gain and greatest sustained effort of the counteroffensive […] [map at the link]
This is definitely one of those “open the image in another tab to view at a larger size” moments. But wait. This image gives a pretty good sense of where this breakthrough is located along the line, and how it relates to both what’s going on in Vysokopillya (at the very top of the map) and the distance to the bridge at Nova Kakhovka (very bottom of the map).
But here’s a closer look at the breakthrough, with more of the towns and villages labeled so it’s easier to talk about what’s going on. [map at the link]
The bridgehead, established several weeks ago, has long consisted of the three villages along the river — Adriivka, Lozove, and Bilohirka. It was at Adriivka that Russia now claims to have destroyed the eastern Ukrainian base, though there’s no evidence for this. Shortly after the bridgehead was established, Ukraine pushed cross-country toward Bruskynske, which led many to believe that their goal was to bypass Davydiv Brid and move down the T2207 highway toward Beryslav and Nova Kakhovka.
In this counteroffensive, it seems that Ukraine moved first to liberate Sukhyi Stavok before again attacking Bruskynske. However, the thrust of the assault then seems to have turned south, capturing Kostromka and attacking the Russian “second line” at Shchaslyve. That’s were things were on Thursday. But as of Friday, it seems that Ukraine has broadened its attack, also hitting Russian forces at Bezimenne. […]
The latest NASA FIRMS images show that Ukraine is hitting positions well to the south of both Shchaslyve and Bezimenne. This could be a good indicator that Russian forces have already been pushed out of both villages and are attempting to hold positions on the opposite side of advancing Ukrainian troops. As always, the FIRMS reports are somewhat mysterious, plagued by hot spots unrelated to the war (because, darn it, spotting artillery is not FIRMS job), and it’s impossible to tell a Russian-caused hot spot from a Ukrainian-generated hot spot. All that said, the fact that the line of FIRMS hot spots is well inside Russian territory (and not just at Davydiv Brid) seems like a good indicator that Ukraine is continuing to advance.
What’s not on the FIRMS map? Any indication that there’s a lick of truth behind Russian claims to have rolled back the Ukrainian advance and hit two Ukrainian outposts near the river.
As to what’s happening elsewhere — we’ll get to that later. […]
[…] Whaddya know? The anti-democracy, pro-insurrection, authoritarian cult of personality that gleefully brands Democrats America-hating, child-trafficking, Marxist pedophiles can dish it out but can’t take it.
Thursday night, President Joe Biden dished back in a primetime speech outside Philadelphia’s Independence Hall. I guess I’m in synch with Never Trumper Rick Wilson on this one.
“Biden risks backlash” from people who routinely call him a communist groomer pedophile hitler is, to be sure, an unsurprising development.
[…] “Too much of what’s happening in our country today is not normal,” Biden began and then pushed. Hard.
“Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.”
[…] Esquire‘s Charlie Pierce anticipated the discomfort that the “both sides” media would have in stating the facts as bluntly as Biden did:
Here’s the problem for the elite political media: To cover the threat to the republic truthfully, they’re going to have to write/broadcast things that have collateral benefits to the Democratic Party. No way around it. The point is not to worry about that.
[…] compare and contrast this analysis in The New York Times by Peter Baker and Blake Hounshell, The Two Parties Finally Agree on Something: American Democracy Is in Danger. The two contort themselves into pretzels to frame it as a “both-sides” situation. The initial paragraphs are all about how Biden has moved away from trying to unite the country:
…“Sadly, we have gotten away from a common understanding that democracy is a process and does not necessarily guarantee the results your side wants, that even if your team loses an election, you can fight for your policies another day,” said Michael Abramowitz, the president of Freedom House, a group that promotes democracy globally and recently has expressed concern for it at home as well. “That’s a huge challenge for the president, but also for all politicians.”
Except it’s not Democrats who have gotten away from the idea that democracy is a process. Here’s some more.
…And so, instead of bringing Americans together, the president’s goal has essentially evolved into making sure that the majority of the country that opposes Mr. Trump is fully alert to the threat that the former president still poses — and energized or scared enough to do something about it, most immediately in the upcoming midterm elections.
Actually, Biden is explicit in his wish to bring the country together. (Nice of them to acknowledge the majority of the country opposes Trump.) Compare and contrast the way Baker and Hounshell frame it with this quote from Biden’s speech:
That’s why tonight I’m asking our nation to come together, unite behind the single purpose of defending our democracy regardless of your ideology. (Applause.)
We’re all called, by duty and conscience, to confront extremists who will put their own pursuit of power above all else.
Democrats, independents, mainstream Republicans: We must be stronger, more determined, and more committed to saving American democracy than MAGA Republicans are to — to destroying American democracy.
The cluelessness of Baker and Hounshell really manifests in this gobsmacking description of the Republican reaction — which apparently surprises them:
…The Republicans’ reaction to Mr. Biden’s speech was remarkable. For years, they stood quietly by as Mr. Trump vilified and demonized anyone who disagreed with him — encouraging supporters to beat up protesters; demanding that his rivals be arrested; accusing critics of treason and even murder; calling opponents “fascists”; and retweeting a supporter saying “the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat.” But they rose up as one on Thursday night and Friday to complain that Mr. Biden was the one being divisive.
Quietly? Apparently these innocents have never watched Fox News, listened to Rush Limbaugh, or Newt Gingrich. Somehow they missed how GOP politicians have gone out of their way to out-Trump Trump in expressing their disgust for Democrats, the lies they have told, the threats of violence they have made — including against the press.
It’s not until ELEVEN paragraphs into this piece of The NY Times patented both-sides framing that they bother to note a wee bit of a difference between the two parties:
When it comes to democracy in America, there is no real equivalence, of course. The elder Mr. Trump sought to use the power of his office to overturn a democratic election, pressuring state and local officials, the Justice Department, members of Congress and his own vice president to disregard the will of the people to keep him in office. When that did not work, he riled up a crowd that stormed the Capitol, disrupting the counting of Electoral College votes and threatening to execute those standing in Mr. Trump’s way.
[…] The journalism phrase for this is called “burying the lede”.
Also not mentioned: Trump was impeached twice, engaged in blatant nepotism, churned through administration staff looking for dependable/expendable toadies, has ties to Russia, and other acts of corruption too numerous to mention. His entire career before entering politics is of no matter to these two.
Also not mentioned: the Republican Party was and is fully on board with all of that. They want more.
Sullivan references the idea of “drawing a circle” to put MAGA Republicans on the outside; here’s how the duo at the Times frames it:
…Democratic strategists have spent months quietly amassing research on how to brand the Republican Party as extremist during an election cycle when Mr. Trump is not on the ballot.
It’s not about branding Republicans as extremist — it’s about telling the truth about them. [!] As opposed to their opposite approach — smear and fear.
[…] Republicans have apparently convinced the The NY Times that Bernie Sanders is the equivalent of Trump — ideologically extreme and with a death grip on the Democratic Party — and also an equal threat to America. […]
Baker and Hounshell — again — have apparently been oblivious to the GOP’s decades-long campaign to demonize Democrats as an existential threat to America. […]
So I went out to the grocery store this morning. The store I was heading for has a special, ending today, on black angus London broil two packs. $2.99 a pound. One package is six meals for wife and I. So I got into my car and drove right into a traffic jam.
My first clue that something was up was a vacant lot that was filled with Trump banners and other paraphernalia for sale. Lots of traitors staffing the sales location or buying the stuff supporting the traitor. And I ended up right behind a giant FIAT truck, covered with Trump stickers, with five pro-treason flags flying from flagpoles in the bed. Okay, it was actually a RAM truck, but that is FIAT, right? And he was going between 1mph and 15mph, flooring it to belch black smoke and then slamming on the brakes. There were dozens of them cruising back and forth from Wegmans to the mall, all doing the same idiocy.
The parking lot at the arena is filled with supporters of treason who, apparently, started camping there yesterday morning. Lots of tents. Lots of pro-treason merchandise for sale. I didn’t get close enough to see if they were selling top secret documents, but it wouldn’t surprise me. Banners calling Biden a communist, a pedophile groomer, gay, un-American, an anti-gun terrorist, a Muslim, etc. They are also appropriating LGBT, with banners showing the statue of liberty, a gun, a beer, and trump. Assholes. And it was a good cross-section of America: all older, all white, mostly men.
Considering the way that the right likes to sheepdip their opponents so they can do it with impunity, it really makes me wonder just what the right is doing beyond what we know.
Oggie: Mathomsays
And I just heard someone come up onto my porch. I figured it was the post, so I walked over, opened the door, and discovered a legal-size paper taped to my door. And the paper said: “Trump! Time to Save America!” and a bunch of other shit.
So I yelled at the two guys taping one to my neighbor’s house (a nice couple from Puebla whose daughter is the first person in the family to graduate from college with an honours degree in forensic accounting) and told them to take this shit with them and not to enter my property again. They accepted the pieces of torn poster that I handed to them and played my card: “I’m a veteran, disabled. Retired ranger*. I have held security clearances at multiple levels. Trump is at the very least a criminal, at worst, a traitor. Now get off my property. And do not come back.”
They took their trash and went on down the block posting their shit.
I kinda lied by omission. I was a National Park Ranger, not an Army Ranger, but I really enjoyed the look in their eyes.
Oggie: Mathomsays
I will be so glad when the criminal/traitor and his entourage of sycophants and enablers and fascist fellow-travelers are gone. I fucking detest circuses.
ravensays
Azerbaijan plans to double its natural gas pipeline capacity to Europe.
Undoubtedly seeing a business opportunity here.
No one trusts Russia to be an energy supplier any more.
As the German leadership said, cheap Russian gas isn’t cheap. You pay for it with your national freedom and national security.
“If the parties resolve this issue, the Russian gas transportation system will suddenly face a severe shortage of gas, since practically most of the volumes going through the southern corridor of this system are of Central Asian origin.”
I didn’t know this. Apparently, most of the natural gas going through the southern Russian pipelines isn’t…Russian gas. It is from Central Asia.
I’m sure Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan etc. are waching the Ukraine invasion closely. If Ukraine falls, they are next.
Azerbaijan plans to double gas exports to Europe, bringing the capacity of the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) to 32 billion cubic meters.New “stab in the back” of Russia: Azerbaijan will throw Russia out of the European gas marketRussia found itself in the situation of a hooligan who brought the court to the handle and, as a result, was punished together. The Kremlin, which for several years, flexing its muscles and grinning arrogantly, boasted of a gas valve, will be thrown out of the Western fuel market.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has announced an increase in gas exports to Europe, Interfax writes .
” We plan to double the export of natural gas to Europe, and I am sure that we will achieve this. The capacity of TANAP is 16 billion cubic meters, we plan to increase it to 32 billion cubic meters ,” the politician said.
Blogger Anatoly Nesmiyan believes that Baku really has reason to make statements that are unpleasant for the Kremlin. However, it should be taken into account that now Azerbaijani specialists need to increase gas production and double the throughput of the TANAP system. Modernization can take from one and a half to three years.
” To all appearances, sooner or later, the question of creating a Caspian gas pipeline will be directly raised, through which gas from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan can go directly through Azerbaijan and Turkey, bypassing Russia ,” he suggests.
If the parties resolve this issue, the Russian gas transportation system will suddenly face a severe shortage of gas, since practically most of the volumes going through the southern corridor of this system are of Central Asian origin.
Recall that earlier Nesmiyan wrote that the head of Gazprom, Alexei Miller , is scaring Europe with a possible shutdown of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, demanding the lifting of sanctions. However, these words are a farce. Moscow has hopelessly lost the gas war, and retribution for bragging and blackmail will soon begin.
In the meantime, stocks in EU gas storages are accumulating at a faster rate: about 2 months ahead of schedule. Of course, this was reflected in prices – they went down sharply, nullifying the Kremlin’s plans.
Oggie 284: “he was going between 1mph and 15mph, flooring it to belch black smoke and then slamming on the brakes.” Not just pro-treason then, but also pro pollution.
Akira MacKenziesays
@83
Both-siderism works for the corporate-controlled press. The right wing threatens their ability to report on what they want while the left endangers their ability to make a profit off of it. Therefore, it’s in their best interests to condemn both without actually examining the goals and intentions of Marxism versus those of fascism or capitalism; a examination that socialism/communism would handily win. But no, it’s all “Holocaust BAAAAD! Holodormor BAAAAD! Therefore left and right SAAAAME!”
The only way the truth is ever going to reported on is if we can find a way to sever the profit-motive from journalism.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will keep two inspectors at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in Ukraine, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi announced on Friday.
“We are establishing a permanent presence on site, this time with two of our experts, which will be continuing the work,” Grossi said at a press conference. […]
“The difference between having the IAEA at the site and not having us there is like day and night,” Grossi said in the press release. “I remain gravely concerned about the situation at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant – this hasn’t changed – but the continued presence of the IAEA will be of paramount importance in helping to stabilise the situation.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday accused Russia of cutting off its gas exports in order to increase pressure on Europe amid the war in Ukraine.
The Russian state-run energy company Gazprom said on Friday that it had completely shut down the Nord Stream 1 pipeline while it repairs an oil leak. Nord Stream 1 is the largest pipeline transporting natural gas from Russia to Europe.
“These days, Russia is trying to increase the energy pressure on Europe even more,” Zelensky said in an address to his country. “Russia wants to destroy the normal life of every European – in all countries of our continent. It wants to weaken and intimidate the entire Europe, every state.
“Where Russia cannot do it by force of conventional weapons, it does so by force of energy weapons,” he continued. “It is trying to attack with poverty and political chaos where it cannot yet attack with missiles.”
Zelensky warned that Moscow is preparing for a “decisive energy attack on all Europeans” this winter and called for increased unity among Europeans and harsher sanctions against Russia.
The decision to shut down the Nord Stream 1 pipeline for maintenance came as the Group of Seven (G-7) agreed to a price cap on Russian oil on Friday. Since late July, the pipeline had been functioning at only 20% of its capacity, according to The Associated Press.
Not just pro-treason then, but also pro pollution.
Not to mention breaking the law in every state. De-tuning a diesel engine in order to produce (a) more power and/or (b) more smoke and particulate matter and/or better fuel mileage (slightly) may be a violation of federal law. If the emissions fluids, particle filter, or other parts and processes are altered or removed, the EPA fine is $2500.00. But they don’t care. They’re older white men, so the laws don’t apply to them. Or their hero.
Oggie: Mathomsays
Are all of Trump’s lawyers idiots?
<
blockquote>(Bloomberg) — Donald Trump’s lawyers failed to meet a key filing deadline in his effort to stop the US from being removed as a defendant in a lawsuit in which the former president accused Hillary Clinton and various officials of conspiring against him during the Russia probe.
Former US President Donald Trump speaks during the America First Policy Institute’s America First Agenda Summit in Washington, D.C., US, on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. Trumps remarks come on the heels of a House hearing that portrayed him standing by indifferently, even vindictively, for hours as a mob of his supporters battled police and chased lawmakers through the halls of the Capitol.
Former US President Donald Trump speaks during the America First Policy Institute’s America First Agenda Summit in Washington, D.C., US, on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. Trumps remarks come on the heels of a House hearing that portrayed him standing by indifferently, even vindictively, for hours as a mob of his supporters battled police and chased lawmakers through the halls of the Capitol.
US District Judge Donald Middlebrooks on Friday said Trump failed to respond by Sept. 1 to a motion to dismiss filed by the US government, which is one of many defendants in the suit filed under a civil racketeering law.
Middleton, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, granted Trump an extension to Sept. 6, but had a warning for the former president.
<
blockquote>
Oggie: Mathomsays
Well, apparently, I am an idiot when it comes to HTML.
From Business Insider:
A detailed inventory of the items from the Mar-a-Lago probe showed that the FBI recovered dozens of empty folders marked “classified.”
Other folders contained instructions on the outside saying that the contents should be returned “to staff secretary/military aide.”
Investigators have so far recovered nearly 100 empty folders, according to the inventory unsealed and released by the Justice Department.
It’s unclear where the contents of each empty folder are. But a legal expert who runs a law firm that specializes in national security detailed to The Hill two possible scenarios:
“The least optimistic scenario is that they are nowhere to be found because they are already with someone else,” Kel McClanahan, executive director of National Security Counselors, warned.
“The ideal scenario that would describe this is that the empty folders are actually for the records that are somewhere else in the boxes — that someone just didn’t keep them in the folder in the way they were supposed to, so they’re not actually out there in the wild somewhere,” McClanahan said.
Last month, the FBI probed into the former president’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida and recovered several boxes containing classified records that Trump took with him from the White House once he left office, according to the court records made public. Some of the boxes were distinctly marked as “top secret,” Insider’s Sonam Sheth reported.
Under the Presidential Records Act, he should have turned the records over to the agency upon leaving office.
The Justice Department is now investigating whether Trump violated any laws pertaining to the handling of government documents. A legal analyst has previously said he could receive a 10-year prison sentence if he’s convicted of violating the Espionage Act, a law that dates back to World War I that essentially bars anyone from sharing or disseminating information that could potentially harm or disadvantage the US.
Trump has so far denied all assertions of wrongdoing, saying that he had “declassified” the documents. He also said that “everyone ends up having to bring home their work from time to time.”
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — Tucked away in the California desert, where windmills line the sprawling hills and rainbows adorn the crosswalks, a sizable progressive L.G.B.T.Q. community has turned a once reliably Republican stronghold into a battleground in the fight for control of Congress, giving Democrats hope for picking up a House seat that has long been beyond their reach.
Representative Ken Calvert, a Republican who has served in Congress for three decades, has almost never faced a tough re-election contest in this ruby-red corner of Southern California. But a redrawn political map in the state has reshaped his district this year, adding Palm Springs, a liberal bastion that residents proclaim to be the gayest city in America. The new district lines have put his seat at risk as he faces off against an openly gay Democrat, Will Rollins, a former federal prosecutor.
The shift has made Mr. Calvert’s district one of only a handful of Republican-held House seats that Democrats have a hope of flipping in November’s midterm elections, in which they are bracing for losses that could cost them the House majority. While Mr. Calvert has an edge in fund-raising and the power that comes with years of incumbency, the shifting political ground has made his re-election race more competitive than it has been in over a decade.
Much of the shift has been driven by heavily L.G.B.T.Q. Palm Springs, which in this year’s primary election had the highest turnout rate in the district, with just under 54 percent of eligible voters casting a ballot, well above the 34 percent turnout level for the district overall, according to Political Data Intelligence, a California-based political and voter data firm.
“People flock here from across the Inland Empire for safety and comfort,” Christy Holstege, a bisexual member of Palm Springs’ all-L.G.B.T.Q. City Council, said of the surrounding region as she gazed up at the statue of Marilyn Monroe that overlooks the city. “They know that this is a little sliver of safety, and since our turnout is high, it makes us that much more powerful.”
The city was known in its early days as a retreat for Hollywood celebrities, and it later became home to thousands of gay men who relocated there during the AIDS epidemic for the warm climate, affordable housing and access to health care……
Mr. Calvert, who received a zero on the Human Rights Campaign’s most recent scorecard rating members of Congress on issues of interest to the L.G.B.T.Q. community, appears to have taken notice. In July, he joined 46 other Republicans in voting in favor of a bill that would recognize same-sex marriage at the federal level, a reversal after years of opposing legislation to protect L.G.B.T.Q. rights.
Despite the turnabout, he may have an uphill slog to earn the backing of the gay and lesbian voters in his new district, many of whom have bitter memories of the last time Mr. Calvert faced a gay opponent.
In 1994, in his race against Mark Takano, who is gay but had not yet come out publicly, Mr. Calvert circulated pink mailers questioning whether Mr. Takano would be “a congressman for Riverside … or San Francisco?” (Eight years later, Mr. Takano won election to represent a different House district in California, becoming the first openly gay person of Asian descent to serve in Congress.)
Samuel Garrett-Pate, the managing director of external affairs at Equality California, an L.G.B.T.Q. civil rights organization, said it would be “poetic justice” if Mr. Calvert were unseated by an openly gay candidate…….
Akira MacKenziesays
@ 93
I don’t think there is any component attorney who’d tell him he stands even a snowball’s chance on the day side of Mercury of getting out of this mess. He wants lawyers who will tell him what wants to hear and the only place he can find those are among his cult.
Akira MacKenziesays
@ 88
Remember, these clods don’t believe that excess carbon or even basic air pollution is dangerous. It’s only those limp-wristed, tree-hugging commies who think that. Therefore, they’re going to show us where we can stick our unnecessary and “tyrannical” environmental regulations by openly polluting; rolling coal doesn’t really hurt anyone but it offends the unamerican tofu-eaters. Take that shit-libs, consider yourself “owned.”
Oggie: Mathomsays
Akira:
Oh, I know why the coal-rollers are doing it. I just think it amusing that the ones who are all-fired law-and-order neo-Nazis are breaking the law. Which makes them, what, criminals?
redwoodsays
Oggie@98 Ah, but they have a very elastic understanding of what the law is. Anything they do is acceptable, no matter what is written in legal statutes because they serve a higher level of authority: their own wishes and desires. This is the lesson taught by the Orange Racoon and why he has so many followers.
This is a war story that is literally as old as war stories.
When Abimelech was told that Shechem was preparing for the harvest, he divided his men into three companies then went into the fields to wait. When the people came out of their walled city, his men rose against the people of Shechem and killed them. Abimelech and the men who were with him rushed forward and blocked the entrance to the city, while the other two companies chased those who were in the fields and killed them. At the end of the fight, Abimelech marched into Shechem, killed the people who remained, burned the city, broke down its walls, and spread the ruins with salt. — Judges 9, 42-45
Stories in which one side in a war attempts to not just capture a town or territory, but to make that territory utterly uninhabitable, go back so far that the first are recorded on clay tablets. The Assyrian king Adadnirari I destroyed the city of Taidu and covered it with “kudimmu” which appears to have been some kind of poison. The great conqueror king Tiglath-Pileser I bragged about covering the fields of Hunusa with something called sipu-stones. I’ve no idea what those are, but it appears to have been bad.
The oldest of all these stories may be a record of the proto-Hittite ruler Anitta who, sometime around 1700 BCE, destroyed the city of Hattusa and spread the seeds of tough, hard to eradicate weeds across their fields (Hittite biowarfare. Who knew?). Meanwhile, the most famous incident is certainly when Scipio Aemilianus, at the end of Rome’s last war with Carthage in the middle of the second century BCE, not only burned the city, but had the fields around it plowed with salt to ruin their fertility.
These days, militaries don’t settle for just ruining an area for future habitation. They also want to make it impossible for the enemy to camp there, or even pass through. Which is why much of Ukraine is now plagued by something that seems almost as old as salting the earth — mines.
When people think about mines, their mind usually turns either to big metal globes, covered in bumps, floating just beneath the surface of the sea, or to plate-sized containers of high explosives planted in the ground, where they can be sniffed out by the world’s cutest bomb detector. [Tweet and image of Patron, the Ukrainian bomb sniffing dog ,visiting an injured child in the hospital available at the link]
When it comes to the fields, mines are definitely affecting Ukrainian farmers. Earlier this week, Euromaidan Press reported on Russia’s “war on farms” that has farmers dealing with damaged or destroyed homes and barns, fields filled with blast craters, bomb fragments, and the all too common unexploded artillery shell. But many of those fields are also spread with mines. Despite Patron and his human handlers, and thousands of other Ukrainians now engaged full time in mine removal, several farmers have already been injured, and some have died, when their farm equipment encountered mines left behind by Russian invaders.
Mines are, and have been for centuries, one of the most effective, and most insidious, weapons of war. so much so that there are an estimated 80 million landmines from past wars still buried in battlefields around the world. Many of these have been there for decades, but that doesn’t mean they’re not still waiting to take the lives of a farmer, or a curious child.
When it comes to why things in Ukraine often seem to be moving slowly, and why much of the original frontline between Ukraine and the areas that Russia occupied in 2014 is still intact, the answer isn’t so much that the two sides are locked in artillery duels that neither can break. It’s that the land between them is so tightly packed with mines — mines planted by both sides, often without anyone noting the position of these mines — that no one and nothing can cross the ground safely. When someone describes a position in Ukraine as “fortified,” they don’t generally mean it has towering stone walls, or reinforced concrete bunkers. They mean that is it absolutely surrounded in a mass of explosives that are more dangerous than all the bullets and shells flying through the air.
Both Ukraine and Russia have used land mines extensively in the Donbas, and around Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, and Kyiv. Many of these are devices similar to the Russian TM-62M land mine, which packs high explosives into a plastic case. These are purposely “low metal” mines, meaning that they are very difficult to detect using the usual sensors deployed for finding old mines. They can be scattered on the surface, buried in soil, placed in debris, or rigged as booby traps. There are currently hundreds of thousands of these mines deployed in Ukraine, and removing them from areas no longer thought to be under immediate threat is full time employment for a not-so-small army of Ukrainians.
But these aren’t the only things that make taking a walk across a Ukrainian field, or a stroll down a street, far more deadly than anyone might expect. New forms of mines, some of which were invented in the last year, have been deployed.
Some of these are variants on directional mines, like the sixty year old Claymore. But where the original directional mines were anti-personnel devices triggered by someone walking into a tripwire, some of the new mines of this class are so-called “off route mines” that are capable of firing anti-tank weapons guided by fiber optic or infrared sensors. A good example of these are the German DM-22 mines.
Videos of what might seem to be someone striking from the woods with a man-carried antitank weapon, might easily be a device in this class. [tweet and videos available at the link]
So, Ukrainian roads and fields are filled with spots where any pressure can generate an explosion strong enough to rupture the belly plate of a tank, and Ukrainian forests are crisscrossed by all-but-invisible lines that can unleash either sprays of anti-personnel shot or an armor-piercing missile. These are exceptionally good reasons to slow any potential advance.
But wait! There’s more! Antipersonnel weapons like the Russian POM-2 mine are still being scattered around by the thousands. Russia is also using these mines to create traps, including by carefully placing them under the bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers or civilians, so that when forces come out to retrieve those bodies, the mine explodes. That’s a war crime, by the way. One that Russia has already been guilty of hundreds of times (at least) in this war.
Everything we’ve talked about up until now (except for the war crime booby traps) is a form of “protective minefield.” That’s a minefield laid in an area that’s not currently occupied by the enemy, and which is created with the hopes of keeping them out. Grisly as it is, illegal as many would like them to be, these mines are often regarded as “defensive weapons.” Don’t step into our forest, and you won’t touch any of our highly sensitive fiber optic lines that are going to direct a festival of explosive missiles your way. Okay?
There’s another kind. Those are called “interdiction minefields.” They’re “laid” in areas where the enemy is already present. Laid is in quotes because these mines are often deployed either by dropping them from aircraft or by launching them into the area using a multi-launch rocket system. That’s right, an MLRS doesn’t always bring the gift of an immediate explosion. It can also open up like the military’s most twisted version of a piñata, spreading the area with small explosive devices.
Russia has systems for this that can be fired from the BM-21 GRAD, its replacement the Tornado-G, from the BM-27 Uragan, and from the TOS-1 thermobaric launcher. Such mines can also be sent using a ballistic missile and even more varieties that can be dropped from aircraft. No matter how they arrive, these are all examples of the “cluster munitions” responsible for so many civilian casualties in modern wars.
America, it should be noted, also has mines that can be deployed by aircraft or launched by MLRS. But for bonus points, Russia has been known to deploy weapons of this type that are extra colorful, or even shaped like toys, to encourage kids to pick them up. If you guessed “that’s a war crime,” you win again.
Not only does Russia have these systems, they are using them. That’s especially true when it comes to areas that have been taken and retaken many times. Towns and villages like Dolyna and Dibrovne south of Izyum have been practically hosed down with volleys of these things, leaving them a nightmare for forces moving in either direction. Something similar seems to have happened with the town of Pisky, along the front lines in Donetsk oblast. Russia has been fighting to take Pisky for weeks, and reports are that Ukraine pulled out of there days ago. However, Russia doesn’t seem to have moved in. That reluctance appears to be, at least in part, because Pisky is now hosting every member of the mine family, including lots of the MLRS-deployed mines that Russia sent toward the former site of Ukrainian forces. They have Pisky … if they can figure out how to survive taking ownership.
Why are some areas along the front line so incredibly stable? Mines. Why are most advances by either Ukraine or Russia so slow even when it seems like they have an opportunity to break into the enemy backfield and run for the end zone? Mines. Why are some villages not just “in dispute” but essentially unoccupied after they were fought over for weeks? Mines.
[…] Russia is salting the earth in Ukraine, and getting that land back is one helluva a dangerous job.
⚡️Official: Ukraine liberates Vysokopillia in Kherson Oblast.
Yuriy Sobolevskyi, first deputy head of Kherson Oblast Council, made the announcement, saying “Vysokopillia is Ukraine.” According to local Telegram channels,
Ukraine doesn’t make such announcements unless a town is completely safe from Russian counterattacks. This means the front has likely moved significantly south of here.
This village is at the tippy-top northern edge of the Kherson oblast front, and is significant because Russia had heavily fortified it. They intended to hold territory at the oblast’s borders in order to stage their Kherson “referendum.”
————————–
OMG.
North Donetsk Front (September 4)
Ukrainian Forces have liberated the village of Ozerne after crossing the Siverskyi-Donets River🇺🇦
It’s a significant victory for Ukraine to retake Ozerne because in Donetsk Oblast, all villages on one side of that river are controlled by Russia. [map at the link]
There’s something much bigger and broader happening here. Looks like I’ll be writing up a bonus update for this evening.
——————————–
[…] Holy shit.
Reports that the settlement of Yampil was captured by Ukrainian forces alongside the village of Ozerne in Donetsk Oblast.
While the Russians are trying to stop the current Ukrainian counteroffensive in Kherson, Ukraine is pushing its units to advance in the Donetsk region.
That’s north of Ozerne, see map above. If this is happening, it could only happen if the area is literally empty of Russians […]
MAGA world is ringing with lamentations about how Dark Biden hurt your feelings. He called you out for the violent attack on Congress, fo ryour willful refusal to accept election results, for the on-going harassment of election boards, and for your decision to give loyalty to a man, rather than to America and the rule of law.
You deserve every word he said. You made yourselves party to the worst attack on representative government since the Civil War. You tried to overturn an election.
MAGA folks, like most people, are decent people with decent values and ethics within the context of their daily lives: loving family members, good neighbors and friends, good employees. However, in terms of your political lives, none of those positive values are present.
You tried to disenfranchise the rest of us by negating our votes. You justified that by disrespecting election officials and slandering them with nonsense “evidence” like: Dead people voting! People voting twice! Chinese bamboo ballots! People are voting by using PO addresses in multiple states! The Chinese are controlling the computers! Etc. Didn’t it ever occur to you that election officials might be decent, competent people who can catch that kind of clumsy, obvious maleficence? None of the “evidence” trumpeted in rightwing media resulted in a prosecution because none of it was remotely possible without getting caught. People can’t just walk into a polling place and dump a bunch of ballots to be counted. No, thousands of illegals are not registered to vote. No, you can’t stuff a drop-in ballot box with fake ballots. Why didn’t it occur to you that maybe you should learn something about how elections are run before jumping to the conclusion that margins of over twenty thousand votes could be achieved by those kinds of ridiculous tactics?
Why did you believe that crap?
Trump had no chance of winning because he went into the election year with a fifty-five percent disapproval rating. He lost swing states by margins uphill from twenty thousand votes. The race wasn’t even close. Also:
He also lost all sixty-two of his lawsuits spread across six states.
Every challenged state had official recounts, and some had more than one.
The Pennsylvania Republicans had hearings which turned up nothing but a bunch of flakes saying things like “How can you tell if an Asian has voted more than once when they all look alike?”
Trump supporters in Nevada hired a professional to do a forensic analysis of their election and the only fraud he found was a group of Tea Party Republicans in Reno who tried to vote both by mail and in person.
Arizona Republicans hired a firm to do an audit and they found nothing actionable.
The governor of Texas offered a substantial reward for evidence leading to a conviction and the only evidence he got was a PA Republican who got caught voting on his dead mother’s ballot.
Another group of Trump supporters hired an investigator to find fraud, but the investigator found nothing, and the effort disintegrated into a welter of lawsuits by donors against the leaders of the group.
Individual election officials accused by Trump or others have successfully sued the MAGA accusers for making false claims.
Faux and Newsmax are facing lawsuits for the lies they spread about a computer company.
Bottom line: Trump lost six swing states by more than twenty thousand votes per state and Trump supporters have not found any cases of election or voter fraud beyond the actions of an individual here and there.
He lost. […]
Here’s the problem: People who give their loyalty to a Dear Leader will refuse all information that contradicts what they want to believe. Polling shows that seventy percent of Republican voters are still pushing the Big Lie. Election officials nationwide have been subjected to harassment and intimidation in order to force them out of their jobs so that Trump loyalists can politicize the election process. Right here in Mason County a man who has no qualifications at all is running for auditor based on false claims about our election process which he got from something he read on the Internet.
That’s why Biden called you out. You have it coming. You tried to disenfranchise your fellow citizens and overthrow our election because you believed stupid stuff. Your behavior has been disrespectful of the law, of other Americans, and is a threat to our nation’s elections which are the foundation of our freedom.
You betrayed the decent values that you show in other aspects of your life. You betrayed your decent values on behalf of a self-proclaimed p—y-grabbing, three-time adulterer with two fraud convictions and a history of bankruptcies, who routinely stiffed his creditors, who used your campaign donations to pay off a porn star, who buried his first wife in a golf course to collect a 150,000 fee and a tax write-off, who laundered bribes through the Trump Tower, who deserved his two impeachments, and who topped his career off by stealing top secret documents. Yeah, that guy. The one who incited an attack on Congress but didn’t give one nickel of support to help his loyal devotees with their legal bills when they got themselves in trouble on his behalf.
So…Biden hurt your feelings by calling you out. I am sorry when anyone’s feelings are hurt, but frankly I think the integrity of our elections is more important than the injured feelings of people who made the mistake of believing slanderous BS about election officials and other voters. You are not the victims. We are. If you don’t like being called out for your attacks on our elections, then stop making those attacks.
The rest of us will be grateful and forgiving. Truly, we will. Rejoin America, quit the cult, restore your decent values to the way you participate in politics. Please. You will be happier and so will the rest of us.
There is a report that a nuclear missile sub the Severodvinsk, is now in the Black Sea.
According to submarine expert H.I Sutton, open source intelligence suggests Russia has deployed the sub as tensions mount with the West over the Ukraine war.
Severodvinsk can carry up to 40 Kalibr land-attack cruise missiles with a range of 1,600 miles – and any of these could be nuclear-tipped.
The sub is the most advanced in the Russian arsenal, with Russian media claiming it has unmatched stealth technology, active anti-torpedo defences and anti-air capability.
In July 2022, the submarine was monitored on the surface by NATO naval forces as she transmitted from the Northern Fleet to the Baltic in company with the Akula-class submarine Vepr.
[…] Russian authorities continue to generate combat power from recruitment through state-owned enterprises and prisons to circumvent general mobilization.
Russian occupation authorities are increasingly struggling to provide basic services in occupied areas of Ukraine. […]
Targeting civilians, the Russian fascist invaders fired rockets from a “Hurricane” MLRS at Zelenodol’s’k, Dnipropetrovsk region. A 9-year-old boy died. 10 people were injured. 8 high-rise apartment buildings, shops, a kindergarten, a lyceum and a secondary school were damaged.
Russia’s newly-created military units that are supposed to provide reinforcement in Ukraine receive Soviet-style equipment.
Ukraine’s intelligence estimates that 40% of such equipment is not combat-ready.
Michael McFaul:
Putin is worse than a neocolonial tyrant. He does not want to recolonize Ukraine. He wants to annex Ukraine, and wipe out Ukrainians as a unique ethnicity and nation.
Company’s CEO says the firm had detected imminent threats and that law enforcement could not keep up with them.
Reversing course under growing public pressure, major tech security company Cloudflare announced Saturday that it will stop protecting the Kiwi Farms website, best known as a place for stalkers to organize hacks, online campaigns and real-world harassment.
Cloudflare Chief Executive Matthew Prince, who this past week published a lengthy blog post justifying the company’s services defending websites such as Kiwi Farms, told The Washington Post he changed his mind not because of the pressure but a surge in credible violent threats stemming from the site.
“As Kiwi Farms has felt more threatened, they have reacted by being more threatening,” Prince said. “We think there is an imminent danger, and the pace at which law enforcement is able to respond to those threats we don’t think is fast enough to keep up.”
Prince said contributors to the forum were posting home addresses of those seen as enemies and calling for them to be shot. […]
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of people signed petitions this year backing proposed ballot initiatives to expand voting access, ensure abortion rights and legalize recreational marijuana in Arizona, Arkansas and Michigan.
Yet voters might not get a say because Republican officials or judges have blocked the proposals from the November elections, citing flawed wording, procedural shortcomings or insufficient petition signatures.
The Republican pushback against the initiative process is part of a several-year trend that gained steam as Democratic-aligned groups have increasingly used petitions to force public votes on issues that Republican-led legislatures have opposed. In reliably Republican Missouri, for example, voters have approved initiatives to expand Medicaid, raise the minimum wage and legalize medical marijuana. An initiative seeking to allow recreational pot is facing a court challenge from an anti-drug activist aiming to knock it off the November ballot.
[…]
Republicans who have thrown up hurdles to initiative petitions contend they are protecting the integrity of the lawmaking process against well-funded interest groups trying to bend state policies in their favor.
“I think the Legislature is a much purer way to get things done and it represents the people much better, rather than having this jungle where you just throw it on the ballot,” said South Dakota state Rep. Tim Goodwin, who has perennially targeted the initiative process with restrictions.
[…]
In Michigan this past week, two Republican members of the bipartisan Board of State Canvassers blocked initiatives to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution and expand opportunities for voting. Each measure had significantly more than the required 425,000 signatures. But GOP board members said the voting measure had unclear wording and the abortion measure was flawed because of spacing problems that scrunched some words together.
[…]
The Arkansas Supreme Court, whose justices run in nonpartisan elections, is weighing an appeal of an August decision blocking an initiative that would legalize recreational marijuana for adults.
The State Board of Election Commissioners, which has just one Democrat among its many Republicans, determined that the ballot title was misleading because it failed to mention it would repeal potency limits in an existing medical marijuana provision. Because the deadline has passed to certify initiative titles, the Supreme Court has allowed the measure on the general election ballot while it decides whether the votes will be counted.
[…]
In Arizona, the primarily Republican-appointed Supreme Court recently blocked a proposed constitutional amendment that would have extended early voting and limited lobbyist gifts to lawmakers. The measure also would have specifically prohibited the Legislature from overturning the results of presidential elections, which some Republicans had explored after then- President Donald Trump’s loss in 2020.
Still on the ballot are several other amendments referred by Arizona’s Republican-led Legislature. Those measures would limit initiatives to a single subject, require a 60% supermajority to approve tax proposals and expand the Legislature’s authority to change voter-approved initiatives.
Those proposals come after Arizona Republicans have spent the past decade enacting laws making it more difficult to get citizen initiatives on the ballot. State laws now require petition sheets to be precisely printed and ban the use of a copy machine to create new ones. Other laws require paid circulators to include their registration number on each petition sheet, get it notarized and check a box saying they were paid.
“The effect is to make it much harder, much more expensive to get the signatures to put one of these propositions on the ballot,” said Terry Goddard, a Democrat who served as the state’s attorney general from 2003 through 2011.
[…]
Earlier this summer, South Dakota voters defeated a measure that would have made it harder to pass initiatives on taxes and spending. The proposal from the Republican-led Legislature would have required a 60% vote to raise taxes or spend over a certain amount of money. Voters rejected the measure by 67%.
“This just seems like a way to suppress voters. honestly,” Joshua Matzner, a Democrat, said after voting against it.
ravensays
There is a new report out on how Covid-19 virus has harmed the US and its ecooomy.
Highlights.
.1. 16 million people have long Covid syndrome.
.2. 2 to 4 million of those are affected severely enough to be not working.
.3. The annual cost in lost wages (and the missing taxes paid on those wages) is $170 billion.
This contributes a lot to our labor shortages and low unemployment today.
REPORT New data shows long Covid is keeping as many as 4 million people out of work
Katie Bach Wednesday, August 24, 2022
Since the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic through today, news about labor shortages and missing workers has dominated headlines. The question everyone still seems to be asking is: Why?
kathrynsbach
In January 2022, Brookings Metro published a report that assessed the impact of long Covid on the labor market. Data on the condition’s prevalence was limited, so the report used various studies to make a conservative estimate: 1.6 million full-time equivalent workers could be out of work due to long Covid. With 10.6 million unfilled jobs at the time, long Covid potentially accounted for 15% of the labor shortage.
This June, the Census Bureau finally added four questions about long Covid to its Household Pulse Survey (HPS), giving researchers a better understanding of the condition’s prevalence. This report uses the new data to assess the labor market impact and economic burden of long Covid, and finds that:
Around 16 million working-age Americans (those aged 18 to 65) have long Covid today.
Of those, 2 to 4 million are out of work due to long Covid.
The annual cost of those lost wages alone is around $170 billion a year (and potentially as high as $230 billion).
These impacts stand to worsen over time if the U.S. does not take the necessary policy actions. With that in mind, the final section of this report identifies five critical interventions to mitigate both the economic costs and household financial impact of long Covid.
AROUND 16 MILLION WORKING-AGE AMERICANS LIKELY HAVE LONG COVID TODAY
The Census Bureau’s June to July 2022 HPS survey found that 16.3 million people (around 8%) of working-age Americans currently have long Covid.[1] This report uses HPS data rather than Current Population Survey (CPS) data—which is generally more robust—because the HPS asks questions specific to long Covid, and the CPS does not. The CPS asks about six specific manifestations of disability, which will likely identify some cases of long Covid, but almost certainly not all.[2]
A recent Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis study corroborates the HPS figure. Using a longitudinal survey, it found that 24.1% of people who have contracted COVID-19 experienced symptoms for three months or more, which the author defined as long Covid.[3] And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 70% of Americans have contracted COVID-19. If 24.1% of them have had long Covid, 34 million working-age Americans have, at some point, had long Covid.
The Minneapolis Fed study found that 50% of respondents had recovered from long Covid. If we exclude that 50%, we are left with around 17 million people who may currently have long Covid—very near the HPS estimate of 16.3 million.[4]
AS MANY AS 4 MILLION WORKERS ARE LIKELY OUT OF WORK DUE TO LONG COVID
Mild symptoms, employer accommodations, or significant financial need can all keep people with long Covid employed. But in many cases, long Covid impacts work. Understanding that impact requires three data points.
First, we need to know what percentage of people with long Covid have left the workforce or reduced their work hours. Estimates vary:
The Minneapolis Fed study cited above found that 25.9% people with long Covid have had their work “impacted” (meaning that they are either out of work or working reduced hours).
A survey from the United Kingdom’s Trades Union Congress (TUC) found that 20% of people with long Covid were not working, and an additional 16% were working reduced hours.
A study published in The Lancet, found that 22% of people with long Covid were unable to work due to ill health, and another 45% had to reduce hours worked.
Second, we need to know how many people with long Covid were working in the first place. Since this report focuses on working-age Americans, we will use that group’s labor force participation rate of 75%. So, of the 16.3 million working-age Americans with long Covid, we can assume 12.2 million were in the labor force.
Third, we need to calculate the reduced hours of the people with long Covid who kept working. The Minneapolis Fed study found that, on average, they reduced their hours by 10 hours a week; using that number and a 40-hour work week, we can assume that these workers reduced their hours by 25%.
Using the Minneapolis Fed, TUC, and Lancet data on extent of work reductions gives us 2 million, 3 million, and 4 million full-time equivalent workers out of the labor force due to long Covid, respectively. The midpoint of this range—3 million full-time equivalent workers—is 1.8% of the entire U.S. civilian labor force.[5]
This may sound unbelievably high, but it is not inconsistent with the experiences of comparable economies. For example, a Bank of England representative recently stated that labor force participation has dropped by around 1.3% across the entire 16- to 64-year-old population (not just those who are working), and that the majority of that impact is from the rise in long-term sickness—which he suspected was long Covid. Meanwhile, one-quarter of U.K. companies cite long Covid as one of the main causes of long-term staff absence.
You know who just won an Emmy? The former president who didn’t steal dozens of highly classified documents from the government and stash them in his desk with naught but the enervating effluvium of half-masticated McRibs to ward off enemies of the state.
Know who didn’t win an Emmy? The ex-presidential cosplayer who wanted to win one more than any individual in the history of soul-moldering reality shows.
President Barack Obama is now halfway to an EGOT (if he gets an Oscar he’ll have an all-caps EGO that he actually earned, unlike Trump). On Saturday night, he won a Best Narrator Emmy for his contribution to Netflix’s Our Great National Parks.
CBS News:
The five-part show, which features national parks from around the globe, is produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, “Higher Ground.”
He was the biggest name in a category full of famous nominees for the award handed out at Saturday night’s Creative Arts Emmys, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, David Attenborough and Lupita Nyong’o.
…
Obama previously won Grammy Awards for his audiobook reading of two of his memoirs, “The Audacity of Hope” and “A Promised Land.” Michelle Obama won her own Grammy for reading her audiobook in 2020.
Earning an EGOT (the acronym stands for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) is a rare achievement only 17 people have attained, including Rita Moreno, Audrey Hepburn, John Legend, Jennifer Hudson, Mike Nichols, and Whoopi Goldberg. That said, Trump is still the only person on the planet to earn a FMMOTYA (fake Michigan Man of the Year Award).
In July, when Obama was nominated, I noted that Trump would likely lose his mind if Obama won. Well, gird your loins for more of this, folks … because Donald Trump isn’t done telling us how overrated Barack Obama is:
Trump: Obama.. so popular. They say he’s so handsome. He’s such a great speaker. What does he say? He says nothing. [September 3, 2022]
Hmm, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say Trump is just a wee bit jealous of Obama.
Trump will likely never win an Emmy now. Or a Nobel Prize. Or the Purple Heart he so weirdly pines for. But he could still get a participation trophy from his prison bocce ball league. Assuming he doesn’t cheat too much. Which, of course, he will. […]
Trump hangs his black, narcissistic heart, (and his rabid squirrel mind), out there for all to see. So obvious.
Last winter, University of North Dakota English professor Crystal Alberts started searching for a missing pipe, a headdress and moccasins once on display at the school’s library, heading deep into the recesses of the nearly 140-year-old campus.
The collection was removed from the library in 1988, after students questioned whether the university should be showcasing objects of religious significance to Native Americans. Alberts, a colleague and her assistant searched in back rooms and storage closets, opening unmarked cardboard boxes.
Inside one of them, Alberts spotted the pipe. The assistant reached for it, she said.
“Don’t touch it,” Alberts recalls saying.
She called Laine Lyons, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians who works for the UND Alumni Association and Foundation, and asked for help.
Lyons met with Alberts to offer advice on how to respectfully handle the items, watching as Alberts and her colleagues opened box after box. Lyons said she now feels naive thinking back on it, but she never expected what they found: more than 70 samples of human remains, many of them in boxes with no identifying information.
“The best way I can describe how we have found things is in the most inhumane way possible,” Lyons said. “Just completely disregarded that these were once people.”
She said it sunk in: Her university had failed to treat Native American remains with dignity and repatriate them to tribes, as required by federal law.
“In that moment,” she said, “we were another institution that didn’t do the right thing.”
As soon as the bodies were discovered, UND President Andrew Armacost said administrators reached out to tribes — at first a half-dozen and now 13 — to start the process of returning the remains and more than 100 religious objects.
“What we’ve done as a university is terrible, and I will continue to apologize for it,” Armacost said in a Wednesday news conference, where he vowed to see every item and ancestor found to be returned to the proper tribal nation.
But that process will likely prove daunting and could take years — and in some cases, may be impossible because of the dearth of information, Lyons said.
“I have fears that maybe we won’t be able to identify people or maybe we won’t be able to place them back where they should be placed,” she said.
Since the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) in 1990, federal law has required institutions that receive federal funding to catalog their collections with the National Parks Service and work toward returning them to the tribal nations they were taken from. But the University of North Dakota has no entries in the federal inventory, even though its administrators acknowledge it has possessed Indigenous artifacts since its inception in 1883.
The discovery at UND is illustrative of a wider, systemic problem that has plagued Indigenous communities for centuries. Despite the decades-old law, more than 100,000 are still housed in institutions across the country. The action and apology by North Dakota administrators points to a national reckoning as tribal nations are increasing pressure on public universities, museums and even libraries to comply with the law and catalog and return the Native American ancestors and cultural items in their possession.
“We are heartbroken by the deeply insensitive treatment of these indigenous ancestral remains and artifacts and extend our deepest apologies to the sovereign tribal nations in North Dakota and beyond,” North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said in a statement. “This dark chapter, while extremely hurtful, also presents an opportunity to enhance our understanding and respect for indigenous cultures and to become a model for the nation by conducting this process with the utmost deference to the wishes, customs and traditions of tribal nations.”
[…] Lyons said she hopes UND’s discovery will be a wake-up call to other institutions that are dragging their feet when it comes to compliance with NAGPRA.
“Look at what you have, look at your past,” she said. “And if you know something, you need to say it and not hide it and not pass it off and wait for someone else to do it. You need to confront that right away.”
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian (support them if you can!) Ukraine liveblog. From there:
During the early days of the Russia-Ukraine war, the invading force was approaching the Irpin River and the gates of the Ukrainian capital. But the river waters suddenly rose, forcing the Russians to turn back and leaving a trail of abandoned tanks and military hardware. Kyiv breathed again and a wetland ecosystem was reflooded for the first time in more than 70 years.
Miraculous as it might have seemed, it wasn’t the hand of God that helped save Ukraine. “That’s warWilding,” says Jasper Humphreys, director of programmes for the Marjan Study Group in the department of war studies at King’s College London, which researches conflict and the environment.
“I woke up in the middle of the night, a few days after reading the ‘hero river’ story in the Guardian about how the Ukrainian army reflooded the dying Irpin River and its former wetlands to save the Ukrainian capital,” says the academic, of how he came up with the word. “And I just sat up in bed and whispered to myself, ‘It’s warWilding’.”
A Russian-installed official in Ukraine’s Kherson region said plans for a referendum on joining Russia have “taken a pause due to security considerations”, Russian state media reported….
[LOL, the official is Stremousov.]
The EU is running low on weapons stocks as member countries continue to send arms and ammunition to Ukraine, the bloc’s top diplomat has warned.
EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, urged member states to better coordinate their spending on military materiel during a debate with European lawmakers….
European gas prices rocketed as much as 30% on Monday after Russia said one of its main gas supply pipelines to Europe would stay shut indefinitely. The move has stoked renewed fears about shortages and gas rationing in the EU this winter.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, warned Europe to expect a difficult winter after the pipeline shutdown. “Russia is preparing a decisive energy blow on all Europeans for this winter,” he said in his evening address on Sunday.
Ukraine has made progress in its recently launched counter-offensive with its forces taking two settlements in the south, a third in the east, as well as additional territory in the east of the country, Zelenskiy added. Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president’s office, posted an image of soldiers raising the Ukrainian flag over a village he said was in Ukraine’s south.
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian UK liveblog. From there:
Truss elected Tory leader and next prime minister
Truss’s victory speech – snap verdict
On the plus side, the speech that Liz Truss delivered at the QEII Centre a few minutes ago…, does not matter very much. The more important one will be the one she delivers outside Downing Street (or inside if it is raining, as looks likely) tomorrow afternoon, after her audience with the Queen where she will be asked to form a government. We also know that Truss is quick learner; after a dire performance in the first TV debate of the campaign, she spent a day rehearsing and was much, much better in the second one, two days later.
But this speech was still signficant, for some people it will help shape their first impression of Truss, and it was surprisingly bad. The delivery was wooden and the content was bland. Apart from saying she expects the next general election to be in 2014, she did not say anything memorable. And in the first speech of her leadership, she sounded like a cut-price version of Boris Johnson. She addressed the audience as “friends” (a Johnson mannerism) and she praised him lavishly – even though she could not trigger the applause at the right moment (a mistake that Johnson would never make). So much for a new start.
The main problem, though, was that at the point where she needs to start communicating with the country at large, she was addressing her remarks entirely to the party. She was speaking at a party event, and so perhaps that is understandable. But people across the country want to know that a person elected PM by just 80,000 Conservative party members is going to address the concerns of all voters, particularly on the cost of living. Truss could have used this speech to convey that point, but she didn’t.
Chileans have voted comprehensively against a new, progressive constitution that had been drafted to replace the 1980 document written under Gen Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship.
With 99.9% of the votes counted in Sunday’s plebiscite, the rejection camp had 61.9% support compared with 38.1% for approval amid what appeared to be a heavy turnout with long lines at polling states. Voting was mandatory.
…
The 1980 document drawn up under Pinochet will now remain in force and Chile’s future looks decidedly uncertain.
In 2020, an initial plebiscite saw nearly 80% of voters opt to draft a new constitution, but after an arduous year of negotiations, people appear to have expressed their dissatisfaction with the end product….
A manhunt was underway in western Canada on Sunday night as police searched frantically for two men suspected in a series of stabbings that have killed 10 people and wounded at least 15 others.
The bulk of the attacks targeted residents of James Smith Cree Nation, an Indigenous community of 3,400, with other injuries reported in the neighbouring village of Weldon, north-east of Saskatoon.
The attacks in the province of Saskatchewan have shocked the country. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau described them as “horrific and heartbreaking. I’m thinking of those who have lost a loved one and of those who were injured.”…
As you can imagine the Saskatchewan stabbing murders have already brought out the “If they only had guns!” crowd. They of course ignore that people in a rural area are more likely to have guns around, and that if the killers had been armed with guns the death toll would likely be higher. The first stabbing seem have happened around 5 AM, when most people would still have been asleep, especially on a holiday Sunday. But I guess the Magic Powah of Gunz would have woken the victims up in time to use them.
I’ve also seen a chud on Twitter claim it was an antifa attack. I’m sure he’s not the only one.
French president, Emmanuel Macron, has spoken with Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a “substantive” phone call to discuss the situation on the frontline and to coordinate further defence support from France, the Ukrainian leader said.
The talks between the two leaders took more than an hour and a half, according to Zelenskiy.
Russian journalist Safronov sentenced to 22 years in prison for treason
A Russian court has sentenced the journalist, Ivan Safronov, to 22 years in a penal colony after finding him guilty of treason, in one of the most significant prosecutions against a Russian journalist in decades.
Safronov, a former military correspondent for Kommersant and Vedomosti, was arrested in 2020 and accused of disclosing classified information.
His lawyers told the RIA Novosti news agency they will appeal the verdict.
My colleague Andrew Roth is in court covering Safronov’s ruling: [livetweets at the link; there are vocal supporters in the courtroom]
One of the photos they just posted is captioned:
A Ukrainian Red Cross Society volunteer pets a cat that was injured during a Russian attack in Sloviansk, Ukraine.
Finally, it’s time to say it… Good riddance, Boris Johnson. With the egomaniac-in-chief due to leave Number 10, Ros Taylor is joined by LBC’s James O’Brien to pick through the wreckage. What will be his legacy? Could things have ever gone differently? Join us for a cathartic farewell to the man who wanted to be king – but failed resoundingly as Prime Minister.
Boris Johnson to the dustbin of political history, here we go. With the PM set to finally leave Number 10 we look back on his tumultuous tenure. Plus, with the prospect of Prime Minister Liz Truss looming, we assess the future of democracy in Britain. Things can only get… worse? Sam Fowles, author of Overruled: Confronting Our Vanishing Democracy in 8 Cases, is this week’s guest.
BREAKING: The Ukrainian utility Energoatom reports that the final electrical line to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been cut.
The last operating reactor at the site is now shut down.
This is potentially the most serious situation at the plant so far.
This comes just a few days after the last of four main power line to the plant was damaged.
The line that went down today was final reserve line.
Without offsite power the reactors are presumably relying on diesel generators to keep their cores cool.
We don’t know much about the state of those generators or how much fuel they have.
If backup power to the cooling systems fails, there is the potential for one or more of the recently operating cores to overheat and damage the fuel rods inside.
The most extreme outcome would be a meltdown scenario similar to Fukushima in 2011.
In his press conference Friday, @rafaelmgrossi said he believed the power lines were being deliberately targeted.
Four more @iaeaorg inspectors left the site this morning. There remain two inspectors on site. We will see whether the agency weighs in on this latest situation.
Safronov comes from a family of investigative journalists. His father, also Ivan, was a military correspondent for Kommersant who mysteriously died in a fall from the window of the family’s apartment in 2007.
Donald Trump has called President Joe Biden an “enemy of the state” at his first rally since the FBI searched his Florida resort for sensitive files.
Speaking to thousands of supporters in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, the ex-president accused Mr Biden of weaponising the FBI against him.
The raid was “one of the most shocking abuses of power by any administration in American history”, Mr Trump claimed.
…
Mr Trump, 76, spent the first part of his nearly two-hour speech criticising the FBI search early last month.
…
Apart from the raid, the former president returned to familiar themes at the Pennsylvania rally: false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, attacks on rivals in the Democratic Party, and promises to “save our country”.
Several times, he called for people who deal drugs to receive the death penalty.
…
Mr Trump has previously spun investigations and attacks against him as “witch hunts”, and it was no different on Saturday.
He came out swinging, calling the FBI’s search “the shameful raid and break-in on my home in Mar-a-Lago” a “travesty”.
The former president has long built his appeal by casting himself and his supporters as political outsiders and persecuted figures.
Mr Trump linked his personal legal troubles to his supporters’ political frustrations, claiming: “We are being assaulted… by the FBI and DOJ.”
“It was not just my home that was raided… it was the hopes and dreams of every citizen who I’ve been fighting for since the moment I came down the golden escalator in 2015, wanting to represent the people,” he added, drawing boos from the crowd.
…
At one point, Mr Trump…claimed that the latest investigation into his possession of government documents was “going to produce a backlash” the likes of which the country had not seen before….
A widely-circulated video from a Donald Trump rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday has left the former president in hot water after he was shown praising both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Trump compared Xi and Putin to President Joe Biden, saying, “I’ve got to know a lot of the foreign leaders, and let me tell you, unlike our leader [another admission he lost the election], they’re at the top of their game.”…
I know CNN is in the tank, but this piece is very good, I think, It’s about a town’s library in Idaho, and hoo boy, it’s frightening. Here’s what I wrote back to my wife, and, yeah, I could have just said it to her, but it just came out of my fingers. I wanted to share my thoughts with more than just her because my actions are limited, so here you go:
‘I kept dwelling in my mind last night on that Idaho library video. We are in such deep shit because of the consequences of the insane things the Supreme Court has ‘decided’ in the past decade or so. Guns for everybody is one of the big ones. If those folks who spoke at those meetings had been unarmed, they would simply have been laughed at and dismissed. But, because everyone knows that even if they didn’t have guns with them, they could have guns with them, perfectly legally, and no one could even say anything against it, let alone do something, until one of the guns was used to kill someone, or at least that a clear and open threat was made, that right there destroys democracy by putting power into the hands of those who might be willing to use violence, even if they never do. Intimidation is what works for them, and they know it, even if they are simple-minded in most other ways. Their threats are carefully made to avoid legal trouble for them while still being clear. They don’t show up to meetings where their intimidation can be clearly recorded on video. It’s the cunning — and cowardess — of bullies, and the Supreme Court is stacked with bullies.
I read a lot of the comments on that library video, and it seemed that no one really grasped the larger issue that I just wrote about. They were mostly either laughing at the stupidity of what the nuts were saying, or praising those who were working against them. But, as long as these folks can openly carry military weapons into public meetings, especially when even their opponents believe that they have some almost religious right to do so (again, because of the ridiculous rulings of the Supreme Court), the bullies will just keep on winning.’
The White House has accused Russia of using energy as a weapon after it stopped the supply of gas through Nord Stream 1. The US and Europe have been collaborating to ensure sufficient supplies are available and that European gas storage will be full by the critical winter heating season but “we have more work to do”, a US official said.
The final working reactor block of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been disconnected after Russian shelling disrupted power lines, according to Ukraine’s state energy operator. Energoatom told Reuters that the reactor is operating and providing the plant’s own electricity needs despite its disconnection from the grid.
Novaya Gazeta, Russia’s leading independent newspaper whose chief editor was last year co-awarded the Nobel peace prize, was stripped of its media licence today. The country’s media regula[to]r, Rozkomnadzor, had accused the publication of failing to provide documents related to a change of ownership in 2006. The ruling was “a political hit job, without the slightest legal basis”, editor-in-chief and Nobel Peace laureate Dmitry Muratov, said outside court today.
A Russian court has sentenced the journalist Ivan Safronov to 22 years in a penal colony after finding him guilty of treason. Safronov, a former military correspondent for Kommersant and Vedomosti, was arrested in 2020 and accused of disclosing classified information. Journalists were seen crying and hugging each other on the streets outside the courtroom following the verdict.
Britain’s defence secretary, Ben Wallace, said Russia has yet to achieve any of its strategic objectives in its war in Ukraine.
Russia “continues to lose significant equipment and personnel”, Wallace told MPs in the Commons.
He said:
It is estimated to date that over 25,000 Russian soldiers have lost their lives, and in all if you include killed casualties, captured, or the now reported tens of thousands of deserters over 80,000 dead or injured and the other categories.
This will have long-lasting impact on Russia’s army and its future combat effectiveness. Russia has yet to achieve any of its strategic objectives. And we are now on day 194 of what was envisaged in total to be a month-long campaign.
Wallace likened the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to a drug dealer who gets European countries “hooked” on gas.
He urged unity across the continent over the winter, adding:
If we don’t stand together, we don’t deal with it now, these threats won’t go away on their own and to the people in Prague or Cologne, if you give in to the dealer – the drug dealer – or the guy that gets you hooked on heroin, he will be back for more in a good few years.
Russian officials have privately warned that the country may face a longer and deeper recession as the impact of western sanctions spreads in an internal report prepared for the government, Bloomberg reports.
The confidential report, which was seen by the network, finds that sanctions by western allies could handicap sectors that Russia has relied on for years to power its economy.
It paints a much bleaker picture of the true impact of Russia’s economic isolation as a result of its invasion of Ukraine than officials usually do in their public pronouncements.
In two of the three scenarios in the report, Russia’s economy could return to prewar levels only at the end of the decade or later. All the scenarios see the pressure of sanctions intensifying, with more countries likely to join them.
As many as 200,000 Russian IT specialists may leave the country by 2025, the report says, while also warning that the country faces a “blockade” that “has affected practically all forms of transport,” further cutting off the country’s economy.
A speaker at ex-President Donald Trump’s Pennsylvania rally on Saturday painted her nephew, an alleged Nazi sympathizer named Timothy Hale-Cusanelli who was convicted over his participation in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, as a victim of political oppression.
Cynthia Hughes, who founded a support group for Jan. 6 defendants known as the “Patriot Freedom Project,” lamented in her speech that Hale-Cusanelli was “languishing behind the walls of a D.C. jail” and claimed that he and his fellow Jan. 6 insurrectionists were being denied due process.
Hughes described how Hale-Cusanelli had “served his country” as a former Army reservist (he was fired after Jan. 6) and was “dressed in a suit and tie” when he went to the Capitol.
However, Hughes failed to mention that her nephew, who was found guilty of obstruction in May, openly espoused neo-Nazi views, according to evidence provided by prosecutors and accounts from Hale-Cusanelli’s own (now former) coworkers.
Instances of Hale-Cusanelli allegedly aligning himself with Nazism include telling coworkers that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler “should have finished the job,” going to work with a Hitler mustache and repeatedly making anti-Semitic comments.
Prosecutors also presented photos of Hale-Cusanelli showing off a Hitler-inspired look: [photos at the link]
NBC News has a long read about the successful efforts of a far-far-right “Christian” cellphone provider (and yes that is a thing) to take over Texas school boards and rewrite what teachers are and aren’t allowed to do in classrooms. There’s a lot to go through, but it’s an effective look at the American fascist movement and their efforts to, mainly, hurt anyone who isn’t them.
“Patriot Mobile” is a minor-tier wireless provider that promises a political bent: You pays them your moneys, and they use part of your moneys to screw over your neighbors—sorry, to promote “conservative” and “Christian” values, the first a hell of a lot more than the second, and it got its big break because Steve Bannon, an outright fascist, has been hyping them to his audience of greasy militia freaks as the sort of thing fascists need to be doing more of.
At this point you might be thinking that I’m throwing around the fascist label pretty freely, but read the piece. It’s instructive. The company is “Christian” only in the way that most far-right “Christian” groups are, meaning they don’t care if you’re a child-raping serial liar so long as you let good Christians rub assault rifles against their naughty parts:
“Initially, Patriot Mobile’s founders said their goal was to support groups and politicians who promised to oppose abortion, defend religious freedom, protect gun rights and support the military.”
And then Trump came along and they loved the hell outta that grifting con artist, which led to the “Christian” phone company advertising their services. NBC includes the picture, a picture of Donald Trump in a Rambo get-up “holding a machine gun.” It’s that kind of Christian. It’s also this kind of “Christian”:
“This spring, the PAC blanketed the communities of Southlake, Keller, Grapevine and Mansfield with thousands of political mailers warning that sitting school board members were endangering students with critical race theory and other ‘woke’ ideologies. Patriot Mobile presented its candidates as patriots who would ‘keep political agendas out of the classroom.'”
And that’s how they took over four Texas school boards: By lying, outright, with claims that “critical race theory” was coming for your kids. An outright hoax, and one that the fascist right has been promoting extravagantly despite it being entirely made up. Nobody gets taught critical race theory in schools. You wish you had a kid capable of understanding advanced law school classwork between lunch and football practice, but you don’t. None of these people have kids commuting from Texas public schools to elite law colleges, bullet-resistant backpacks strapped firmly on in case some of that good Christian freedom comes their way. But they spent a hell of a lot of money on school board campaigns that usually see near-zero amounts of spending, and that money went specifically towards lying to voters.
This is what distinguishes fascism and similar authoritarian movements from democratic ones: a reliance on known-false propaganda for political gain. Not “the occasional use of,” but an adaptation of hoaxes as a primary means of winning and keeping power.
There’s another element of fascism that is particularly distinctive, and it quickly reared up as the Patriot Mobile-purchased school boards began clarifying what, in their conservative Christian minds, the word “woke” was referring to. “Woke,” as it turns out, means having even the barest shred of tolerance for LGBT students.
The agenda of the “Patriot Mobile” school boards has been to ban discussions of race and to hurt non-straight students as much as possible, as soon as possible. Their enemies turn out to be the same enemies that past fascist movements have focused on, and go figure:
“[T]his week at a tense, eight-hour school board meeting, the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District’s board of trustees voted 4-3 to implement a far-reaching set of policies that restrict how teachers can discuss race and gender. The new policies also limit the rights of transgender and nonbinary students to use bathrooms and pronouns that correspond with their genders. And the board made it easier for parents to ban library books dealing with sexuality.”
What’s the point of all that? There isn’t one, other than to enforce prejudices of the far-right as the new status quo. The once-slaveholding state of Texas won’t be abiding classroom discussions of how racism might have played a role in everything that happened afterwards, and the little tin-pot dictators installed on Texas school boards cannot possibly abide a student identifying as a boy if Patriot Mobile, LLC, believes them to be a girl.
There is, you will note, not a bit of Jesus in any of this stuff. It’s just the usual laundry list of far-right enemies, period. Children of the white race must not be exposed to possible sad feelings upon learning about the more unpleasant aspects of their glorious nation; homosexuality shall not be acknowledged, much less tolerated.
There ain’t no Patriot Mobile School Boards who have made it their mission to make sure none of their students go hungry or that none of their classrooms get turned into horrific murder scenes because some patriot wielding war weapons wandered from Texas streets into a Texas school. […]
Instead they’re (1 banning books, (2 prohibiting classroom discussions of racism, and (3 demanding that LGBT students not be recognized at all. Based, in large part, on outrages they completely made up in order to demonize their targets.
There you go, there’s your American fascist movement. NBC’s consulted expert correctly pins it as Christian Dominionism, a movement that believes it has a duty to capture and remake America into a purely Christian, purely far-right autocratic state, but the movement is “Christian” only in the sense that German Naziism was “Christian.” It’s a cultish caricature of mainstream Christianity, one more obsessed with symbolism and public displays and, again, hating your neighbor good and hard for the sake of doing as much damage to them as possible. It’s been increasingly dropping even the pretenses of religious belief to instead focus on secular culture battles.
Which is how you get Patriot Mobile advertising itself with cutouts of a slim and trim, glisteningly sweaty Donald Trump preparing to fire 30-odd rounds towards an unseen movement enemy. Ain’t no loaves and fishes crap anywhere near this brand of nationalism.
[…] A fascist movement spent just a little money to turn four school boards into tools of its agenda, and its agenda consists of promoting hoaxes that target movement enemies and create justifications for retaliating against them.
In this case, schoolchildren they don’t like and any teachers suspected of supporting them. Books explaining human sexuality. And anyone who isn’t Christian. Those are the targets, and nobody’s even pretending otherwise.
A federal judge on Monday granted former President Trump’s request to appoint an independent special master to review materials the FBI seized from his Mar-a-Lago residence last month.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, dismissed objections from the Department of Justice (DOJ), blocking prosecutors from further reviewing or using the seized documents in their investigation until the special master completes their review.
Cannon asked the DOJ and Trump’s attorneys to submit a joint filing by Friday that includes a proposed special master candidate list.
Trump has accused the FBI and DOJ of executing the search for political purposes, also claiming that some of the documents were protected by attorney-client privilege and executive privilege.
The DOJ had argued in court that a special master appointment would stall its investigation of Trump and that he did not have the authority to claim executive privilege from his time in the White House since he is no longer in office.
“With respect to the Government’s ongoing criminal investigation, the Court does not find that a temporary special master review under the present circumstances would cause undue delay,” Cannon wrote in the ruling.
[…] Alongside his request for a special master, Trump also asked Cannon to order the return of the seized property from Mar-a-Lago. Cannon on Monday declined to make such a ruling. [thank goodness]
“Plaintiff ultimately may not be entitled to return of much of the seized property or to prevail on his anticipated claims of privilege,” Cannon wrote. “That inquiry remains for another day.”
[…] Although she temporarily blocked the DOJ from using the materials in its investigation, Cannon said the intelligence community’s ongoing damage assessment of the documents’ storage at Mar-a-Lago could continue.
The DOJ had argued that Trump lacked standing to request a special master because his presidential records were owned by the government, not Trump himself. The judge dismissed the objection, arguing that although Trump may not have ownership of many of the materials, “genuine disputes” exist as to whether others constituted personal records.
Even though this Judge’s Order appointing a special master won’t stop the very serious Trump stolen docs investigation, having been the decider of whether DOJ should appeal various cases in the past, I think DOJ has to appeal here. Sets a terrible precedent. That’s what I’d do
A key concept in Graeber and Wengrow’s The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity is schismogenesis – the tendency of a group or culture to develop and define its identity in contrast to another group or culture, articulating and emphasizing distinctions and differences between them. Reading in US colonial/revolutionary history recently I noticed – but frustratingly can’t find now – early negative references to Russia in political contexts. It would be really interesting to study how a desire to define ourselves against Russia, or in some cases to reject this opposition, has shaped the US over the centuries and vice versa. If anyone knows of a book or article or whatever on the subject, please let me know!
KGsays
Apart from saying she expects the next general election to be in 2014, she did not say anything memorable. – SC, quoting the Guardian @110
If she had said that, it would certainly have been memorable! I’m guessing it was a Grauniad typo – that item now says 2024!
Ukrainian presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, has urged residents of temporarily occupied territories and Russian-occupied Crimea to prepare bomb shelters and stock up on drinking water.
Podolyak wrote on Twitter:
We ask residents of occupied territories, including the Crimean peninsula, to follow the officials’ recommendations during de-occupation measures. In particular, to prepare a bomb shelter, stock up on a sufficient amount of water and charge the powerbanks. Everything will be Ukraine.
Ukraine says its forces pushed Russian forces back near Kramatorsk
Ukraine’s armed forces have said its troops repelled Russian offensives in eastern Ukraine and were able to knock Russian positions near Kramatorsk.
In a situational update, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said:
Our defenders successfully repelled enemy offensive attempts in the areas of the settlements of Bilohorivka, Hryhorivka, Pokrovske, Bakhmutske, Lozove, Spartak, Soledar, Zaitseve and Semihiria.
In the Kramatorsk direction, they had tactical success and knocked the enemy out of the positions he had previously occupied.
It went on to say that Ukrainian troops had successes in disrupting Russian crossings near Kherson and in using long-range artillery in Kharkiv.
It added:
As a result of Ukraine’s successful fire attack on Kharkiv Region’s Kupiansk, Russian occupiers lost over 100 troops killed and wounded, and two combat vehicles were destroyed.
It has not been possible to independently verify these claims.
“The gas flows from Russia no longer play a role in my calculations,” Germany’s #Habeck said today.
“The only reliable thing from Russia are lies.”
tomhsays
@ #125
This isn’t surprising from this judge, who was appointed after Trump had already lost the election and is among the worst of all his terrible judicial appointments. It wouldn’t have been surprising if she had said return everything to Trump, it’s all his, and shut down the inquiry entirely.
…This was probably the wealthiest, most powerful group I had ever encountered. Yet here they were, asking a Marxist media theorist for advice on where and how to configure their doomsday bunkers. That’s when it hit me: at least as far as these gentlemen were concerned, this was a talk about the future of technology.
Taking their cue from Tesla founder Elon Musk colonising Mars, Palantir’s Peter Thiel reversing the ageing process, or artificial intelligence developers Sam Altman and Ray Kurzweil uploading their minds into supercomputers, they were preparing for a digital future that had less to do with making the world a better place than it did with transcending the human condition altogether. Their extreme wealth and privilege served only to make them obsessed with insulating themselves from the very real and present danger of climate change, rising sea levels, mass migrations, global pandemics, nativist panic and resource depletion. For them, the future of technology is about only one thing: escape from the rest of us.
These people once showered the world with madly optimistic business plans for how technology might benefit human society. Now they’ve reduced technological progress to a video game that one of them wins by finding the escape hatch. Will it be Jeff Bezos migrating to space, Thiel to his New Zealand compound, or Mark Zuckerberg to his virtual metaverse? And these catastrophising billionaires are the presumptive winners of the digital economy – the supposed champions of the survival-of-the-fittest business landscape that’s fuelling most of this speculation to begin with.
…
Never before have our society’s most powerful players assumed that the primary impact of their own conquests would be to render the world itself unliveable for everyone else. Nor have they ever before had the technologies through which to programme their sensibilities into the very fabric of our society. The landscape is alive with algorithms and intelligences actively encouraging these selfish and isolationist outlooks. Those sociopathic enough to embrace them are rewarded with cash and control over the rest of us. It’s a self-reinforcing feedback loop. This is new.
Amplified by digital technologies and the unprecedented wealth disparity they afford, The Mindset allows for the easy externalisation of harm to others, and inspires a corresponding longing for transcendence and separation from the people and places that have been abused.
Instead of just lording over us for ever, however, the billionaires at the top of these virtual pyramids actively seek the endgame. In fact, like the plot of a Marvel blockbuster, the very structure of The Mindset requires an endgame. Everything must resolve to a one or a zero, a winner or loser, the saved or the damned. Actual, imminent catastrophes from the climate emergency to mass migrations support the mythology, offering these would-be superheroes the opportunity to play out the finale in their own lifetimes. For The Mindset also includes a faith-based Silicon Valley certainty that they can develop a technology that will somehow break the laws of physics, economics and morality to offer them something even better than a way of saving the world: a means of escape from the apocalypse of their own making….
Just as the bases were getting loaded for a grand slam home run for the Republican team in the 2022 general election, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) managed to strike out its own team. Instead of taking control of both Houses of Congress, the GOP will likely end the election cycle with roughly 48 senators and a razor-thin margin, either way, in the House.
Several factors will have played a part in this GOP election debacle, but the major factor will be the SCOTUS majority’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade. The court’s Dobbs decision, which took away a 50-year federal right to abortion, has energized female voters across the country.
Prior to the leak of the Dobbs draft opinion, new voter registrants in 10 selected states were roughly equal between the sexes. Post-Dobbs, female registrations in those states increased over male registrations by between 0.5 percent and 15.9 percent. Kansas experienced the remarkable 15.9 percent jump, which likely contributed to the resounding defeat of the state’s anti-abortion ballot measure in August.
A Quinnipiac University poll released on Aug. 31 disclosed that 57 percent of male registered voters and 62 percent of female voters thought abortion should be legal in most or all cases. And 64 percent of women thought it was “very important” that midterm candidates share their view on abortion, compared to 44 percent of men.
The Dobbs decision caught both parties by surprise. Republicans have long used abortion as a powerful vote-getter, particularly in red states, thinking they would never have to explain how they would protect the health of women who experience life-threatening complications during pregnancy.
With the issue of abortion going back to the states, many extreme anti-abortion legislators were caught in a bind. They are no longer able to gain political points by enacting ever-tougher abortion restrictions into state law, knowing that Roe will be there to prevent those laws from going into effect. Republican candidates in purple states, sensing that draconic restrictions are not favored by a majority of voters, have been furiously scrubbing extreme abortion positions from their campaign websites. Female voters will not be fooled by such chicanery.
It will get worse for those GOP candidates. Most women either have experienced a serious pregnancy complication or know someone who has. They know that any number of dangerous conditions can arise during a pregnancy to threaten the life of the woman or viability of the fetus, or both. Between now and Election Day, there will be many heart-wrenching stories about the consequences of the Dobbs decision.
Most pundits were predicting a Republican wave election this year until the Dobbs opinion was released. Some are now cautiously suggesting that Democrats could salvage the Senate and even retain the House, pointing to recent polls that seem to be moving in that direction. Naysayers claim that the polls are too tight and midterm election history is against the Democrats.
Informed soothsayers can safely predict the election of at least 52 Democratic senators and an almost equal number of each party in the House. While other components will figure into those results (a wretched crop of Senate candidates endorsed by former President Trump and an electorate sick of the culture wars being continually stoked by the GOP), the Dobbs decision will be the primary reason for Republican losses.
It was not just the court’s radical departure from what the Trump appointees had claimed was settled precedent during their respective confirmation proceedings. The in-your-face language of the Dobbs opinion and its tortured recitation of the history of abortion in America were unsettling. When taken in context with other precedent-breaking decisions by the court’s ultraconservative majority on a variety of issues (voting rights, gun rights, religion in school and administrative rules on climate and workplace safety), one could justifiably conclude that the court’s majority is on a mission to remake America to conform with its political and religious outlook.
The SCOTUS majority may have the raw power to advance its agenda, but it certainly does not have the political power to make it stick. The Dobbs decision is a prime example of a law that has stood the test of time — that is, the law of unintended consequences.
The American public has no way of directly calling the court majority to account for this and its other recent decisions, but the voters can and will take out their disapproval on those in federal and state offices who have supported and campaigned in favor of the outcomes arrived at by the court. The SCOTUS majority has overplayed its hand and set the stage for the Republican team to switch from a grand slam winner to a strikeout loser in the November elections.
On Monday, former U.S. Attorney Harry Litman reacted to the news that a Trump-appointed judge in Florida granted the former president’s demand to pause the DOJ investigation into the classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, pending review by a special master for documents protected by attorney-client privilege and executive privilege.
The particular problem with the ruling by Judge Aileen Cannon, wrote Litman, is the ruling on executive privilege — which he said blows up legal understanding of any standards for when that protection applies.
“If this holds up, it’s going to require the minting of a whole new area of law for the scope and boundaries of a former Pres’s executive priv interests. How the hell is a Special Master supposed to call balls and strikes? This could be huge delays. I think DOJ needs to appeal,” wrote Litman. “Cannon’s opinion acknowledges that Rule 41 is reserved for exceptional circumstances and must be exercised w/ caution and restraint. Then she storms ahead like a bull in a china shop b/c it’s possible that Trump may turn out to have some undefined interest down the line.”
The ruling, continued Litman, “never comes close to holding there’s an executive privilege interest here. But b/c of the gossamer possibility that there may be one down the line, she orders the gov to stop its review and orders a Special Master to review all docs under completely undefined legal standards.” He added that “it reads as if she’s never handled criminal cases before.”
Trump and his lawyer are trying to completely rewrite Presidential Executive Privilege. Of course, that requires throwing out almost all precedents regarding said PEP.
His definition of ‘the absolute best’ is slightly at odds with reality.
The video shows Jason Selvig, one half of the political comedy due The Good Liars, offering Trump supporters “free top secret documents” at the event at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza, in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday.
Selvig says the documents are being offered to those at the rally are “just for coming in,” with some appearing happy to accept them.
“Yeah, he’s giving them out to everybody,” Selvig says in the clip which has been viewed more than two million times on Twitter.
Elsewhere, Selvig claims he is able to declassify the documents by saying “declassify” at them. In another part of the 23-second clip, Selvig drops a pile of the fake sensitive materials on the ground.
“I’m declassifying those. Those are declassified so we’re good,” Selvig adds while the mock top secret papers are strewn over the tarmac.
The Pennsylvania rally was publicized as being for Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz and gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano — though the two candidates didn’t get nearly as much attention as Trump’s own personal grievances.
This was a rally for the (incredibly laughable) candidates, but it, as always, revolved around how great Trump is and how persecuted Trump is.
Akira MacKenziesays
@ 139
Meanwhile, Christianity’s 2000 year history of cruelty, tyranny, and death makes Abbott’s antics look downright secular.
Oggie: Mathomsays
This is from Wife:
“Maybe Trump was saving all those documents for his library. After all, prisons do have libraries, right?”
Posted by readers of TPM articles about Trump claiming to have declassified all those documents:
Yeah? Well, Biden has a standing order and waved a magic wand that reclassified* them all “in a moment’s notice.” Duh!
*PS: These laws Trump broke have exactly zero to do with classification anyway. We’ll prosecute for all those crimes later.
—————–
Trump wasn’t the President when he left the White House and took those documents. They did not belong to him – classified or not.
——————
The current president gets to assert or waive Executive Privilege and classify stuff, not the former loser idiot.
———————
For a year and a half, he remained in illegal possession, ignoring demands to return them – including grand jury subpoenas (!), the refusal of which normally results in a visit from federal marshals with handcuffs.
This ruling is preposterous—especially the part where it blocks the government from continuing to use materials already in its possession.
At the very least, that last ruling creates an immediately appealable injunctive-like order, which DOJ can now take to the Eleventh Circuit.
tomhsays
@ #147:
“DOJ can now take to the Eleventh Circuit.”
Where the Chief Judge is a W. Bush appointee, and six of the remaining ten judges are Trump appointees. The 11th Circuit doesn’t fill me with confidence.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) defended on Sunday ex-President Donald Trump’s hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort by claiming that Trump isn’t beholden to the same pesky rules as others.
McCaul, who sits on the House Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs committees, told ABC’s “This Week” host Martha Raddatz that he “personally wouldn’t” have made the decision to take the records to Mar-a-Lago, “but I’m not the President of the United States.”
“He has a different set of rules that apply to him,” McCaul said. “The President can declassify a document on a moment’s notice, and we don’t have all the facts.”
“I know they were taken out of the White House while he was president, and whether or not he declassified those documents remains to be seen,” the GOP lawmaker added. “He says he did. I don’t have all the facts there.”
Frantically trying to fend off potential criminal prosecution, Trump did indeed claim last week that he had declassified all the materials the FBI found stashed away at Mar-a-Lago.
But whether Trump can simply declare on his fake Twitter app “Lucky I Declassified!” and thus avoid any legal consequences for lying to the feds about keeping classified records at his private resort remains to be seen.
First, IOKIYAR is not an actual defense that will stand up in court. B, why the obsession with classified documents on the part of the GOP when that is not the law used to get the search warrant? And, finally, this bozo is on House Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs committees? That makes me feal much safer. Fourth,
“I know they were taken out of the White House while he was president, and whether or not he declassified those documents remains to be seen,” the GOP lawmaker added. “He says he did. I don’t have all the facts there.”
yes, you do. If the documents were declassified, they would have all of the declassification markups on them. THIS is the kind of markup a declassified document would have. And it would no longer be in a numbered/coded folder.
Oggie: Mathomsays
Alex Jones just had a massive meltdown. I think this is what one could call a (This is for long-time members of the Pharyngulite grope) Starfart.
Jones recently sat down for his first interview since the ruling with journalist and Youtuber Andrew Callaghan.
Callaghan, who produces content on his YouTube page Channel 5, released a trailer for his interview with Jones on September 3. The video so far has 250,000 views.
In the brief two-and-a-half-minute clip, Callaghan begins by asking whether Jones feels responsible for what happened to the Sandy Hook families.
“Yes, I killed the children,” Jones replied, appearing to be sarcastic.
“I went in that school, I pulled a gun out and I shot every one of them myself. I am guilty it is true.”
Callaghan attempted to interrupt Jones multiple times but the InfoWars host continued to claim that he was responsible for killing the victims.
“Do I feel responsible that someone, played a sh*t ton of video games, was on a bunch of drugs, went in and killed a bunch of kids and then the internet questioned it and I covered that? No I don’t feel responsible.
“I don’t apologize anymore, I’m done. I don’t apologize. I killed the kids.”
He continued: “No, I killed them, I killed them… I have already admitted it, I killed them.”
Jones then began to say American amendments should be gotten rid of and sarcastically added other public figures who “killed the kids.”
“The First Amendment killed them, get rid of the Second Amendment, get rid of the First Amendment, they are bad, they killed the kids too,” he said.
“George Washington killed them, Jesus killed them, we should rename the entire planet Sandy Hook, everything, there should be holidays.
“We should bow five times a day to New Haven, Connecticut for the kids that died.
“Every American’s to blame, every gun owner’s to blame, I am to blame. We are all guilty.”
Eventually as Jones said he was done talking about it to which Callaghan asked if the pair could speak more specifically about the trial.
Jones reiterated that there was nothing to talk about and appeared to get up early and leave the chat, saying: “I don’t know if I can do this interview right now.
The video footage then turned to black but audio can be heard allegedly between Jones and an InfoWars employee.
The employee insists that Jones “should not keep doing that”, to which he replied he murdered those children.
The apparent Infowars employee said he understood the point Jones was attempting to make but said what he was doing was not funny.
)Once again, Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman has trolled his opponent Dr. Oz by doing little more than pointing out how embarrassing Oz’s own words are.
Fetterman recently saw a massive fundraising haul off of a video mocking Oz’s viral “crudités” debacle, in which the wellness grifter tried to blame Joe Biden for the high price of groceries while putting together the world’s worst veggie tray.
Now, Fetterman is highlighting one of his go-to criticisms of Oz: that he is not even from the state he wants to represent.
“I grew up just south of Philadelphia,” Oz says in a clip of a Fox News interview before the video cuts to a map showing exactly what exists “south of Philadelphia.” Which, if you’re wondering, is not more Pennsylvania.
The Washington Post’s Dave Jorgenson, who was responsible for spearheading the paper’s wildly popular TikTok account, called the video “hands down the best TikTok I’ve seen from a political figure.”
Meanwhile, the best Oz’s campaign seems to be able to muster are embarrassing attempts at an everyman persona and cruel, repeated mockery of Fetterman’s recent stroke.
Seriously, Fetterman’s campaign should be a national model on how to deal with right-wingers who have no government or political experience and want to jump to higher office. He and his campaign have been needling Oz with reality.
And the mocking of Fetterman’s recent stroke? Didn’t Oz take any medical ethics classes? He should have, after the first tweet, told his campaign that that is not acceptable. Ever. But he doesn’t care who gets hurt because Oz is, once again, trying to sell snake oil.
Oggie: Mathomsays
I feel like, every time Trump or one of his sycophants or one of his lawyers or damn near anyone in the GOP starts speaking, we need to flash THIS at them. It’s from My Cousin Vinny so you can probably guess what it is.
More than 80 million people in the eastern US were under flash flood watches late on Monday, marking still more extreme weather in a country reeling from record heatwaves in some regions, as the US increasingly feels the effects of the climate crisis.
In Georgia, the threat of torrential downpours became a reality Sunday afternoon, spurring a flash flood emergency in western portions of the state, CNN reported.
The “one-in-1,000-year rainfall event” caused rivers and creeks to swell. Authorities carried out water rescues as homes and businesses were flooded; meteorologists believe that the area could see another one to three inches of rain, according to the news network.
Potentially dangerous weather is not limited to the area stretching from southern Appalachia to New England. In the US west, residents are facing the possibility of power outages on Monday and early this week while temperatures continue to soar.
This weekend, Salt Lake City broke its record temperature for September, hitting 103F (39.4C). Long Beach, California, peaked at 108F (42.2C), breaking a past daily high, Forbes reported.
These extremes come as global heating threatens to make large portions of the US west and south – which are seeing a population boom – so hot they are unlivable.
Nearly 50 million US residents across six states were under excessive heat warnings as of Monday morning. In some of these areas, these advisories might continue until the week’s end, Axios reported.
The National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office on Sunday described the heat in the metropolitan area as a “kiln-like environment”.
California’s Death Valley, already one of the hottest areas on Earth, could meet or exceed its record high temperature of 125F (51.7C) this week.
…Dry conditions, meanwhile, have ramped up wildfire risks.
“Record-setting heat, dry conditions and strong winds are expected in the north-west, Great Basin, and northern Rockies areas,” the national interagency fire center said. “These conditions will increase the potential for significant wildfire activity.”
The center reported 68 “active large fires”, spanning 438,904 acres.
This is BIG!
Solar cells are still expensive, but it will be much cheaper to use other tech than silica
Perovskite solar cells are quite cheap, but have so far been unstable and degraded too fast to warrant investments. https://techxplore.com/news/2022-09-major-stable-high-efficiency-perovskite-solar.html
Linköping University has made a breakthrough.
An upcoming book by New York Times reporter David Enrich includes an amazing story of Trump trying to stiff a lawyer (to whom he owed $2 million) by offering to give him a deed to a stallion that was supposedly worth $5 million instead.
However, the lawyer apparently refused to accept live animals as payment, telling Trump that “this isn’t the 1800s” and “you can’t pay me with a horse.”
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian Ukraine liveblog. From there:
Serhiy Haidai, the governor of Luhansk oblast, has said Ukrainian troops have “gained a foothold” in the eastern region. In an update posted on Telegram, Haidai said Ukrainian forces have “advanced a little” in the Luhansk region and have repulsed Russian attacks. It has not been possible to independently verify his claims.
The Russian defence ministry is in the process of buying millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea to support its invasion of Ukraine, according to a newly downgraded US intelligence finding. A US official said the fact Russia was turning to North Korea demonstrated that “the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine, due in part to export controls and sanctions”.
The backup power line at the Zaporizhzhia power plant was disconnected to extinguish a fire, officials said on Monday. However, the IAEA said the line itself was not damaged and that the backup line “will be reconnected once the fire has been extinguished”.
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has blamed Europe’s energy crisis on sanctions it imposed on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine – a line taken by the Kremlin itself. European nations were “harvesting what they sowed” by imposing economic restrictions on Russia, Erdoğan added.
Jailed Russian opposition politician and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny’s chief of staff has said worsening prison conditions were threatening his health. In a post on his Twitter and Instagram accounts, Navalny wrote last week via his lawyers that he had been sent to a punishment cell for a third time in August in revenge for his political activity.
An adviser to the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff has said he expects Kyiv to announce “great news” about its counteroffensive in the eastern Kharkiv region on Tuesday evening.
Serhiy Leshchenko wrote on Twitter:
Tonight there is going to be a great news from President Zelenskyy on counteroffensive operation in Kharkiv region.
He did not give any further details.
IAEA calls for ‘security zone’ at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
Here’s more on the report by the International Atomic Energy Agency after the UN nuclear watchdog sent a team to the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant last week.
The IAEA called for the establishment of a “safety and security protection zone” around the nuclear power plant, calling the current situation “untenable”.
The report states:
There is an urgent need for interim measures to prevent a nuclear accident arising from physical damage caused by military means. This can be achieved by the immediate establishment of a nuclear safety and security protection zone.
The UN agency urged that shelling on site and its vicinity “should be stopped immediately to avoid any further damages to the plant and associated facilities”.
In addition to establishing a security zone around the plant, the IAEA recommended that the conditions Ukrainian staff operating the plant are working in should be improved.
The report says:
Ukrainian staff operating the plant under Russian military occupation are under constant high stress and pressure, especially with the limited staff available. This is not sustainable and could lead to increased human error with implications for nuclear safety.
A Russian-appointed official in the occupied city of Berdiansk in southern Ukraine has been seriously injured in a car blast, according to Moscow-installed authorities.
Artem Bardin, who was appointed commandant of the Berdiansk’s occupying administration, was taken to hospital in “serious condition”, the mayor’s office said on Telegram.
Bardin’s car exploded in “the very centre of Berdiansk” near the building of the civil-military administration, it said….
Ukraine claims its counteroffensive has spread to east and south-east
A senior Ukrainian presidential adviser has claimed Ukraine’s forces are conducting counteroffensive actions in the east and south-east of the country.
Counteroffensive actions by the Armed Forces of Ukraine are taking place not only in the south of Ukraine, but also in the east and southeast,” Oleksiy Arestovych said on his Telegram channel late on Monday evening.
Since the beginning of the operation to liberate the south of Ukraine, our military has liberated several settlements on the western bank of the Dnieper.
These are subtle movements on the map. But the beginning of counteroffensive actions on different sectors of the front on our part speaks of a change in the situation as a whole.”
Arestovych claimed Russian forces on the right bank of the Dnieper are in “operational encirclement”, and predicted that within a month their position will be “extremely difficult”.
[…] There are purposeful lies/distortions/misreadings of law that Cannon [Judge Aileen Cannon] builds into her ruling in order to grant Trump what he wanted and then some. Among them, Cannon:
Claims that President Biden hasn’t weighed in on whether the documents are protected by executive privilege when the letter from the National Archives makes it clear that he has.
Supports the idea that Trump can declare items privileged after leaving office, and backs this with a definitive misstatement of Supreme Court rulings concerning Nixon.
Invents the idea that Trump requires a special master because of that possibility of “reputational harm,” including citing how knowledge that he had been searched might hurt Trump, even though Trump was the first to confirm that a search took place.
Creates the whole idea that a special master can review documents for executive privilege without providing any clue about how that would proceed, and without Trump naming a single document as protected.
Gives an example of some materials that might be subject to attorney-client privilege, then declares that the whole investigation has to be halted even though those documents represent a tiny fraction of the total and have already been filtered out by the privilege team at the FBI.
Ignores the fact that Trump does not own any of the documents, either classified or unclassified, that fall under the Presidential Records Act and treats them all as if Trump is the sole owner, which she uses to justify the special master appointment.
Claims that the Department of Justice has admitted they took material with “no evidentiary value,” which is a complete distortion not found in any Department of Justice filing.
Attorney and author Andrew Weissmann has a suggestion: The Department of Justice should propose that Reinhart [Bruce Reinhart, the Magistrate Judge who approved the Mar-a-Lago search] be appointed as the special master, which should swiftly dispose of much of the silliness in Cannon’s order.
But the truth is there is no one who has the qualifications to act as the special master Cannon describes. No one who has the broad range of clearance for information that’s not just classified top secret but also compartmentalized across a range of subjects. And that special master would have to invent some method of handling claims of privilege based on Cannon’s distorted view of past Supreme Court rulings.
Cannon has fired a shot that threatens to rip apart not just this case, but many. It’s not just a ridiculous ruling, it’s an actively harmful ruling. A ruling that’s malicious in its disregard for many aspects of the law.
The only thing to do with this ruling is to kill it. Quickly. Before it spreads.
…Lies, Politics[,] and Democracy tells the story of how, like a colonial army of occupation, Donald Trump subdued the Republican party with a combination of brute force and manufactured consent. It is a chilling character study in how, one after another, party leaders ignored, acquiesced, collaborated and enabled a demagogue while fearing his fervent fanbase.
The film draws on more than 30 interviews with former government officials, political journalists and experts. Like the congressional January 6 committee hearings, it provides a compelling narrative of half-forgotten turning points that, viewed in totality, resemble a Greek tragedy hurtling towards the inevitable and deadly climax of 6 January 2021….
Ukrainian forces retaking villages near Kherson, says Pentagon
The US defence department is seeing Ukrainian offensive forces in the Kherson region “continue to make some forward movement,” including retaking villages, according to a Pentagon official.
At a briefing with reporters, Pentagon press secretary Air Force Brig Gen Pat Ryder said:
What we’ve seen in the Kherson region first is some continued offensive operations by the Ukrainians. They continue to make some forward movement. We are aware that they have retaken some villages.
The US has also seen “some offensive Russian activity … near Bakhmut”, he added.
Ukrainian forces ‘repelled Russian attacks’ in Donetsk region
The Ukrainian military repelled several Russian offensives in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, the army’s general staff has said.
In a situational update, the general staff said:
Units of the Defence Forces of Ukraine hold their positions and prevent the enemy from advancing deeper into the territory of Ukraine.
It added:
Our military successfully repelled enemy attacks in the areas of Dolyna, Soledar, Novobakhmutivka, Kodema, Zaitseve, Avdiivka, Mariinka, and Lyubomirivka settlements of Donetsk region.
The Ukrainian military also claimed the destruction of Russian targets in the Donetsk region.
A Saudi woman recently sentenced to 45 years in prison was convicted of using the internet and social media accounts to “spread lies through tweets”, among other alleged crimes, according to a newly obtained Saudi court document.
Noura al-Qahtani, whose case first emerged last week, is a mother of five daughters, including one with a disability, is nearly 50 years old and has health issues, according to the court records.
The document, which describes Qahtani’s conviction and sentencing by a special criminal court, was shared with the Guardian by Abdullah Alaoudh, the Gulf director at Dawn, a pro-democracy group based in Washington founded by the murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The court records reveal – for a second time in weeks – a draconian sentence against a seemingly ordinary woman who used social media to voice support for dissidents but was not personally engaged in political activity….
Last month, a Saudi appeals court sentenced Salma al-Shehab, a Leeds University PhD student and mother of two, to 34 years in prison for having a Twitter account and for following and retweeting dissidents and activists. Shehab was arrested and convicted after she had returned home to Saudi Arabia for a holiday….
…
Qahtani was convicted of several charges, including that she sought to “besmirch” the crown prince and King Salman; that she “encouraged participation in activities that damage the security and stability of society and the state”; that she expressed “support” for the ideology of those who wish to “destabilise” the kingdom; for joining a group dedicated to these causes on Twitter and following them on YouTube. She was also convicted of “insulting” state symbols and officials, seeking the release of detainees, and obstructing the investigation into her social media use by “destroying and hiding the mobile phone use in the crime”.
She was also convicted of being in possession of a banned book, which was written by Salman Alaoudh, a well-known reformist cleric – and father of Abdullah Alaoudh of Dawn – who is himself serving a life sentence in a Saudi prison. Salman Alaoudh has been in prison since 2017 after he called for peace on Twitter following the implementation of a Saudi-led blockade on Qatar.
The book Qahtani is alleged to have possessed was not one of Alaoudh’s political books. It was described by Abdullah – who is based in the US – as a book about self improvement and fighting selfishness within one’s self.
“It is a very apolitical book,” Abdullah Alaoudh said.
The court document also references a technical analysis by state officials but it does not contain any information about how Saudi authorities identified the Twitter handle as – allegedly – being used by Qahtani.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The US social media company was infiltrated by Saudi state officials in 2014 and 2015. US prosecutors have described how the infiltration by the officials, who were employed by Twitter but were secretly being paid by senior Saudi government officials, led Saudi authorities to gain access to information about anonymous dissidents who were using Twitter inside the kingdom.
The company has allowed Bader al-Asaker, a senior aide to Prince Mohammed, who was described by US prosecutors as the mastermind behind the Saudi infiltration, to maintain his verified Twitter account.
The court document states that Qahtani was first sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment in connection with her “crimes”. The sentence was lengthened to 45 years after a prosecutor complained during her appeal that the original sentence was too lenient.
…
The appeals court, the document shows, not only increased her sentence to 45 years, but imposed a 45-year travel ban once she emerges from prison, at about the age of 100. Her disabled daughter is 10 and suffers from a genetic disorder that causes developmental disabilities….
Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani’s buddy-buddy, and complicated, relationship goes way back according to writer Andrew Kirtzman. Kirtzman covered Giuliani’s political career for over 30 years and is also the author of Giuliani: The Rise and Tragic Fall of America’s Mayor. He came on this episode of The New Abnormal to give us an insight into New York’s fallen angel and his pal Trump—from anecdotes that one of his ex-wives told him to why Trump felt he was too much of a “liability” to be his Secretary of State. Plus! Fever Dreams podcast host Will Sommer, who is the expert on all things far-right, joins this podcast episode to talk about the up-and-coming ultra-conservative, QAnon-type candidates a la Marjorie Taylor Green and Lauren Boebert running in the midterms. And also, what the Proud Boys think of their founder Gavin McInnes and his fake arrest prank.
Oggie: Mathomsays
Trump felt he was too much of a “liability” to be his Secretary of State.
Just how far out there does someone need to be for TRUMP to see him as a liability?
The US president, Joe Biden, has decided not to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terror, the White House said.
Biden had said previously that Russia should not be designated a state sponsor of terrorism, a label Ukraine has pushed for.
The designation of Russia as state sponsor of terror could delay food exports and jeopardise deals to move goods through the Black Sea, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Andy Kroll in Rolling Stone – “Pro-MAGA D.C. Cop Secretly Worked to Undermine Seth Rich Investigation”: “A hard-nosed federal prosecutor was determined to figure out who killed the 27-year-old Democratic National Committee staffer. But someone with access to the case file had a different agenda…”
[…] I went out on a (short) limb to declare Russia’s offensive culmination, with a clear shift to defensive ops as their war machine runs out of steam.
No new liberations were announced today in Kherson, so this is still the official map: [map at the link]
However, Ukraine did claim that three more unnamed settlements, around Vysokopillya, at that northern tip, had been liberated. We also have video of Ukrainian forces walking casually through an empty and peaceful Arkhanhel’s’ke. The town was declared captured by CNN on Day 1 of the Kherson counteroffensive, but that’s the first confirmed video of liberation, and the lack of any obvious signs of war suggests the front lines have moved well past the town. (The map above still lists Arkhanhel’s’ke as contested, on the edge of the front lines.)
Another sign of liberated territory—videos of Ukraine towing away captured Russian equipment (like here, here, and here). [embedded links are available at the main link]
The action in Kherson has led Russia to formally postpone its sham referendum to annex to oblast. Ukraine also claimed it destroyed the warehouse with the paper ballots.
This is the umpteenth time Russia has postponed this referendum […] Russia’s problem is that it’s not confident in its security situation in the region. What would happen if Russia annexed Kherson, then Ukraine liberated it? Russia would have to admit an inability to protect its own territorial integrity. It would be an internal PR and propaganda catastrophe.
So as long as there was war, there would never be annexation. Russia can blame it on the “security situation” (which is not totally inaccurate), Ukraine can claim it destroyed the ballots. But in the end, this referendum was never happening while overall hostilities continued.
Meanwhile, while most observers dismissed Russia’s new overtures for peace negotiations as nothing new and a cynical effort to freeze the conflict, I have a different view on it.
In short, Putin’s press spokesperson said Russian new negotiations were “possible,’ but that they would focus on “the fulfillment of the conditions set by Russia.” That was taken by the pro-Ukrainian side as a fake offer, based on unrealistic and ridiculous conditions that have already been summarily rejected by Ukraine:
Neutrality agreement barring NATO membership
Crimea is Russia
Luhansk and Donetsk (Donbas) are independent
Demilitarization of Ukraine
“Denazification,” whatever that means
While Ukraine had once considered the neutrality component, that seems off the table. The others are definitely off the table, particularly since Russia defines “Nazi” as anything or anyone that opposes Russian imperialism.
Those conditions haven’t changed with this new overture. But Russia’s statement includes this: “Any crisis situations eventually ends at the negotiation table.” That is, Russia isn’t demanding unconditional surrender, it is signaling some level of flexibility—something it hadn’t really bothered doing before with a “take it or die” approach during early talks. Problem for Russia, Ukraine has refused to die. In fact, it is Russia that is doing much of the dying.
And while Putin may not care about his cannon fodder in Ukraine, his nation’s economy is a different matter. Bloomberg got its hands on an internal Russian report that despite rosy public proclamations, Russia is facing a deep and long-lasting recession.
Two of the three scenarios in the report show the contraction accelerating next year, with the economy returning to the prewar level only at the end of the decade or later. The “inertial” one sees the economy bottoming out next year 8.3% below the 2021 level, while the “stress” scenario puts the low in 2024 at 11.9% under last year’s level.
All the scenarios see the pressure of sanctions intensifying, with more countries likely to join them. Europe’s sharp turn away from Russian oil and gas may also hit the Kremlin’s ability to supply its own market, the report said.
This explains why Russia suddenly cut off all gas supplies to Europe, holding them hostage in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. Putin may brag publicly about the failure of sanctions to bring down the Russian economy, yet this move says otherwise. While cutting off that gas may cause short-term pain in Europe, it will accelerate the continent’s shift away from Russian energy supplies. And even more worrying for Moscow, this action may very well accelerate efforts by China (and maybe India) toward energy independence. No one wants to be held hostage by energy terrorists.
So put it all together: Russia’s offensive operations culminate, their forces spent and no longer able to push forward. Ukraine begins taking back territory on all fronts. The Kherson sham referendum is officially cancelled. Russia cuts off European energy supplies, demanding an end to sanctions. And Russia suddenly wants to restart negotiations for an end to hostilities.
Seems obvious to everyone that there’s no reason for Ukraine to agree to any of the previous Russian demands. Russia has very little leverage at the moment. But what seems obvious to the rest of us—like Kherson was a transparent trap—seems to somehow elude Russian policy makers. What matters here is that Russia can’t accomplish its goals on the battlefield, so it is trying to get concessions it hasn’t earned at the negotiating table.
Put another way, a strong Russia wouldn’t be begging for sanctions to be lifted […] Ukraine is in the driver’s seat.
———————-
OMG 🤣🤣🤣
In the hours and days after it became clear that twice-impeached and never popular former President Donald Trump had lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden, the right-wing-o-sphere began carrying fascists’ water. As Donald Trump and his minions began crying about getting more votes than last time and still losing (even though last time they “won” by getting fewer votes than Hillary Clinton), Fox News hosts and others started promoting every harebrained conspiracy theory related to secret deep-state election fraud.
The culmination of all this was an attempted coup d’etat at our nation’s Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. But before all of that, people like Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, Rudy Giuliani, and others pushed the idea that Dominion Voting Systems had not only been compromised by everyone from Hillary Clinton to the ghost of Hugo Chavez, but that the owners of those voting machines were complicit in the plot, either by willful negligence or active conspiracy. Since all of this has been proven false time and time again, Dominion Voting Systems launched a billion-dollar lawsuit against some of the right-wing outlets attacking the integrity of its voting equipment.
Recently, The New York Times reported that the Dominion Voting case is not going away for Fox News as the voting machine company has been deposing on-air personalities while actively pursuing the discovery phase of their case. One of those personalities is Pirro. NPR got their hands on an email from a Fox News producer, and according to the report it shows the people behind the scenes knew exactly how toxic the on-air “talent” was regarding our democracy.
According to NPR, an email from a producer has surfaced during the discovery phase of Dominion’s lawsuit against Fox News that warned others Pirro had to be kept off the air as she was throwing every conspiracy theory she could find at the audience.
According to NPR, the producer reportedly pleaded for Pirro to be taken off of hosting duties. As Dominion Voting Systems’ complaint against Fox News details, there were a ton of reasons why anyone who understands what the definition of defamation is would want to mute Pirro.
That same day, Rupert Murdoch’s The Wall Street Journal once again stated that the accusations against Dominion were false and that the Georgia recount had confirmed the accuracy of Dominion’s machines. On November 21, 2020, the day after Fox received Dominion’s letter, Fox went right back on the attack against Dominion, with Pirro repeating and amplifying Giuliani’s never-made-in-litigation claims that Dominion was an “organized criminal enterprise” “started in Venezuela with Cuban money” that could and did “flip[] votes” “with the assistance of Smartmatic software,” thus creating the “stunning” ballot “dump[s]” in the early morning of November 4 that “fill[ed] in” votes for Biden. In order to drive home the lies about Dominion, Pirro rhetorically asked, “why was there an overnight popping of the vote tabulation that cannot be explained for Biden?”
The right-wing-o-sphere of the country, both its media and its political leadership, is a cauldron of bigotry and fear and corruption and narcissism. When that gets roiling, it isn’t cream that rises to the top—it’s scum like Pirro. Pirro’s political career was sidetracked after her “influential Republican businessman” husband Albert was convicted of “conspiracy and tax evasion.” Like Trump and Giuliani, she was a corrupt failure of a rich person, someone who abused their positions of power and then found a second life as a tough-on-crime, bullshit artist with a 1970s New York accent. Since then she has spewed racism, sexism, Islamophobia, the threats of violence and embodied the general unpleasant hypocrisy of the GOP.
Fox News was not the only right-wing propaganda machine involved in the massive onslaught of mis- and disinformation surrounding the results of the 2020 election. Places like OAN and Sinclair Broadcasting were also quick to put on every Tom, Dick, and Harry willing to promise vague proof that the election had been stolen. In every single one of those cases, those Toms and Dicks and Harrys all provided easily debunked and mostly bad-faith arguments for how the Big Lie was perpetrated.
As a result, all of those outlets have been either threatened with lawsuits or have been sued by not only Dominion Voting Systems, but Florida-based Smartmatic, which sued for billions in damages. And while Fox News has somewhat fallen out of favor with Trump after having been the outlet to call Arizona for Biden—throwing a ginormous wrench into Trump’s plan to steal the election—Trump’s allegiance and reliance on the soggy brain trust that is Fox News hosts is well attested to by those on the inside.
A New Mexico judge ruled Tuesday that Couy Griffin, a county commissioner, is disqualified to continue serving in office because of his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (Washington Post)
He was disqualified under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
The judge ruled that Jan 6th, was an insurrection under the statute, and that the defendant “met the definition of disqualifying behavior”.
The ruling was the result of a lawsuit seeking Griffin’s removal, which alleged that he violated a clause in 14th Amendment of the Constitution by participating in an “insurrection” against the US government.
Kind of interesting that General McCaffery and Hertling really think the same.
The difference is, really, McCaffery — a cautious fellow — thinks it could take months and is a real possibility , Hertling thinks weeks and more certain. RU either “possibly” gets 15,000 soldiers trapped there (McCaffery) — Hertling thinks it is a probability and in weeks, not months, and thinks it could be as low as 10,000 and high as 25,000 in that little cauldron. Pretty small difference in the scheme of things, really. Those soldiers are near trapped — logistics cut off or down to a dribble— retreat basically cut off and backs to the river. And they don’t want to be there to begin with — sure won’t see any heroic stand here. As in they are fucked.
Let me quote Hertling (and there is sure more)-
“Any good military leader will tell you this indicates:-extremely poor soldier discipline & horrible fieldcraft/training-extremely bad lower level leadership-senior leaders who aren’t circulating-lack of standards-low morale-the potential for disease-future surrender.” […]
I really think RU guns are about toast here and they are about out of ammunition. That it is about to be “drastic” vision Pavel Luzin made about those guns being completely fucked and out of ammunition by year end — has already started. Jesus, I think they danced themselves into a noose.
You know those Russian “precision” weapons — miss 60% of the time! Not so precise, huh? And they are running out of them. Just amazingly bad. Ukraine has and is dancing circles around them. I know our intelligence is helping them — but I think they don’t need us for that very much. […]
There is a lot of shit out there about this ”lack of bravery” from the Russians in this blow back — but this one is pretty representative I think. You know abandoning their guns and all is one thing — but they are even abandoning their personal stuff, too. They are freaked out about what UKR has in mind here — so certain to me. Ukraine is bouncing their attacks up and down the line — I think and have thought — the Russians don’t know where to deploy until it is too late. SO this is what a “shotgun” offensive (my term) looks like I think. They will just keep on doing this to those southern forces — like break them piece by piece. [Tweet and rather shocking video at the link. Russians left a lot behind.]
RU is a broken force. Has been since July really. Looks like to me they (UKR) are even popping that line NE to Donetsk. Pretty goddamn confident I think. But they sure are making the Russians second guess every fucking move. Like where to deploy with what — to the 10th power.
General Hodges is saying this by the way —“ I’m always struck by how trashy the abandoned/overrun Russian positions are, how much Russian Soldier personal stuff is lying around, and how trashed out abandoned Russian vehicles are. All indicators of no discipline, no NCO’s, and no Will to Fight. They will lose.” [yep]
[…] It is just in the news that Russia is going to buy ammunition from North Korea you know (top notch stuff I am sure) — Well, how are they going to get it to the battlefield, especially in the south? It is like the three stooges directing a war here. I have studied an awful lot of wars and battles — some stupid shit happens but this one takes the cake. Never seen anything this badly done.
Termite ridden houses look fine — until they don’t. I think it is likely this thing just implodes […] Ukraine says by the end of the year will be the end of major combat— I think they are right. But Russia is going to get about 20,000 soldiers forced to surrender here pretty shortly. Surrenders are kind of a contagious thing.
Pierce R. Butlersays
Oggie: Mathom @ # 165: Just how far out there does someone need to be for TRUMP to see him as a liability?
They launched an investigation internally in the campaign into Giuliani’s clients, and he had so many clients with potential conflicts that had filled a report, dozens of pages, and eventually, Trump moved on.
Alas, no clients’ names named.
Apparently, Giuliani’s severe alcoholism – he & wife-at-the-time stayed at Merde-a-Lago for a month at the low point (after losing the ’08 GOP presidential nomination), so it must have been obvious – did not disqualify him by Trump™ standards.
Pierce R. Butlersays
Reginald Selkirk @ # 173: Whomever that judge selects as “Special Master” for the documents Trump stole will need to have clearance to handle highly classified documents.
That person will need to have particular “compartmentalized” clearance for multiple categories: probably the only individual in the world who qualifies is one Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., who may not be available, or acceptable to Trump™ &/or his pet judge.
Reginald Selkirksays
>
@174: Those soldiers are near trapped — logistics cut off or down to a dribble— retreat basically cut off and backs to the river. And they don’t want to be there to begin with — sure won’t see any heroic stand here.
You always want to leave them at least the perception of an escape route. Basic “Art of War” stuff.
Some days, it is simply much more fun to haul out the maps. This is one of those days.
Over the month of August, something changed in Russia’s illegal, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. that something was the Ukrainian military consistently hitting Russian facilities of command, control, and supply well behind the front lines. How much of that change was directly attributable to HIMARS O’Clock! is debatable. But whatever the source of those shots, the Ukrainian military is reporting a total of 200 Russian military facilities destroyed, including supply depots, repair centers, and command posts.
As far as gains made by Russia in the last few days, it seems that Russia has finally pushed a route through the mines and debris in Pisky and has reached the bridge to the west. That’s about it. Where is Ukraine now advancing on the ground? Where isn’t it? [map at the link]
When looking at Kharkiv, I want to point out the Ukrainian military command mixed up Novovoznesenske and Novovoskresenske, two towns which are both in the northern part of Kharkiv oblast, in their announcements this week. This makes me feel much better about my difficulties in labeling the correct Blahodatne or Kyselivka. Or throwing my hands up over yet another Telegram message that mentions Ivanivka.
Those who have suggested that the main effort in Kherson is in the north, and that the cutting of bridges not just across the Dnipro River, but the Inhulets River, was to isolate the northern portion of the oblast […] seem to be scoring more “I was right all along” points by the day. Ukraine has now taken that long-held Russian position at Vysokopillya along with all surrounding villages. What’s the difference between Novovoznesenske and Novovoskresenske? Ukraine has already liberated the former and is now engaged in liberating the latter. There are also unconfirmed reports of Ukrainian troops ranging as far as Novooleksandrivka, but those are so far unconfirmed. In any case, that’s a lot of novo.
Update: While I’ve been writing this, confirmation has come in that Ukraine has now liberated Novovoskresenske. So this map, made this morning, is already out of date. Ukraine is moving very quickly.
Down at the still expanding Ukrainian bridgehead over the Inhulets, not only did Ukrainian troops double back across a Russian-built pontoon bridge to capture Blahodativka, they also pressed on to get Bezimenne, which was considered part of Russia’s “second line.” Don’t expect to hear a lot from this bridgehead today, because even if they’re still advancing, it’s a long way to the next village that’s more than a crossroads. They’re genuinely in Russia’s backfield at this point, and where they go next should be really informative. […]
At the south end of the oblast, I’ve reluctantly erased that big blue blob that jutted in to Tomyna Balka. This doesn’t represent any kind of Russian advance, or a withdrawal of Ukrainian troops. It represents that this capture, which was reported by CNN over a week ago, has still not been confirmed by anyone else and likely never happened. I’ll be happy to put it right back if there is any news from that area, but right now, this doesn’t seem to be a particularly active area of conflict. And, just to be clear, Ukraine did take Olexsandrivka earlier this week, but if they still have it is just about anyone’s guess. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn the translation of Olexsandrivka is a “place that everyone keeps walking over.”
For those still getting “nuh uh, Russia didn’t really lose Vysokopillya” in their inboxes, have a tweet from a a twitter account that is apparently NOT the murderous Russian warlord, upset because they didn’t let him be king of the Donbas, Igor Girkin. [Tweet, video and map at the link, nice video of Ukrainian soldier putting a flag in a nice holder.]
As reports indicate that Ukraine is actually massing forces for its own counterattack into Donetsk oblast, Russian actions in eastern Ukraine over the last two days appear to be mostly limited to the continued attempts to reach Soledar and Bakhmut. To that end, every town that is white on this map represents a separate Russian attempt to advance. Absolutely none of these attacks appears to have gained Russia a meter of territory, [!!] all of them are certain to have run up costs in men and materiel. Frankly, it seems a kind of perverse miracle that Russia can still round up troops and get them to make one of these attacks. By now, every soldier on the eastern front must have seen or heard about a hundred failures.
This line is about where it has been for the last two months, since Russia’s rapid advance following the fall of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk. The primary targets remain the not-seen-here Slovyansk and Kramatorsk, about 40km to the west. Unless something changes drastically, Russia seems unlikely ever to come in sight of those locations.
Really, the push to take the remainder of the Donbas seems to have collapsed when Russia failed to capture the stubborn town of Bohorodychne, south of Izyum. Unable to pressure Slovyansk from two sides, Ukraine has been able to put the brakes on that advance from the east.
In the area south of Izyum, Ukraine seems to be comfortably holding existing positions and pressing Russia along a wide front. That includes both pushing through the heavily-mined rubble that was Dovhen’ke and from the west along highway P79. […]
Ukraine has launched a more serious push to the north, liberating the village of Verbivka and moving into the long-held Russian position at Balakliya. Just like Vysokopillya in the Kherson area, this town has been an important Russian outpost for launching attacks to the west, as well as a fortified defensive position locking in Russia’s control over this portion of the map. Some reports are indicating that Ukrainian forces have already taken most of the town. Others that Russian forces are departing a whole series of villages and towns along that stretch of the Siverskyi Donets River.
Whatever is happening, it has Russian forces in the area in an absolute panic. This move seems to have caught them totally by surprise. Or not, say Russian bots everywhere. [Screen grab showing Russian bots all repeating the same thing: “There is no panic […]” Ha. So silly. Even their bots are stupid.]
There is no panic … except for all the panic. Meanwhile, Ukraine is feeling so upbeat about this counteroffensive that President Zelenskyy is expected to speak in the next couple of hours specifically about what’s happening at Balakliya.
Russia seems to have brought down the bridge between Balakliya and Bairak to the south. But that may have happened even before Ukraine began its assault. In any case … there is no panic.
Note: Careful observers may spot that the area at the top of this map has shifted a bit toward Russia. That’s not because anything changed up there, but because about two months ago, I mistook Volokhiv Yar for Vovchyi Yar. It seems to be the theme of the day.
These are not the only areas where fighting is heavy. Over the last month, Russia has been creeping back toward Kharkiv, recapturing some small villages and moving around Ukrainian forces to take border towns to the west. But on Tuesday, fighting is going on in multiple areas, with Ukraine bringing new forces against Russian positions. [map at the link]
For those who last looked at this area more than a month ago, when Ukraine had liberated Rubizhne, Ternova, Vessle, and was right on the edge of Lyptsi, seeing those areas back in red is certainly disappointing. But the biggest, most important action in the region to happen since the first Ukrainian counteroffensive swept out to Staryi Saltiv and drove Russian forces out of the Kharkiv suburbs is happening right now.
It’s happening near the northwest corner of this map, where Ukraine is engaged in fighting right at Kozacha Lopan. This is another of Russia’s big “hard points.” Just like at Balakliya and at Vysokopillya, this represents Ukraine going straight at Russia’s toughest position—and also the place where many supplies are stored and where command and control resources are located. That stretch from Kozacha Lopan over to Kudiivka is where Russia has been digging, mining, and otherwise building up defenses around that big border crossing on highway E105. That was the major port between Russia and Ukraine before the war, and it’s still a vital route to supplying Russian forces in the region.
Remember that, over to the east, all those bridges across the Siverskyi Donets are still down. Russia has to supply their forces in Kharkiv by bringing materials over the border, and for the most part, that has meant that crossing east of Kozacha Lopan. Fighting appears to be heavy just everywhere along this line. North of Dementiivka. Tsupivka. Velyki Prokhody. It’s all on fire.
Over to the west, the border towns that Russia had claimed in the last month seem to have reverted back to Ukraine. It’s likely that Russia never put enough forces into these towns to seriously occupy them. They were only trying to draw Ukrainian forces away from the current lines. Now they seem to have quit fiddling around along the border as the fight gets more serious.
Meanwhile, in the “strange things happen in war” category … [Tweet and video at the link.
In Kharkiv, a chimpanzee escaped from a zoo. It was walking around the city while zoo employees tried to convince it to return. Suddenly it started to rain, and the ape ran to a zoo employee for a jacket and then agreed to return to the zoo.
[Good video. They ended up putting the chimp on a bicycle to give him a ride back to the zoo.] […]
The number of coronavirus cases, especially of newer omicron variants, are still relatively high in the U.S.
The new bivalent version of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are now authorized and available.
Vaccinated individuals are eligible for this new shot, at least two months after a previous shot.
Nearly two years since the original coronavirus vaccines were given emergency authorization for use, we now have an updated vaccine that can be given as a booster shot. Here’s what we currently know about the new bivalent vaccine, who should get it and when.
What is the new booster shot?
Both Pfizer and Moderna/BioNTech have new versions of their mRNA vaccines for COVID-19.
The updated coronavirus vaccine is bivalent, meaning that is contains the mRNA vaccine for the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 and the mRNA vaccine for another strain. In this case, it is the omicron strain, specifically targeting a part that is found in both the BA.4 and BA.5 variants.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the use of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech Bivalent COVID-19 vaccines as boosters on Aug. 31, and the next day the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially gave its recommendation for it.
“The updated Covid-19 boosters are formulated to better protect against the most recently circulating Covid-19 variant,” Rochelle Walensky, who is director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement. “They can help restore protection that has waned since previous vaccination and were designed to provide broader protection against newer variants.”
Is it safe?
The vaccine makers have been testing bivalent versions of their vaccines in humans with mRNA developed to target the first omicron strain, also known as BA.1. There was a better immune response in people who got the bivalent version compared to people who got the original formulation, or monovalent vaccine. Side effects were similar to the original vaccines.
This version targeting BA.4 and BA.5 has been tested in mice, but not yet in humans. Because the vaccine is not very different from previous versions, health researchers and experts are confident that the safety profile will remain similar enough to go ahead and authorize it for use. The safety data from the previous version is also relevant because the new version is “manufactured using the same process,” according to the FDA. The data in humans will be monitored as it becomes available.
The new bivalent versions of the vaccine could soon be widely available. Shipments have gone out to locations around the country, and some clinics have reported they have started administering the shots.
[…] Who is eligible
People who are fully vaccinated are eligible for this booster shot. People who have also gotten one or two booster shots are also eligible, although the shots can’t be too close together in timing.
Children are not yet eligible for the most part, yet. The Pfizer/BioNTech boosters were authorized for people 12 and older, and Moderna’s for people 18 and older. The FDA has said they will wait on more data before it is authorized for children.
When you should get the shot
The FDA states that people should wait at least two months after a previous vaccination.
A record heat wave is pushing California’s electric grid up against the point of failure this week, with officials pointing to climate change for putting continued stress on the system.
The state issued an emergency alert for a seventh consecutive day on Tuesday, urging customers to conserve energy between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.
“We have now entered the most intense phase of this heat wave,” Elliot Mainzer, chief executive officer of California’s principal electric grid, California ISO, said […]
As temperatures in the state capital of Sacramento head toward 114 degrees, California ISO said Tuesday that demand could hit an all-time record of 51,000 megawatts by 5:30 p.m., as solar capacity begins to taper off with sunset while temperatures — and power demand for air conditioner use — remain high.
Officials said the grid was expected to be as much as 4,000 megawatts short of demand […]
To make matters worse, the older natural gas plants that provide additional power when demand is at its highest are less reliable in extreme heat, The Associated Press reported.
“We are on razor thin margins,” Siva Gunda, vice chairman of the California Energy Commission, told the Sacramento Bee.
California is attempting to meet demand by spinning up emergency natural gas generators — enough to power 120,000 homes.
But those plants will provide just 120 megawatts — about 3 percent of the potential shortfall. That has the state calling on business and industry to cut power usage while asking households to raise thermostats and turn off large appliances in the evening.
Citizen attempts to cut electricity usage over the weekend helped cut power by 1,000 megawatts — enough to supply 750,000 households, Mainzer said.
“Your efforts have been making a real difference,” he said.
But with temperatures set to keep rising throughout the week, if consumers can’t close the gap by cutting demand, then “blackouts, rolling, rotating outages are a possibility,” Mainzer added.
In a rolling blackout, grid officials deal with power shortfalls by cycling outages among users. In California in August 2020, that meant outages ranging from 15 minutes to more than two hours. […]
The state’s power crunch is one more sign of how climate change is straining the national grid and forcing even climate-forward states to depend even more on traditional energy sources.
“Climate change is causing unprecedented stress on California’s energy system,” Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said in a statement last week while signing a bill to extend the life of a controversial nuclear power plant.
The power issues also highlight the strain on infrastructure in general.
California avoided blackouts this week in part by postponing maintenance on power plants between noon and 10 p.m. on Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported.
[…] Predictably, the calls for energy conservation have drawn backlash. “This is the reality of backward Democrat leadership,’” said US Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA) on Twitter. “Their ‘green energy’ infrastructure can’t even support their expensive electric vehicles.”
The argument that clean energy is responsible for grid failures is unimaginative and totally misses the point. It’s also inaccurate. The problem isn’t the energy sources, but rather that there is — it bears repeating — extreme weather hitting the state.
[…] the argument doesn’t hold up to the facts.
Some of the country’s biggest blackouts in recent history, Dyson [Mark Dyson, managing director of the Carbon-Free Electricity Program at RMI, a clean energy think tank] pointed out, were a result of failures of fossil fuel infrastructure, rather than renewable energy. Texas is a compelling example of this: In 2021, a winter storm famously shut down the natural gas infrastructure that was responsible for most of the state’s power generation, leaving millions of Texans without power for nearly a week and causing hundreds of deaths. Republican policymakers in the state were quick to falsely blame renewable energy — particularly wind turbines — for the blackouts, despite all evidence to the contrary.
That same wind power went on to prop up the state’s power grid during a heat wave that knocked natural gas plants offline this summer. Texas policymakers didn’t seem quite as eager to laud the wind turbines as they were to attack them.
Climate deniers like to point out that renewable energy is not always available and that electric vehicles use a lot of energy. These things are both true. But in normal operating conditions, neither of these things is a problem. While the electric vehicle market is growing, Dyson said, they are still “largely in the noise” of California’s energy use, and their software can allow them to automatically schedule their charging for off-peak hours, when demand is lower. Meanwhile, California’s energy mix, despite the state’s hefty investments in clean energy, is still mostly supplied by fossil fuels, and the variability in wind and solar power throughout the day is easy to plan for when the state isn’t facing a stifling heat wave.
But no matter the fuel source, there’s no getting around the fact that the power grid is simply unprepared for climate change and the extreme heat it is bringing.
Heat’s impact on the grid is twofold, explained Eric Fournier, research director at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. First, more people turn on their air conditioners and run them for longer on hot days, which means electricity demand is higher.
Second, heat has a physical impact on the infrastructure of the grid, making wires less efficient at moving electricity and pushing transformers and thermal power plants to their temperature limits. […]
“We’re at an extremely sensitive, and I would say potentially dangerous, transition point,” said Fournier. “If renewables are painted as the problem, we may miss the window to prevent ourselves from getting into a really desperate, dangerous level of climate change. We have a short window right now. If we panic, it’s going to get really ugly.”
Changing that trajectory will be difficult and uncomfortable, and the time ahead may well be riddled with blackouts. But heat waves and other climate disasters are our new reality, and they are expected to get worse. Fossil fuels got us to where we are; to get out, we must look elsewhere.
“We designed the grid and wrote reliability requirements for the 20th century,” said Dyson. “We didn’t know that the weather was going to get a lot more extreme, both cold and hot. And what we’re seeing in particular is large, aging fossil fuel plants showing their weaknesses.”
As climate change continues to lead to more extreme weather events and more grid failures, it could be tempting to look at how things used to be and say that since the grid was more stable in the 20th century, we ought to go back to doing things the way we did then. But that would be ignoring the realities of why those grid failures are happening, and it would just make things worse.
“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” a new TV series based on the work of J.R. R. Tolkien, debuted this month on Amazon Prime Video, and there are some Black elves. What’s important to remember is that Black people are real and elves are not. However, racists are predictably furious over the casting, which shouldn’t surprise anyone familiar with racists and their obsession with Black people existing.
CNN explored their wounded feelings in a feature titled “When ‘wokeness’ comes to Middle-earth: Why some say diverse casting ruins the new ‘Lord of the Rings’ series.” Here, “wokeness” clearly means Black people. It’s like a headline about the Montgomery bus boycott that read “When ‘wokeness’ comes to public transportation.”
Writer John Blake interviews RedState deputy managing editor Brandon Morse, who claims he’s read the Tolkien books and watched the Peter Jackson movies so often he “can almost quote them all line for line.” Morse is dreading the Amazon series because he thinks it “perverts and corrupts” Tolkien’s “mythical medieval universe.” We guess Black elves and Hobbits will bring down Middle-earth’s property values or something.
From CNN:
[Morse] says “The Rings of Power” producers have cast non-White actors in a story based on European culture and who look wildly different from how Tolkien originally described them. He says it’s an attempt to embed “social justice politics” into Tolkien’s world.
This is an overtly racist sentiment. First place, when translating literature into TV or film, creators often make drastic changes to how characters were described in the book. No one ever correctly casts my beloved Jordan Baker from The Great Gatsby, but that’s showbiz, kid, not “social justice politics.”
“If you focus on introducing modern political sentiments, such as the leftist obsession with identity issues that only go skin deep, then you’re no longer focusing on building a good story,” says Morse, who wrote an impassioned essay about his misgivings. “You’re effectively making propaganda, or art meant to fit a message, not a message to fit the art.”
Oh, sounds like the racist nerd wrote an “impassioned” essay about why Black people don’t belong in his whites-only fantasy world. This doesn’t mean we should take him seriously. Morse is the one obsessed with “identity issues that go skin deep.” He’s literally prejudging the show’s content based on the color of the actors’ skin.
For those of you not wearing white hoods, “The Rings of Power” is not based on “European culture,” because actual European culture has no elves and Hobbits. Also, people of color existed in medieval Europe.
Middle-earth fans and scholars like Morse have clashed in online forums and dueling op-eds over this question: Does casting non-White actors enhance the new series, or is it a betrayal of Tolkien’s original vision?
Morse is a “scholar” now? CNN treats this as a good-faith “debate” rather than a racist diatribe.
Casting brown people in a fantasy series could only betray Tolkien’s vision if his work was a white supremacist tract. It wasn’t. Tolkien was hardly “woke” and was probably as fucked up in his way as most white men of his time, but he didn’t set out to create a mythical Jim Crow reality. Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson didn’t hire real elves and hobbits, either. They were all actors playing make-believe, as Ian McKellen helpfully explained. [video at the link]
An exclusively white fantasy world is a political statement. When Richard Pryor saw Logan’s Run, which was set in the future but had no Black characters, he said, “White folks ain’t planning for us to be here.”
Netflix’s “Bridgerton” has demonstrated that most fans of Regency romance aren’t interested in historically precise examinations of class and race. They want lovely women in gowns and dreamy men in tights. Black folks can bring the looks.
The racist babies insist they aren’t racist, though, because “they have also condemned the portrayals of White characters in the show, such as the elf Galadriel, who has been criticized for being not feminine enough.” The misogynistic criticism is hardly exculpatory. It’s all part of the same fetid stew.
Louis Markos, author of “From A to Z to Middle Earth with J.R.R. Tolkien,” says casting Black and brown actors in “The Rings of Power” threatens story believability. He said Tolkien described elves, for example, as “fair-faced.”
OK, that’s both racist and hilarious.
Elves aren’t real, so if Tolkien wanted exclusively pasty elves, we are free to ignore him. Besides, while “fair-faced” can mean having a light complexion, it’s also defined as simply “beautiful of countenance.” This is an example of how whiteness is often conflated with beauty, as if they’re synonymous. They’re not.
Author Neil Gaiman noted that Tolkien himself described the Harfoot Hobbits from “Rings of Power” as “browner of skin” than other Hobbits, so anyone whining about casting Black actors “is either racist or hasn’t read their Tolkien.” The racist trolls took it well. [Tweet at the link]
Markos argues that audiences can’t maintain their “willing suspension of disbelief” if elves aren’t white. He is clearly deranged. He continues to humiliate himself:
“This is not something organic that’s coming out of Middle-earth,” Markos says of casting brown and Black actors in the show. “This is really an agenda that is being imposed upon it.”
No, diverse casting is a reasonable business decision. Minorities watch television and movies and appreciate seeing themselves represented on screen. Racists had no problem suspending disbelief and accepting that there were literally no Black people in 1970s New York stand-in Metropolis other than the literal pimp who complimented Superman’s “bad outfit.”
Gaiman wrote that “a world in which there are monsters, and ghosts, and things that want to steal your heart is a world in which there are angels, and dreams and a world in which there is hope.”
Racists can no longer exclude people of color from their own imaginations, and that frightens them. Tough.
Calling President Biden’s recent prime-time address “deeply offensive and upsetting,” a group representing the nation’s armed insurrectionists has complained that the speech hurt their feelings.
The group, the National Society of Heavily Armed Insurrectionists, is one of the most prominent associations of insurrectionists and rioters in the country, experts say.
Harland Dorrinson, the executive director of the N.S.H.A.I., said that insurrectionists across the country watched Biden’s speech “in a state of profound distress.”
“Insurrectionists felt that Biden was really singling them out and bullying them,” he said. “The entire speech was extremely triggering from an insurrectionist point of view.”
Dorrinson said that he hoped that, in the future, Biden would “choose his words more carefully” and avoid saying things that might sadden America’s heavily armed insurrectionists.
“The media has offered a very distorted view of us,” he said. “They relentlessly show us storming the Capitol, using flagpoles to smash windows, and vandalizing congressional offices. But insurrectionists have feelings, too.”
Gas prices are expected to continue their downward trend after Labor Day and into the fall, with some states possibly seeing a dip below $3 per gallon, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told CNBC in an interview published Monday.
Oggie: Mathomsays
SC @167:
I don’t understand how what he did isn’t a crime.
If it were done by a liberal, it would be a crime. But on the right, no one actually commits crimes. They are serving a higher power.
Oggie @ #185, but he did it in DC. The prosecutors there aren’t rightwing ideologues. He endangered a homicide witness and obstructed justice, for overtly political motives. At the very least, he committed police misconduct. It’s odd to me that he could just quit and avoid any consequences.
ravensays
kcra.com
5:30 p.m.: The new all-time high for downtown Sacramento is 116 degrees as of 5:30 p.m., KCRA 3 Meteorologist Heather Waldman reports. Stockton also tied its record high of 115 degrees today.
California is a mess right now.
A record heat wave and the electricity grid is struggling with rolling blackouts.
That 116 F. is 46.7 degrees C.
It was hotter in Death Valley but not by much at 121 F.
The other difference is that almost no one lives in Death Valley while 2.6 million people live in metro Sacramento.
The Washington Post just published a story with two notable details. One is merely atmospheric. Some of the documents recovered from Trump’s Florida villa were so highly classified that none of the people involved in the investigation were allowed to look at them. “Only the president, some members of his Cabinet or a near-Cabinet-level official could authorize other government officials to know details of these special-access programs,” says the Post.
The other detail is more interesting. One of the documents found in the FBI search described “a foreign government’s military defenses, including its nuclear capabilities.”
We can do some basic process of elimination. There are nine nuclear more or less known nuclear powers: the United States, the UK, France, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea. We can strike the US from the list since it’s a foreign nation.
There’s really no more information here beside what I just quoted. But in general, I think that sort of intelligence is most prized when it’s about a friendly or allied government. That’s certainly not an absolute. And maybe my reasoning is off. But it’s about a friendly government that the US is really going to have deep insights into. If that’s the case we’re really talking about the UK, France and Israel. Pakistan and India aren’t adversaries. But they’re not comparable in terms of military to military cooperation, intelligence sharing or potential joint operations. For my money, the interest in that kind of information would be most focused on Israel. But that’s just speculation.
I would think all three of those countries are uneasy about this revelation.
And now we get to watch various news organizations put together videos that feature Trump saying, and posting on Truth Social, that the news about him having nuclear-related material at his trash palace is a “hoax.” Well, Fox News won’t do that, but others will.
Among the highly classified documents recovered from Mar-a-Lago was at least one that detailed the military defenses of a foreign nation, including its nuclear capabilities. The Washington Post is reporting that these documents were so tightly guarded that access to them could be granted only by the president and select cabinet members.
Reportedly, these documents are among the most closely held and valuable secrets the U.S. possesses. Obtaining such information can take years, or decades, and may require conducting extensive analysis, the expenditure of many millions of dollars, and even endangering the lives of numerous agents.
Not only are these documents of exceptional value, they are also acutely dangerous. Such documents are rarely, if ever, shared—not even with allies. Making such a document available to someone who should not see it could seriously destabilize whole regions, making war much more likely. Even nuclear war.
As described, these are documents are well beyond “top secret.” These are “need-to-know” documents, limited to a very small number of people at the highest level of government. Reportedly, some of these documents are so restricted that no one in the Biden administration except President Joe Biden is authorized to review them. Nonetheless, the Post reports that “such documents were stored at Mar-a-Lago, with uncertain security, more than 18 months after Trump left the White House.”
Imagine any two countries with a long history of animosity. Israel and Iraq. Pakistan and India. North and South Korea. Now imagine giving one of them all that the U.S. military knows about the defenses of their opponent—including how many nuclear weapons they have, where they’re stored, what kind of threat each poses. Or, imagine walking up to a representative from Russia or China and offering to show them everything that the United States knows about their own military.
At best, the outcome would be a hasty rearrangement of resources and weapons, negating much of the value of U.S. intelligence. At worst, the outcome could be war.
These are documents that could completely alter the balance between two rivals. Revealing such a document could also severely weaken the national security of the United States. It’s hard to imagine anything else that Donald Trump might have left lying around that represents a greater threat to the stability and well-being of the entire planet.
After previous reports suggested that documents related to nuclear weapons were among those sought at Mar-a-Lago, Trump, predictably, called the story “a hoax. just like Russia, Russia, Russia was a Hoax.”
A bipartisan Senate committee led by Republicans concluded that Trump’s campaign had over 100 contacts with Russian agents, provided information they knew was going to high levels in the Russian government, and sought more assistance from Russia. That report concluded that some of these actions “represented a grave counterintelligence threat.”
[…] In the detailed list of documents subpoenaed from Trump were some including the “S/FRD” sub-classification in addition to top secret. This abbreviation is “reserved for information that relates primarily to the military use of nuclear weapons.”
In addition to these documents, some were labelled “HCS,” for human intelligence. The sources for these documents will likely now have to be exfiltrated where possible, or otherwise abandoned. Simply the chance that their identities have been compromised is enough to make any future information from these sources suspect.
At the moment, any investigative action that the federal government might take related to this material has been frozen by Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled on Sunday night that Trump should be granted his request for a “special master” to review all seized documents and sort out any over which he might have some form of privilege. If the ruling is not overturned on appeal, the level of classification connected to these documents makes the pool of available masters vanishingly small.
Trump has repeatedly stated—though not in court—that he has declassified all material coming to Mar-a-Lago. However, not only does this contradict both practice and law concerning how documents are classified and declassified, documents at this level are never declassified.
By Devlin Barrett and Carol D. Leonnig
September 6, 2022 at 7:53 p.m. EDT
“A document describing a foreign government’s military defenses, including its nuclear capabilities, was found by FBI agents who searched former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and private club last month, according to people familiar with the matter, underscoring concerns among U.S. intelligence officials about classified material stashed in the Florida property.
Some of the seized documents detail top-secret U.S. operations so closely guarded that many senior national security officials are kept in the dark about them. Only the president, some members of his Cabinet or a near-Cabinet level official could authorize other government officials to know details of these special access programs, according to people familiar with the search, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive details of an ongoing investigation.”
StevoRsays
Threatened Species Day – Sept 7th – in Australia here today :
On Australia’s Threatened Species Day, 7th September, I’ve chosen one of Australia’s most peculiar and remarkable critically Endangered marine creatures dubbed the “Darlings of the Derwent”, the Spotted Handfish (Brachionichthys hirsutus) as this week’s Endangered Species of the Week. Found only in Tasmania’s Derwent estuary this is a fish whose very existence is threatened by, among other things, a starfish namely the Northern Pacific Seastar (Asterias amurensis) which preys on their eggs and the sea squirts they spawn on. These extraordinary Aussie members of the Anglerfish family have evolved to live up to their name using their very hand-like pectoral fins to walk along the silty and sometimes sandy sea floor giving us convergent hints at how the fish we all descended from previously also developed legs. Small – under 5 inches (120mm) – with individually unique patterns of red or orange speckling spots on their otherwise cream bodies; these fish are found between 2 and 5 metres deep on the bottom of the ocean / eustury floor where they feed on small shellfish, crustaceans and polychaete worms. Critically endangered due to their extremely restricted range and also from those aforementioned starfish, pollution, habitat loss due to human industrial activity with ports and mining plus declines in their prey and potentially also Global Overheating, this is one little underwater Aussie battler that is clinging onto life by the tips of its very wet fishy fingers.
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian (support them if you can!) Ukraine liveblog. From there:
Putin threatens to ‘freeze’ west by cutting gas and oil supplies if price caps imposed
Speaking at an economic forum in Vladivostok, Vladimir Putin threatened to cut off energy supplies if price caps are imposed on Russia’s oil and gas exports….
Ukraine military claims responsibility for series of strikes in Crimea, including Saki
Ukraine’s top military chief, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, has claimed responsibility for a series of strikes on Russian airbases in Crimea.
In an article published by Ukrinform, a state news agency, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army said the strikes used missiles or rockets and that 10 warplanes were destroyed. The attacks he took responsibility for included the devastating August strike on the Saki military facility, reports Reuters.
A group of Persian Gulf states have threatened Netflix with legal action if it continues broadcasting content that “contradicts” Islam, while Saudi state media indicated that the offending material centred on shows depicting sexual minorities.
A statement issued jointly by the Saudi media regulator and the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), headquartered in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, did not specifically identify material, referring only to content that “contradicts Islamic and societal values”.
…
The Gulf Cooperation Council includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
…
While the GCC did not specifically identify the content deemed offensive, one segment on the Saudi state-run Al-Ekhbariya news channel deplored “movies and series for children with scenes promoting homosexuality under a dramatic cover via Netflix”.
A lawyer said in an on-air interview that these were “very unfortunate and painful clips for our children, grandchildren and the next generation”.
…
Saudi Arabia, which only opened cinemas in 2017, asked Disney in April to cut “LGBTQ references” in the Marvel superhero film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Disney did not comply and the film was not screened in the kingdom.
In June, Saudi state media filmed officials seizing rainbow-coloured toys and articles of clothing from shops in the capital as part of a crackdown on homosexuality, which is a potential capital offence in Saudi Arabia.
Items targeted in the raids included rainbow-coloured bows, skirts, hats and pencil cases, most of them apparently manufactured for young children.
A court in Hong Kong has convicted five speech therapists of producing “seditious publications” in the form of a series of illustrated children’s books that depicted sheep trying to defend their village from wolves.
The convictions are the latest using a colonial-era sedition offence that authorities have deployed alongside a new national security law to stamp out dissent.
Prosecutors said the animals were analogies for Hong Kong residents and mainland Chinese respectively, and were intended to incite hatred towards the latter. The defence argued that the books’ content was open to interpretation and that they did not call for armed rebellion against the government.
But in his verdict, the judge Kwok Wai-kin, who is on a panel of national security judges selected by the city’s leader, wrote that the books were written in a way to guide the mind of readers, and that the publishers did not recognise Beijing’s sovereignty over Hong Kong.
“The seditious intention stems not merely from the words, but from the words with the proscribed effects intended to result in the mind of children,” Kwok wrote. “Children will be led into belief that the PRC [People’s Republic of China] government is coming to Hong Kong with the wicked intention of taking away their home and ruining their happy life with no right to do so at all.”
The case concerned three illustrated children’s books published by the now defunct General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists in 2020 and 2021.
One of the books, titled 12 Warriors of Sheep Village, appears to make reference to 12 Hong Kong protesters who tried to flee on speedboats to Taiwan but were intercepted by Chinese law enforcement in August 2020. The book depicts 12 sheep having to flee their village by boat after fighting against invading wolves, only to be captured at sea and put into prison.
The five defendants – Lai Man-king, Melody Yeung, Sidney Ng, Samuel Chan and Fong Tsz-ho, all in their 20s – have been in custody with bail denied since July last year.
Ah To (not his real name), a political cartoonist who relocated to the UK after the national security laws were enacted in June 2020, said the verdict had caused him anguish. “The so-called seditious publication is speech crime, it is an evil law long repealed in the UK,” he told the Guardian….
Top former Trump strategist Steve Bannon is expected to be indicted on Thursday on state fraud charges connected to his role in a fundraising scheme to build a border wall, according to two sources familiar with the matter, years after he received a presidential pardon in the federal case.
The expected move by the Manhattan district attorney’s office was quietly communicated to Bannon in recent days, the sources said of the sealed indictment, and indicated the state charges will likely mirror the federal case in which he was pardoned.
…
The architect of Trump’s 2016 election campaign and later White House adviser was accused of personally taking more than $1m from what people had donated to the fundraising push that promised to secure funding in order to ensure the completion of the border wall.
Bannon – alongside disabled veteran Brian Kolfage, Andrew Badolato and Timothy Shea – raised more than $25m in the online crowdfunding effort, which also promised donors that all of the proceeds would go towards constructing the wall.
…
In a statement, Bannon decried the expected indictment as a partisan prosecution that was aimed to hurt Trump politically by going after a political operative involved in uniting the former president’s base months before the 2022 midterm elections.
“The Soros-backed DA has now decided to pursue phoney charges against me 60 days before the midterm election because WarRoom is the major source of the Maga grassroots movement,” Bannon said, referring to his far-right conservative show War Room.
“The SDNY did the exact same thing in August 2020 to try to take me out of the election. It didn’t work then, it certainly won’t work now. This is nothing more than a partisan political weaponization of the criminal justice system.”
“I am proud to be a leading voice on protecting our borders and building a wall to keep our country safe from drugs and violent criminals,” Bannon said. “They are coming after all of us, not only President Trump and myself. I am never going to stop fighting.”
The expected indictment by the Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, earlier reported by the Washington Post, comes weeks after Bannon was convicted on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack.
The gall of this man not only to respond with an anti-Semitic trope but to try to claim the victims of his fraud are the targets of the people prosecuting him for fraud. He’s expected to surrender himself today.
Ukraine launches surprise counterattack in Kharkiv region
Ukraine has launched a surprise counterattack in the north-east Kharkiv region, stretching Russian forces who are also facing Ukrainian attacks in the south.
An official representing the Russian-controlled Donetsk People’s Republic said on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces “encircled” Balakliia, an eastern town of 27,000 people situated between Kharkiv and Russian-occupied Izium.
“Today, the Ukrainian armed forces, after prolonged artillery preparation … began an attack on Balakliia,” Daniil Bezsonov said on Telegram.
“At this time, Balakliia is in operative encirclement and within the firing range of Ukrainian artillery. All approaches are cut off by fire,” he said, adding that a successful Ukrainian offensive would threaten Russian forces in Izium, a strategically important town that Russia has been using for its own offensive in eastern Ukraine.
Unverified footage circulating on social media on Wednesday showed what looked like a Ukrainian soldier posing in front of the entrance sign for Balakliia.
Analysts have said that the initial target of the offensive could be the city of Kupyansk, a key road hub for Russian supplies heading south from the border into eastern Ukraine.
Something incredible is happening in Kharkiv Oblast.
Yeah, we somewhat underestimated the Ukrainian military’s offensive capability and reserves in that sector.
Lots of videos of Russian POWs (including a lieutenant-colonel) and abandoned Russian positions coming from the Balakliya-Izyum front as Russian military bloggers and analysts remain in doomsday mode. The speed of the Ukrainian advance seems to have stunned everyone.
The Soviet flag is coming down in Nova Husarivka south of Balakliya today. (Video from local Telegram channels.)
My heart is racing.
Oggie: Mathomsays
META:
I am an historian (retired). I majored in modern military history. I spent my life as a public historian interpreting industrial and labour history. I have never stopped reading in my major. It is so weird (nice technical and specific word, there) to see the same names from World War I, the Stalinist anti-nationalism decimation of Soviet Ukraine, and World War II come up again and again and again. Western Ukraine was a battlefield for four years during the first world war. All of Ukraine, as well as border areas in Russian SSR, were hit especially hard during the anti-‘kulak’ operations, killings and deportations of the 1930s. Eastern Poland (parts of which are now in Byelorussia and Ukraine) suffered severely under the Soviet occupation of 1939 to 41, as the intelligentsia, the educated, the middle and upper class, as well as ethnic Ukrainians. From June of 41 until almost the end of the war, Ukraine, Byelorussia, and Poland were Europe’s killing fields — more Jews were killed in those areas than they rest of Europe combined. The number of Ukrainians who died — in military action, German anti-partisan operations, or Soviet anti-collaboration operations — is still just a guess. Now, to read of war and war-crimes in the same cities and villages and towns is depressing. And jarring.
The names, of course, have changed. Lemburg/Lvov/Lviv; Stalino/Donetsk; Kiev/Kyiv; makes it hard for someone who has studied military operations in that area from the early and mid 20th century to keep track of the town or city.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ninety-four percent of U.S. adults now approve of marriages between Black people and White people …..just 4% approved when Gallup first asked the question in 1958.
On Tuesday, Ukraine advanced on every front. There were Ukrainian counteroffensives in Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and in two different areas of Kharkiv oblast. The number of towns that were either thrown into dispute or fully liberated by Ukraine just in the last 24 hours reads like a month of Russian progress in this invasion being rolled back overnight.
And sometimes it’s more than a month. Does the name Volokhiv Yar sound familiar? Back in March and April, that name appeared in a dozen Ukraine updates. It’s a small crossroad along the M03 highway that just happens to be where the salient that Russia pushed out from Kupyansk in the east turned south toward Izyum. Here’s a map from April 1, when Russia had just managed to take Izyum. Volokhiv Yar is where the dark line of the highway from Kharkiv meets that red Russian salient. [map at the link]
This was right at the period when Russia had been booted from the area around Kyiv. The highway connecting Kyiv and Kharkiv had just been cleared of Russian forces, and Ukraine had also sent troops down the M03, clearing the nearest suburbs. For days, we kept up a steady beat of statements like, “If Ukraine can reach Volokhiv Yar, they could possibly cut off supplies and reinforcements from reaching the Izyum salient.” But then Russia occupied the whole area around Izyum, and Volokhiv Yar vanished from the story.
Until yesterday. Because these are Ukrainian troops moving through the crossroads at Volokhiv Yar. [Tweet and video at the link]
On Tuesday, Ukrainian forces made a sudden and forceful attack in southern Kharkiv oblast near the town of Balakliya. By all accounts, this attack caught Russia by complete surprise. Ukraine apparently managed to move enough force into the area that they had an advantage in both men and armor. Also they reportedly used NATO-style combined arms tactics, with armor, infantry, artillery, and air support all working in concert. When a core of resistance prevented Ukraine from immediately capturing Balakliya, they didn’t stop. They took Bairak to the south. They took Vrubivka to the north. They completely encircled Balakliya and they just kept going.
Both Twitter and Telegram are choked with images of captured Russian soldiers, Ukrainian forces shooting down a Russian jet, and Russian equipment either destroyed or captured. Even prepared positions were rapidly overrun as what had been a World War I-style artillery battle turned into modern warfare. In a war where gains have been measured in meters, Ukrainian forces advanced over 20 kilometers in a day. [Tweet and video at the link]
Russian channels are reporting that rather than turning south toward Izyum, the Ukrainian force that reached Volokhiv Yar on Tuesday is continuing to the east. They suspect Ukraine is heading straight toward Kupyansk, but that’s little more than a guess. However, there have been reports of Ukrainian scouts at Petropillya and even unconfirmed reports at Shevchenkove. [map at the link]
I’ll tell you right now, this map is wrong. It’s based on the best information I could obtain on Wednesday morning, but there’s no doubt that this information is already hours out of date, and this is a situation where hours count. It’s now Ukraine pushing a salient into Russian-occupied territory. Will they drive ahead? Pull back and consolidate gains? Try to expand the base, or push along one of the highways to isolate some front-line villages? One of these things (or more) has already happened.
If this was happening in a vacuum, it would still be the single most significant advance by Ukrainian forces since Russia retreated from the north. But it’s not. In Kherson there were significant advances in both north and south. There were more Ukrainian advances north of the city of Kharkiv. And there’s definite activity pressing south in Zaporizhzhia, though the details are still fuzzy. There are bound to be surprises.
Speaking of which … if the name Volokhiv Yar requires reaching back, how about Lyman? [map at the link]
Over the weekend, there were reports that Ukrainian forces had crossed the Siverskyi Donets River to liberate some of the villages and towns along the northern bank. From the videos seen, it seemed like just a few special forces in boats, and it was easy to dismiss the whole thing as just a few people flying the colors and showing Russia that they had yet another soft spot.
However, more videos have now emerged that reportedly show Ukrainian troops have actually been in control of Ozerne and Staryi Karavan for at least two days. This would seem to represent a more significant bridgehead across the river than previously thought, and places Ukraine just 3 kilometers away from the city of Lyman. [map at the link]
In the Kherson area, Ukrainian forces moved on from securing Vysokopillya and neighboring villages and began a push to the south that rapidly moved about 10 kilometers to Novovoskresenske. […] [map at the link]
Another surprise came out of the southern section of the Kherson area, where Ukraine reportedly moved against a whole line of Russian-occupied towns in Mykolaiv oblast northeast of Kyselivka. Liubomyrivka and Shmidtove are reported to be liberated, while four more are currently in dispute.
In both the northern and southern sections, the front line around Kherson is becoming more and more fractured. At least four separate battles appear to be underway, in addition to reports of shelling and smaller actions around individual towns. As in other areas, it’s hard to predict where any of these individual movements is going next, but the overall strategy in Kherson seems to be keeping Russian forces divided by the Inhulets River, and kept Russia from providing resupply across the Dnipro River.
For weeks, it’s been reported that Russia has a “second line” of towns and villages in Kherson that are much better fortified and prepared than the front-line towns. That’s about to be tested. [map at the link]
Russia did rack up one win on Tuesday: Ukrainian forces withdrew from the town of Kodema, around a dozen kilometers southeast of Bakhmut. Russian forces have now reportedly occupied the town. Russian troops had been in the eastern portion of the town for some time, but have now completed the occupation. Other Russian attempts to advance in the area failed. [tweets and videos at the link]
[…] That southern bridge above Izyum is out. It’s probably too soon to start talking about Kupyansk, but if Ukraine really could cut all the way over to that bridge, Izyum would have its own supply and support issues. Even based on where they are now, Ukraine is constricting the supply routes in this whole region.
Completely missing from my map of the advance to Volokhiv Yar is that there is reportedly another Ukrainian force pushing in north of Hrakove. That force has reportedly moved as far east as Vasylenkove and Hetmanivka, leaving Hrakove on a narrow peninsula of territory still occupied by Russia. If that section is connected to the push from the Balakliya area, then this will be a broadly supported advance.
I’ll provide an updated map when I know more details.
Authorities served search warrants Wednesday morning in connection with the slaying of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German, Las Vegas police said.
Around 7 a.m., reporters observed uniformed officers and police vehicles outside the home of Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles, who had been the focus of stories by German. Authorities had also taped off a section around Telles’ home.
German spent months reporting on the turmoil surrounding Robert Telles’ oversight of the office. The 45-year-old Democrat lost his re-election bid in June’s primary after German’s findings were published.
German, 69, was found dead outside his northwest Las Vegas home on Sept. 3, the Metropolitan Police Department reported. Officials believe he was fatally stabbed during an altercation the day before.
On Wednesday morning, police had taped off an area near Telles’ home in the western valley.
Two pieces of surveillance footage in the investigation have been made public.
The first shows an unidentified suspect wearing a wide straw hat, gloves and a bright orange long-sleeved shirt. The other captures a vehicle police say was tied to the attack: a 2007 to 2014 red or maroon GMC Yukon Denali with chrome handles and a sunroof.
Hours after the vehicle’s image was released, Review-Journal reporters spotted Telles in the driveway of his home with a vehicle matching that description.
German’s death came months after he reported current and former employees alleged Telles fueled a hostile work environment and carried on an “inappropriate relationship” with a subordinate staffer, Roberta Lee-Kennett. The complaints led to co-workers secretly videotaping the two in the back seat of Lee-Kennett’s car in a parking garage. The story also included claims of bullying and favoritism by Telles.
…
Telles aired his grievances with German through Twitter on multiple occasions, claiming on June 16 that the reporter was “obsessed” with him. Later in the month, he called him a bully.
“I think he’s mad that I haven’t crawled into a hole and died,” read another tweet.
Following his primary defeat, Telles posted that he would return to practicing probate law. German’s final story on Telles, published June 22, announced that he conceded in the primary race.
…
“The Review-Journal family is devastated to lose Jeff,” [Executive Editor Glenn] Cook said. “He was the gold standard of the news business. It’s hard to imagine what Las Vegas would be like today without his many years of shining a bright light on dark places.”
…
German’s journalism career spanned 40 years in Las Vegas.
His reporting exposed corruption and crime perpetrated by politicians, police, attorneys, judges, casino industry leaders and mob figures.
He built a trusted reputation with sources, refusing to disclose those who asked not to be revealed. He joined the Review-Journal in 2010 after more than two decades at the Las Vegas Sun.
German’s investigative work led to reforms and policy changes….
Illustrated with workmen supposedly hanging Donald Trump’s official presidential portrait. Dumpster fire.
[…] Stephen Colbert got “kinda kinky” again later in the segment when he blasted Trump defenders who claimed that some of the folders marked classified were actually empty ― and insisted that meant it was no big deal.
“How true,” Colbert sarcastically agreed. “Much in the same way finding condoms in your wife’s purse is upsetting, but finding empty condom wrappers in your wife’s purse is fine.” [Video available at the link], “Our former president, Darth Traitor …”]
Just when you thought Dr. Mehmet Oz was losing the war against Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, this week, the reality TV star found a new arsenal at his disposal. On this week’s episode of The Daily Beast’s Fever Dreams podcast, host Will Sommer and guest host Ursula Perano, politics reporter at The Daily Beast, discuss the latest in the Pennsylvania Senate race. Also on the podcast, Philip Bump, National correspondent at The Washington Post, explains how he became the guy to go through all of the 2020 election fraud claims, eventually debunking each of them one by one. As well, Sommer talks about the confusing mess that was far-right political commentator and Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes’ supposed arrest by the FBI last week.
This week’s episode is running late so here’s something to tide you over!
Last year, we did an episode on Gwyneth-adjacent influencer Amanda Chantal Bacon and her wellness company, Moon Juice. This year we decided to TASTE THE DUST.
Sweden’s Social Democratic prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, has said the country is at a pivotal moment as it prepares for its most critical election in years, in which rightwing populists with neo-Nazi roots are likely to become the second biggest party.
Andersson, who took over from Stefan Löfven in November to become Sweden’s first female leader, told the Guardian in an interview while campaigning near Stockholm that the repercussions would be considerable if the right-leaning parties win Sunday’s vote.
A second-place result for the Sweden Democrats could lead to a coalition with the Moderates, an established centre-right party that has moved to embrace the populists.
“There are rightwing populist parties in many European countries, but the Sweden Democrats have deep roots in the Swedish neo-Nazis and other racist organisations in Sweden,” said Andersson, speaking on a campaign bus emblazoned with the words Vårt Sverige kan bättre (Our Sweden can do better).
“And still today, I mean just last week, one employee at their central headquarters invited the other employees to celebrate the Nazis’ invasion of Poland during the second world war. I mean, it’s not like other parties.”
In other examples, she cited a television interview in February in which the party’s leader, Jimmie Åkesson, refused to say whether he preferred Joe Biden or Vladimir Putin, and Åkesson’s recent criticism of the Centre party leader Annie Lööf’s tone after she was the suspected target of a terror attack.
“Having that party having a say in every government decision of course would mean a lot. And also would mean a lot for Sweden and for the tone of the political debate,” she said.
While Andersson insisted the majority of Sweden Democrat voters were “decent people” disappointed with the status quo, she said there was an inner circle including MPs who “act and have ideas that are very far away from the majority of the Swedish people”.
The election comes at a tumultuous time for Sweden, against the backdrop of growing hostility from Russia as it prepares to join Nato, a Europe-wide energy crisis, and violence on the streets. So far this year, up to the start of September, there have been 273 shootings, 47 of which were deadly, according to police statistics. [!] And the pandemic has exposed stark inequalities in living conditions among immigrants and refugees….
This week saw the conclusion of the campaign to shut down one of the internet’s most toxic forums, Kiwi Farms.
Twitch streamer Clara Sorrenti aka “Keffals” led the charge against the site after she was targeted by anonymous users of Kiwi Farms for being a trans woman and speaking out against anti-LGBTQ laws. Stalkers repeatedly doxxed her and her family members, and left them threatening voicemail messages.
Harassment campaigns against trans people, journalists, influencers, activists, sex workers, all sorts of people, effectively became the site’s raison d’etre after it was founded in 2013. OTM correspondent Micah Loewinger spoke to NBC’s Ben Collins about the life and death of Kiwi Farms.
Former first lady Michelle Obama on Wednesday took an apparent dig at former President Trump, highlighting the significance of a peaceful transition of power once a presidency comes to an end.
“You see, the people that make their voices heard with their vote. We hold an inauguration to ensure a peaceful transition of power,” she said at the official portrait unveiling ceremony at the White House for her and former President Obama.
“Those of us lucky enough to serve work, as Barack said, as hard as we can for as long as we can, as long as the people choose to keep us here. And, once our time is up, we move on. And all that remains in this hallowed place are our good efforts and these portraits,” the former first lady said.
President Biden hosted the ceremony on Wednesday. Trump had declined to host the Obamas for the unveiling, which is traditionally hosted by first-term presidents for their immediate predecessors. The ceremony, which was then expected last fall, was further pushed back due to COVID-19.
The first lady spoke about her humble background and growing up in Chicago, telling the audience that “a girl like me, she was never supposed to be up there next to Jacqueline Kennedy and Dolly Madison.”
“Even if it’s all still a bit awkward for me, I do recognize why moments like these are important. Why all of this is absolutely necessary. Traditions like this matter. Not just for those of us who hold these positions but for everyone participating in and watching our democracy,” Obama said.
She also said that the portraits symbolize telling a “fuller story” that includes “every single American.”
And, she stressed the significance of democracy amid a time of divisiveness in the U.S.
“As much as some folks might want us to believe that that story has lost some of its shine, that division and discrimination and everything else might have dimmed its light, I still know deep in my heart that what we share, as my husband continues to say, is so much bigger than what we don’t. Our democracy is so much stronger than our differences,” Obama said. […]
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who’s the Democratic nominee for governor, exposed a revolting history of sexual abuse and coverups within the state’s Roman Catholic Church. Bishops and other leaders buried reports of more than 300 priests sexually abusing thousands of children for decades. They pressured victims to remain silent and “persuaded” law enforcement to look the other way. They were a bunch of scumbags.
However, Catholic League President Bill Donohue wants to haggle over the details. He’s accused Shapiro of smearing the good name of the Catholic Church.
Tuesday, Donohue posted a statement on the Catholic League website titled — we shit you not — “What Josh Shapiro Did To Priests Was Disgraceful.” Yes, the priests are the true victims here. [Tweet at the link]
Donohue whines:
Shapiro convinced the media that he found evidence of 301 priests who abused more than 1,000 children over a period of seventy years.
This is thrice false (1) not all the alleged offenders were priests (2) most of the alleged victims were adolescents, not children, and (3) the report was not evidentiary—it was investigative—meaning that the accused priests were never given the opportunity to rebut the charges.
Yes, Donohue contends that not everyone who abused the small town’s worth of kids were priests. Maybe some of them were priests in training or interns. THIS DOES NOT MAKE ANYTHING BETTER.
Without access to a lightning bolt, I don’t have the best response to so contemptible a statement as “most of the alleged victims were adolescents, not children.” The bulk of adolescence occurs during literal childhood. This asshole is talking nonsense.
[…] the grand jury report that Shapiro fought hard to release “catalogs horrific instances of abuse: a priest who raped a young girl in the hospital after she had her tonsils out; a victim tied up and whipped with leather straps by a priest; and another priest who was allowed to stay in ministry after impregnating a young girl and arranging for her to have an abortion.”
It makes little difference if these victims were technically “adolescents.” Technically, pedophilia refers to sexual interest in prepubescent children aged 13 or younger, but we’re fine with a more inclusive “child-abusing assholes the Catholic Church protected.” I could live without the “pedophile priest” alliteration, just as their victims could’ve lived without horrific sexual assault.
Donohue continues finding ways to make us vomit:
Importantly, nothing could be done about most of those who were actually guilty. Almost all the accused were either dead or had been thrown out of the priesthood.
No wonder Shapiro was able to prosecute only two priests. He knew this from the get-go, but he used the report to push for a suspension of the statute of limitations.
It’s not Shapiro’s fault that the Catholic Church managed the coverup for so long that victims were denied legal recourse or true justice. Shapiro said in 2018: “The Church, you have to understand, used a sophisticated, coordinated, systematic approach to covering up this abuse … with a stated purpose, often times, of shielding these predators from the arm of law enforcement, of moving them to some other place for a long enough period of time that law enforcement wouldn’t know about it and wouldn’t be bale to bring a case.” They took advantage of those laws in order to protect these predators.”
Shapiro successfully advocated for ending the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse. That’s obviously only for new cases.
Donohue baselessly claims Shapiro has a “total disinterest in prosecuting sexual molesters in the public schools” and only targeted the Catholic Church for political purposes. It’s usually good politics to prosecute child molesters wherever you find them, but admitting to students that queer people exist is not child abuse. If Donohue is confused on what constitutes actual child abuse, he can read Shapiro’s grand jury report.
PZ @217, Donohue is consistent. Consistently offensive and clueless.
In other news, let’s look in on another twisted, sick brain, Senator Ted Cruz.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is still exploring ways to make himself even more unpopular with the general public. This time around, it’s about student loan debt forgiveness. He knows just how to do it, too: by using the U.S. Supreme Court.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) says a top Supreme Court litigator told him that the best potential plaintiff for establishing “standing” to overturn Biden’s student debt plan would be a student loan processor, predicts action is blocked by SCOTUS 6-3
Cruz immediately targeted President Joe Biden’s debt forgiveness plan, for the most obvious of reasons—it’s popular with voters and poses a “real risk” of driving turnout for Democrats in November. He had to say it in the most despicable way possible, too. “If you are that slacker barista who wasted seven years in college studying completely useless things, now has loans and can’t get a job, Joe Biden just gave you 20 grand. […] You know, maybe you weren’t gonna vote in November, and suddenly you just got 20 grand.” All they have to do, he said, is “get off the bong for a minute and head down to the voting station.” [We discussed in previous chapters of this thread the fact that Ted Cruz doesn’t seem to realize that being a barista is a job — and that Ted Cruz could not do a barista’s job.]
So he [Cruz] and the Heritage Foundation are out trawling for plaintiffs, a favorite pastime of Republicans who don’t want people to have nice things, like access to health care or well-funded public education, or affordable college. Or a say in what happens to their bodies, or who they marry. Thanks to Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump, the U.S. Supreme Court is right there with them.
Never mind that the legal authority exists for Biden to cancel student debt. Never mind that that legal authority came in 2003 under a Republican president—George W. Bush—following the 9/11 attack. The Higher Education Relief Opportunities For Students (HEROES) Act was enacted to relieve some of the financial burden on the cannon fodder Bush and Dick Cheney were sending off to fight an unjust war in Iraq, but was written to apply “in times of war or military operation or national emergency.” The former guy used it to postpone student loan payments at the beginning of the pandemic, the national emergency we are still under.
[…] White House spokesman Abdullah Hasan blasted Republicans last week for their opposition. “Let’s be clear about what they would be trying to do here: The same folks who voted for a $2 trillion tax giveaway for the rich and had hundreds of thousands of dollars of their own small business loan debt forgiven would be trying to keep millions of working middle-class Americans in mountains of debt.”
That’s not going to stop Cruz, no matter how popular the loan forgiveness plan is, even among people who have paid off their loans and who don’t even have student loans. Cruz, his fellow Republicans, and certainly the extremist Supreme Court aren’t going to care about what’s best for the people […]
The reality is with this Supreme Court majority, Cruz doesn’t have to worry about making an argument. He might have some trouble finding a plaintiff that would be dishonest enough to argue that they are harmed by the debt relief plan, but won’t have trouble with this court. […]
You read that title correctly. Supposedly someone taking medication to protect their own personal health is a violation of someone else’s religious freedom. And make no mistake: this affects way more than LGBTQIA+. It is a public health issue that impacts ALL of us.
[…] attorney named Jonathan Mitchell filed a case in Texas arguing that his plaintiffs who pay into a health insurance policy that covers PrEP violates their religious beliefs based on the fact that it “enables and encourages homosexual behavior” and apparently they aren’t having it. Never mind the fact that PrEP saves lives and there really are heterosexual folks that take it as well. Apparently PrEP is a slippery slope that will lead to gay sex in the streets while reading banned books to 3rd graders in the wrong bathrooms….or something.
The 42 page ruling by United States district judge Reed O’Conner states “The PrEP mandate violates Braidwood’s rights under [Religious Freedom Restoration Act].”
This […] justice (a mockery of the term) is not new to this ridiculous sort of behavior according to The Advocate who writes:
O’Connor’s ruling is not surprising to seasoned observers.
A coalition of conservative groups sued the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to allow them to discriminate based on religious grounds, and O’Connor ruled in 2021 that they could proceed. This was despite the Supreme Court extending employment protections for LGBTQ+ people a year earlier. In addition, O’Connor struck down Obama-era health insurance protections for LGBTQ+ people and ruled the Affordable Care Act was unconstitutional (the Supreme Court later reversed O’Connor’s rulings).
Anthony Michael Kreis:
Let us be clear: PrEP is essential to combating the transmission of HIV and keeping the public healthy. Today’s ruling from Texas is an example of every person becoming a law unto themself in the name of religion but for the sole purpose of subordinating gay men and trans women.
Sure, I could probably get more in depth and gnash my teeth while rending my garments, but I’m just too exhausted by the constant friggin’ onslaught of these people. […]
Oggie: Mathomsays
in re 219:
I remember, long ago, last century (and (I guess (in the early years of this one), when conservatives milked their flock by screaming, loudly, that anytime a crybaby liberal feels offended, doesn’t like a law or rule, or just wants to hurt real Americans (read that as Christian Americans), they would run to court with a lawsuit, knowing that the justice system was so filled with bleeding heart liberal lawyers who would always rule in favour of the anti-American liberals. And the constant litany of complaints about those evile liberal courts that kept finding new rights and new regulations — legislating from the bench, they called it.
Now, of course, after a thirty- or forty-year campaign to remake the local, state, and federal court system into something resembling the religious courts of Iran (but for Christians, not those horrible brown people), the right has been cherry-picking federal districts for friendly judges, so that they can get whatever ruling they want (even if it gets overturned on appeal, it is still a victory (and can be used for fundraising)). And it gives the radical right judges the chance to do what they claimed the left and centre was doing for decades — legislate from the bench.
Now that the right has a solid majority in SCOTUS, and a majority who ALL LIED to get onto the court, every single thing that progressives have fought for will suddenly be showing up in lawsuits. Teacher led prayer in school? Segregation? Social Security? And these judges will be there, most likely, for the rest of my life. Bleagh.
Akira MacKenziesays
Oh! Last note on my kidney-thing. I got the pathology back on the mass and YUP, IT WAS CANCER! As I stated earlier, it was entirely confined to the one kidney with no metastasis detected via MIR or visual inspection during surgery, so I’m done.
In the meantime, I’m recovering quite well. I’m still a little sore and it’s hard to bend at the waist, but I’m off opioids and managing my pain with Tylenol. I got in a 3/4 mile hike in at a local nature center on the north side of Waukesha. I took things slow and stopped frequently, but I intended to get in more and improve.
My sister jokingly quipped that I can now call myself a “cancer survivor.” I replied that a lot more people get and (sometimes) survive far worse forms of that malady than I had, so I best not steal their valor.
Oggie: Mathomsays
Akira:
That is scary and wonderful. Wife’s doctors were able to catch hers before it actually became cancer.
She is recovering from her tendon surgery on her foot and ankle. Lots of pain. Saw the doctor today and she got to see the incision. The surgeon cut across the blue Lego she has tattooed on her foot.
Best in recovery.
Akira MacKenziesays
@ 213
The Libertarian Left: “Far-right parties are a threat to democracy!”
Me: “Then ban them and arrest their leaders.”
Libertarian Left: “We can’t do that! That’s would be anti-democratic! The people have the right to vote in fascists!”
No wonder we’re fucking doomed.
Oggie: Mathomsays
In my 222, “She”, at the beginning of the second paragraph, should actually read “Wife”.
Ruslan Trad: “Telegram channels are full of graphic images and video footage of Russian soldiers in Kherson and Eastern Ukraine. For the last few hours, the Russian army has been experiencing serious blows. Entire units have been wiped out.”
An account from a Russian Channel says that Ukraine massed a “powerful tank fist” with 15 tanks at Balakliya, which led to the breakthrough. They say Russian aviation couldn’t help in time because Ukraine saturated the area with air defenses.
They also say that there was very little coordination between Rosgvardia units and their artillery support (likely from a 1st Tank Army unit). They emphasize that Ukraine made a rapid advance with armor and SOF.
One of the Russian military’s biggest weaknesses is that its motorized rifle troops can’t perform their job. So VDV, naval infantry, Wagner, scouts, and spetsnaz are doing it instead. So they can’t perform their actual role and aren’t properly equipped.
SC@231 we may never know now what his motive was. Myles Sanderson has apparently died of a drug overdose. It’s being reported he swallowed a large quantity of pills just before his arrest.
To add to my comment @234 in a segment on tonight’s edition of The National, CBC’s nightly newscast, it was reported that one of the dead, Earl Burns Sr., was a previous victim of violence by Sanderson. Sanderson stabbed Burns in a 2015 incident, and Burns was Sanderson’s father in law at the time. Burns was a Canadian Army veteran, having served in the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry regiment.
Sanderson died in a Saskatoon hospital after going into medical distress after his arrest. Because he died in RCMP custody an independent investigation will be conducted by the Saskatoon Police Service and the Saskatchewan Incident Response Team.
This explains why every time I go to the grocery store, prices are higher.
There are also occasional shortages of items with empty shelves.
40% of the US is in drought and just about all food crops have lower harvests.
That is corn, wheat, beef, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, cotton, rice etc..
It is that way all over the world right now, droughts in other countries.
With the ongoing war in Ukraine by Russia, food is going to be limited all over the world this year.
That global warming that isn’t happening is starting to be visible and affecting more and more people.
Washington Post The summer drought’s hefty toll on American crops
Laura Reiley, (c) 2022, The Washington Post
Mon, September 5, 2022 at 11:26 AM edited for length
It was a bad year for corn. And for tomatoes. And for many other American crops.
Farmers, agricultural economists and others taking stock of this summer’s growing season say drought conditions and extreme weather have wreaked havoc on many row crops, fruits and vegetables, with the American Farm Bureau Federation suggesting yields could be down by as much as a third compared with last year.
American corn is on track to produce its lowest yield since the drought of 2012, according to analysts at Rabobank, which collects data about commodity markets. This year’s hard red winter wheat crop was the smallest since 1963, the bank’s analysts said. In Texas, cotton farmers have walked away from nearly 70% of their crop because the harvest is so paltry, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The California rice harvest is half what it would be in a normal year, an industry group said.
The poor yields are likely more than a one-year blip, as climate change alters weather patterns in agriculturally important parts of the country, contributing to higher food prices that experts don’t see ebbing any time soon.
Drought has consumed 40% of the country for the past 101 weeks, USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey said. But precisely where that 40% is has shifted over time, meaning different swaths of the country’s agricultural land have been affected at different times, spreading pain and difficult choices geographically and by crop.
“Spring wheat, durum wheat, barley [in the Northeast] – those were just hammered in 2021. For some of those crops it was the lowest yields we’ve seen since the 1980s,” Rippey said. “The biggest impacts this year have been the Central and Southern Great Plains – Nebraska southward through Texas – and the two big crops hit this year are grain sorghum [primarily used for animal feed] and cotton.”
In California, farmers are making tough choices to give up on their strawberries and tomatoes, lettuces and melons, so that whatever water they get goes to crops like almonds, grapes and olives, where they’ve sunk multiyear investments and the payoff is better, Rippey said.
Even with recent rains, a lot of the western United States is still looking at a long-term drought, said Curtis Riganti, a climatologist at the National Drought Mitigation Center. “We’re seeing widespread extreme and exceptional drought in California’s Central Valley, parts of Nevada, central and southern Oregon, the central High Plains, southern Oklahoma and Texas,” he said. “And while we’ve seen a pretty active monsoon season this year over New Mexico, Arizona and southern Colorado, in terms of refilling reservoirs it doesn’t do a ton of good.”
arvest of the new potato crop is underway and Rabobank analysts say the harvested area is projected to drop 4% from last year (and last year’s crop was a decade’s low).
But the bad news extends to cattle, portending bad news for next year’s beef prices.
The predictions from Grauniad journalists about Truss’s cabinet I cited here turned out to be correct: Kwasi Kwarteng as Chancellor, Suella Braverman as Home Secretary, James Cleverley as Foreign Secretary. All the other significant posts have gone to Truss’s cronies andor hard right ideologues, including climate denialists such as Jacob Rees-Mogg. Today she’s announced a two-year cap on energy prices for households, and temporary dropping of environmental and social levies of around £150/year, which will leave bills at an average around £2500/year – which is still several times what they were at the start of 2022. Businesses are to get a 6-month price cap. This is going to cost around £150bn, which will be borrowed – before the last election, Labour plans to borrow around £28bn were of course denoiunce by the tories and their tame media as disastrous. Measures to increase energy supply include new licences for North Sea oil and gas, and a resumption of fracking – which won’t make the slightest difference this winter or probably next, but will of course add to climate disruption. So the balance of evidence favours Truss being a genuine ideologue herself, but one capable of a swift U-turn (during the leadership campaign she denounced “handouts”) if she thinks it advantageous.
In trivia news, now Johnson is out, the UK has a record six living ex-PMs: Major, Blair, Brown, Cameron, May, Johnson. There have previously been six living people who had ended a period as PM, most recently in 1924-1928, when Baldwin was PM, Macdonald, Lloyd George, Asquith, Balfour and Rosebery were still alive, and Baldwin himself had had a previous term – but never seven living people who were currently or had been PM. Let’s hope an eighth can be added very soon!
KGsays
Further to #240,
Given the gathering of royals at Balmoral, changes to BBC programming, etc., it seems likely Liz Windsor is expected to pop her clogs very shortly. However, given the amount of “thought and prayers” coming her way, maybe she’ll be leaping buildings at a single bound by tomorrow!
KGsays
In fact she may already have gone. Personally, I suspect the French! They just couldn’t let her reign longer than Louis XIV!
Trial results from 409 children in Nanoro, Burkina Faso, have been published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases. It shows three initial doses followed by a booster a year later gives up to 80% protection.
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian Ukraine liveblog. From there:
Ukraine has recaptured more than 700 sq km, says general
Ukraine has now recaptured more than 700 sq km (270 sq miles) of territory in Kharkiv and in the south, according to a Ukrainian general.
Speaking at a public briefing, Brig Gen Oleksiy Gromov said Ukrainian forces had advanced as far as 50km (31 miles) into Russian lines and retaken more than 20 villages.
The comments are the most detailed public assessment so far of Ukraine’s counter-offensive.
“The total amount of territory returned to Ukrainian control in the Kharkiv and Pivdennyi Buh directions stands at over 700 sq km,” Gromov said.
Pivdennyi Buh is a river that runs through the southern frontline city of Mykolaiv before discharging into the Black Sea.
Success in Kharkiv helps entire frontline, says Zelenskiy
The counter-offensive in Kharkiv will help the efforts of the Ukrainian military along the entire front of the conflict, President Zelenskiy has said.
Speaking in his nightly address on Wednesday, Zelenskiy said: “This week we have good news from the Kharkiv region. Probably, you all have already seen reports about the activity of Ukrainian defenders.
“And I think every citizen feels proud of our warriors. It is a well-deserved pride, a right feeling.”
He said that “now is not the time to name the settlements to which the Ukrainian flag returns”, but went on to list and thank brigades operating in Kharkiv and elsewhere.
“Each success of our military in one direction or another changes the general situation along the entire frontline in favour of Ukraine,” he said.
“The more difficult it is for the occupiers, the more losses they have, the better the positions of our defenders in Donbas will be, the more reliable the defense of Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv and the cities of the Dnipropetrovsk region will be, the faster we will be able to liberate the Azov region and the entire south.”
Secretary of State Blinken visited Kyiv and they have a photo of him holding Patron. My immediate reaction was jealousy that he got to hang out with Patron!
“The war in Ukraine will continue until the complete defeat of Russia,” Igor Girkin, a far-right nationalist, grumbled in a video address to his 430,000 followers on Telegram on Monday. “We have already lost, the rest is just a matter of time.”
Girkin, a former Russian intelligence colonel who became a commander of the pro-Russian separatist forces in 2014, is arguably the most prominent voice within an increasingly loud and angry group of ultra-nationalist and pro-war bloggers who have taken to berating the Kremlin for its failure to achieve its tactical objectives as the fighting in Ukraine has entered its seventh month.
After Ukraine’s latest counter-offensive in the south and the north-east of the country, these bloggers – who have so far been granted a public platform denied to many – have intensified their criticism of the Kremlin, slamming the army’s inadequate performance in the war and urging Vladimir Putin to declare a full-scale mobilisation.
“They are certainly getting angrier, and with good and obvious reason, especially as the gap between the official line and the reality on the ground widens,” said Mark Galeotti, an expert in Russian security affairs.
On Wednesday, Ukraine launched a surprise counterattack near the country’s second biggest city of Kharkiv, encircling Balakliia, a strategically important town of 27,000 people, and recapturing several smaller settlements.
The military bloggers, who are often former veterans with contacts on the frontlines, also provide a rare insight into Russia’s real performance on the ground. “Some are very dubious sources but there are also those – like Girkin – who know what they’re talking about and clearly are in touch with people at the front or who otherwise are in the know,” said Galeotti.
The Russian government has not published its own losses since 25 March, when it gave a total of 1,351 killed and 3,825 wounded. Western intelligence believes as many as 80,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded since the start of the war.
Instead, since the onset of the war, the Russian defence ministry has repeatedly issued improbable statements about its successes on the battlefield, boasting of having destroyed more than 40 western-made Himars rocket launchers and claiming to have decimated the Ukrainian air force.
State television, the most popular source of information in Russia, similarly continues to paint a rosy picture of Russian successes in Ukraine. In a combative speech on Wednesday, Putin reiterated that Russia had “lost nothing” in a war he said was going according to plan.
However, that optimism was not shared by others as Ukraine encircled Balakliia on Wednesday, pulling off what has already been labelled as one of the war’s most impressive strategic moves and hailed as “good news” by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, on Wednesday night.
…
The Kremlin’s tolerance of the bloggers’ comments is remarkable, experts say, given the newly introduced laws under which criticism of the war can be punished with up to 15 years in jail.
Pavel Luzhin, an independent Russian military expert, believes the bloggers are left “untouched” because they provide an outlet for a section of the Russian population to vent their anger about the failures in Ukraine. “The Kremlin is too scared to simply ignore the nationalist section of the population,” Luzhin said, adding that some of the bloggers were probably operating with the tacit approval of the security services.
Galeotti similarly said “many” of the bloggers were “connected to or protected by figures within the military or security agencies”.
For now, Girkin and other military bloggers are likely to keep up their daily criticism as Putin’s bloody military offensive has stalled in Ukraine. “Don’t EXPECT ANY BIG WINS in the next 2–3 months,” he wrote in a post this week. “If our Kremlin elders do not change their tactics, we will be seeing catastrophic defeats by then.”
Girkin declined to comment for this article, saying he considered the western media “his enemy”.
New York’s attorney general Letitia James and Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg say they will host a press conference this afternoon to announce the indictment of Steve Bannon.
A press release from James’s office says the prosecutors will host the briefing on Bannon’s “We Build the Wall” alleged fundraising scam at the Manhattan district attorney’s office at 1pm, followed by Bannon’s arraignment at 2.15pm….
Top former Trump strategist Steve Bannon surrendered himself at the Manhattan district attorney’s office on Thursday morning to face expected state fraud charges connected to his role in the “We Build the Wall” fundraising effort….
According to CNBC, one heckler yelled at Bannon: “Stop hurting America, you greasy, two-bit grifter!”
Donald Trump’s second attorney general, William Barr, is stupid, a liar, a bully and a thug, according to a hard-hitting new book by Geoffrey Berman, the US attorney for the southern district of New York whose firing Barr engineered in hugely controversial fashion in summer 2020.
Two women have been condemned to death in Iran because of their links to the LGBTQ+ community on social media, human rights groups have reported.
Zahra Seddiqi Hamedani, 31, and Elham Choubdar, 24, were found guilty of a number of charges by a court in Urmia, in the Iranian province of West Azerbaijan, on 1 September but the details of their sentences only emerged this week.
According to Hangaw, a Kurdish human rights group, Seddiqi Hamedani and Choubdar were found guilty of “corruption on Earth” for “promoting homosexuality”, “promoting Christianity” and “communicating with the media opposing the Islamic Republic”. They were also found guilty of sex trafficking, a charge that human right activists say is fabricated.
Homosexuality is illegal in Iran and punishable by death under the sharia penal code.
Seddiqi Hamedani was arrested in Iran in October 2021 as she was trying to cross the border to Turkey, where she was hoping to claim asylum. In May that year she appeared in a documentary for the BBC Persian service, speaking about the abuse faced by the LGBTQ+ community in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq, where she was living at the time.
After the documentary was aired in May, Seddiqi Hamedani was detained for 21 days by Asayish, the intelligence and security agency of the Kurdistan regional government. She was subjected to torture, including beatings, electric shocks and prolonged solitary confinement, Amnesty International reported.
Before she attempted to cross the border between Iran and Turkey, Seddiqi Hamedani sent a video message to 6Rang, an Iranian lesbian network based in Germany, to be published in case of her arrest.
“I may be arrested at any moment because they have all the information about me … my life is in real danger,” said a visibly distressed Seddiqi Hamedani. “If I don’t arrive [in Turkey], it is clear what happened.
“I want to inform you how much we are suffering as the LGBTQ community and we resist … whether in death or freedom, we remain true to ourselves.”
Shadi Amin, from 6Rang, said: “They [Seddiqi Hamedan and Choubdar] heard the sentence last week. Since then Zahra has not slept. She is angry.”
“Without international support, we have no hope,” Amin added.
Soma Rostami, from Hengaw, said that Seddiqi Hamedani and Choubdar had been denied access to a lawyer. Rostami added that Seddiqi Hamedani’s Kurdish ethnicity might have contributed to the harsh sentence she received.
…
The news of the sentencing came after Iran’s hardline president, Ebrahim Raisi, made a speech in parliament condemning homosexuality on 1 September. Raisi, who was elected a year ago, had previously referred to homosexuality as “nothing but savagery”. His government has also launched a crackdown against women’s rights activists in recent months.
Amnesty International has warned of a “horrific wave of executions” in the country after the easing of Covid restrictions. According to the group, at least 281 people were executed in the first half of 2022. Most were convicted of murder, with Amnesty describing “well-documented patterns of executions being systematically carried out following grossly unfair trials”….
Activists from Greenpeace blocked a shipment of Russian gas from unloading at a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Sweden today, the terminal owner and environmental group said.
A spokeswoman for terminal owner Gasum, Olga Vaisanen, told AFP.
Activists climbed up on the loading arms at the terminal and they have boats in the water.
She said the protest at the Nynashamn terminal near Stockholm began around 10:00 am (0800 GMT) and was still going on more than five hours later, though police had forced the activists to climb down from the loading arms.
Greenpeace’s sailboat “Witness” and activists in kayaks were blocking the Dutch-registered LNG tanker Coral Energy from docking and unloading.
They unfurled banners reading “Stop Financing Putin’s War” and “Stop Russian Fossil Trade”.
Greenpeace campaigner Karolina Carlsson said in a statement.
That Russian gas is still allowed to flow into Sweden, more than six months after Putin began his bloody invasion of Ukraine, is unacceptable.
We all know that fossil fuels from Russia are financing the war. The (Swedish) parliament has given the government a clear mandate to stop all imports of Russian energy to Sweden and it is Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson’s obligation to act on this.
The Operational Command ‘South’ also reported on Sept. 8 that they had recently killed 82 Russian troops, as well as destroyed four tanks and an amphibious assault vehicle.”
“Ukraine’s flag is flying again over Balakliya, a town of nearly 30,000 before the war, as Kyiv develops what looks like its most successful offensive since the war began. Russian forces in Izyum increasingly face the risk of being surrounded.”
And here’s the full 22-page grand jury indictment for Steve Bannon that’s just been released.
Bannon has been indicted on six counts, two of money laundering in the second degree, three of conspiracy in the fourth and fifth degree, and one of scheming to defraud in the fifth degree.
The conspiracy and scheme to defraud was in essence, the indictment alleges, Bannon and other leaders of We Build The Wall Inc soliciting money to help with the construction of Donald Trump’s border wall (that the former president insisted Mexico would pay for), and assuring donors that nobody was taking a salary.
The executives, the state alleges, were actually siphoning off “hundreds of thousands of dollars” for themselves, and in Bannon’s case around a million dollars.
We’ll learn more at the lunchtime press conference from New York attorney general Letitia James and Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg.
Albanian special forces police forced the door of the Iranian Embassy in Tirana on Thursday and officers surrounded the compound in which it stands, shortly after the last staff members left the building following the government’s order to expel them.
The officers, in full fighting gear, entered the building first and were followed by other officers carrying equipment and accompanied by a dog.
The Albanian government on Wednesday had given the embassy’s staff 24 hours to leave the country over a major cyberattack that the Albanian government blames on Iran. It is the first known case of a country cutting diplomatic relations over a cyberattack.
The final two embassy cars with about 10 passengers left the compound Thursday near noon…
…
Movement inside the Iranian embassy in Tirana had been nonstop overnight. At one point, an empty barrel was taken into the compound and a fire was started in it, apparently burning documents.
A cyberattack on July 15 temporarily shut down numerous Albanian government digital services and websites. Prime Minister Edi Rama said Wednesday that there was “undeniable evidence” that the Iranian government was behind the attack.
The United States supported the move by Albania, a NATO member, and vowed unspecified retaliation against Iran for what it called “a troubling precedent for cyberspace.”
NATO also expressed its full support to Albania. A statement said it “strongly condemns such malicious cyber activities designed to destabilize and harm the security of an ally, and disrupt the daily lives of citizens.”
The alliance also pledged to raise “our guard against such malicious cyber activities in the future, and support each other to deter, defend against and counter the full spectrum of cyber threats, including by considering possible collective responses.”
…
Ties between Iran and Albania have been tense since 2014 when Albania sheltered some 3,000 members of the Iranian opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, or MEK, who had left Iraq….
On Thursday, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Kyiv for an unannounced visit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Blinken is reportedly there to share more good news, in the form of a new $2 billion package of assistance that includes $560M in additional military equipment for Ukraine. Zelenskyy is certain to be happy about this, and at the moment, he has to be feeling pretty good about Ukraine’s relationship with the U.S. and the level of backing it has received from all the NATO allies.
Even so, it wouldn’t be surprising to find that Zelenskyy is a bit distracted. That’s because, right now, this moment, Ukrainian forces are driving ahead on the most daring advance of their counteroffensive, plunging deep into Russian-occupied territory, freeing town after town, and threatening to destroy a huge slice of Russia’s invasion force.
n the daily announcements from the Ukrainian general staff, Gen. Oleksiy Hromov was practically ecstatic as he gave out the statistics for what has happened so far—more than 20 towns and villages liberated in the lightning-fast advance across Kharkiv Oblast. Ukrainian troops have now moved close to 50 kilometers up the P07 highway from Balakliya to Shevchenkove and beyond. The operational details may be under wraps, but the stream of captured Russian equipment, and panic bubbling out of Russian social media, makes it clear this isn’t exactly a secret operation. Russian forces are in danger of losing their entire Izyum force. And they know it. [map at the link]
Obviously, this single action is the focus of everyone’s attention on Thursday. The blue areas on the map above represent those areas known to be under Ukrainian control. The yellow area is the “fog,” where forces have reportedly advanced, but the certainty of events drops way down.
In the last hour (9AM ET / 4PM in Kyiv), there are reports that fighting has begun in Hrushivka, less than 10km from Kupyansk. There are also reports that Shevchenkove has been liberated and the last Russian forces there have surrendered. Other reports put Ukrainian forces as close as 2km to Kupyansk.
Before buying into all these claims, there are several things to note here:
– Russian forces in the area are expressing messages of panic. Combined with a lot of shooting and explosions, it’s a great recipe for false reports. It’s a lot easier to explain why you’re running if you can claim there are a thousand rumbling tanks at your heels.
– Ukrainian supporters are overjoyed to see this major counteroffensive. Reports that might have gotten a lot more scrutiny a few days ago, are more likely to be passed along without review.
– Both Russia and Ukraine have reasons for why they might inflate the scale of events.
[…] This isn’t quite chaos; we’re getting a lot of genuine information, some of which is geo-confirmed through images or backed up by statements from the Ukrainian command—but expect a fair amount of chaff among the wheat.
And, as always, beware of finding reports too friendly to what you want to hear. Ukraine is doing something amazing here, but they’re not about to annex Moscow. Check your sources.
At the opposite end of the scale, there are reports from official Russian media outlets this morning that admit that Ukrainian forces did try to take Balakliya, but they were “thrown back.” Everything in Balakliya is running normally, and stalwart Russian forces repelled every attempt to take other sites in the area. Needless to say, don’t believe that one either.
Some reports now put the entire Ukrainian force advancing toward Kupyansk at 9,000 men. There are also reports that Ukraine pushed into the area around Balakliya with an armored column led by 15 tanks. The forces going in certainly looked like they understood this was their moment. [tweet and video at the link]
When it comes to Balakliya, there were reports overnight that Ukraine had fully liberated the town. There have also been a number of images showing Russian soldiers captured after attempting to escape the town wearing civilian clothing. As of this writing, there are fresh reports that the last Russian forces inside Balakliya have surrendered. This has yet to be fully confirmed, but it looks like that yellow circle around Balakliya is about to disappear.
Earlier reports indicated that Ukraine had left a partial force around Shevchenkove while the main force continued to the east. Overnight, there were reports of fierce fighting at Shevchenkove. The DeepState channel on Telegram, which has been a dependable source of frontline information, reports that as of Thursday afternoon (local time) Shevchenkove has been completely liberated. So the blue area may be about to spread up the road at least that far.
Just about every source agrees that the main area of fighting is now around Hrushivka. Russia has reportedly grabbed every unit it could find and rushed them into this area while they desperately try to prepare a defense for Kupyansk—a location they definitely weren’t ready to fight over. There are also reports that Ukraine has already begun artillery bombardment of the rail lines leading out of Kupyansk. Russia has announced a partial evacuation in the area.
Russia took Balakliya in March, in the first two weeks of Russia’s illegal invasion. Now Ukraine has freed that town, and did it without the kind of mass destruction seen in so many locations taken by Russia. And there is, so far, no sign that the Ukrainian advance, here or elsewhere, has been checked.
Again, this is what’s likely happening in just the last couple of hours: Balakliya has been liberated. Shevchenkove has been liberated. Ukrainian forces are fighting at Hrushivka after making a 50km sweep through Russian-occupied territory. The rail hub and bridge at Kupyansk are under bombardment from Ukrainian artillery. That is a very, very good day.
Seems like a good time for a …
PARADE OF DESTROYED AND CAPTURED RUSSIAN EQUIPMENT [videos at the link]
MEANWHILE…And now, a couple of reminders that Kharkiv isn’t the only place where things are happening. [videos at the link]
There are reports that Russian forces have withdrawn from Hrakove and Chkalovske. That red slice between the two largest areas of advance may be collapsing.
Donald Trump and his MAGA Republicans are undermining U.S. democracy—and the American public sees him.
According to a new poll from Reuters/Ipsos, 58% of respondents, “including one in four Republicans—said Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ movement is threatening America’s democratic foundations.”
A majority of the Republicans surveyed said they don’t think Trump and his MAGA movement represent their party. They’re going to need to start acting on that, then, because right now it’s not really showing. More than half of Republican gubernatorial nominees have sought to undermine the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election. Same goes for secretary of state nominees in six states, attorney general nominees in four states, Senate nominees in seven states, and House nominees in 20 states. At least 60% of voters will see an election-denier on their ballot this November.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll also showed how effectively the media is creating the narrative that both sides are divisive: “Fifty-nine percent of respondents said Biden’s speech will further divide the country, though just about half of respondents said they didn’t watch or follow the speech at all.” Got that? More people have an opinion about the speech—one that echoes the media narrative—than even followed it a little bit. Well done, priests of the church of both sides did it!
We’re so screwed unless all those Republican election-deniers on the November ballot are soundly defeated.
On Election Day in 2005, then–Stanford sophomore Blake Masters sent two emails to the listserv of his vegetarian co-op. In the first, Masters, now the Republican Senate candidate in Arizona, urged classmates to read an article about a California ballot measure “[i]f you must worship that miserably peculiar American diety [sic] called Democracy.” In the second, he put together a reading list that could have easily served as a crash course in anti-democratic libertarianism.
Two of the articles were by Hans-Hermann Hoppe, a German economist best known for his 2001 jeremiad Democracy: The God That Failed. One, a 1995 paper titled “The Political Economy of Monarchy and Democracy, and the Idea of a Natural Order,” argued that “the historic transition from monarchy to democracy represents not progress but civilizational decline.” In addition to advocating “the abdication of democracy,” Hoppe wanted people to accept a “natural order” under which a “voluntarily acknowledged ‘natural’ elite—a nobilitas naturalis” reigns supreme.
The messages are among a group of 50 emails shared with Mother Jones that Masters sent to the co-op listserv between 2005 and 2007. They show Masters to be a sometimes charming, sometimes grating part of co-op life who would vow not to spam the listserv with political diatribes only to eventually succumb to the pressure to post. [Relatable, TBH.] While many of the emails, which were also obtained by HuffPost, are mundane requests to swap chores or borrow hair clippers, others show a hostility to democracy that predates the anti-democratic behavior and rhetoric I documented in my July profile of Masters.
That profile was based on dozens of interviews, additional unpublished emails, leaked messages from a private chat server used by some of Masters’ top donors, and a close reading of many of the texts that have shaped the 36-year-old candidate’s worldview. It showed how Masters and his former boss, the billionaire investor Peter Thiel, transitioned from libertarians who hoped to escape politics to authoritarian sympathizers who seek to protect their liberty by gaining control of the state.
Since the story was published, Masters easily won the GOP primary in August thanks to roughly $15 million of support from Thiel and Donald Trump’s endorsement. He is now facing Sen. Mark Kelly, the former fighter pilot and astronaut who’s married to former congressperson Gabby Giffords. So far, polls show Kelly in the lead, with a massive cash advantage two months before the election. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and National Republican Senatorial Committee leader Rick Scott have done little to hide their frustration after being saddled with an underperforming first-time candidate who has a penchant for needless provocation.
…
As Hoppe—a major influence on Curtis Yarvin, the self-proclaimed absolute monarchist blogger who recently made his first ever political contribution to his friend Masters’ campaign—explained in one of the articles Masters recommended: “because of selective mating and marriage and the laws of civil and genetic inheritance, positions of natural authority are more likely than not passed on within a few—noble—families.” The path forward was to provide “ideological support” to “all decentralizing or even secessionist social forces” so that the natural elite could reemerge in new jurisdictions.
In Democracy: The God That Failed, Hoppe was more explicit about those further down the social ladder, referring to them as “human trash which drives individual property values down.” In 2016, Thiel was set to speak at a conference in Turkey hosted by Hoppe’s Property and Freedom Society—a group whose past guests had included white nationalists like Richard Spencer and Jared Taylor—only to pull out after the news sparked a backlash….
Nato head warns Ukraine and its supporters face ‘tough winter’
Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned today that Ukraine and its supporters face a tough winter in coming months.
Stoltenberg told The Associated Press:
We need at least to be prepared for this winter, because there is no sign of Russia giving up its goal of taking control of Ukraine.
The war in Ukraine is approaching a pivotal moment where we see that the Russian offensive in Donbas has stalled. We see that the Ukrainians have been able to fight back, to strike back and regain some territory.
Despite the promise of further and equipment and weapons during a meeting of Western allies in Ramstein, southwest Germany on Thursday, more winter equipment is required says the head of the western military alliance.
He said:
Winter’s coming, and winter’s going to be hard on the battlefield in Ukraine. We know that the size of the Ukrainian army is now roughly three times as big as what it was last winter.
“They are in urgent need for more winter uniforms, for generators that create electricity, warmth, and also of course tents and other things that can help them through the winter.
Stoltenberg also urged Western countries who were suffering with high energy prices and inflation to keep the faith and that the price of ending support now would be a price that’s too high to pay.
He said:
I understand that many people are frustrated and actually feel the pain in NATO countries with increasing energy prices, the cost of living. But at the same time, we have to remember that the price we pay is measured in money, in U.S. dollars or pounds or euros, while the price that Ukrainians are paying is measured in lives lost every day.
If President Putin wins in Ukraine, then the world will become more dangerous. Then he will see that he is rewarded, that he can get this way by using brutal military force, by invading a neighbour, by blatantly violating international rule and attacking innocent civilians.
Today, everyone in Ukraine knows about the Come Back Alive charity.
It is everywhere — government agencies, mobile banking apps, and the biggest online marketplaces recommend it as the organization one should visit to help the Ukrainian military.
Come Back Alive became one of the symbols of Ukraine’s popular war effort, the biggest civilian fundraising trust purchasing military items, from warm socks to strike drones, worth millions of dollars.
The enormous toll of Russia’s full-scale invasion gave a fresh start to Ukraine’s grassroots volunteer movements, greatly supplementing the government-run war effort and often showing higher efficacy.
The civilian initiatives in Ukraine have gone as far as being officially entitled to strike contracts with foreign arms manufacturers — and procure heavy weaponry and advanced hardware to help counter Russia.
Yet, as the war enters its seventh month, the Ukrainian war shopping list gets longer and more complicated, says Taras Chmut, Come Back Alive’s director.
“In such a war, requirements are endless,” Chmut said in an interview with The Kyiv Independent.
“One can’t fill them all up. People die all the time, something gets destroyed and lost all the time. It’s a process.”
“(The war) has a beginning — and it has our victory as the ending. The distance between those things is us (providing) all the time.”…
Hailing Steve Bannon’s indictment for conspiracy and money laundering as “an important day for justice”, New York’s attorney general Letitia James said he “stole millions of dollars to line his own pocket”.
“Regular, everyday Americans”, she said, played by the rules, and that people like Bannon ignore them:
They think that they are above the law, and the most egregious of them take advantage of hardworking Americans in the process. And Steve Bannon stands out as a perfect example of this blatant inequality.
He gained power and influence as a top adviser to the former president. And he used that influence and those connections to cheat everyday Americans and carry out this fraud.
When Mr Bannon created a fundraising scheme to finance the construction of that wall, he basically stole millions of dollars to line his own pocket, and those of other politically connected people.
Simply put, Mr Bannon lied to ordinary citizens about this project. He diverted their hard-earned money. He preyed upon the emotions of New Yorkers and Americans.
And then when Mr Bannon was held accountable for his criminal actions, the former president pardoned him.
Given this reality, it is understandable how hard working honest ordinary citizens are cynical about the two systems of justice in our country, one for the rich and powerful, and another for everyone else.
But in New York, we have zero tolerance for corruption and or for abuses of power.
Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg told reporters that Bannon’s formal arraignment would take place within the next hour in the New York supreme court.
The women, mostly aged between 19 and 25, had attended a rally in Moscow in March against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They were quickly rounded up by officers and put in the back of a police van…
The abuse was carried out by the same unnamed plain-clothes officer – tall, athletic, dressed in a black polo neck. In their group chat, they gave him the nickname the “man in black”.
Two of the women, Marina and Alexandra, secretly recorded audio on their phones. In one, the officer can be heard shouting about his “total impunity”.
“Foreign/Ukrainian unit in action during a recent Ukrainian offensive, during which a large quantity of US-donated materiel is used; from M1151A1 HMMWV (Humvee) with mounted Browning M2 HMG, to M136A1 AT4-CS AT launchers.”
Video at the (Twitter) links. As others have pointed out, at least one person is a (probably Southern) USian.
Oggie: Mathomsays
She has died.
As sovereigns go, she could have been much worse.
I heard the news while processing tomatoes. Got fifty pounds of assorted Roma, beefsteak, and heirloom tomatoes. About half of them have been processed into sauce and are now cooking down. Tomorrow I will do the other twenty-five pounds as chunks in light sauce. Our own tomatoes produced an even 12 fruits, so I had to get them at the farmer’s market here in town. Fifty pounds for $36.00.
Oggie: Mathomsays
They just read Biden’s statement regarding the Queens death. Typical pablum. But he did not insert himself into the release. Had it been the orange haired dumpster fire, he wouldn’t have made it all the way through the first sentence before pivoting to either ‘I am great’ or ‘I am so persecuted.’
I accidentally cut off the beginning of the first tweet @ #269: “#Ukraine: Intense footage of a mixed Foreign/Ukrainian unit in action during a recent Ukrainian offensive, during which a large quantity of US-donated materiel is used; from M1151A1 HMMWV (Humvee) with mounted Browning M2 HMG, to M136A1 AT4-CS AT launchers.”
The Biden administration has formally reversed a Trump-era rule that barred immigrants from gaining legal residency if they had utilized certain government benefits, the Associated Press reports.
The department of homeland security said Thursday that a new regulation for the “public charge” rule would go into effect in late December, although the administration had already stopped applying the previous version last year.
“Consistent with America’s bedrock values, we will not penalize individuals for choosing to access the health benefits and other supplemental government services available to them,” homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement, adding the shift “ensures fair and humane treatment.”
The public charge rule bars people from getting green cards if they would be burdens to the US.
Prior to the Trump administration, that was interpreted as being primarily dependent on cash assistance and income maintenance. Trump expanded the disbarring benefits to include non-cash assistance including food stamps and Medicaid.
The last time Geoffrey Berman generated national headlines, it was in the wake of his firing. In June 2020, the then-U.S. attorney in Manhattan was ousted under highly unusual circumstances, which then-Attorney General Bill Barr and the Trump White House struggled to explain.
There was no obvious reason to fire Berman — a longtime Republican lawyer, a Donald Trump donor, and an official who served on Trump’s presidential transition team — especially with just five months remaining before national elections. The move led to unavoidable questions about improper political considerations at the Justice Department.
Two years later, as The New York Times reported, Berman has written a new book and is speaking out in ways he has not before.
A book by a former top federal prosecutor offers new details about how the Justice Department under President Donald J. Trump sought to use the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan to support Mr. Trump politically and pursue his critics — even pushing the office to open a criminal investigation of former secretary of state John Kerry.
[…] the Times described it as painting a picture of Justice Department officials “motivated by partisan concerns in pursuing investigations or blocking them; in weighing how forthright to be in court filings; and in shopping investigations to other prosecutors’ offices when the Southern District [of New York] declined to act.”
The former U.S. attorney has apparently described an almost cartoonishly corrupted process in which officials tried to hide relevant references to the then-president in court filings, targeted the White House’s perceived political rivals, and sought prosecutions of Democrats for purely partisan goals.
Berman’s book, the Times added, argues that during Trump’s term, Justice Department officials made “‘overtly political’ demands, choosing targets that would directly further Mr. Trump’s desires for revenge and advantage.”
[…] As a separate New York Times report added last month, we already knew that Trump and his team “tried to turn the nation’s law enforcement apparatus into an instrument of political power” to carry out the then-president’s wishes.
[…] There were far too many examples of the Justice Department taking extraordinary steps to intervene in cases of interest to Trump, as then-Attorney General Bill Barr tried to steer prosecutorial decisions in ways consistent with the White House’s political wishes.
The result was a dynamic in which there were two parallel systems: one for cases that the then-president cared about, in which Barr played a direct and personal role, and another for the rest of the justice system.
A Washington Post analysis went on to highlight not only the many instances in which Trump leaned on the Justice Department to follow his wishes, but also Trump’s efforts to push federal law enforcement to validate the Big Lie in the wake of his election defeat.
Much of this was done out in the open. The then-president even had a habit of using his Twitter account and media appearances to lobby prosecutors to go after his political foes in the hopes of advancing his electoral interests.
[…] despite all of this, congressional Republicans — who said nary a word about any of this during Trump’s presidency — have spent the last month screaming bloody murder, accusing the Biden White House and Attorney General Merrick Garland of politicizing federal law enforcement.
[…] these allegations are baseless, with GOP officials failing to even try to substantiate the claims. But it’s a bigger problem that these same Republicans couldn’t be bothered to care when Biden’s predecessor actually did the one thing Republicans are now complaining about now.
Exactly one month ago today, for example, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida wrote via Twitter, “Using government power to persecute political opponents is something we have seen many times from 3rd world Marxist dictatorships. But never before in America.” [JFC]
The Florida Republican was complaining, of course, about the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago — which in no way reflected corruption — though Rubio had no comparable concerns when Trump tried desperately to use government power to persecute his political opponents. The GOP senator has “never before” seen such wrongdoing in the United States — except for the misconduct toward which he turned a blind eye two years ago.
Trump politicized the Justice Department. He fired FBI officials and federal prosecutors when they resisted his partisan schemes. He handed pardons to political allies like party favors on his way out the door. He did all of this while occasionally throwing around phrases like “law and order” and “rule of law” as if they were punch lines to sad jokes.
If GOP officials even pretended to care about any of this during the former president’s term, they might at least have some shred of credibility while throwing around odd and unsubstantiated allegations now. But they sat on their hands, indifferent to the actual corruption unfolding before their eyes
Donald Trump’s list of legal troubles is amazingly long. The Republican is currently facing a criminal investigation, for example, for having brought highly sensitive classified information to his glorified country club and refusing to give it back. There are also criminal and civil allegations surrounding Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 attack and the broader effort to overturn an American presidential election.
But that’s just the start. As regular readers know, the former president’s business is also facing multiple fraud investigations. There’s also an ongoing criminal investigation in Georgia related to his efforts to interfere with election results. There’s also an apparent criminal investigation surrounding his special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
At least Trump can take some comfort in knowing things can’t get worse, right? It’s not as if federal prosecutors might open an entirely new line of inquiry, right? Well, as it turns out, The New York Times published this report earlier today that a federal grand jury is examining the formation of — and spending by — Trump’s super PAC.
to subpoenas issued by the grand jury, the contents of which were described to The New York Times, the Justice Department is interested in the inner workings of Save America PAC, Mr. Trump’s main fund-raising vehicle after the election. Several similar subpoenas were sent on Wednesday to junior and midlevel aides who worked in the White House and for Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign.
[…] the new subpoenas were apparently issued by a grand jury separate from Jan. 6 grand jury. The article went on to note, “At least one of the new subpoenas bore the name of a veteran federal prosecutor in Washington who specializes in fraud cases, suggesting that this avenue of inquiry is devoted primarily to examining the spending and fund-raising at Mr. Trump’s super PAC.”
[…] it was in December 2020 when Trump’s operation pushed an avalanche of lies about the outcome, telling unsuspecting donors that their money would go toward challenging the election results that the then-president falsely claimed were illegitimate. The pitches were incredibly successful, at least insofar as they raised an enormous amount of money.
But it was the latest in a series of Trump grifts: Contributors’ money wasn’t going toward pointless recounts, silly audits, and hapless lawsuits. Rather, most of the funds went to the Save America PAC — derided by campaign-finance experts as “essentially a type of slush fund, with few restrictions on how the money they raise can be spent.”
After Trump left the White House, things got worse: The former president kept lying about the election, causing his followers to keep donating. One appeal last year told prospective donors, “We need you to join the fight to SECURE OUR ELECTIONS!” but none of the millions of dollars raised by Save America went toward any such efforts.
This took on new significance a few months ago when the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack held one of its public hearings and highlighted Team Trump’s “Official Election Defense Fund.”
As one former Trump campaign staffer told the bipartisan congressional committee, “I don’t believe there is actually a fund called the ‘Election Defense Fund.’”
As we discussed soon after, the bulk of the money went to the former president’s super PAC.
Part of what made this jarring was the degree to which it was a scam wrapped in a scam: Trump started with a lie — the election results were illegitimate — and then added another lie on top of it, by telling those who believed the first lie to go grab their wallets and contribute to Election Defense Fund that had nothing to do with defending elections.
It also created a perverse set of incentives: The moment the Republican stopped lying was the moment donors stopped sending him money, which not surprisingly encouraged Trump to keep the con going.
But there was also a legal dimension to this: Aren’t there laws against unscrupulous conmen launching fraudulent scams?
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a Democratic member of the Jan. 6 committee, was asked about this after a hearing in June. “It’s clear that he intentionally misled his donors, asked them to donate to a fund that didn’t exist and used the money raised for something other than what he said,” the congresswoman told reporters.
Lofgren added, “Now it’s for someone else to decide whether that’s criminal or not. That’s not the purview of a legislative committee.”
It’s against this backdrop that a federal grand jury is reportedly taking a closer look at Trump’s operation and its dubious fundraising.
Federal prosecutors will appeal at least part of a Monday order from a Florida federal judge relating to records they obtained from searches at Mar-a-Lago last month.
In a Thursday court filing, prosecutors said that they would appeal the matter to the Eleventh Circuit. The DOJ also asked U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon for the Southern District of Florida in a separate filing to temporarily halt her order stopping investigators from using records it seized in the search for its investigation, as far as it applied to classified documents that the government took.
The government also wants Cannon to stay part of her order relating to the special master’s review, blocking the special master from being able to look at classified records that were seized.
It’s not clear what portion of the order the DOJ is appealing. Judge Cannon’s ruling enjoined prosecutors from using any of the records seized for investigative purposes and also appointed a special master to sort through the records.
The records that FBI agents took came as part of a search for government documents — some of them classified — that Trump took with him after leaving office.
In the filings, prosecutors suggested that the U.S. government was having trouble understanding Cannon’s Monday order, which many in the legal community derided as “corrupt” and contrary to the principles of equal justice before the law.
Prosecutors said that the order had effectively “prevent[ed]” the intelligence community from undertaking a damage and risk assessment about the consequences of Trump taking the classified information.
But the order, prosecutors argued, did not bar the government from taking other, non-investigative actions with the records. That, they wrote, includes “briefing Congressional leaders with intelligence oversight responsibilities regarding the classified records that were recovered.”
“The government similarly does not understand the Order to restrict senior DOJ and FBI officials, who have supervisory responsibilities regarding the criminal investigation, from reviewing those records in preparation for such a briefing,” the filing reads.
Prosecutors have noted in a detailed inventory released earlier this week that many of the folders marked with various levels of classification were empty upon their seizure at Mar-a-Lago. The government argued that it would likely prevail on its appeal in part to continue its investigation into where the materials held within ended up.
“The FBI would be chiefly responsible for investigating what materials may have once been stored in these folders and whether they may have been lost or compromised—steps that, again, may require the use of grand jury subpoenas, search warrants, and other criminal investigative tools and could lead to evidence that would also be highly relevant to advancing the criminal investigation,” prosecutors wrote.
Through most of the filing, prosecutors ignore the element of Cannon’s rule that struck many as the most offensive: the notion that Trump, by virtue of his status as a former President, deserved more deference because he had more to lose.
But in the final paragraph, prosecutors made an oblique reference to Cannon’s finding that Trump is special. The government said that Trump had only one possible injury, and that it “relates to the government’s investigation itself.”
Prosecutors added that defending against “potential criminal prosecution” cannot be a harm in the sense that Cannon found it was. [Right, and LOL at Cannon]
“That is why courts have exercised great caution before interfering through civil actions with criminal investigations or pending cases,” prosecutors wrote.
That last sentence sounds like an attempt to put Judge Cannon back in school. Funny that the DOJ has to explain that to Cannon.
@CalltoActivism just filed a legal complaint against Judge Cannon with the 11th Circuit Judicial Council for egregious misconduct for obstructing the DOJ investigation.🔥 This is a brilliant first step in punishing this corrupt judge and removing her from the bench.
Posted on Twitter by Jon Cooper.
Other comments posted by readers of the article:
And the motion to stay is a sensible opportunity to take a step back from the ledge she now finds herself on. The reaction to her ruling in the legal community was completely unanimous that she was up to her neck in horseshit. Might be time to brush some of it off.
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Excellent move…puts it to her: “What? We can’t investigate even the classified docs he stole? We will gladly let the Special Master look at everything that isn’t classified….”
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It wouldn’t surprise me if a major reason DOJ is appealing is b/c it failed to reach agreement w/ the former president’s attorneys on special master candidates, duties, and limitations, per Judge Cannon’s order. [posted on Twitter by Brandon Van Grack]
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One wonders if the Federalist Society might be motivated to provide training exercises that reduce potential shame blowing back as a result of their judicial acolytes misadventures.
Wonderful news that the DOJ has decided to appeal Judge Cannon’s farcical decision is making clear that it cannot be that case that a former President “can successfully assert executive privilege to prevent the Executive Branch itself from reviewing and using its own records.”
The Lincoln Project has a terrific new ad on how Mr. Trump has been using his Big Election Lie to raise hundreds of millions from his MAGA [supporters].
Brief thoughts on UA Kharkiv offensive. It appears ambitious, intended to envelop Izyum and try to trap Russian forces there. Likely seeking to interdict ground lines of communication at Kupyansk. The Oskil river east of Izyum makes the pocket vulnerable for RU forces.
UA offensive looks to have made substantial gains, placing RU forces in a precarious position. From what one can tell, and these are early impressions, the advance made good use of armor in conjunction with infantry.
Russian forces appear to have been spread thinly, and mil leadership unprepared despite earlier evidence of UA buildup. I think it’s fair to assess that RU was caught by surprise with little in the way of reserves locally available.
Russia’s manpower issues, dependence on lower quality or mobilized LDNR forces, inability to conduct rotation, and struggles with retaining personnel are all issues at play here. In addition, Russian mil also deployed most of its better troops to Kherson and Zapo in August.
Despite the success of UA breakout by Kharkiv, I don’t see Kherson as a diversion. These appear to be interrelated offensives. Kherson likely intended as a more deliberate, sequenced advance. Kharkiv to take advantage of favorable conditions & attain a rapid breakthrough.
Nathan [Ruser] had a good map. [map at the (Twitter) link]
Earlier today someone posted a clip of this video from Kupyansk in the early days of the invasion, suggesting that Ukrainian forces were now about 12 km from the city. I probably posted about it here at the time but had forgotten it was in Kupyansk:
Unarmed people in Ukraine have been filmed attempting to stop Russian vehicles with their bodies in a string of defiant acts.
In the south-eastern city of Melitopol people pushed on Russian military vehicles with their bare hands, while in the north-east Kupyansk residents jumped on a Jeep with Russian markers to fight the Russian occupation.
There were reports of fierce shelling in the northern city of Chernihiv, where people were filmed singing the Ukrainian national anthem and standing in front of tanks
Another person tweeted this morning about civilians in still-occupied towns providing the Ukrainian forces with information about Russian troop locations and movements; I’ve also seen wonderful videos of people in newly liberated towns cheering the Ukrainian troops. If the people trying to stop a Russian military vehicle with their own bodies in that video are any indication, the Russian invaders are facing a brave, determined, and hostile local population in Kupyansk.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Ukrainian military has already liberated dozens of settlements as part of the ongoing counteroffensive in Kherson and Kharkiv oblasts.“
group of Russian officials has appealed to the country’s State Duma to remove President Vladimir Putin from power on the charge of high treason, a document shared by one of the Russian deputies who co-signed the proposal reveals.
In a tweet published on Wednesday by Nikita Yurefev, a municipal deputy for Smolninskoe in St. Petersburg, the official wrote that the Council of the Smolninskoye Municipal District “sent a proposal to the State Duma demanding to remove Putin from office based on the charges of high treason.”
The treason charge appears to be directly related to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which in Russia is still referred to as a “special military operation” by the Kremlin and its propaganda machine.
“His decision to start the Special Military Operation led to 1) deaths of the Russian servicemen, 2) problems in the Russian economy, 3) the expansion of NATO (the border with NATO has doubled!,” a translation of Yurefev’s tweet read.
The list of complaints against the Russian president continues in a follow-up tweet.
“Ukraine is militarizing and has received $38 billion worth of weapons to fight Russia. All these are the consequences of the decision to start the Special Military Operation. Putin’s actions pose a threat to Russia’s security. He should be fired! Adopted at a meeting of the Municipal Council of Smolninskoye.”
Yurefev said that the draft decision put forward to the State Duma was introduced by Dmitry Palyuga, deputy of the Moscow Region Smolninskoye and signed by six other deputies besides Yurefev himself. According to Yurefev and Palyuga, the proposal was supported by a majority of deputies present.
“We think it’s important to talk about what’s going on and address different audiences with different arguments so that it all ends as soon as possible,” Yurefev’s tweet reads.
A copy of the document shows that the Russian officials considered the actions of Putin since February 24 evidence of “high treason.” The deputies complain of the Russian economy suffering since the beginning of the war in Ukraine and of the Russian army being “destroyed,” as young able-bodied citizens come home disabled or they die on the battlefield.
They also accuse Putin’s actions of having favored the expansion of NATO towards the East and having accelerated the militarization of Ukraine, the exact opposite of what the so-called special military operation in Ukraine was supposed to achieve.
It’s not the first time the Smolninskoye municipality has tried to get rid of Putin following the beginning of the war in Ukraine. The council had already addressed a letter to Putin in early March, calling the invasion of Ukraine a “sudden and unmotivated aggression against a neighboring state.”
“The municipal council of Smolninskoye calls on you to stop the bloodshed. Immediately withdraw Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine and resign!” the letter read.
In an interview with Current Time TV, a Prague-based Russian-language television channel created by the U.S. organizations Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America, Palyuga said the chances that the proposal will be taken on by the State Duma were “nearly zero.”
“But it is important for us that there are deputies in Russia and that their voice is heard, so that they do not think that everyone in Russia supports a special military operation. There are government officials at the municipal level who do not support a special military operation,” Palyuga said.
I suspect that Nikita Yurefev and Dmitry Palyuga (as well as the others not named in this article) have just become one of the worst insurance risks on the planet. He needs to make sure that he stays in one story buildings. Or basements. With no windows or balconies.
Oggie: Mathomsays
I apologize for my difficulties with HTML coding. Teh nerve damage from my neck injury and neck surgery, though not as bad as it could be, is still enough to make typing difficult. I’ve got spelcheck for the writing, but it doesn’t help with HTML.
lumipunasays
Since her death, Queen Elizabeth will be now officially known in Britain as the “Heyday Monarch”.
KGsays
Apparently nothing happened yesterday. I tuned in to BBC Radio 4’s 7.00 news bulletin, and the whole thing was about the death of some 96-year-old woman! Nothing at all about the war in Ukraine, the floods in Pakistan, the “cost of living crisis” in the UK, the legal cases over Trump’s theft of documents and Bannon’s of money…
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian (support them if you can!) Ukraine liveblog. From there:
Ukraine likely to retake city of Kupiansk within 72 hours, says think tank
Ukraine is likely to retake the city of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region within 72 hours, US-based thinktank the Institute for the Study of War has said.
The group’s latest assessment said Ukrainian forces had advanced to within 20km of the city, and that retaking it would significantly worsen communication between Russian forces in the region.
“Russian rear positions in Kharkiv Oblast are now exposed to further Ukrainian advances, and Ukrainian forces will likely capture Kupiansk within the next 72 hours,” it said.
“The loss of Kupiansk and other rear areas on critical ground lines of communication will hinder Russian efforts to support offensive and defence operations, but will not completely sever Russian lines of communication to Izyum.”
The space between the Izyum and the city of Kharkiv to its north-west currently forms part of the frontline between Ukrainian and Russian forces.
Photo appears to shows Ukrainian soldiers outside Kupiansk
…A picture posted to Twitter by Illia Ponomarenko, a defence reporter at the Kyiv Independent, showed soldiers holding a Ukrainian flag while stood in front of a large road sign bearing the Ukrainian name for Kupiansk.
The Guardian has not been able to independently verify the image.
Russian channel: “No Ukrainian groups entered Kupyansk”.
A channel with 450k responds: “Stop lying you f*cking [****]s. What is happening is all due to [dumb] lying. In reports, motherf*cking slides and other sh*t, [******]s”.
“Igor Girkin – Ukrainians will continue advancing aiming to strike approaching Russian reserves during the march. Russians may be forced to abandon Izyum very soon.“
Russia’s Defense Ministry on Friday published a video showing military convoys allegedly heading toward the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, where Ukrainian forces are waging a counteroffensive that has made swift advances in recent days.
The formations shown in the video, released by state media, include armored personnel carriers and towed artillery pieces.
ravensays
Tweet
Mil Report
@Mil_Report
What air air defense doing? No, what whole Russian army is doing? Ukrainian army already at Kupiansk!!! #UkraineRussianWar #Ukrainenews #UAarmy
The Ukrainian army is advancing so fast, it is hard to keep up. Not with the army, but with the news.
They have already reached Kupiansk.
A day ago I had no idea what Kupiansk is but it is deep in formerly Russian occupied territory and near some key strategic objectives including a major railroad hub that the Russians use to supply their soldiers.
It appears that the Russian army has more or less collapsed here.
Reports are that the Russians are trying to reinforce with more troops and weapons.
And, those troops are not well trained or equipped reserves.
Peter Strzok tweeted: “Trump’s lawsuit against me and many others just dismissed. The Court had some things to say….”
There’s a link to the order and a few screenshots at the link. I’m reading it now. I think it’s a valuable historical document in that, in spelling out all of the problems with this attempt by Trump’s lawyers to turn a conspiracy theory into a legal pleading, it illustrates a number of the techniques used by conspiracy theorists.
Ukraine’s military says increase in Russian losses down to information from Ukrainians in occupied territory
Russian personnel losses are increasing because Ukraine is being fed information about the location of Russian forces by Ukrainians who remain in occupied territory, the Ukrainian military has said.
Recent figures from the Ukrainian authorities have seen estimates of the number of Russian soldiers being killed each day rise from 150-200 to around 600.
The figure for Thursday was 650, bringing the total since the start of the war to some 51,900.
Oleksii Hromov, deputy head of the general staff of the armed forces, was asked about the rise during a press briefing on Thursday, Pravda reported.
“Conscious Ukrainians, no matter where they are, in occupied Crimea or in the occupied territories of Kherson region, or Zaporizhzhia Oblast, or in Donetsk, Luhansk and other oblasts, conscious citizens effectively help our armed forces,” he said.
“It is no secret that thanks to them we have certain information concerning the location of the Russian occupying forces.
“Thanks to them we are able to increase these numbers [of Russian losses].”
“Independent Russian journalist Dmitry Kolezev is taking legal action against Vladimir Solovyov over multiple remarks made during his TV and radio broadcasts which he says are defamatory
I’ve translated Dmitry’s accompanying letter to Solovyov into English…”
Today, I have learned from IAEA staff on the site of the serious situation that developed last night at Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP).
The power infrastructure feeding the city of Enerhodar, home to the NPP’s operators and their families, has been destroyed by shelling of the switchyard at the city’s thermal power plant, leading to a complete power black-out in Enerhodar: no running water, no power, no sewage.
Given the increased and continued shelling, there is little likelihood of re-establishing reliable offsite power to the ZNPP, especially as the shelling continually and repeatedly damages the power infrastructure.
As a result, the IAEA understands that the operator, having no longer confidence in the restoration of offsite power, is considering shutting down the only remaining operating reactor. The entire power plant would then be fully reliant on emergency diesel generators for ensuring vital nuclear safety and security functions. And as a consequence, the operator would not be able to re-start the reactors unless offsite power was reliably re-established.
Furthermore, there are indications that, with the increasingly dire circumstances that the people of Energodar are facing, there is the significant risk of an impact on the availability of essential staff on site to continue to safely and securely operate ZNPP.
This is an unsustainable situation and is becoming increasingly precarious. Enerhodar has gone dark. The power plant has no offsite power. And we have seen that once infrastructure is repaired, it is damaged once again.
This is completely unacceptable. It cannot stand.
I therefore urgently call for the immediate cessation of all shelling in the entire area. Only this will ensure the safety and security of operating staff and allow the durable restoration of power to Enerhodar and to the power plant.
This dramatic development demonstrates the absolute imperative to establish a nuclear safety and security protection zone now.
This is the only way to ensure that we do not face a nuclear accident.
Three days ago, Shevchenkove was 30km from the front line. Yesterday, locals repainted the towns sign in the colors of the Ukrainian flag as members of the Ukrainian armed forces posed for a picture at the entrance to the town … which is now 30km behind the front in the other direction. The movement of Ukrainian forces in the Kharkiv counteroffensive has been incredible, with the number of villages being reported as under Ukrainian control seeming to almost double by the hour. [Tweet and photos at the link]
As of this Friday afternoon (5AM ET, 1PM Kyiv) Ukrainian soldiers have passed the entrance to Kupyansk, and fighting is going on in the city. It’s such an incredible advance that even Ukraine’s staunchest supporters seemed gobsmacked. Meanwhile, Russian claims that all is well are drawing a heated reply from the Russians on the firing line. [Tweet and photo at the link]
The supply line to Izyum from Kupyansk has already been cut off, and if Russian sources are to be believed, Ukrainian troops have also moved down the highway that fronts the Siverskyi Donets River to attack the location of the bridge at Senkove. All of this has the Russian administrator in Izyum begging for assistance. In that begging, he says, “Reserves are urgently needed in Izyum. Reserves are going to Kupyansk, no reserves are seen in Izyum yet.” […] Russia has continued to launch absolutely fruitless attacks out of Izyum on locations such as Dovhen’ke and Brazhkivka. Rather than pulling in their troops and planning for a defense of the city, they’re continuing to lose men in multiple failed attempts to capture tiny villages to the south—villages that, even if successfully captured, would not mean a thing to Russia’s strategic goals. It’s madness.
As of Thursday evening, Russian Telegram accounts are almost useless for tracking the activities of the fight in Kharkiv Oblast. Where are Ukrainian forces? Everywhere! After all, it’s much easier to explain why you are running away if you can claim there are 9,000 troops and a dozen tanks at your back.
[…] For this morning’s map, I’ve only stamped Ukraine blue on those villages and towns where there’s at least some level of confirmation from Ukrainian sources. Even so, the change from Thursday is incredible. What seemed like a slender, easily broken salient 24 hours ago, now seems to have expanded to cover a broad swath of Kharkiv Oblast, spreading out almost as high as it is deep. [map at the link]
What may be most amazing is that all those white “in dispute” towns in the east are actually reported by Russian sources to be under Ukrainian control. The area of the blue above, the Ukrainian-held territory in this advance alone, is right at 1,000 square kilometers. The area of the yellow is another 700 square kilometers.
If it seems like there are a lot more markers on this map than yesterday, that’s because there are. Balakliya, now well over on the left of this map, was occupied by Russia on March 2. The rest of this area was swept up within the first week of the invasion. I’ve never had these locations on the map before because they were never involved in the conflict before.
There are also reports that the yellow band above the Russian-occupied area in the south is more than just a color on the map. Ukrainian forces are reportedly continuing to move down the P78 highway from Balakliya. Down the M03 past Volokhiv Yar. Down highways south from Shevchenkove.
As of early this morning (4AM ET, Noon Kyiv), there were reports that Hrushivka was fully under Ukrainian control, so theoretically, that area of blue could be further extended. If Russian sources are to be believed, it could expand all the way to the Siverskyi Donets.
However, it’s unclear at this point just what’s really going on with many of these towns. Clearly, Russia had gutted its forces in the area and had little more than a token force at many locations. Many of those “Ukraine has taken” reports on Russian Telegram surely translate to “we have run away from” with or without any sign of Ukrainian forces. Likewise, many of the towns already marked as under Ukrainian control are actually more in the “Ukraine was here” category. How much force has been left to hold places like Shevchenkove or Hrushivka is unclear. Just as when Russia was building out its Izyum salient along these same roads six months ago, there are now Russian voices shouting for reserves to rush up and strike the Ukrainian advance before it can solidify this position.
[…] An estimated 10,000 Russian troops are in or around Izyum, and the administrator is crying out for more. Every Russian Telegram account appears to contain a growing list of abandoned villages. Reports of UKrainian troops are suddenly everywhere. The lines from Kupyansk are already cut. Russia forces are simply being routed at every point in this counteroffensive. But … there is no panic. None at all. [That’s sarcasm regarding the “panic.” See comment 178 for details regarding Russian bots, in a flood of panic, repeating all over social media that there is no panic.]
This level of progress is almost certainly not sustainable. Ukraine is going to have to call a halt soon and consolidate its gains or risk overplaying its hand. But … damn. It’s certainly going well so far.
[Tweets and photos showing that Kharkiv is a resupply post … for Ukraine. Ukrainian soldiers taking and using equipment left behind by fleeing Russian soldiers. Also, moving video of Ukrainian citizens welcoming their liberators, which looks remarkably like the welcome Russians thought they would get when they invaded. Nice.]
So that Ukrainians will have no trouble finding ammo for all the Russian armor that was abandoned, Russians helpfully left that behind, as well. [Tweet and video at the link], even their abandoned ammunition dumps look like a mess.]
Russian war correspondent Evegeny Poddubny says that Ukraine has damaged the bridge in Kupyansk, potentially limiting the ability of Russian reinforcements to arrive in the city or for its forces to retreat.
Thanks to a ruling yesterday from the Michigan Supreme Court, voters in the Wolverine State will be able to weigh in on whether to amend the state constitution to protect abortion rights. Republican election officials had earlier rejected the ballot measure over a clerical matter.
More good news from Michigan:
<
blockquote>[…] a special prosecutor was named yesterday to determine whether Matthew DePerno should face criminal charges as a result of a GOP scheme to undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election. DePerno is currently the Republican nominee in the state attorney general’s race.< […]/blockquote>Detroit Free Press link
HA! This reminds me of all the Russian bots posting on social media that “there is no panic” over the way things are going in Ukraine:
Though National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Rick Scott continues to insist publicly that everything’s fine and there’s no cause for alarm, the Florida senator also felt the need this week to send a memo to party donors, assuring them that everything’s fine and there’s no cause for alarm.
[…] in Maryland, outgoing Republican Gov. Larry Hogan believes Dan Cox, his party’s nominee to succeed him, is mentally unstable and has “no chance whatsoever” of winning in the fall.
[…] Hogan, who has previously called Cox a “QAnon whack job,” described the GOP nominee as “a nut” during a recent radio interview and reiterated his prediction that Cox has “no chance whatsoever” of being elected as Maryland’s governor in November.
“He’s not, in my opinion, mentally stable,” Hogan, who is term-limited, said Wednesday on WGMD radio, based on the Eastern Shore. “He wanted to hang my friend, Mike Pence, and took three busloads of people to the Capitol.” […]
The search is still on for a Senate Republican willing to step up and take Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago scandal seriously. For a brief period, it seemed like Sen. Marco Rubio might fill the role — he’s the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and has a track record of questioning Trump’s ability to handle classified secrets — but the Floridian’s partisanship got the better of him.
Rubio this week downplayed the controversy as a “storage” issue, which was every bit as foolish as it sounded.
Perhaps Sen. Susan Collins would do better? The Maine Republican is, after all, less conservative than her GOP colleagues, and she’s a longtime member of the Senate Intelligence Committee who knows how dangerous it is to take highly sensitive secrets and refuse to give them back. What’s more, she just won another term in a blue-ish state two years ago, and need not worry about a partisan backlash.
So, maybe Collins will be the first GOP senator to publicly denounce the former president’s apparent misconduct? Alas, no.
HuffPost asked several senators this week whether they would take secret documents home with them. The Maine Republican responded that she didn’t “have the facilities to do so nor the authority” to keep top secret information at home, but added, “That’s different from a president. I don’t have any authority to deem something classified or unclassified.”
It was a disappointing response in large part because Trump — a private citizen with no power — also doesn’t have the authority to deem something classified or unclassified. The former president has suggested that he somehow took such steps before leaving office, but as Collins probably ought to know, several former administration officials, including Trump’s own former attorney general, have dismissed such talk as ridiculous, and Trump’s lawyers have noticeably taken care not to include such claims in any of their court filings.
The Hill added this report on Wednesday:
“Of course I’m concerned there are classified documents,” said Collins, though she added there is much that remains unknown. “All we have are unsubstantiated leaks and that’s why I strongly support the request of the chairman and vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee for us to have full access to all the documents that were retrieved,” Collins said.
[Yikes. I think Susan Collins wants Republican members to have full access so they can tell Trump everything.]
But we’re not just relying on “unsubstantiated leaks.” That’s clearly not “all we have.”
On the contrary, there have been a great many devastating disclosures by way of Justice Department court filings — documents, it’s worth noting, that reached the public because of Team Trump’s own legal strategy — and those fully substantiated disclosures paint an extraordinary picture of a former president who took some of the nation’s most sensitive secrets to a glorified country club, refused to give them back, and allegedly obstructed the retrieval process.
There’s even an actual photograph, taken by FBI officials during their search of Mar-a-Lago, showing classified covered sheets that Trump wasn’t supposed to have.
There’s nothing “unsubstantiated” about this, and it obviously wasn’t a “leak.”
To his credit, Republican Sen. Mitt Romney came closer to getting this right, telling The Hill, “It’s stunning, it’s outrageous that highly sensitive documents of the United States of America were kept in an insecure place. That’s why we have laws to prevent it.”
Romney added whether a criminal prosecution is warranted “will be up to the prosecutors.”
Donald Trump filed a dumb case against Hillary Clinton, which failed spectacularly. But the closer one looks at this case, the more unsettling it becomes.
When Donald Trump threatens to sue a perceived foe, the rhetoric is often hollow. [Trump] likes to occasionally try to intimidate people into submission, and his allusions to litigation — with no real intentions of follow through — are his way of thumping his chest.
Every once in a while, though, the threats have meaning, at least to the extent that the former president and his lawyers actually file the case. That does not mean, however, that the lawsuits have merit.
Last summer, for example, Trump sued social media giants, whom he accused of conspiring against him. The litigation was more of a stunt than a legitimate case, and it was dismissed.
Around the time that lawsuit was collapsing, the former president came up with a related idea: Trump sued Hillary Clinton and several other Democrats, alleging they tried to rig the 2016 presidential election by bringing attention to his Russia scandal. The case, believe it or not, alleged “racketeering” and a “conspiracy to commit injurious falsehood,” among other things.
By any fair measure, the lawsuit was utterly bonkers, though some on Fox News encouraged its viewers to take the matter quite seriously. It certainly had a serious goal: Trump claimed the Russia scandal cost him more than $24 million — and he wanted his legal targets to pay far more than that.
Unfortunately for the former president, he will not be collecting any money through this case. Axios reported this morning:
A U.S. judge has thrown out former President Trump’s lawsuit against presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, saying the former president “is seeking to flaunt a two-hundred-page political manifesto outlining his grievances against those that have opposed him.”
At face value, this was the obvious and inevitable resolution of a case that never should’ve been filed. As a recent Washington Post analysis explained, before the ruling was issued, “From the very beginning of Donald Trump’s lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and a smattering of nearly 50 others, it becomes abundantly clear what this is about — and it’s not about winning a legal judgment…. This is a press release.”
U.S. District Court Judge Donald Middlebrooks was rather explicit in endorsing this criticism.
But just below the surface, there’s a little more to this.
First, it’s worth emphasizing that American courtrooms are not supposed to be abused by politicians filing frivolous cases for no reasons. In fact, those who do open themselves up to possible sanctions — and in this case, the district court judge seemed open to that possibility.
Second, in April, Trump’s lawyers asked Middlebrooks to recuse himself from the case because he was nominated for the federal bench by Bill Clinton. The jurist obviously declined, though he raised a point at the time that’s even more interesting in hindsight.
“I note that [the former president] filed this lawsuit in the Fort Pierce division of this District, where only one federal judge sits: Judge Aileen Cannon, who Plaintiff appointed in 2020,” Middlebrooks wrote. “Despite the odds, this case landed with me instead. And when Plaintiff is a litigant before a judge that he himself appointed, he does not tend to advance these same sorts of bias concerns.” [!!]
In other words, when Trump and his lawyers filed this foolish case, they appear to have been “judge shopping” — a practice in which attorneys file litigation in specific courts in the hopes of getting a specific judge who’ll give them favorable treatment. When suing Clinton, Team Trump hoped the case would land in Aileen Cannon’s courtroom.
And who’s Aileen Cannon? She’s the Trump-appointed judge who agreed to Trump’s request for a special master in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case — in a ruling legal that experts from the left, right, and center panned as indefensible.
Unfortunately for the Republican, his anti-Clinton civil case ended up in more capable hands.
In Reproductive Freedom For All v. Board of State Canvassers, the Michigan Supreme Court in a per curiam Order of Mandamus directed the Board of State Canvassers to certify the proposed Reproductive Freedom For All state constitutional amendment for placement on the November 8 election ballot. The Board of State Canvassers had deadlocked 2-2 along party lines with those voting against approval citing a typographical problem that led to several words being run together at places in the text of the proposed amendment as set out in the petitions that were circulated. In its Order, adopted by a 5-2 vote, the Court said in part:
It is undisputed that there are sufficient signatures to warrant certification. The only challenge to the petition is in regard to whether there is sufficient space between certain words of the text of the proposed amendment. MCL 168.482(3) requires only that “[t]he full text of the amendment so proposed must follow the summary and be printed in 8-point type.” The “full text” of the amendment is present: regardless of the existence or extent of the spacing, all of the words remain and they remain in the same order, and it is not disputed that they are printed in 8-point type. In this case, the meaning of the words has not changed by the alleged insufficient spacing between them.
Chief Justice McCormack filed a concurring opinion, saying in part:
Two members of the Board of State Canvassers] would disenfranchise millions of Michiganders not because they believe the many thousands of Michiganders who signed the proposal were confused by it, but because they they think they have identified a technicality that allows them to do so, a game of gotcha gone very bad.
Justice Viviano filed a 14-page dissenting opinion, saying in part:
For well over a thousand years, we have conveyed thought and meaning by using spaces between words…….
President Biden called out the Republican Party’s radicalized wing that “promotes authoritarian leaders.” Donald Trump just proved him right — again.
When President Joe Biden delivered remarks last week on the domestic dangers our democracy is facing, he specifically called out the Republican Party’s radicalized wing that “promotes authoritarian leaders.”
A week later, his immediate predecessor helped prove the Democrat right. By way of his Twitter-like platform, Donald Trump published this missive yesterday.
“President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, ‘Tropical Trump’ as he is affectionately called, has done a GREAT job for the wonderful people of Brazil. When I was President of the U.S., there was no other country leader who called me more than Jair seeking Tariff & Tax cuts, Trade Renegotiations, Strengthened Drug & Border Policies (to put the ‘bad guys’ in jail!), Military Help, & more. President Bolsonaro loves Brazil beyond all else. He is a wonderful man, and has my Complete & Total Endorsement!!!”
[head/desk, with eyeball roll]
[…] What makes Trump’s international focus notable is his routine support for foreign autocrats who keep undermining their own democracies.
[…] it was in 2020, for example, when Trump endorsed Polish President Andrzej Duda — four days before Election Day in Poland — despite the restrictions Duda had imposed on his country’s judiciary, media and civil society.
[…] The New York Times’ Jamelle Bouie explained a while back that Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Hungary “is corrupt, repressive and authoritarian, a place where democracy is little more than window dressing.” Vox published a related report in 2018 on “how democracy died in Hungary.” It noted a vote from the European Parliament, which labeled Orban’s government a “systemic threat to the rule of law.”
Trump has nevertheless become one of Orban’s biggest international fans and has extended Orban enthusiastic endorsements.
And then, of course, there’s Brazil, where polls suggest Bolsonaro is likely to lose — and where the autocratic leader has spent recent months questioning the legitimacy of his country’s electoral system, as part of a political strategy to dismiss his likely defeat as “rigged.” The country’s far-right president has already declared that he will not accept election results that he does not like.
Yes, as a matter of fact, this does sound familiar.
Columbia University’s Miguel Lago explained in a New York Times opinion piece this week, “To some, this looks like the groundwork for a coup. In this view, Mr. Bolsonaro intends to refuse any election result that does not please him and, with the help of the military, install himself as president permanently. […]”
[…] You don’t need a doctorate in political science to recognize the common thread tying together the Republican’s international endorsements: Trump likes authoritarians who chip away at their democracies.
[…] When Biden condemned Republicans who “promote authoritarian leaders,” it was not an abstract criticism.
[teaching income and speaking engagements info snipped]
Alito’s disclosure indicated that he continues to own mutual funds and a wide range of blue-chip stocks, including 3M Co., Abbott Laboratories, Boeing, Caterpillar, Dow, DuPont De Nemours, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble and Raytheon. As Gabe Roth, founder of Fix the Court, observed last week, Alito is one of only two justices on the court who own stocks. He owned 28 at the end of 2021, compared with four for Chief Justice John Roberts. Alito sold his Boeing stocks, Roth noted, in August 2021 to allow him to participate in a case involving Boeing. When it became clear that the case would be dismissed, Alito once again bought stock in Boeing.
[…] “At its core, the problem with Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint is that Plaintiff is not attempting to seek redress for any legal harm,” Judge Middlebrooks wrote. “Instead, he is seeking to flaunt a two hundred-page political manifesto outlining his grievances against those that have opposed him, and this Court is not the appropriate forum.”
[…] “What the Amended Complaint lacks in substance and legal support it seeks to substitute with length, hyperbole, and the settling of scores and grievance,” the judge added. […]
WHOA! Trump filed a baseless lawsuit v. Hillary Clinton, ex-FBI Agent Peter Strzok et al in Florida. Back in April, Trump tried to get the assigned judge kicked off the case. The judge said no & basically accused Trump of judge-shopping. For what judge? Yup, Aileen Cannon
The decision is quite scathing and the judge is not a happy camper. Sanctions should be coming.
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Donald J. Trump Playbook: Abuse, play the victim, abuse again, play the victim again, abuse again and again, play the victim again and again. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
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barring Trump from further litigation in this district would be a start, and would send a message. That, and sanctions for the lawyers on the complaint.
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The the most damning evidence against Trump and his Russia connections is how much effort he puts into denying them.
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Sanction the lawyers. They’re the gatekeepers.
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I am hard-pressed to recall ever reading a judicial opinion that is more scourging than how the judge wrapped up his dismissal of Trump’s lawsuit. It’s like the “I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul” clip from “Billy Madison.” [posted by Charlie Savage.]
Lynna @ #326, and it’s not just that they filed a frivolous suit. I’m still not even halfway through, but the judge points specifically to Trump’s lawyers making false representations in their pleading (pp. 6-7):
Likewise, the Amended Complaint cites copiously to the indictment of Michael Sussmann and a substantial portion of the Amended Complaint contains its allegations…. But nowhere does the Amended Complaint mention Mr. Sussmann’s acquittal…. In presenting a pleading, an attorney certifies that it is not being presented for any improper purpose; that the claims are warranted under the law; and that the factual contentions have evidentiary support…. By filing the Amended Complaint, Plaintiff’s lawyers certified to the Court that, to the best of their knowledge, “the claims, defenses, and other legal contentions are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for extending, modifying, or reversing existing law or for establishing new law,” and that “the factual contentions have evidentiary support[.]”… I have serious doubts about whether that standard is met here.
Julia Davis: “Watch this roundup of clips, featuring panicked Kremlin propagandists on several state TV programs, discussing impressive gains by Ukraine’s Armed Forces in reclaiming control over Ukrainian territory. More in my article”
Video at the (Twitter) link. Amazing suggestion that Russia form an “anti-imperialist front” with…North Korea. Dude, you’re the imperialist aggressors here!
Looks like they’re starting to see the Hague as a possibility for themselves…
SC @328, “the judge points specifically to Trump’s lawyers making false representations in their pleading”
Oh, yes. Good point. Thanks for adding that.
The Judge’s statements would have been so different if Trump’s lawyers had been able to present their case to faux judge, (and Trump sycophant), Aileen Cannon.
Pending expected U.S. congressional approval, about $1 billion of that will go to Ukraine and the rest will be divided among Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
The question isn’t whether the United States is better off now than it was two years ago. The question is why Kevin McCarthy doesn’t know the answer.
[…] There is, however, a fundamental problem with McCarthy’s pitch: The United States is most definitely better off than it was two years ago. The Republican leader wasn’t making the case for throwing Democrats out of office; he was inadvertently making the case that the nation should stay the course.
Does McCarthy remember what things were like in the summer of 2020? There was civil unrest in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. The national unemployment rate in August 2020 was 8.4% (it’s 3.7% now). Covid was claiming the lives of over 1,500 Americans per day — a number that was climbing — and the first vaccine shots were still months away. The United States’ international reputation and credibility was in the toilet.
[…] To be sure, there’s ample room for conversation about how much further we have to go. What’s more, if Republicans want to have a discussion about how much credit Democrats and their legislative successes deserve for helping turn things around, that sounds like a debate worth having.
But if the House minority leader is convinced we were better off two years ago, he either has an exceedingly short memory or he’s confused about what “better” means.
I think he probably knows what “better” means, he just thinks he can get away with saying anything, like his Dear Leader. Also, he doesn’t have a fucking leg to stand on, so he decided that making nonsensical arguments was as good a strategy as any. He is spreading disinformation.
[From the Ukrainian General Staff:] The 237th Guards Airborne Assault Regiment of the Russian Federation ceased to exist due to the death or injury of all servicemen. A significant part of those who survived are in an extremely difficult condition.”
The attorney general’s complaint was sparked by a report from The Associated Press last year that Noem had taken a hands-on role in a state agency. Shortly after the agency moved to deny her daughter, Kassidy Peters, a real estate appraiser license in July of 2020, Noem held a meeting with Peters and key decision-makers in her licensure. Days after the meeting, Peters signed an agreement that gave her another opportunity to meet the licensing requirements.
or quite a while, it seemed as if Michael Cohen was the former Donald Trump lawyer most opposed to his former client. The controversial attorney served as Trump’s fixer and an executive at the Trump Organization, before ultimately rejecting the former president and describing himself as a “fool“ for having trusted him.
But Ty Cobb is now giving Cohen a run for his money.
Cobb, of course, represented Trump during the investigation into the Russia scandal. Shortly before the two parted ways, the then-president published a tweet that read, “I have full confidence in Ty Cobb.”
Evidently, the feeling is not mutual. As we discussed a few months ago, Cobb denounced his former client’s election lies, telling NBC News in July, “The Big Lie has been good only for Trump and has brought him millions in donations, which some evidence suggests may have been mishandled. The Big Lie, and the related violence, election interference and other perceived misconduct, was and is an affront to this nation and its first principles.”
The lawyer added at the time that the former president had become “a disaster for the Republican Party.”
In a new interview with CBS News’ Major Garrett, Cobb went much further. CNBC reported:
Former Trump White House lawyer Ty Cobb called ex-President Donald Trump a “deeply wounded narcissist” who acted in a “criminal” manner when he pushed then-Vice President Mike Pence to block Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 election win. In a new interview, Cobb also said Trump’s conduct on Jan. 6, 2021, while a mob of his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol, could — at least theoretically — lead to him being barred from seeking the presidency.
“There is a simple way to disqualify President Trump,” the former prosecutor said. “[Trump] clearly violated the 14th Amendment of the Constitution’s Article III when he gave aid and comfort and three hours of inaction with regard to what was happening on the grounds of the Capitol.
“That clearly gave aid and comfort to the insurrectionists,” Cobb added, explaining that declarations from the House and Senate could therefore bar Trump from running again for elected office.
The attorney went on to say that elements of Trump’s Jan. 6 scheme were “criminal,” adding, “This was the first time in American history that a president unconstitutionally tried to remain in power illegally, and in my own view … I believe that would merit prosecution.”
Circling back to our earlier coverage, in recent years, there’s been ample discussion about what, if anything, it might take for those caught up in Trumpism to conclude that they’ve been scammed. Who, if anyone, will they listen to?
Clearly, these voters will not be persuaded by pundits. Or lawmakers. Or historians. Or prosecutors. Or committee reports. Or special council investigations.
Perhaps, however, they’ll consider listening to those who worked side by side with Trump, and who now see him a menace?
A federal judge blocked an Arizona law on Friday that was set to ban the recording of police within 8 feet of a “law enforcement activity.”
U.S. District Judge John Tuchi granted a preliminary injunction requested by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arizona and multiple media outlets, which argued that the law violates the First Amendment rights of journalists and the public.
The law, which Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed into law in July and was set to go into effect later this month, prohibits people from recording law enforcement activity in the 8-foot radius if they know or reasonably should know the activity is occurring. They are also not allowed to record if an officer warns them that an activity is happening.
The law defines a law enforcement activity as the questioning of a “suspicious” person, arresting someone, issuing a summons, enforcing the law or handling an “emotionally disturbed or disorderly person” showing “abnormal” behavior.
Tuchi ruled that any motions to intervene with the injunction should be filed by next Friday, Sept. 16.
The plaintiffs argued in the case that video recordings of law enforcement activity are acts of speech and expression that are related to public concern and therefore protected by the First Amendment. They said it violates the amendment because it criminalizes protected speech based on content.
K.M. Bell, a staff attorney for the Arizona ACLU, said in a statement that the law is a “blatant” attempt to prevent people from exercising their constitutional rights, and that the ACLU is glad the court is taking action to stop it.
“Today’s ruling is an incredible win for our First Amendment rights and will allow Arizonans to continue to hold police accountable,” Bell said. “At a time when recording law enforcement interactions is one of the best tools to hold police accountable, we should be working to protect this vital right – not undermine it.”
Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R), who was named as a defendant in his official capacity as the state’s top law enforcement official, filed a motion last week announcing that he would not oppose the motion for a preliminary injunction. He said in a court filing that he is not the proper party to defend the law and would notify the heads of the Arizona state legislature that county and local prosecutors are the right parties.
Rachel Mitchell, a Maricopa County attorney, who was also named as a defendant, said in a filing the next day that she and the third listed defendant, Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone, wouldn’t oppose the motion. […]
Julia DePasquale – Sep 8, 2022
As a giddy, wide-eyed freshman, I initially felt enthusiastic over the tiniest things — preparing decorations for my dorm, meeting up with my prospective roommate and arranging my schedule — until I attended orientation this summer. Here is where I first felt being agnostic made me an outcast at the University of Georgia…
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took to Twitter the other day to point out that, no matter how many times Donald Trump and his sycophants chanted “Locker Up!” (out of nostalgia for high school, I assume), not a single one of her emails was actually classified, while Trump literally took hundreds of classified documents — some of them at the highest levels anyone admits the US has — back to his Florida retirement estate when he was finally cleansed from of the Oval Office.
Clinton twote:
I can’t believe we’re still talking about this, but my emails…
As Trump’s problems continue to mount, the right is trying to make this about me again. There’s even a “Clinton Standard.”
The fact is that I had zero emails that were classified.
Comey admitted he was wrong after he claimed I had classified emails.
Trump’s own State Department, under two different Secretaries, found I had no classified emails.
That’s right: ZERO.
By contrast, Trump has hundreds of documents clearly marked classified, and the investigation just started.
Clinton then linked to the National Memo’s recent reminder that yes, zero of the State Department emails on her private email server were classified, and that every subsequent investigation, including the two performed by Trump’s administration, came to that conclusion. While both investigations criticized Clinton for using the private server because it might have been vulnerable, none of the information on it was classified, nope.
Then yesterday, in the Washington Post, “Fact Checker” columnist Glenn Kessler — who has a habit of griping that completely accurate information is still somehow flawed by his nitpicky goofball standards — certified that yes indeed, Clinton’s Tuesday tweet thread is accurate, although it’s also truthful […]
Steve Lee, a police chaplain from Illinois… Lee played a central role in a failed effort to pressure Freeman to admit to an election fraud that never occurred, according to a Reuters examination of police body camera footage and court documents, as well as interviews with key participants. After being rebuffed by Freeman, Lee contacted Harrison Floyd, who had run outreach to black voters for Trump’s 2020 campaign. Floyd arranged another visit to Freeman on Jan. 4, 2021, this time from Chicago publicist Trevian Kutti, who threatened Freeman with jail unless she provided information on election fraud, Reuters reported last December…
Events are happening so quickly in the Ukrainian counteroffensive that it’s genuinely impossible to cover them all. This morning, the version of the map posted showed just under 1,000 square kilometers of territory liberated by Ukrainian forces in this single drive across Kharkiv Oblast. Eight hours later, that number is over 1,600 square kilometers. Ukrainian forces have reportedly taken out the bridge at Kupyansk, captured the town of Senkove, and possibly even moved 10 km down the eastern bank of the Siverskyi Donets. There are reports that Ukraine has liberated Buhaivka, which was known to be the site of a major Russian vehicle storage and repair depot, and of units engaged as far south as Vesele and Kunje, less than 20 km north of Izyum
And that’s far from all. Just three days ago, this was part of the morning Ukraine update:
Lyman. Remember Lyman? It was one of the largest town Russia had captured when it fell in mid-May, and that’s about the last time we’ve had a reason to mention it. Only I’m mentioning it now, because Ukrainian forces have reportedly taken Staryi Karavan, only 3km from Lyman.
There are reports on Friday that there is active fighting in both the suburbs and in Lyman itself, as what was thought to be a token force of Ukrainian troops in Staryi Karavan and Ozerne surges to the north. It’s getting to where there is no place in Ukraine safe for a Russian military crew. Just as it should be. [Tweet and video at the link]
With repeated cautions that 1) when things are moving this quickly, accuracy suffers, 2) many of these reported gains are not confirmed by either the Ukrainian military or geolocated images, and 3) it’s impossible to know how much of this has been secured for Ukraine, rather than just freed of Russian forces, here’s how the map looks now. [map at the link]
What began as a slender salient shooting rapidly along a single highway has turned into a broad counteroffensive that has taken a solid chunk out of Russia’s occupied territory. It’s also either completely cut, or very nearly so, all supply lines to what is reportedly a force of around 10,000 stationed in and around Izyum.
There appears to be active fighting all around Kupyansk, as well as at multiple point along the southern edge of this widening advance. It’s unclear so far if there is any place that Russia has really dug in their heels and put up a solid resistance.
In response to this action Russia has sent forward and entire fleet of … videos, which supposedly show reinforcements rolling in from Belgorod to the north. However, there have so far been few reports of these reinforcements on the ground and several of those videos have proven to be fakes.
What’s obvious is that in this location at least, Russia’s line was exactly one village deep. Once Ukranian forces were able to either capture or bypass locations like Balakliya and Verbivka they were running loose in Russia’s backfield. With a few exceptions, the small Russian forces they’ve encountered have seemed to have one thought on their mind: which way to run. And even when Ukrainian troops did meet some resistance, as at Shevchenkove and Hrushivka, they seem to have cleared away those obstacles in a matter of hours, not days.
Meanwhile, in the puppet theater that is the official Russia media, Russia has relieved the forces still valiantly fighting at Balakliya and crackerjack VDV units are holding a weak force of Ukrainian assailants at bay. All is well. Situation normal. There is no panic. They need to let Russian Telegram know this, because that place is all panic.
But there’s no doubt that Russia is desperately trying to move the pieces around the board in hopes of stopping Ukraine at Kupyansk and throwing some kind of firewall in front of Izyum. Which, on Friday morning in Ukraine, came in the form of reports of troops being repositioned from locations in Luhansk and Donetsk. Locations such as … Lyman. [map at the link]
This map should give a sense of how the widening Kharkiv counteroffensive related to Izyum. On Thursday, Russia was still pushing out pointless attacks on Dovhen’ke, but now there is a whole line of reported fighting less than 20 km north of the city.
At the same time, Ukraine is pushing north into Lyman. That city happens to be on the southern end of rail lines that also run straight through Kupyansk, so Ukrainian forces in that location means that Lyman’s primary means of supply is shut down. Plus, it’s not clear how many Russian forces were left to hold this city, particularly with the need for those troops in Russia’s long slog toward Bakhmut and the urgent calls from Kupyansk.
Russia may well have expected the Siverskyi Donets River to do their defense for them. After all, this location is near that of Bilohorivka, where Russian forces suffered three consecutive disasters in an attempt to bridge the river. It was already clear from Ozerne and Staryi Karavan that Russia wasn’t keeping a large defensive force in place. Videos that showed just a few Ukrainian special forces scouting locations across the river may well have been a ruse to distract from construction of a pontoon bridge and establishment of a more substantial bridgehead.
In any case … look at Izyum. There are 10,000 Russian troops there. Their primary supply line from the rail hub at Kupyansk is cut off. Nothing is coming across the river at Senkove. Whatever they are going to get is going to have to come across the bridge at Oskil, and how were most supplies reaching that location? Down the rail line from Kupyansk.
A reasonable tactician might be moving those forces out of Izyum as quickly as possible, or arranging them in tight defensive lines behind fortifications. But just how fortified Izyum might be against an approach from the north isn’t clear. After all, that Izyum salient dates back to the second week of the invasion. Like all the rest of the territory behind Balakliya, they may have done nothing at all to prepare for a massed assault coming in from “their” territory.
In fact, there are now reports that the fighting isn’t near Izyum. It’s in Izyum. [Tweet and map at the link]
If this is true, then it’s hard to even estimate the impact of this single day. A day in which Ukraine may has taken more territory, more villages, more towns, and more materiel than any other.
And a day in which it may be about to successfully liberate its first major city. [Tweets, images and videos at the link]
You may be familiar with the “work” of Russian propagandist Semyon Pegov, also known as “WarGonzo.” He’s the guy who brought you such treats as that video of people hugging and kissing Russian soldiers as they entered Severodonetsk … which wasn’t filmed within a thousand miles of Severodonetsk. Mr. Gonzo has been all over Ukraine, always ready to show that Russian forces are there to just stop the Nazis and hand out candy to children.
And as it happens, today he is in Izyum. Which is kind of perfect. [Tweet at the link]
Pegov is in central Izyum with a new dispatch, saying everything is fine, “the city is entirely under our control”, but some fighting in the outskirts
[…] Meanwhile, Russian state media is finally paying attention. [SC covered this in comment 329]
My favorite is the Kadyrovite who is like “Is Izyum the capital of Russia? Is Kupiansk? If not, who cares!” […]
Reginald Selkirksays
Republicans to Trump: Pony up more cash in battle for Senate
Ha. Apparently there are some people who do not understand the direction of money flow. The only way Trump would allow money to flow away from him if is he gets to take a percentage.
ravensays
The offsite power plant supplying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has been disconnected for a long time to come by shelling damage.
The two operating reactors of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant themselves need to be supplied with electricity to operate and cool them down if they get shut off by pumping through a lot of cold water.
This is just physics, the reactors have residual decay heat from the products of the Uranium chain reaction themselves decaying and producing a lot of heat. They need active cooling after shutdown for about a month.
The reactors are now off the grid.
The backup power supply was a nearby thermal (coal burning) power plant that had a line to the cooling pumps. The Russian destroyed that connection by shelling the power plant switching yard.
The only backup left are diesel generators run by diesel. It’s not known if they even exist any more, or if there is enough diesel to run them. The Russians loot everything and may have stolen the generators or used up the diesel .
This is why the Fukushima reactors melted down and exploded. The tidal wave took out the backup diesel generating system.
So what is the strategy here?
It looks like the Russians are trying to destroy the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and blame Ukraine for it.
I don’t have the words to express my contempt for an atrocity like this.
Offsite power supply to Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant destroyed
IAEA says shelling makes the ‘situation increasingly precarious’ as reliable supply is unlikely to be restored
Isobel Koshiw in Kyiv Guardian.com
Fri 9 Sep 2022 14.08 EDT
A vital offsite electricity supply to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has been destroyed by shelling and there is little likelihood a reliable supply will be re-established, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog chief has said.
Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said shelling had destroyed the switchyard of a nearby thermal power plant.
The plant has supplied power to the nuclear facility each time its normal supply lines had been cut over the past three weeks. The thermal plant was also supplying the surrounding area, which was plunged into darkness.
Local Ukrainian officials said work was under way to restore the connection, which has been cut multiple times this week.
Grossi, who said he had been informed of the situation by IAEA representatives at the plant, called for an “immediate cessation of all shelling in the entire area”. “This is an unsustainable situation and is becoming increasingly precarious,” he said, without apportioning blame for the shelling.
Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for shelling near Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine and within the perimeter of Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant, which has six reactors.
The thermal supply has been cut and restored multiple times this week and Enerhodar, the nearby town, has suffered several complete blackouts.
When the thermal supply has been cut the plant has relied on its only remaining operating reactor for the power needed for cooling and other safety functions. This method is designed to provide power only for a few hours at a time. Diesel generators are used as a last resort. The constant destruction of thermal power supply has led Ukraine to consider shutting down the remaining operating reactor, said Grossi. Ukraine “no longer [has] confidence in the restoration of offsite power”, he said.
Grossi said that if Ukraine decided not to restore the offsite supply the entire power plant would be reliant on emergency diesel generators to ensure supplies for the nuclear safety and security functions.
“As a consequence, the operator would not be able to restart the reactors unless offsite power was reliably re-established,” he said.
Enerhodar’s mayor in exile, Dmytro Orlov, said on Friday that work was under way to fix the switchyard and restore the supply from the thermal plant to the town, most of which was still suffering a blackout.
The development came as diplomats from Canada and Poland prepare to submit a draft resolution to be voted on by the IAEA’s board of governors, according to Reuters. The IAEA acts the international nuclear watchdog under the United Nations.
The draft text, seen by Reuters, implores Russia to leave the power plant and for control over the plant to be given to the competent authorities within Ukraine’s internationally recognised borders. The text is expected to be passed, according to diplomats cited by Reuters.
ravensays
Tweet
Dmitri
@wartranslated
Arestovych: “We have a huge problem… we have nowhere to keep all the POWs”.
1:36 PM · Sep 9, 2022
Everyone knows that Ukraine has been advancing rapidly into Russian occupied Ukraine.
The Russians are clearly running away in a hurry, leaving a lot of their gear behind.
They are also leaving…a lot of their soldiers behind.
They are surrendering, which IMO is the smartest thing they can do.
I’d like to see some numbers but probably they don’t have a complete tally yet. The number might still be going up.
Arestovych is a high govenment official in the Ukrainian office of the President.
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian Ukraine liveblog. From there:
Ukraine appears to recapture key cities of Izyum and Kupiansk
Ukraine appears to have recaptured the key cities of Izyum and Kupiansk.
The cities lie southeast of Kharkiv city in the Kharkiv region, where Ukrainian forces have launched a major counter-offensive in recent days. Analysts say Kupiansk in particular is an important logistical hub for Russian forces in the east of Ukraine.
A number of pro-Russian Telegram channels have said Ukrainian forces now control half of Kupiansk, BBC Russia reports, while Ukrainian sources have told the outlet that Kupiansk has been “completely liberated”.
BBC Russia also reports that pro-Russian channels have said Russian troops have left Izyum. Other channels reportedly said Ukrainian troops were already in the city’s centre.
Late on Thursday, US-based thinktank The Institute for the Study of War said it expected Kupiansk to fall within 72 hours, and that its recapture would “severely degrade” Russia’s ground lines of communication to Izyum.
An intelligence update published by the UK ministry of defence at 6am this morning said that Russian forces around Izyum were “increasingly isolated” and that Ukrainian units were “threatening the town of Kupiansk”.
Claims that the cities have been recaptured have also been shared online by multiple analysts and journalists covering the war in Ukraine. The Guardian has not been able to independently verify the claims.
The Russian Grey Zone channel claims that Lyman was lost without a fight and he alleges that Russian military units simply took off from Balakliya, leaving behind Rosgvardia SOBR and OMON.
Ukrainian troops confirm entering Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast.
The Security Service of Ukraine posted a photo of special operations forces in Kupiansk after unverified reports of the liberation of the city on the morning of Sept. 10.
The liberation of Kupiansk, which had a peacetime population of 28,000, is one of the most significant Ukrainian victories since Russian troops withdrew from the north of Ukraine in April, and represents a likely near total collapse of Russian defenses in the region.
“(Reuters) – Ukrainian officials shared photos on Saturday showing troops raising the nation’s flag over the main railway city that has supplied Russian forces in northeastern Ukraine, as a collapse in Russia’s frontline threatened to turn into a rout”
The Russian ministry of defence has confirmed the retreat of Russian forces from both Izyum and Balakliya.
In a statement published by state media outlet RIA Novosti, the ministry claimed a decision had been made to “regroup the Russian troops stationed in the Balakliya and Izyum regions” and “step up efforts in Donetsk” so as to “achieve the stated goals of the special military operation” and “liberate” the Donbass.
It also claimed that a number of “distraction and demonstration events” had been staged in order to conceal the “real actions of the troops” and allow the withdrawal.
Donald Trump’s attorney’s suggested that the Department of Justice pay for half of the cost of a special master which prosecutors have made clear they oppose.
In a Friday evening court filings before controversial Judge Aileen Cannon, Trump’s defense team submitted a proposed order for a special master to oversee the documents the FBI seized at Mar-a-Lago.
“Each party will bear 50% of the professional fees and expenses of the Special Master and any professionals, support staff, and expert consultants engaged at the [special] master’s request,” Trump’s team suggested.
DOJ disagreed, writing that Trump, “as the party who requested the Special Master, will bear 100% of the professional fees and expenses of the Special Master and any professionals, support staff, and expert consultants engaged at the Master’s request.”
Former Assistant Attorney General Elliot Williams explained, “This is one of those facts people might not realize about the process — someone has to pay for the special master! DOJ being (justifiably) snippy here by saying — why are you asking us to pay for something that (a) we don’t need and (b) only you want?”
Jan Wolfe, a legal affairs reporter at The Wall Street Journal noted, “One of the candidates charged $700 an hour in 2018.”
Former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said, “This sounds a lot like Mexico will pay for the wall.”
Buried in a profile of Donald Trump attorney Christian Bobb, one legal expert suggested she and the former president may find that the legal protections afforded by the attorney-client privilege may be stripped away from them due to accusations she may have assisted in obstructing the DOJ.
Detailing Bobb’s quick rise from OAN host to currently being part of a team of lawyers defending the former president’s attempt to hoard highly sensitive government documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Business Insider’s Sophia Ankel wrote that Bobb’s signing of documents that all materials had been handed back to the government when they had not, has put her in the DOJ’s crosshairs.
According to the report, “In a legal filing last month, the DOJ alleged that Bobb and Evan Corcoran, another Trump lawyer, misled prosecutors by saying they had handed over all classified documents from Mar-a-Lago.”
Adding that “Experts said the filing could build a legal case that Bobb and Corcoran obstructed the government’s investigation, and urged both lawyers to get lawyers of their own,” Ankel spoke with attorney and national security expert Bradley Moss who claimed she has major legal problems in her future.
“Bobb certainly, at a minimum, is a material-fact witness in the context of the government’s inquiry into possible obstruction and efforts to conceal the records located at Mar-a-Lago,” he explained.
“It is not out of the realm of possibility that the government … will at least seek a court order compelling her to testify before the grand jury, citing the crime-fraud exception to attorney-client privilege.,” he elaborated.
As for Bobb’s continuing appearances on Fox News defending Trump’s on his Mar-a-Lago document problems, Moss added, “She should stay off of TV at this point, as [she] is only making the situation worse.”
“Russian military says it decided to pull out of Kupyansk and Izyum to better focus on Donbas. Izyum was the main Russian HQ for ops in northern Donbas, but who cares about little details. Meanwhile, the occupation administration of Vovchansk says Russian forces are leaving it too”
Going across the border to Belgorod.
Oggie: Mathomsays
From Rawstory: I really wonder just how much Hillary Clinton’s tweet (quoted up thread) and what she said about handling classified documents is doing to Trump’s head.
As a former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton said she can’t understand how top secret documents were even allowed outside of the eyes of those who manage them, much less to Mar-a-Lago.
Speaking to the hosts of “The View,” Clinton said that it should be taken very seriously but she wasn’t rushing to judgment unfairly because people rushed to judge her unfairly.
“It shouldn’t be partisan,” Clinton said. “It should concern every American because those documents and the empty folders as they were marked suggest that there was really important secret information that is essential to our country’s defensive security. And when the report came out yesterday that the documents also included information about we don’t know which, an ally or an adversary’s nuclear program — I cannot tell you how terrifying that is, and Alyssa, you know because you were at the defense department.”
She went on to recall times when something was happening that was an emergency situation and that there wasn’t time to get to the secure facility at the White House for a meeting in person.
“And a man walked in, and he would have, like, a briefcase locked to his wrist,” Clinton said. “And he would come into my office and he would say, ‘You have to look at this immediately, secretary.’ He would unlock the briefcase. He would stand there. He would give me this document that had really delicate, secret information about something of importance. I would read it. Then I would sign that I read it. It would go back into the locked box attached to his wrist and off he would go. So, I don’t understand how these documents ended up where they are. I don’t understand how he was permitted to take them, even to the residence let alone to a country club in Florida. I don’t understand it.”
The co-hosts asked where the guy with the handcuffed briefcase was in the Trump administration.
“We don’t have yet an understanding of what was in them. We’re getting little dribs and drabs like the nuclear posture of an ally or an adversary, but I do — I mean, people literally die to get our government information,” said Clinton. “They go to prison. They get exiled. It’s dangerous oftentimes, and the idea that this would have been done, I hope everybody takes really seriously. It is not some casual, try to come up with some, you know, throwaway –”
“It’s not like an overdue library book,” Sunny Hostin suggested.
She closed by saying that the facts and the evidence should be presented before any “prejudgment.” She wants to hear the details about how they ended up at Mar-a-Lago and who else saw them, “because they’ve been moved around, they weren’t in a vault… so we need to wait. We need to have two minds about this: no one is above the law and the rule of law has to be our standard. But, we should not rush to judgment. We should take it seriously. We should be concerned about it and we should follow the facts and the evidence.”
Former Attorney General Bill Barr predicted on Wednesday that the Department of Justice is “getting very close” to a decision on whether or not to indict former President Donald Trump after government documents were recovered from his Mar-a-Lago estate.
During an interview on Fox News, Barr explained to host Bill Hemmer that the FBI had a right to take materials stored with the government documents because it could show intent to commit a crime.
“They can seize it and they can keep it if it’s evidence of the way the documents — the classified documents and the government documents were stored,” he said. “So, if you find very sensitive documents in Trump’s desk along with his passports, that ties Trump to those documents.”
Barr also speculated about how the case will end.
“Will the government be able to make out a technical case, will they have evidence by which they could indict somebody on, including him?” the former attorney general said. “And I think they are getting very close to that point, frankly.”
“Will the people really understand that this is not failing to return a library book, that this was serious?” he added. “So, you have to worry about those things and I hope that those kinds of factors will incline the administration not to indict him. Because I don’t want to see him indicted as a former president.”
And of course Barr doesn’t want to see him indicted. Because theft of government property and misuse, theft, and improper storage of classified documents is something every ex-President should be able to do, right?
Former Attorney General Bill Barr predicted on Wednesday that the Department of Justice is “getting very close” to a decision on whether or not to indict former President Donald Trump after government documents were recovered from his Mar-a-Lago estate.
During an interview on Fox News, Barr explained to host Bill Hemmer that the FBI had a right to take materials stored with the government documents because it could show intent to commit a crime.
“They can seize it and they can keep it if it’s evidence of the way the documents — the classified documents and the government documents were stored,” he said. “So, if you find very sensitive documents in Trump’s desk along with his passports, that ties Trump to those documents.”
Barr also speculated about how the case will end.
“Will the government be able to make out a technical case, will they have evidence by which they could indict somebody on, including him?” the former attorney general said. “And I think they are getting very close to that point, frankly.”
“Will the people really understand that this is not failing to return a library book, that this was serious?” he added. “So, you have to worry about those things and I hope that those kinds of factors will incline the administration not to indict him. Because I don’t want to see him indicted as a former president.”
And of course Barr doesn’t want to see him indicted. Because theft of government property and misuse, theft, and improper storage of classified documents is something every ex-President should be able to do, right?
Illia Ponomarenko: “Today is one of the greatest days in modern history”
ravensays
Thread
Mary Ilyushina @maryilyushina
Oh wow. Russian Defense Ministry now acknowledging the retreat, calling it “regrouping.”
“In order to achieve goals of the special military operation…a decision was made to regroup the Russian troops stationed in Balakliya and Izyum to step up efforts in the Donetsk direction.”
It is clear the Russian army is collapsing right now.
Reports of unknown reliability say that;
.1. The Russians are leaving a lot of ammunition and armored vehicles behind.
You don’t do that unless you are leaving in a hurry.
.2. Some twitter accounts say there are now 3,000 new Russian POWs.
Who knows what is really going on with the Russian army right now?
I’m guessing that it is like the end of the Vietnam war.
“Who wants to be the last American killed for absolutely nothing and no good reason.” We lost and a few dozen more dead soldiers changes nothing.
If the Russians lay down their arms, they go home, open a bottle of vodka, and see what is on TV. If they stay in Ukraine, they get killed, injured, or taken captive. And lose the war anyway. Not much of a choice IMO.
If the Ukrainians lay down their arms, they get genocided and disappear forever.
In a day that caps what has been an already incredible offensive freeing of thousands of square kilometers in northeast Ukraine, Saturday morning brought news that seems too perfect to be true: Russian forces have reportedly either fled or surrendered in Kupyansk, then in Lyman, and now in Izyum. Locations that have been under Russian occupation for months, and at the center of Russian operations in eastern Ukraine, have been freed.
Not only that, but all three areas have been freed without a protracted street to street battle, or drawn out artillery duel. Meaning that, unlike cities captured by Russia such as Severodonetsk or Mariupol, these cities have not been reduced to rubble in the process. It’s the very definition of a win win. With an extra win.
You might notice that this morning’s update doesn’t come with maps. That’s because I don’t have a clue about how to draw them. Russian forces have reportedly fled these strategic cities, but have they also moved away from all the front line positions they’ve fought over so long? What’s going on in Andriivka and Ivanivka, and at dozens of other points that now find themselves on the wrong side of a line that flew back 50km seemingly overnight? There are reports of large scale surrenders in some areas, and of highways clogged with fleeing vehicles in others. Nothing is confirmed, and it will likely be days before the picture becomes clear.
Is the capture of these cities in any sense complete? There are plenty of images coming in from Kupyansk, but less so from Izyum and Lyman. It’s possible that Ukrainian forces in any of these cities have occupied a portion of that locality, and that there is still fighting ahead. However, reports from Russian sources certainly seem to indicate that Lyman and Izyum are “surrendered”—mostly while screaming at Moscow for failing to take swift action (and in some cases calling for a nuclear strike). There was definitely fighting in Kupyansk, but it seems just as definitely over. [Tweet at the link]
his is an official Russian media outlet reporting that “Russian troops left the city of Izyum in the Kharkov region.” And that’s about the best we’re going to get for anything definitive until Ukraine makes its own official announcement. (On that same outlet’s Telegram channel, there is no mention of Izyum at all. Instead, the only war news is three days of reporting on Ukrainian shelling that reportedly killed two in Donetsk, and a mysterious report of a “line of refugees” at Kupyansk.)
As of early this morning, (6 AM ET, 2 PM in Kyiv) there were reports that Sviatohirsk, in that arc of the front line between Lyman and Izyum, had been occupied by Ukrainian troops that were moving to the west, and that more Ukrainian forces were pressing north from positions south of the city—from places like Dovhen’ke, where they have fought so long and so hard. Those are both good indications that Russian forces have fled, not just the cities, but the smaller locations around them that have marked the front line for weeks, and in some cases months.
The general assumption is, when the dust settles, everything west of the Oskil River will be in Ukrainian control. How far Ukraine also extends its reach to the other side of that river, and to the north of the Siverskyi Donets, is yet to be seen. There is, as yet, no sign of Ukraine sitting back to congratulate themselves on a job well done and taking a break. Maybe they don’t have to. After all, there are numerous reports on Saturday morning of Russian forces fleeing locations like Svatove, which is another 50km from any fighting.
Those Russian reserves that are reaching the area are said to be caught in a traffic tangle with the vehicles of Russian forces, local collaborators, and Russia’s cadre of propaganda artists—all of whom are trying to get out. Chaos is not a bad description.
There is still a lot of information yet to emerge on all fronts.
Right now, it’s still unclear how much of Kupyansk Ukraine has liberated. It certainly seems to include all of the city up to the river, but it’s not known if Russian forces have fled from the portion of the city that lies across the damaged bridge. The Oskil could become the new front line, or—and there are some reports this is already happening—Ukrainian forces could move down the east bank of the river, further securing rail lines and liberating the series of towns along that bank. That’s going to take another day, or maybe more, to discover. Russia had already reportedly directed a number of reserve units toward this city. There could be more fighting ahead, or those units may have already been intercepted and redirected elsewhere.
In Izyum, Russia seems to have made the surprisingly wise decision to withdraw forces along the last remaining road to the east, rather than to leave them to be encircled and fight it out within Izyum. How many of those forces, or forces that had been located to the west of Izyum, failed to get out and ultimately surrendered … we don’t know. How much of their armor and supplies were left behind … we don’t know (though we’ve already seem images suggesting that it’s a lot). Ukrainian officials will now be racing to the city to determine the situation with Izyum’s water supply, electrical grid, gas pipelines, and to be sure that food keeps coming to the city’s population, many of whom were forced to ride out over six months of Russian occupation. Expect to hear a lot more about what Russia did during that time, and to learn much more about what has happened along the front, as well as how Ukraine chooses to deploy from what was surely a primary target of this counteroffensive.
At Lyman, Ukrainian forces reportedly entered a city that was all but emptied of Russian forces. That city had already suffered serious damage from the artillery-heavy capture that Russia made at the end of May. Has anything been done to repair that damage and keep Lyman a functional city over the summer? Again, most of what’s coming through on Lyman at this point is reports from Russian sources laced with disgust at being on the losing end. What happens now? We’re going to find out.
In less than a week, Ukraine has liberated an area that’s likely greater than 3,000 square kilometers and a number of villages, towns, and cities that is probably in triple digits. This is absolutely one for the history books. The Ukrainian military may well be capable of continuing this high-speed attack. There are some sources indicating that the number of units engaged in the Kharkiv counteroffensive so far is only about a third of the force that Ukraine had been equipping and training for this fall counteroffensive.
Does the freeing of Izyum, Kupyansk, and Lyman represent the end of that high speed push? I don’t know. As all this has been going on, there has been renewed fighting in Kherson, where Ukrainian forces are reportedly having success at the southern end of the front (including gifts of those reportedly world-beating watermelons from local residents). There are also reports of increased anti-Russian activity in cities like Melitopol, and even Mariupol, where partisans reportedly raised Ukrainian flags at the word of the victories to the north.
On Friday, there were many Russian channels on Telegram, and pro-Russian accounts on Twitter, all singing the same song: Sure, Ukraine has had some minor victories, but Russia is moving reserves to the area. The forces next to Izyum will be trapped. Kupyansk is safe. Russia would be back in Balakliya in a couple of days. Everyone should just wait until Saturday, when those reserves pitch in, and see what things look like on a new day.
It’s a new day. And what a day! [Tweet, with video, showing Russian TV host (propandist) receiving updates from the Izyum disaster (disaster for the Russians); other tweets and videos showing Russian population fleeing from Kharkov to Belgorod. They betrayed people who trusted them; lots more at the link including the capture of enormous Russian ammunition depots.]
LYMAN: Honestly … I got nothing. The only thing I have from Lyman right now is text messages and a couple of shots of buildings. If you see good images from Lyman or other locations, please post them.
Pro-Russian sources are still claiming that there are Russian troops fighting in Balakliya. This seems to be fantasy they just can’t surrender … and they’re getting so good at surrendering. […]
While the counteroffensive in Kharkiv has certainly been demanding 99% of all attention, there have continued to be reports of actions along the eastern line, including word of Russian attacks near Soledar and south of Bakhmut. This is where I had the positions marked on Friday morning, based on reports of attempted advances, who was shelling where, and official announcements.
If Ukrainian forces are actually at Lysychansk (and that’s completely unconfirmed at this point) that’s at least a 15km change in positions on a line where Russia has advanced roughly 2km in the last three months.
Again … see why I’m not updating maps this morning? It’s clear that the truth on the ground and what I, and others, have been showing on maps, is no longer even close to alignment.
[…] Vovchansk, like Kupyansk, is an important transport hub. It’s the location that people speculated might be the ultimate goal of that first Kharkiv counteroffensive, the one that captured Staryi Saltiv and manage to put a bridgehead across the Siverskyi Donets.
But that effort ultimately fizzled, in large part because Russia knocked out the bridges and Ukraine was in the position Russia now faces in Kherson — trying to support operations with pontoons or barges. They maintained a force on the eastern shore for weeks, and at one point held a good part of the area from Khotimlya to Buhaivka, but were ultimately unable to maintain it.
So … if Ukraine is now attacking Vovchansk, did those forces come across the river by the northernmost bridges at Starytsya or Ohirtseve? Or have they cut all the way through the region on the right side of the river, a distance of over 60km?
Either is a more-than-minor miracle. Stay tuned.
[I’ve removed the tweet saying that Russia has announced it is leaving Vovchansk, following claims that the account was hacked and this message was fake. Even so, there are numerous reports that Russian forces are, in fact, leaving Vovchansk.]
[…] These are both vitally important transportation hubs. Coming on the heels of losing Kupyansk, they would limit the ability of Russia to move materiel out of Russia to any location in Ukraine.
Good thing for the Russians that they are such masters of logistics. […]
Well, now it’s official. Russia tricked Ukraine into taking all that territory, which was all a part of the plan. [Tweet and video at the link]
Those Russian reserves that are reaching the area are said to be caught in a traffic tangle with the vehicles of Russian forces, local collaborators, and Russia’s cadre of propaganda artists—all of whom are trying to get out. Chaos is not a bad description.
Residents in Russian-controlled parts of the Kharkiv region have been advised to evacuate to Russia, according to state-run news agency TASS.
The area’s Russian-installed administrator said official representatives were ready to provide people with food, heat and medical care, it was reported.
It comes after the Russian Defence Ministry said earlier that it was pulling troops out of key towns in the region as Ukrainian troops made rapid advances.
Under its new German ownership, Politico is turning out the finest, purest, most distilled both-sides BS on the market, absolutely distinguishing itself for irresponsible, damaging nonsense masquerading as studied neutrality. In a field that includes The New York Times, that’s really saying something.
Jordain Carney and Sarah Ferris put on a masterclass in this single paragraph, the second in their smoking trash heap of an article:
President Joe Biden and his party have spent much of this year vilifying [House Minority Leader Kevin] McCarthy and his GOP counterparts as a threat that would unravel democracy — an attack that is now at the centerpiece of Democratic efforts to hold onto their threadbare congressional majorities. Many of those Republicans, meanwhile, have echoed and amplified unfounded doubts about Biden’s election, all while pledging to use their newfound power to investigate the president’s son and, potentially, impeach members of his Cabinet.
A question, guys. Which came first: a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol to prevent the peaceful transition of power coupled with 147 congressional Republicans voting against certifying the results of a fairly contested election, or Biden and Democrats vilifying McCarthy and Republicans as a threat to democracy?
Answer: The violent attack and opposition to certifying the election—which weren’t even the only prongs in an effort to prevent the results of the 2020 presidential election from being realized, and which have been followed by a sustained effort to delegitimize Biden’s presidency. Republican nominees for important offices continue to deny the legitimacy of that election.
But Democrats daring to point all that out? That came first, in Politico’s telling. It goes on.
The worsening polarization in Washington that, at times, became openly hostile during Trump’s administration, could become downright combustible in January. And, making matters worse, each side is arguing that the other must make the first peace offering.
“At times became openly hostile during Trump’s administration” and “could become downright combustible in January”? Is Politico hiring reporters who were not alive in January 2021? Or journalists who were comatose when the nation learned that Trump had tried to damage Biden’s electoral prospects by extorting a foreign leader into announcing an investigation of his son Hunter?
The piece quotes five Republican members of Congress to one White House spokesperson and one unnamed (and not directly quoted) White House official. The Republicans use the platform Politico is offering to whine about how dang mean the Biden White House has been, and issue veiled threats about how sorry Biden will be when they have their opportunity for revenge.
This is just blatant trash from Politico. Absolutely nothing more than a laundering of Republican talking points and threats into “news.”
My sources in Russian-occupied Donetsk (my home city) say “it’s quiet” this evening. But I still hope that Ukrainian forces will kick Russian asses in there ASAP. I haven’t been at home for over eight years.
It’s been an astounding four days since Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in Kharkiv oblast that has utterly redrawn the map of Russia’s illegal invasion. On Wednesday, we called the advances that Ukraine made in a single day huge, as they encircled Balakliya and stretched toward that crossroads at Volokhiv Yar. The next day, we called the rapid advance to Shevchenkove daring, but worried about whether the narrow salient to the east might make Ukraine vulnerable. By Friday morning, it was clear the advance was incredible, with Ukrainian troops on the edge of Kupyansk. And then …
Like a tacky, cheap, vase hit by a really big hammer, the Russian occupation of the entire central portion of Kharkiv oblast just … fell apart. Everywhere, Ukrainian forces are moving, and everywhere Russian forces are running away before they even catch sight of a blue and yellow banner.
In a matter of 24 hours, Kupyansk was liberated, but before that news could even come through came word that Ukraine was knocking of the door of Izyum. Still more Ukrainian forces had crossed the Siverskyi Donets River to stroll into towns and cities that Russia hadn’t bothered to garrison. And even as the Russian forces fled from potential encirclement inside Izyum, the Ukrainian forces had turned east, and north, and south. Russia isn’t just retreating from Kharkiv, it’s waking up to a day in which it has lost the war.
Honestly, that day probably came some time ago. As kos noted last week, Russia had clearly culminated—reached the point where attrition, overextension, and its own logistical and command failings made the Russians absolutely incapable of acting as a coherent military force. What did kos say then?
Historians will someday mark the day Russia officially culminated in its “special military operation,” and when they do, I suspect it’ll be this first week in September.
That’s pretty good prognosticating. Three days later, the Kharkiv counteroffensive began, punching through a brittle front line to discover a lot of … nothing, nothing at all, in the Russian backfield.
No. This war isn’t over. Unfortunately, the ego and sheer brutality of Vladimir Putin means that many more people, including thousands of Russians, will die between now and when the last gun is put down. But, as far as Russia’s plans go, it’s very definitely lost.
Russia can move the pieces around the board. It might even make some minor advance in one place or another. However, if it tries to take pieces away from the forces now holding Kherson or pinning down the south coast in order to shore up the Donbas, Ukraine will simply turn and take those areas. And the hell of it is … Ukraine is going to take those areas anyway.
Here’s our own David Nir, quoting today from his father’s memoirs. [Tweet with memoir text at the link]
That spring of 1944 was a full year before Germany surrendered in May of 1945. With autumn not far away, Ukraine may have to sit through a cold winter before its forces sweep the last rusted Russian tank out of Donetsk. Or, you know, not. Because I’d make a much bigger bet on the modern equipment that Ukraine now possesses powering through a January cold stretch than I would on the mish-mash, poorly maintained, corruption-riddled sweepings that Russia has left for their invasion.
This, this illegal, unprovoked invasion directed by a man who thought his army of brutal thugs was unstoppable, has already been a long war. It’s not ending today. But it will end with Russia in utter defeat. They will have nothing to show for all this cost, all this blood. Nothing but decades of international isolation in which to ponder the results of handing power to a bloodthirsty jackass.
Russia has lost the war. Now it’s just how miserable and drawn out they want to make the conclusion. [Tweet at the link]
AND NOW IT’S TIME FOR … INTO THE MULTIVERSE, WITH TANKIES
Pro-Russian accounts are demonstrating their ability to spin at ultra-high speed in reaction to Russia’s collapse in Kharkiv. Strategic reserves of high tensile strength copium are being deployed to shore up an alternate reality that makes it clear … Russia may surrender, but pro-Russian tankies will never surrender to facts. There is always another universe where Russia is winning.
This one actually came from Friday, when every tankie account seemed to be singing, “just wait for tomorrow.”
Kherson is safe.
Kupansk is safe.
Izymum is definitely safe.
Balakleya will soon be safe and back under Russian control.
The same account was still in full denial mode on Saturday, retweeting this gem. [tweet at the link]
That map was the previous-to-Izyum description of what was happening in Kharkiv. The whole thing was a plot, you see, in which Russia cleverly left a hole in the line to draw Ukrainian forces into a “killing field” where a “cauldron” of Russian special forces would destroy the entire Ukrainian army!
Also this:
Let’s review results thus far;
Izyum: Not isolated
Kupyansk: Not taken
Balakleya: Not taken (!)
Russian casualties: Modest
Ukrainian casualties: Heavy
The little bit about Ukrainian losses being heavy? That’s a chunk of pure copium that’s straight from that Russian video above. It feeds into the new tankie justification for everything that has happened. Which is on it’s way to classifying everything that happened in Kharkiv oblast, including the six-months-in-the-making Izyum salient, as yet another feint. Just like the attack on Kyiv. Silly Ukrainians! All Russia has to do is sent tens of thousands of men into an area, and lose thousands of them along the way, and Ukraine gets distracted. Works every time.
But let’s continue. This one may be my absolute favorite for the day.
It’s going to be fascinating to observe how #cCultusUkraini deals with the creeping realization that the erstwhile #GloriousCounterOffensive has become the most decisively shattering defeat of this disastrous war.
Honestly, I could do this all day. Also, sadly, I could do this all day. Look upstream where, one day before Izyum, the “it’s all a trap” map got over 2,000 likes. There are a lot of tankie accounts out there, and at least 10% of them are not even getting a paycheck in rubles.
But every now and then, for just a moment, a tiny sniff of reality creeps in.
They practically withdrew from the kharkiv region to liberate the Donetsk region. I got it right??? Sounds like a lot of bullshit to me.
Don’t you worry about Ghost. He’s right back to shouting “Kherson is Russia!” in his posts. And I’m sure he still will be … long after the last Russian soldier departs from Kherson.
Reports from Vovchansk indicate that the Russian garrison there came out of the city and negotiated terms of surrender. Multiple reports are stating that Ukraine is now in control of this major transportation hub that is sited just 7km from the Russian border, and less than 40km from Belgorod.
Honestly, if Russia can’t hold onto Vovchansk, a location that it knows is critical, right in its own backyard, what can it hold?
Ukraine has reportedly secured the Donetsk airport. Note that this airport was one the western edge of the city, and had been under Ukrainian control until last month. Even so, this represents another major reversal for Russia on a day when it is being pushed back everywhere.
There several things happening, including the military movements on the Moscow ring road, that are starting to make people feel like mobilization is around the corner. Under a mobilization, Russia would be able to conscript everyone in the reserves, including women, into active service. They would also be able to draft everyone in “civilian service” which, depending on how its defined, could be almost anyone.
Russia has never declared a full mobilization, and the law actually prohibits mobilization for a war outside of Russian territory. Which is part of why Russia has been so keen on declaring parts of Ukraine “Russia forever.”
Still, Putin may try to make do by pointing at the helicopter attack on a Belgorod fuel deport, or the explosion of an ammo supply near the border as a claim that “Russia is under attack.” How any of this will go over in Russia, is yet to be seen. […]
All right … eventually I could not resist making a map. But I’ve compromised on this one in that I didn’t really try to alter the control over 100+ towns and villages, and I didn’t try to sort out the difference between what Ukraine “controls” and land that is still “in dispute.” Basically on this map, the blue area represents those parts of the counter offensive that Ukraine had liberated before mid day on Friday. The rest is either genuinely in dispute, or has been liberated since then — with no certainty that it has been garrisoned or secured. This includes a lot of small locations that were the front line of Russian control on Wednesday, and for which I simply haven’t been able to obtain good information. [map at the link]
I purposely put Popasna on that map. Popasna fell to Russian forces in the first week of May, after putting up a valiant effort. Since then, for the last 127 days, Russia has been trying to reach Soledar, less than 20km to the west. They still haven’t made it.
It feeds into the new tankie justification for everything that has happened. Which is on it’s way to classifying everything that happened in Kharkiv oblast, including the six-months-in-the-making Izyum salient, as yet another feint. Just like the attack on Kyiv.
People seem to be losing faith in the Supreme Court, thinking that it is perhaps not just an entirely unbiased, not-at-all politically motivated group of people who serve only to interpret the constitution in an entirely neutral manner, and Chief Justice John Roberts is not happy about that. Not that he wants SCOTUS to do anything about that. […]
In a speech at the 10th Circuit Bench and Bar Conference in Colorado Springs on Friday night, Colorado, Roberts urged the American public to pay no attention to the fact that the court tilts all the way to the Right now, or the fact that a bunch of Republican-appointed justices just ignored precedent to overturn a 50-year-old decision that people have come to rely on as a constitutionally guaranteed right. Rather, he would like for people to consider the court to be a very legitimate institution that serves only to interpret the constitution.
He also talked about how very “gut-wrenching” it was to have to drive through barricades every day on his way to work, as people protested “something,” he did not say what. That must be nearly as traumatizing as if he were forced to give birth against his will.
Via CNN:
Roberts, without directly mentioning protests, said that all of the court’s opinions are open to criticism, but he pointedly noted that “simply because people disagree with opinions, is not a basis for questioning the legitimacy of the court.”He said that it’s the court’s job to interpret the Constitution — a task that should not be left to the political branches or driven by public opinion. […]
Acknowledging that the last year had been “difficult in many respects,” Roberts said he and his colleagues are working to move beyond it.
“I think just moving forward from things that were unfortunate is the best way to respond,” he said.
Well that is probably easy to do when, again, no one is forcing you to have a baby against your will.
[…] it was revealed earlier on Friday that Ginni Thomas, wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, was found to be linked to over half of the lobbying groups that had been petitioning the court to overturn Roe. In some other, less ridiculous country, that might be considered a conflict of interest for her husband and perhaps a reason he should have recused himself from the Dobbs decision, but this is America so nah.
Via The Guardian:
The analysis of the amicus briefs was carried out by Advance Democracy Inc, a non-partisan organization specializing in public-interest research and investigations. It shared its findings with the Guardian.
They show an intricate web of connections between many of the most influential groups and figures on the conservative hard right, with Ginni Thomas at the centre of it. Several of the links run through her consultancy, Liberty Consulting, which she set up in 2010 and which brags that it can “give access to any door in Washington”.
Another major route is through the Council for National Policy (CNP), a secretive Christian conservative networking group that the New York Times described as a “little-known club of a few hundred of the most powerful conservatives in the country”. The binding mission of the members is “limited government, strong national defense, and support for traditional western values”.
Ginni Thomas is listed as a board director of the lobbying arm of the group, CNP Action, in a 2020 tax filing obtained by the investigative watchdog Documented. In a speech to a CNP event in 2019 she described her role within the conservative movement as that of “a convenor – I find the talent and I put them in the room and have them talk to one another”.
The list goes on. And on. And on. The Guardian article also notes that many of these groups are also on a mission to erode LGBTQ rights, which Clarence Thomas signaled he was very excited to do in his Dobbs opinion.
Perhaps if John Roberts wants people to see the court as legitimate and not a hostile takeover by the Republican Party (who, let us just note, literally stole a SCOTUS appointment from President Obama), he should encourage Thomas to, if not resign entirely, at least recuse himself from cases his wife is actively involved in. That would certainly be a step in the right direction.
People are not saying that the Court has lost its legitimacy because they “disagreed” with one opinion. They are saying that because it is true. […]
What is the point of the Supreme Court if we could achieve the exact same result by just asking Ginni Thomas what she would like to see happen?
It may hurt John Roberts’ feelings that people don’t see the Supreme Court the way he’d like them to see the Supreme Court, but they are going to see it that way, they are going to see it as an illegitimate entity, a branch of the Republican Party as long as it continues to be that. The only thing that could save the Court, in terms of being seen as legitimate or remotely fair, would be to expand it. But sadly, that’s probably not going to happen.
Twenty-seven states have enacted “right-to-work” laws that prevent unions from collecting dues from non-union members who are covered under a union-negotiated contract. These laws make it more difficult for workers to form unions and fight for higher wages and better working conditions in the states that adopt them, resulting in a 5% decrease in unionization rates and a decrease in average wages for all full-time workers of 3.1%, according to a study by the Economic Policy Institute, or about $11,000 a year, according to a report released by Rep. Sherman’s office.
[…] Republicans and their corporate interest backers have imposed state laws with only one goal: destroy unions and discourage workers from organizing for higher wages, fair benefits, and safer working conditions. At a time when labor unions are growing in both size, popularity, and delivering real wins for workers, Democrats are making clear that we stand in solidarity with workers everywhere, from Starbucks baristas to Google cafeteria workers and everyone in between.
California congressman Brad Sherman
So called ‘right-to-work’ laws are designed to make it difficult to organize a union. This impacts not only workers who want a union – but general wage levels throughout the state. In an ill-conceived effort to attract business, one state after another has adopted these anti-union laws in a race to the bottom.
Rebecca Dixon, Executive Director of the National Employment Law Project:
So called “right-to-work” laws have their roots in some of the ugliest parts of our country’s history. Like so many other workplace laws, “right-to-work” is a policy that was designed to make sure that white people did not have to join unions and join their fates and interests to those of Black workers in the South. Today, these laws operate exactly as intended, and drive down wages and conditions of work in far too many states where large proportions of the working class are people of color. […]
Jeansays
Lynna @378
Someone made a mistake because if 3.1% wage loss is about $11000 that makes the yearly revenue around $322000 which is not the average worker salary. I assume this should have been $1100.
blfsays
Not quite sure where I stumbled onto the link to this, but it’s hilarious, The Daily Mail Song (video) by Dan & Dan.
As a reminder (from 2017), Wikipedia bans Daily Mail as ‘unreliable’ source: “Online encyclopaedia editors rule out publisher as a reference citing ‘reputation for poor fact checking and sensationalism’”.
According to a report from the New York Times, the quip that “MAGA” (Make America Great Again) also means “making attorneys get attorneys” is particularly apt as dozens of lawyers who rushed to defend Donald Trump now find themselves facing disbarment, investigations, subpoenas and possible criminal charges.
As the report from Michael Schmidt and Luke Broadwater notes, “Over six years and nine major investigations by Congress, the Justice Department and local prosecutors, as Mr. Trump has managed to avoid removal from the presidency and indictment, it has become clear that serving as one of his lawyers is a remarkably risky job — and one that can involve considerable legal exposure. Time after time, his attorneys have been asked to testify as witnesses to potential crimes — or evaluated as possible criminal conspirators themselves.”
Pointing out that the danger has become even more acute since Trump became a former president, the report goes on to note that high-profile attorneys such as Rudy Giuliani and more obscure attorneys who fought to have the 2020 election overturned at the state level are all seeing their careers severely damaged by their association with Trump.
The report states, “17 mostly lesser-known lawyers who represented Mr. Trump in battleground states as he tried to overturn the election are facing ethics complaints, putting them at risk of being disciplined or disbarred by bar associations or the courts,” adding, “Vigorously defending the client — even one known for unscrupulous behavior or accused of an egregious crime — is part of a lawyer’s basic job description. But attorneys are bound by a code of professional conduct that forbids them from crossing certain lines, including knowingly making false claims, filing frivolous lawsuits or motions, and doing anything to further a crime.”
With the Times reporting, “Mr. Trump’s quest for such a lawyer fueled a destructive cycle: As his legal difficulties mounted, he hired more lawyers, who in turn faced problems for their work on his behalf, leading established lawyers concerned about their reputations to balk at representing him,” Kimberly Wehle, a University of Baltimore law professor explained, “There’s no way to adhere to your ethical integrity and keep your job. There’s just no way to not step into a mess.”
According to Michael Teter, whose group has “filed complaints against 40 lawyers who took part in suits challenging the 2020 results,” he is serving notice to lawyers steer clear of Trump.
‘Ultimately, we want to demonstrate to all the lawyers that the next time that Sidney Powell or Rudy Giuliani calls and says, ‘Hey, will you sign your name to this,’ they’ll say ‘no,’ because they’ll realize that there are professional consequences,” he explained.
Kailee DeSpain had to travel to new Mexico to have an abortion during a life-threatening pregnancy because it’s illegal in Texas. Now she supports the right.
It’s nice that her position has improved, but it sounds like a typical case of a conservative who can’t care about people unless it personally happens to her.
Seven Russian lawmakers who demanded President Vladimir Putin be charged with high treason over his decision to launch the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine were summoned by local police on Friday.
What Happened: The politicians received subpoenas in the late evening of September 8, ordering them to come to the police station the next day to fill out protocols on a charge of discrediting Russian armed forces, according to Radio Free Europe, a U.S. government-funded organization.
On Wednesday, the Russian politicians from St. Petersburg’s Smolny municipal district issued calls for the impeachment of Putin after his war in Ukraine brought a tremendous loss of life and led to economic difficulties in Russia.
They sent an official letter to the Russian Security Council and leaders of five political factions in the State Duma, demanding federal lawmakers initiate the ouster.
“The Council of the Smolninskoye Municipal District decided to appeal to the State Duma deputies with a proposal to bring charges of treason against President Putin in order to remove him from office,” Deputy Dmitry Palyuga stated in the tweet with the document.
“The decision was supported by the majority of the deputies present,” he added.
Putin, in early March, signed a law that called for lengthy prison terms for distributing “deliberately false information” about Russian military operations in Ukraine, as the Kremlin sought to control the narrative about its war that has killed thousands of civilians and soldiers.
The law also made it illegal “to make calls against the use of Russian troops to protect the interests of Russia” or “for discrediting such use,” with a possible penalty of up to three years in prison.
How long until we find out they fell out of windows?
I think that one of the reasons Trump is so in love with Putin is that Putin can (so far) do what Trump wants to do to all of his critics.
Ukrainian forces destroy Russian ammunition depots and ferry crossing in Kherson Oblast.
Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command reported the destruction of ammunition depots in and around the city of Kherson, as well as a ferry crossing in Nova Kakhoka on Sept. 10.
As a result of the Ukrainian ongoing counteroffensive, the destruction of eight Russian tanks, 17 armored vehicles, one Msta-B howitzer, one Orlan-10 UAV, and the deaths of 80 Russian troops have been confirmed.
ravensays
I called it up at 293:
Seven Russian lawmakers who demanded President Vladimir Putin be charged with high treason over his decision to launch the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine were summoned by local police on Friday.
To be sure, it was an easy call.
Those seven Russian lawmakers are either very brave or very stupid.
When the war started I read a long post by a young Russian college student woman about why almost no one in Russia was protesting the war.
She said:
1. It won’t do any good.
Russia is a dictatorship run by a small group of oligarchs and ex-KGB agents.
What the people want or think is irrelevant.
2. It could get you killed to protest the war.
Human life is cheap and meaningless in Russia.
You can die any time someone with money or power finds it useful.
The people who oppose the war all end up in the Gulag or dead.
There are progressive groups in Russia. They are mostly the young and educated of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Most of them leave Russia by the millions and never go back because they don’t see any future there.
ravensays
HOMEWAR TEACHERS WHO CAME FROM RUSSIA TO TEACH UKRAINIAN CHILDREN WERE DETAINED IN KUPYANSK
20:15, 10.09.2022
Russian teachers detained in Kupyansk
Oleg Kotov
ЧИТАТИ УКРАЇНСЬКОЮ
In the liberated city of Kupyansk, law enforcement officers detained school teachers who were brought from Russia.
This was announced by People’s Deputy Oleksiy Goncharenko in Telegram.
School teachers were deliberately taken to the temporarily occupied territories for the forced Russification of Ukrainian children.
Teachers who came from Russia to teach Ukrainian children were detained in Kupyansk. Well, the academic year will not end for another 15 years, – wrote Alexey Goncharenko.
Recall that earlier the Russian edition of “Mediazona” reported that at least 250 teachers from different regions of the Russian Federation agreed to go to work in the occupied territories of Ukraine. Among them there are not only school teachers, but also teachers of colleges, boarding schools and other educational institutions.
Teachers from the Russian Federation were promised salaries of 200 thousand rubles a month for participation in the Russification of the captured settlements of Ukraine, which implies direct participation in the occupation of the territories of a foreign country.
This is how genocide works.
The Russians deport the native population to Siberia or the arctic.
They then move in Russians to the conquered territories.
These teachers from Russia were in Kupyansk to erase the Ukrainian language and culture and replace it with Russian and Russian culture.
Not going to happen now.
They’ve been arrested by the Ukrainian police.
“Well, the academic year will not end for another 15 years, – wrote Alexey Goncharenko.”
I doubt they will really get 15 years in prison.
Most likely they will be deported as illegal aliens.
KGsays
1. The Russians are leaving a lot of ammunition and armored vehicles behind.
You don’t do that unless you are leaving in a hurry. – raven@304
…For Crimean Tatars, the numbers 1783, 1944, and 2014 are burned into their history, marking the years in which they fell victim to Russian colonialism.
In 1783, the Crimean Khanate was annexed by Russian empress Catherine II. In 1944, the entire population was deported to Central Asia on contrived grounds of collaboration with Germany. In 2014, Crimea was illegally annexed again by Russia, and the beginning of a new wave of repression of Crimean Tatar national identity began.
The year 2022 will be marked in the collective memory of all Ukrainians. For Crimean Tatars in exile, however, the anxiety shared by the whole country is mixed with a new hope of return to a home freed from the shackles of Russian rule….
Zelensky: Ukrainian forces liberate Chkalovske, Kharkiv Oblast.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sept. 11 that the Ukrainian flag has been raised over the community of Chkalovske, around 60 kilometers from Kharkiv. It was liberated by the 14th Mechanized Brigade.
Much of the media is showing little interest in the progress of the Ukrainian counteroffensive while closely following the progress of a coffin in Scotland.
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian Ukraine liveblog. From there:
Ukraine says its forces are within 30 miles of Russian border north of Kharkiv
Ukrainian forces have advanced north from Kharkiv to within 30 miles (48km) of the border with Russia and are also pressing to the south and east in the same region, Ukraine’s commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Gen Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, said on Sunday.
Ukrainian troops have retaken more than 3,000 sq km of territory this month, he wrote on the Telegram messaging app, adding: “Ukraine continues to liberate territories occupied by Russia.”
Reuters was not immediately able to verify his account.
Backup power line to Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant restored, IAEA says
A backup power line to the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) inside Ukraine has been restored, providing it with the external electricity it needs to cool its reactors, the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Sunday.
“After yesterday’s restoration of (the) power line … #ZNPP operator this morning shut down its last operating reactor, which over past week had been providing ZNPP w/ required power after it was disconnected from grid,” the IAEA said on Twitter.
“Chief of Zelensky admin encodes a big thought with a single emoji.
It’s not just a wolf. In Ukrainian a wolf is вовк [vovk]. This tweet is an allusion to the town of Vovchansk in Kharkiv region which got its name for its wolves and which is being reportedly fled from by RU troops”
Yesterday I learned (also from Twitter) that Izyum means raisin, and shortly afterwards Yermak tweeted a grapes emoji. So I assume this basically means Vovchansk is liberated.
Governor: Armed Forces liberate over 40 settlements in Kharkiv Oblast.
Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov told a local media outlet that the actual number of recaptured settlements is higher, but “we cannot announce this number.”
So yeah — basically, Russia is leaving Ukraine’s Kharkiv Oblast.
New Ukrainian strikes are very likely, as Ukrainian forces still have pretty serious offensive capacity.
A quick update to get the news up, I’ll flesh this out throughout the day. [Tweet showing that Russians confirm they are leaving the whole of Kharkiv Oblast.]
HIMARS caught a retreating Russian unit: [Tweet, map and video at the link]
From the Russian’s POV: [Tweet and video: Withdrawing from Kharkiv direction is not easy for the Russians. This video by Rybar demonstrates a column moving on the highway at night. On the right, you can see a “burning Russian combat vehicle that was attacked by Ukrainian saboteur group”.]
[…] Let’s look at the big picture. [map at the link]
Blue hash is Kharkiv oblast, which Russia is supposedly abandoning entirely. Yellow is the parts of Luhansk Oblast Russia conquered since February. Open, empty, with few roads, Russia wasn’t able to hold it in the 2014 war. Not sure how strategic it is right now, and whether Ukraine will want to claw some of that back.
The pre-invasion Luhansk and Donbas border are clearly defensible, and that’s where Russia presumably will head. The green hash is the part of Kherson Oblast that Ukraine has cut off, with a heavy Russian presence suffering from poor-to-non-existent supply lines.
But what about the south? Reports [say there is a] heavy Russian presence in the stretch between Mariupol and Melitopol, and Ukraine can’t cut those troops off. They can be resupplied easily via the Azov sea. Russia’s problem is that supply lines from there to Melitopol (and further west toward Kherson) are served by a single rail line, in the town of Tokmak.
Expect that place to start showing up soon, the way we always knew Kupiansk and Vovchansk would be keys to liberating Kharkiv. […]
The tractors are back. [video at the link] Ukraine has gotten armor recovery vehicles from the United States, Germany, and likely others. So the tractors aren’t as singularly important as during the first months of the war. But still nice to see them lending a hand!
I can’t wait to see the tally of Russia’s Lend-Lease program for the Ukrainian army. The number of visually confirmed captured armored vehicles is already well into the dozens, and should easily go into the hundreds.
Russian forces left massive quantities of armour around #Izium; in one single location we counted no less than nine T-80U and T-80BV tanks, as well as other hardware (Eight seen in these images). They appear to be in a variety of conditions. [Tweet and images at the link]
I love liberation videos!
This is what real support looks like! The recently liberated Buhaivka in Kharkiv region
Our soldiers were literally gifted with delicious food and congratulations
[Tweet and video at the link]
We’ll need these to carry us over when the war crimes emerge. It’s already happening, and as always, we find out that Irpin and Bucha weren’t special. Russia’s brand of terror has no boundaries. [more liberation videos]
We’ve been talking about Russia’s insufficient forces since literally before the war began.
The defense was broken so quickly most likely because the Russians lacked forces. The front is more than 1300 km long, and the Russians have 200,000-250,000 troops. This is decisively insufficient to create a serious tiered defense. Most likely, they only had one tier of defense to the north of Balakliia and the Russians’ defense forces mainly consisted of SOBR rapid-response teams that are not specialized in general warfare but in suppressing protest actions.
There’s also the fact that many Russian soldiers did not want to be there fighting a senseless war.
[…] General Hodges said the recent success indicated that Ukraine’s efforts to retake land in the south and east could unfold more quickly than he had previously assessed, even setting the stage for an attempt to retake Crimea next year. Other experts agreed that the tide might be turning for Ukraine.
“The Ukrainian military’s counteroffensive is moving faster and taking terrain even faster than expected,” said Mick Mulroy, a former Pentagon official and C.I.A. officer. “Now is the time for the Ukrainian army to exploit every opportunity they have to degrade and destroy the Russian capacity to fight.”
Current and former U.S. officials praised the sophistication of the Ukrainian preparations for the counteroffensive. The decision by Ukraine to tout its counteroffensive in the south before striking in the northeast is a standard technique for misdirection used by the American Special Operations troops, who have been training the Ukrainians since the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Darth Putin: “Looking back, I should known it would be disaster as soon as Trump said it was ‘genius move’.”
Pierce R. Butlersays
Lynna… @ # 405: The decision by Ukraine to tout its counteroffensive in the south before striking in the northeast is a standard technique for misdirection used by the American Special Operations troops, who have been training the Ukrainians since the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Much like I, years ago, expected V. Putin to apply his judoka skills to warfare, instead of the coarse massive pounding by artillery which seems to be the only tactic known to the Russian army. I find it a bit surprising that American military teachings go beyond saturation bombing from the air, given US on-the-ground warfighting failures since Vietnam.
The Washington Post has a long read on the man now in control of American political news site Politico, and it comes with the newsworthy snippet that Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner sent a rather bizarre email to his executive team “weeks” before the November 2020 elections.
“Do we all want to get together for an hour in the morning on November 3 and pray that Donald Trump will again become President of the United States of America?” he asked his team. [JFC!]
That the rich “entrepreneurial”-styled head of an international news company might have still been backing ridiculous clownburger Donald Trump […] is not really news. Much of the news you read comes through the filter of right-leaning corporate owners who don’t give a particular damn about anything but themselves and their personal cash flows, whether it be the Post’s own worker-gouging Bezos or the unmitigated malevolence of the Murdoch clan. It’s baked in.
The weirder part is that Döpfner apparently insisted quite boldly he had never sent such a message, right up until the Post showed him their copy of the email in question, after which he claimed he might have sent such a thing as “an ironic, provocative statement in the circle of people that hate Donald Trump.”
You know, just to get a rise out of his own executives. As one does, when one wants to be a free-spirited provocateur.
The “I only did that to be an asshole” defense is itself usually a pretty solid one when it comes to any profile of any chief executive who has rapidly risen through the ranks and now stands on the top of the common rabble, and Döpfner might have had a shot at selling the Ironic Asshole Defense had the email not also contained a numbered list of Trump’s supposed best accomplishments, aside from the being impeached for corruption and leading a staff of incompetent mostly-crooked buffoons through a campaign of screwing up any part of government any one of them was aware of. [LOL]
“No American administration in the last 50 years has done more,” wrote Döpfner after listing off successes like “defending the free democracies” against Russia(?), pressuring NATO to spend more money(??) and, of course, “tax reforms.” [LOL, LOL, sheesh.]
A complete failure to respond to a worldwide pandemic disaster didn’t make the cut of Döpfner’s concerns, and whether or not Trump instituted a policy to intentionally separate refugee children from their parents is not worth mentioning. It just couldn’t compete against the powerful success of “tax reforms.”
The Post’s profile of Döpfner is gawdawful familiar, even to the point of being rote. We’re told that Döpfner’s politics are hard to pin down, but that he thinks the Post and The New York Times have gone too far left while he is not a fan of conservative media’s “alternative facts.” He believes there is a nonpartisan path between the two, between “predictable political camps.” He is an iconoclast, spending his money on “a collection of female nudes by female artists” rather than the usual yachts. He’s not a fan of racism or homophobia, but as his plaudits for Trump’s alleged successes show, neither is a dealbreaker.
Oh, and he calls Elon Musk “one of the most inspiring people” he’s met, and the man’s son works for the fascism-promoting white-nationalist-boosting Peter Thiel, and it just happens that the two news outlets at the top of the company’s German media empire are a hard-right skeevy tabloid and a not-as-hard-right mostly corporatist paper—an arrangement we here in America are already quite familiar with and do not find “hard to pin down” in the slightest.
By the time you’re even halfway through, then, the Post story paints a picture of the sort of big-media iconoclast who is utterly rote at this point. Got it. He’s a right-leaning new-money self-promoting entrepreneur type who wants to chart a path where rich people get lots of tax cuts, but we maybe don’t burn his LGBTQ friends at the stake. He’s here to revamp journalism around a version of centrism that thinks Donald Trump was doing a bang-up job […]
We heard this biography when it was about Musk. Or about Thiel. […]
This isn’t being a maverick. This is the most bog standard of all possible Rich Person Political Stances. This is the utter, magnificent laziness of men at the top of their profession quickly coming to decide that Politics Itself is wrong and that they, uniquely and truly, are the ones who can see through the nonsense and give us a nice, semi-fascist middle ground. [Correct.]
Jeebus Cripes, this is Great Gatsby stuff. New Wealth Fixes The World is what Ayn Rand choked her pages with. […]
We get it. The moment a certain kind of man gains elevated wealth and power, they can’t rest until the rest of the world knows that it’s because they have the brain to solve all problems, and the answer they come up with every last time is: A middle position! One where both sides agree that I get tax cuts and we compromise down the middle on the fascism and book-burning and whatnot!
[…] Seriously though, to write a letter boosting Donald Trump for overseeing corporate tax cuts in the fall of 2020, with half a million American pandemic dead, a prior impeachment over corruption, and a list of accomplishments that can best be described only as a campaign of international blowhardism: The new head who will be steering Politico into yet another vision of wealth-backing neutrality seems to have spent a lot less time on his political stances than he has on his art collection. Can’t all these iconoclasts follow their hearts, building space yachts shaped like naked women or whatever it is animates them without dragging the rest of us into it? […]
[…] stop telling us how your own indifference to the slow dismantling of world democracies amounts, when balanced against new tax policies, to a heretofore unseen and brilliant Third Way. […].
Maybe you remember SNL’s “Weekend Update” segment “ReallyI?!” with Seth (Meyer) and Amy (Poehler).
Well. “Really”, Should President Joe Biden invite former President Donald Trump to join the official U.S. delegation to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral? That was actually the topic of a panel discussion on the new CNN. [video at the link]
On Friday, Jake Tapper, host of “The Lead,” asked whether Biden will invite Trump to join other former presidents on the U.S. delegation.
CNN correspondent Jeff Zeleny responded by noting that President Barack Obama had invited former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter to join him on the delegation to South African leader Nelson Mandela’s funeral.
And then Zeleny began sounding like he belonged on a news parody like “Weekend Update.”
“Maybe in the spirit of forgiving and giving, President Biden will invite the Donald Trump on the Air Force I. I doubt that will happen, but I do expect some type of a bipartisan delegation.”
Really!?!
And then Tapper jumped in and said:
“I think the clever move is to invite him — and see if he goes. I don’t think President Trump, former President Trump, would want to be subordinate on Air Force I. And I think, probably, he prefers his own plane anyway.”
Really1?!
Of course, it didn’t take long for the Twitterverse to point out just how ridiculous CNN looked for even raising the topic. [Tweets at the link]
[Excerpts from tweets presented at the link]
This banter is so humiliating for CNN. Is this panel on drugs? Practically everyone knows that Biden hates Trump, Trump committed sedition and treason, and Trump acted like a buffoon when he visited Queen Elizabeth.
———————–
CNN has lost its collective mind…Tapper asks a “panel” of 🤡should Pres. Biden invite Trump to Queen Elizabeth’s funeral? Yeah, Tapper, he’s defiantly going to invite a criminal and a second-a-way of being indicted con, & a vile thug to her day to be placed to rest…NOT!
———————–
Trump didn’t even welcome the new President into the WH as is tradition and has committed repeated crimes against America, but you suggest it would be nice for Biden to invite him to go to Queen Elizabeth’s funeral riding on Air Force One. @jaketapper YOU ARE NUTS!
More commentary:
It’s not surprising why calls for boycotting CNN are growing since the cable news network was taken over by Warner Bros Discovery. In recent weeks the network has lost such high-profile contributors as John Harwood, Brian Stelter and Jeffrey Toobin. […]
The Washington Post wrote about the changes at CNN since Chris Licht took over as the network’s chairman and CEO.:
Several current and former CNN employees who spoke with The Washington Post — most of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly — are interpreting the sudden exodus as evidence that Licht, who joined the network as chairman and CEO in May, is starting his tenure by casting out voices that had often been critical of former president Donald Trump and his allies, in an effort to present a new, more ideologically neutral CNN. That aligns with a vision repeatedly expressed by David Zaslav, the chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Billionaire media mogul John Malone, whose political views have been described as conservative/libertarian, is a major shareholder in Warner Bros. Discovery. Zaslav is his protege. Malone has said he wants CNN to be “more centrist.”
In his final appearance on CNN on Sept. 2, Harwood reported on Biden’s speech the previous night in Philadelphia in which the president said that Trump and his supporters pose a threat to democracy. Harwood commented that what Biden said “is true.”
Harwood then added that traditional journalism doesn’t work when one party is under the control of a “dishonest demagogue.”
“We are brought up to believe there’s two different political parties with different points of view and we don’t take sides in honest disagreements between them,” he said. “But that’s not what we’re talking about. These are not honest disagreements.”
This is real: Ukrainian security service (#SBU) sent out mass-text messages to Russian soldiers located inside #Ukraine, with a phone number they can call to surrender. Audio recording of one such call.
Transcript below –
“Hello” “Hello” “Is this Ukraine?” “Yes, this is Ukraine” “Received a text that if we wish to surrender to call this number.” “Yes if you wish to surrender.” “Where should we come by?” “If you’re fighting you’re located in a certain region?” “Well, yes. You’ll come pick us up?”..
“Yes, you’ll be picked up so you’d need to send over your personal information and location, if you wish to surrender” “You won’t be cutting off our balls?” “Those are myths you guys are being fed, you can watch blogger Vladimir Zolkin’s YouTube conversations with POWs,
and we regularly exchange POWs, so no one will be cutting anyone, don’t worry.”
“We didn’t even want to come here. We were ordered. Now thinking what to do.” “So, as I am saying, if you have the desire, you can surrender and then return back home (to Russia)…
No one cuts anyone here, please understand there is the Geneva Convention that defines a combatant, with no criminal liability so long as he did not commit war crimes. In which case you’ll be returned home through a POW exchange.” “Understood, thank you!” “Yes, call anytime.”
I haven’t seen the whole thing, but I think the Zelenskyy “Without You” speech is one that will be studied for some time to come. Even the little bit I’ve seen is masterful rhetoric.
Minister of Defence of Ukraine, Oleksiy Reznikov, thanked the people of Australia in particular for the provision of Bushmaster armoured personnel carriers.”
Today has been a delightful stream of liberated towns as Russia scrambles out of Kharkiv Oblast—with or without its equipment. There are unconfirmed reports of major retreats in Kherson, but I’m going to hold off on posting those until we get better information.
Some of these Kharkiv retreats are bizarre. Take this wonderful video: [video at the link] What’s amazing about this video is that it has been geolocated to Kozacha Lopan, north of Kharkiv, literally on the Russian border. [map at the link]
Kozacha Lopan is particularly significant because 1) there was no reason for Russia to actually abandon it. There are no supply issues, it’s on the freaking border, off a major 4-lane highway 30 kilometers from Belgorod. Russia reinforced it with pre-made concrete bunkers. It would’ve cost Ukraine dearly to try and take it. So why abandon it? Yet we’re seeing that on all those border towns. When Russia decided to abandon the oblast, they really mean pulling everything out.
As we celebrate Ukraine’s stunning victory, pro-Russian sources are finding hilarious ways to cope. Let’s take a look at some of them. [See the link for the progression from “this latest Ukrainian offensive […] is their Battle of the Bulge […] which will truly in the destruction of those units […”] to this: “I think it is interesting that the Russian army was nonexistent in the region and yet the ministry of defense’s claim that it was a pre-planned withdrawal was met with skepticism.” [Lot’s more, mostly predicting doom and destruction for Ukraine, is available at the link.
There’s this weird narrative on the pro-Russian side that Ukraine has paid a heavy price in its counteroffensive. [Tweet at the link]
Russian resistance melted with few shots fired. Ukraine outran Russian artillery in a matter of hours. Did Ukraine suffer casualties? Of course. It’s war. But there’s nothing to suggest mass casualties on either side.
These sources will point to video of a caravan of ambulances rushing to Kyiv. Yet even that imagery is maybe a couple dozen ambulances? That’s not mass casualty. That’s a couple dozen injured. If that’s the extent of Ukrainian casualties, this would be an even more stunning victory.
Funny how copium makes their fantasies “obvious.” [Tweets at the link, with comments like: “The speed at which they ALLOWED the Ukrainians to move in to these territories would make it obvious that it’s a trap.”]
Here let’s go to a tankie Substack:
My view is fairly simple: Ukraine cannot and will not reach meaningful objectives – what we call “operational depth” – and has in fact thrown much of its carefully crafted premium reserves into a dangerous position. I believe it’s highly likely that these top rate Ukrainian formations are about to be savaged […]
For Ukraine, one of the basic problems is that Russia has such an enormous advantage in firepower – aircraft, tube artillery, rocketry, and tanks – that any offensive must reach operational depth quickly in order to disrupt Russia’s ability to bring this firepower to bear. In the Izyum sector, this simply isn’t possible.
Lacking the ability to operationally compromise Russian forces here, Ukraine will find itself in a good old fashioned shootout against an enemy with vastly superior firepower – not only that, but it is in fact Ukraine that now faces operational complications, having blasted their way into a salient with no prospects for crossing the Oskil in force and exploiting.
That aged well. […]
Don’t worry, though. Tucker Carlson’s favorite “expert” now says that “Russia still has the capacity to crush the Ukrainian military if it chooses to fully mobilize” and if Ukraine pushes harder, Russia will respond with nuclear weapons. So Ukraine needs to stop all that winning. […]
In contrast to Russian Twitter, Russian Telegram is ready to draw and quarter Putin. […]
More:
To understand the insanity of #Russia|n chauvinism, just read this excerpt from a Russian Nazi TG channel: “The cultural catastrophe is due to collapse of the innate to our culture understanding of the total spiritual and intellectual supremacy of Russians over Ukrainians.”
[OMG, LOL]
[…] If you’re wondering why pro-Russian Telegram and Twitter are so different, the Telegram contingent are far-right nationalists, and thus have greater freedom to criticize the Russian military operation. On Twitter, it’s more rote propagandists and tankies repeating the party line, no matter how ludicrous. […]
Nicholas Grossman tweeted:
As Ukrainian forces advance, spare a thought for the Chomskys and Corbyns, the Mearsheimers and Walts, the Carlsons and Greenwalds, and the bigoted weirdos who gushed over the “manliness” of Russian military ads; each insistent, for different reasons, that this couldn’t happen.
Putin’s macho army of testosterone-fuelled washing machine removal men defeated by volunteer lesbians and pink-haired coders programming drones.
[…] Western Europe hasn’t been useless, but its desire to appease Putin has hobbled it and left it behind, and even more so with Ukraine’s now rapid gains. France wanted to lead a new European army. That dream is dead. Germany will likely be a great partner in Ukraine’s reconstruction, but no one is going to depend on it militarily. Spain and Italy have done the bare minimum.
Who has stepped up? The US, UK, Poland, Canada, Australia, the Baltic nations, Slovakia, and Czechia. Poland has launched a military buildup that will make it the strongest in Europe. (If only its government’s backslide into authoritarianism-lite wasn’t so worrying…) […]
On his Telegram, Kremlin chief propagandist, Soloviev, called for the execution of Russian commanders who allowed the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region
[…] Unfortunately for Russia, this is nothing more than a temper tantrum. Won’t affect the actual situation on the ground. […]
Life comes at you fast: pundits on Russian TV realize that their military is failing and their country is in trouble. They are starting to play the blame game. Some of them finally understand that their genocidal denial of the Ukrainian identity isn’t working in Russia’s favor….
Video at the (Twitter) link. That is wild.
Oggie: Mathomsays
“The cultural catastrophe is due to collapse of the innate to our culture understanding of the total spiritual and intellectual supremacy of Russians over Ukrainians.”
Well, at the very least, we have discovered where Trump learned to write.
Kremlin chief propagandist, Soloviev, called for the execution of Russian commanders who allowed the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region
And this also sounds like Trump’s dreams. And propaganda.
“Yuriy Samoylenko RIP. He defended Shchastia in 2014-2015. Died from severe wounds when liberated Balakliya from the russian evil. He left behind a wife and a kid. Each inch of free Ukraine costs us too dear. Lest we forget. Glory to the Heroes! Photos from Natasya Nagorna”
Eric Trump, the middle son of a former president, Donald Trump, made a curious claim that is sending some Christians to turn their heads.
“There’s no one who’s done more for Christianity than Donald Trump. No one,” said the younger Trump.
It’s a claim that many disputes, as Jesus Christ is generally considered to have done the most for Christianity since it’s named after him.
“No one has done more for Christian nationalism, not for Christianity. That Eric Trump doesn’t know the difference is the problem,” tweeted Baptist Pastor George Mason.
Brian Tyler Cohen’s podcast account noted that he could think of at least “one or two people” who did more than Trump.
Actor Ken Olin also found the claim absurd, noting that even Eric Trump’s “ignorance is ignorant.”
Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger (IL) is a frequent foe of the Trump family. He also suggested Jesus might be a better choice, if not him, Billy Graham was his other suggestion.
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves,” Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount, some of those commenting on Trump recalled.
Others were quick to suggest people like Mother Teresa, who was declared a saint by the Catholic Church in 2003. Another mentioned Pope Francis, who leads the Catholic church, and is said to have “divine institution, supreme, full, immediate, and universal power in the care of souls,” according to the Catechism.
There were many other options from those online and they all appeared to be people who dedicated their lives to charity, service and God.
Augustine would also be a top contender. At least for what Christianity became.
It’s been a good week for beavers. On Monday, the New York Times ran an article highlighting the rodents’ position as “highly skilled environmental engineers” capable of mitigating threats like wildfires and drought. The same day, the San Francisco Chronicle dubbed beavers “one of California’s best chances to fight climate change.” And on Tuesday the Los Angeles Times reported that the Golden State is seeking applications for its brand-new beaver restoration unit to protect this “untapped, creative climate solving hero.”
And it’s not just California; pro-beaver policy changes are happening across the US. Here’s the Times:
Beavers, you might say, are having a moment. In Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming, the Bureau of Land Management is working with partners to build beaver-like dams that they hope real beavers will claim and expand…In Maryland, groups are trying to lure beavers to help clean the water that flows into Chesapeake Bay. In Wisconsin, one study found that beavers could substantially reduce flooding in some of the most vulnerable areas of Milwaukee County.
All of this beaver buzz prompted my editor-in-chief, Clara Jeffery, to ask via Slack, “is…it possible that beavers got a publicist?”
Beavers, after all, have long been seen as a nuisance among some landowners, pests that cause flooding and property damage. According to a federal report, the US Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services program exterminated nearly 25,000 wild beavers in 2021. (Authorities employ various methods to eliminate beavers, including trapping, shooting, and snaring. Back in the ’70s, researchers at Auburn University attempted to investigate whether alligators could be used to slim down beaver populations, but after an increase in alligator attacks on humans in Florida at the time, the study was discontinued.)
So, what changed? When I (half-jokingly) asked Ben Goldfarb, author of the 2018 book, Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter if beavers have a new PR agent, his answer was yes—kind of.
To be sure, beaver fans have been around for centuries, if not longer. As Goldfarb writes, many Indigenous groups have long recognized beavers’ value. The Blackfeet tribe, for instance, viewed beavers as a sacred species and prohibited killing the animals. And after Europeans hunted beavers to near extinction to make stupid-looking hats, American naturalist Enos Mills wrote in his 1913 book In Beaver World that beavers were actually “useful to man” and should be viewed as the “original Conservationist.” “This notion of beavers as valuable and good has always been with humans in some form,” Goldfarb says.
But he also notes that in recent years there’s been a growing body of peer-reviewed evidence hyping the utility of beavers. “They improve water quality, they create salmon habitat, they store water in the case of a drought, and they help mitigate flooding after really intensive rainfall,” Goldfarb says. That science is finally trickling down to policymakers and journalists.
Goldfarb points to one particularly influential study: In 2020, California State University Channel Islands environmental scientist Emily Fairfax co-published research showing that beavers and the wetlands they create could help prevent forest fires. It was a phenomenon that scientists had observed before, but hadn’t fully described it in the scientific literature—until Fairfax documented it. “Emily’s wildfire research broke through into popular culture in a way that no other beaver research previously had,” he says.
On a personal level, Fairfax has also in recent years spoken out in favor of beavers, including by advocating for the US Forest Service to change its mascot to Smokey the Beaver and producing a stop-motion video illustrating her research that ended up going viral. (See below.) “Emily is a really prominent beaver voice,” says Goldfarb, who covered Fairfax’s work for National Geographic in 2020. “I think a lot of the media boom is really thanks to Emily.”
Fairfax herself has no qualms about speaking for the beavs. “I kind of joke that you can’t spend a whole lot of time with me before you also become a beaver expert because I talk about it so much,” she says. She is quick to note that messaging from grassroots community groups and individual landowners has made a difference too. “We’re reaching that critical mass, there are enough people who have taken that chance and gambled with beavers and found it successful that the message is really—pardon my pun—spreading like wildfire.” Clearly, the work of Fairfax, Goldfarb, and other so-called “Beaver Believers” is working.
In the US, it’s rare for rodents to achieve any kind of all-star status; critters like mice, rats, gophers, squirrels, and porcupines have yet to secure their spot as environmental heroes in the eyes of most Americans or the media. (Has anyone, for instance, referred to a gerbil as “highly skilled” at anything?) But in the case of the beavers, they are finally getting the rebrand they deserve.
That was all weird and stupid. Anyway, good job, kid. :)
ravensays
Interviews with Ukrainian soldiers involved with the counterattack around Kharkiv.
The Russian command and control didn’t work at all.
The Russian soldiers just ran as fast as they could. They left behind everything including huge amounts of armored vehicles of one sort or another.
Exclusive: Russian soldiers ‘literally running’ for their lives as chain of command collapses
Ukraine intelligence unit tells The Telegraph they are struggling to deal with the mountains of equipment left behind after rout
By
Campbell MacDiarmid IN KHARKIV the Telegraph.com
11 September 2022 • 3:01pm
Panicked Russian soldiers are abandoning their tanks, weapons and even clothes as they “literally run from their positions” in the face of a shock Ukrainian offensive, soldiers have told The Telegraph.
A Ukrainian intelligence unit on the front line said the Russian chain of command was broken and soldiers were fleeing without putting up a fight, many of them changing into civilian clothes to avoid detection.
A drone operator returning from the front line on Sunday also told The Telegraph that the speed of the offensive had even taken their own army by surprise, with troops struggling to recover the mountains of Russian ammunition and armoured vehicles left behind.
Watching the battles through reconnaissance drones and listening to Russian communications, the soldiers said Russian units were being obliterated before they had time to identify their enemy, while survivors fled amid the chaos.
In one intercepted communication, a commander with the callsign Birdie described hearing a Russian tank unit desperately asking what had happened to their command. “‘We are totally f—ed’. Ukraine is struggling to move all the Russian tanks, pictured, abandoned in the Kharkiv region during the counter-offensive Ukraine is struggling to move all the Russian tanks abandoned in the Kharkiv region Credit: UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES /via REUTERS
russia is trying to maintain its status as the largest supplier of military equipment for the Ukrainian army, and even to improve its status, knowing that lend-lease will soon come into effect.#UAarmy loves its trophy ammo 🏆 pic.twitter.com/2NMPAPPgP2
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) September 11, 2022
“Then they fled. Later we found their burned tank.”
The first-hand description of the counter-offensive – one of the first describing an ongoing operation – belies claims by the Russian Defence ministry that Moscow’s retreat from Izium and other parts of occupied Kharkiv was a planned “regrouping”.
“They were really afraid, their chain of command was in chaos. Officers left the area before the fighting began,” Birdie said, describing listening to panicked Russian radio transmissions.
The 31-year-old commands a communications and reconnaissance unit in the Kraken Regiment that returned to Kharkiv from the liberated city of Balakliya on Sunday morning. Listening in on enemy
The unit had spent a week intercepting radio communications and surveilling Russian positions for a Ukrainian counter-offensive that is estimated to have routed Russian forces from nearly 2,000 square miles of territory since Tuesday. Ukraine counter-offensive
A volunteer unit formed on the day of Russia’s invasion on February 24, Kraken operates in a grey zone separate from Ukraine’s armed forces but answering to their defence ministry, giving it greater flexibility than other military units to discuss an ongoing counter-offensive that remains under a media blackout.
Having slept little since the operation, and with blue tape still tied around the sleeves of his uniform to identify him as a Ukrainian soldier, Birdie was upbeat describing the counter-offensive. Green, a drone operator in the Kraken unit, said they need more drones to continue their counter-offensives Green, a drone operator in the Kraken unit, said they need more drones to continue their counter-offensives Credit: Oliver Marsden
“It was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” he said of his unit’s work coordinating Ukrainian ground forces via drone as they attacked Russian positions.
“I saw small units of up to five of our guys on foot who were destroying huge numbers or Russian vehicles – three tanks at one time,” he added, drinking a coffee on a chilly morning in central Kharkiv.
Russian soldiers and fighters from the separatist Donetsk and Luhansk regions had fled in a rout, he said. Fleeing Russians
“They left a huge amount of vehicles and ammunition. We couldn’t transfer or evacuate it all to our rear.”
Few of the pro-Russian forces stayed to fight, with many switching into civilian clothes to flee, Birdie added.
“There were a lot of uniforms lying around. We caught some of these guys trying to escape in civilian clothes, they were telling some incredible bullshit trying to save themselves.”
Other Russian troops were unable to distinguish their own forces from advancing Ukrainian troops.
“I heard them asking what were the white crosses on the vehicles. Then I heard them die in real time, while I was listening,” he said. Tai, 23, a Ukrainian drone operator said that even they were surprised by the speed of their success Tai, 23, a Ukrainian drone operator said they were surprised by the speed of their success Credit: Oliver Marsden
Tai, a 23-year-old drone operator, said the counter-offensive had advanced even faster than they had planned.
“The hardest task was coordinating all the groups operating inside Balakliya,” she said, describing how they had liberated the city faster than they had initially expected.
A Kraken commander who declined to be identified credited the unit with acting as the brains of a complex counter-offensive with their drones as the eyes.
This video claims to show Russian forces fleeing the eastern front and crossing the Oskil River pic.twitter.com/gCTuoZiQ3b
— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) September 11, 2022
“We need more drones, we need more more drones!” said Green, a 43-year–old drone pilot in the unit. Further counter-offensives
The unit is now expecting to redeploy in the near future for further offensive operations.
“I think it’s the beginning of the end for Russian occupants,” said Marty, a 25-year-old in the unit who comes from a Kharkiv village that was liberated last week.
“They were literally running from their positions, leaving their stuff and heading to the occupied territories. I think more significant gains are coming.”
ravensays
More on the Russian soldiers fleeing from the Ukrainians.
Ironically, the areas they were occupying seem to be where Russians who are Ukrainian citizens live.
Mariupol was the most pro-Russian city in Ukraine. It didn’t help them at all.
3/4 of the city is either dead or refugees, most being deported to Russia.
By Steve Hendrix, Serhii Korolchuk and Robyn Dixon
Updated September 11, 2022 at 8:12 p.m. EDT | Published September 11, 2022 at 5:55 p.m. EDT Washington Post
ZALIZNYCHNE, Ukraine — In the end, the Russians fled any way they could on Friday, on stolen bicycles, disguised as locals. Hours after Ukrainian soldiers poured into the area, hundreds of Russian soldiers encamped in this village were gone, many after their units abandoned them, leaving behind stunned residents to face the ruins of 28 weeks of occupation.
“They just dropped rifles on the ground,” Olena Matvienko said Sunday as she stood, still disoriented, in a village littered with ammo crates and torched vehicles, including a Russian tank loaded on a flatbed. The first investigators from Kharkiv had just pulled in to collect the bodies of civilians shot by Russians, some that have been lying exposed for months.
“I can’t believe that we went through something like this in the 21st century,” Matvienko said, tears welling.
The hasty flight of Russians from the village was part of a stunning new reality that took the world by surprise over the weekend: The invaders of February are on the run in some parts of Ukraine they seized early in the conflict.
The Russian Defense Ministry’s own daily briefing Sunday featured a map showing Russian forces retreating behind the Oskil river on the eastern edge of the Kharkiv region — a day after the ministry confirmed its troops had left the Balakliya and Izyum area in the Kharkiv region, following a decision to “regroup.”
On Sunday, Ukraine’s commander in chief, Valery Zaluzhny, said Ukrainian forces had retaken more than 3,000 square kilometers (1,158 miles) of territory, a claim that could not be independently verified, adding that they were advancing to the east, south and north.
“Ukrainian forces have penetrated Russian lines to a depth of up to 70 kilometers in some places,” reported the Institute for the Study of War, which closely tracks the conflict. They have captured more territory in the past five days “than Russian forces have captured in all their operations since April,” its campaign assessment posted Sunday said.
The apparent collapse of the Russian forces has caused shock waves in Moscow. The leader of the Chechen republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, who sent his own fighters to Ukraine, said if there are not immediate changes in Russia’s conduct of the invasion, “he would have to contact the leadership of the country to explain to them the real situation on the ground.”
Evidence of the Ukrainian gains continued to emerge Sunday, with images of Ukrainian soldiers raising a flag in central Izyum, after it was abandoned by Russian forces, and similar images from other towns and villages such as Kindrashivka, Chkalovske and Velyki Komyshuvakha.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declined to elaborate on his army’s next moves, except to say in a CNN interview, “We will not be standing still. We will be slowly, gradually moving forward.”
In a forceful statement to Russia on Sunday night, Zelensky insisted the invaders would be expelled. “Read my lips,” he said. “Without gas or without you? Without you. Without light or without you? Without you. Without water or without you? Without you. Without food or without you? Without you. Cold, hunger, darkness and thirst are not as scary and deadly for us as your ‘friendship and brotherhood.’ ”
Ukrainians emerged into the string of just-liberated villages southeast of Kharkiv hailing the end of their ordeal, and wondering whether it is truly over. “Only God knows if they will be back,” said Tamara Kozinska, 75, whose husband was killed by a mortar blast soon after the Russians arrived.
It is not over by any means, military experts warned. Russia still holds about a fifth of Ukraine and continued heavy shelling over the weekend across several regions. And nothing guarantees that Ukraine can keep recaptured areas secure. “A counteroffensive liberates territory and after that you have to control it and be ready to defend it,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov cautioned in an interview with the Financial Times.
But as Ukrainian soldiers continued Sunday to sweep deeper into territory that had been held by Russia, more of them were willing to see the campaign as a possible turning point.
In Zaliznychne, a tiny agricultural village 37 miles east of Kharkiv, residents were feeling their way back to normality Sunday, sleeping in bedrooms rather than basements for first the first time in months and trying to make contact with family on the outside.
Kozinska hasn’t seen her daughter since February — even though she lives 12 miles away — but had just received word that she will come to pick her up as soon as officials open access to the village, just as the weather turns cold.
“I have been so scared about winter,” said the woman with lung problems, clutching a just-distributed paper giving her a number to call if she finds a land mine. “We have no power and it’s hard for me to collect firewood.”
The first Russian soldiers who set up in the village, turning the sawmill into their base and launching rocket attacks at Ukrainian troops in the next town, had at first not harassed the residents, she said. When they shot pigs on an abandoned farm, they sometimes let residents butcher some of the meat.
But as the occupation ground on, with the Russians rotating out every month, the troops became more aggressive. One of them asked to borrow Kozinska’s phone.
“I gave it to him so he could call his mother, but he took my SIM card,” she said.
One of the medics treated Halyna Noskova’s back after she was hit by mortar shrapnel in her front yard in June. Her 87-year mother pulled out the metal shard. “It was still hot,” she said. The Russian bandaged her up.
“They helped me, but I’m glad we are liberated,” said Noskova, 66.
The residents, all of whom are Russian speaking in this region adjacent to the Russian border, described treatment generally more humane than that experienced by occupied communities farther to the west. The discovery of more than 450 bodies in Bucha, near Kyiv — many showing signs of torture — set off international outrage over atrocities.
“They were not monsters, they were kids,” said Matvienko, who once asked Russian troops to move the tank they parked in front of her house. “I asked what they wanted from us and they said, ‘We can either be here or we can be in jail.’ ”
Others told the villagers they weren’t there to fight Ukraine, but to “protect us from America.”
The Russians’ biggest rule for residents was to get inside by 6 p.m. and stay there, quiet and in the dark, several said. Violating that order could be fatal, as two men on the street learned early on. The friends were drinking and had a light on, said Maria Grygorova, who lives in the attached house next door. The next morning she found them on the floor.
“Konstiantyn had two bullet holes in his head,” she said.
She and two friends buried them in the side yard. The same two friends dug them up Sunday, with Ukrainian war crimes investigators looking on.
The team from Kharkiv collected two other bodies during their visit, including a security guard whose remains have been rotting on the floor of a gravel elevator at an asphalt plant for months, even as the Russians used it as a sniper tower. One investigator vomited over a guardrail repeatedly as officers collected the remains.
“We’re here looking into war crimes,” said Serhii Bolvinov, chief investigator of the Kharkiv Regional Police, as his crew waited on demining techs to clear one area of explosives before they could recover some of the bodies.
The residents were scared of the Russians, several village residents said. But they almost pitied them in their scramble to escape the recent Ukrainian onslaught.
Half of the soldiers fled in their vehicles in the first hours of the offensive, they said. Those stranded grew desperate. Some residents overheard their radio pleas to unit commanders for someone to come get them.
“They said, ‘You’re on your own,’ ” Matvienko recounted. “They came into our houses to take clothes so the drones wouldn’t see them in uniforms. They took our bicycles. Two of them pointed guns at my ex-husband until he handed them his car keys.”
Buoyant Ukrainian officials said they would no longer negotiate a peace deal that would let Russia keep an occupying presence in any territory, even in Crimea and part of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions controlled by Russia or Russian-backed separatists for years.
“The point of no return has passed,” Reznikov, the defense minister, said at the Yalta European Strategy summit in Kyiv on Saturday.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday seemed to backtrack on his previous assertion that the time wasn’t right for peace negotiations, as Russia was preparing to stage a round of sham referendums meant to annex occupied territories.
“We are not against the talks; we are not refusing the talks,” Lavrov said on the state TV program, “Moscow. Kremlin. Putin.” Rather, “Those who refuse should understand that the longer they delay this process, the more difficult it will be to negotiate.”
After he wrote about the incident on Twitter, Republic, which campaigns to replace the monarchy with an elected head of state, wrote: “That’s outrageous.”
Yes, it is! I couldn’t imagine what their alleged crimes were, and it appears the police struggled to articulate any. The references to Section 5 of the public order act in his case and to “breach of the peace” in hers are laughably pretextual.
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian Ukraine liveblog. Their latest summary:
Russian missile strikes on Monday have once again knocked out power and halted the water supply in Kharkiv, said Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv city, on Telegram. The shelling targeting the region’s infrastructure came after rescue workers had restored about 80% of the power and water to the region following more targeted attacks the day before. Both Terekhov and Volodymyr Zelenskiy have decried these attacks on infrastructure as “Russian terrorists”. “No military facilities [were attacked],” the Ukrainian president said in a statement on social media. “The goal is to deprive people of light and heat.”
Ukrainian forces have recaptured about 500 sq km of territory in the south of the country over the past two weeks, Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern military command, said on Monday. This includes five settlements in the Kherson region, Humeniuk said.
The Kremlin responded on Monday to Ukraine’s weekend advances by doubling down and saying that Russia will achieve the goals of its “special military operation”. In this same call, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also said that there were no discussions taking place about the possible demilitarisation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, despite it being one of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s key recommendations from its visit to the plant.
At least 1,000 people have been killed in the last six months fighting in Izium, a city in north-eastern Ukraine. Izium is one of the more than 20 towns and villages that Ukraine’s general staff said its forces had recaptured in the past days, as part of a counteroffensive that has forced Russian forces to abandon their positions and leave behind huge stocks of ammunition and equipment. Now with the city back in Ukrainian hands, officials are able to assess its losses and warned that the real figure of people killed since Russian forces took the city as a main stronghold is probably much higher.
– receive russian passport 3 days before the liberation of Vovchansk
– Brag about it on public
– Record everything on camera and post it on the internet
– Wake up the next day and see Vovchansk liberated by Ukraine
Video at the Twitter link. I can’t get over how much these people look like Republicans.
After knocking out the power and water supply once again to the Kharkiv region with missile strikes earlier today, Russian forces continued its offensive on the city, this time directing its shelling toward the residential Nemyshlyansky district, Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv city, said on Telegram.
“Another shelling of Kharkiv,” the mayor wrote. “Nemyshlyansky district is now under attack. “Primarily – a blow to a densely populated residential area. There is no military infrastructure nearby. Information about victims and destruction is being clarified.”
Today’s attacks came after Russia spent Sunday evening targeting infrastructure facilities in central and eastern Ukraine in a response to a dramatic Ukrainian counter-offensive in Kharkiv province that has reshaped the war and left Moscow reeling….
In the recently recaptured territories of Kharkiv, Ukrainian forces are finding bodies of civilians that show signs of torture, said Inna Sovsun, a member of the Ukrainian parliament – echoes of the war crimes discovered after Ukrainian forces retook Bucha.
A Telegraph reporter said on Friday that police exhumed two bodies that bore signs of torture in Hrakove, one of the one of more than 20 towns and villages that Ukraine’s general staff said its forces had retook in the past days. Russian soldiers had forced local men to bury the bodies, which wore civilian clothing, months back.
“People are crying, people are joyful, of course. How could they not be joyful?” Zolochiv resident Zoya, 76, told Reuters today.
Zolochiv, located 18 kilometres (10 miles) from the Russian border, was one of more than 20 towns and villages that Ukraine’s general staff said its forces had recaptured in the past days, as part of a counteroffensive that has forced Russian forces to abandon their positions and leave behind huge stocks of ammunition and equipment.
Today joyful residents returned to their former frontline villages. Zoya, a retired English teacher, wept as she described months she spent sheltering in the cellar.
Nastya, 28, had fled the village in April but returned last week after news of Ukrainian advances. “I think everyone’s in a great (mood)! It’s all over now. At least we hope it’s all over,” she said, waiting in line for groceries with two small children.
FLASH TRAFFIC /KHERSON 1500/ UTC 12 SEP/ Breaking information from the UKR General Staff reports that RU units on the N bank of the Dnieper are presently negotiating the surrender of their positions and weapons. It is unknown if this a localized or a general capitulation.
Tucker Carlson’s top Russia-Ukraine war expert Douglas MacGregor, on Friday night: “This entire war may be over” soon, “right now things are going very, very badly” for the Ukrainians and they’re “desperate,” “they’re losing once again just south of Kharkiv.” [or, as he calls it, Kharkov]
Tucker: Why not settle this war, return energy prices to normal, and stop the economic catastrophe we’re facing?
Macgregor: I think the Biden administration is now trying to figure out how they retreat from the dumb position they’ve taken at this point.
pundits on Russian TV realize that their military is failing and their country is in trouble. They are starting to play the blame game. Some of them finally understand that their genocidal denial of the Ukrainian identity isn’t working in Russia’s favor….
Watching that video, I couldn’t help but notice that the pundit is blaming unnamed “others” for giving Putin bad information. He was trying to shift blame away from Putin.
The top of this update is accompanied by a photo of Ukrainian citizens celebrating with the soldiers that liberated them. Babushkas are included. Great photo.
Last Sunday I went out on a limb and declared the culmination of Russia’s war effort. Two days later, Ukraine launched its surprise Kharkiv offensive in northeastern Ukraine, and yesterday Sunday, Russia cried “uncle!” and announced its withdrawal of the entire Kharkiv oblast, yet another humiliating defeat in a war that has featured several.
Vladimir Putin wanted the entire Donbas in Russian hands by September 15. He’ll be lucky to have much of Luhansk Oblast by then. [map at the link]
The light yellow on that map is recently liberated territory. The light pink is questionable control. All of that should clear out in the next day or two as more settlements are confirmed liberated. Given the fact that Russia abandoned its fierce defensive positions at Kozacha Lopan, on the very Russian border itself, confirms that they are truly quitting the entire oblast. That will pull the yellow even further east (to the thin red border on the map above). Then there’s that massive expanse of red in the northeast corner, northern Luhansk oblast.
The region is agricultural steppe, with grain and sunflowers comprising fields dominating the landscape. [map at the link]
The militarily logical thing for Russia to do would be to fall back to Svatove, east of the administrative border with Kharkiv Oblast, and build defenses to protect that mass to its east. Yet Russia isn’t bothering to try. Ukraine General Staff reported last night that “In Luhansk region, the Russian military and their families left the town of Svatove. Only soldiers of the so-called ‘people’s militia’ from among the local residents remained.” With Russia abandoning them, will the Donbas cannon fodder decide to fight? Hopefully not. And with Svatove liberated, Ukraine can look east to the vast empty nothing of northern Luhansk Oblast.
The town of Starobilsk (pop. 16,600) anchors the entire region’s transportation network—all the major roads cross through town, as well as the lone rail line east of Svatove. It’s wide, it’s open, it’s flat, with few settlements standing in the way. The Aidar River borders Starobilsk to the west, but that would be nothing more than a nuisance to Ukrainian forces, who could cross it with little interference to the north or south of the town.
So if Svatove falls, so does northern Luhansk, and we’re almost back to the pre-February borders in that region. Ukraine could station a small territorial defense force garrison in Starobilsk, just for early-warning if Russia decides to cross that long border again, but the bulk of the force could head south and lay siege to Luhansk city, pressuring it from both the north and west. If Luhansk were liberated, western Luhansk would be effectively cut off. Pushing further south would threaten Donetsk city from multiple directions.
As for Russian forces, reinforcements were seen heading toward Mariupol. Russia isn’t feeling too great about its “land bridge” to Crimea, and for good reason. Ukraine doesn’t want to just cut that land bridge, but wants its Azov Sea coastline back. Not only is it of upmost economic importance, but it would also threaten more of Russia’s Black Sea fleet as well as the Kerch Bridge connecting Crimea to the Russian mainland. [map at the link]
By some estimates, Russia has around 40% of its total combat capabilities between Mariupol and Melitopol. Kherson city is actually strategically insignificant. Melitpol? Liberate it, and Russia loses supply lines to Kherson Oblast (a major reason Russia wanted its land bridge in the first place) and shatters Russia’s dreams of expanding to Transnistria in Moldova, through Odesa.
Quite simply, taking Melitopol would cause that entire sector to collapse, the way we saw in Kharkiv, and would provide a staging area for the liberation of Crimea.
It’s all very exciting! But I’d expect things to slow down as Ukraine finishes mopping up around Kharkiv, while giving its units time to rest, refit, repair, and resupply. And then we see if Ukraine prioritizes Luhansk city, or shoots toward Melitopol. Or heck, maybe it gets back to Kherson and aims for Nova Kakhovka, cutting Crimea’s water supply and threatening Russians in Melitopol from two sides.
[Overview of Russian equipment losses is available at the link] That’s 32 tanks and 52 armored infantry vehicles of various kinds the last two days alone. In total, Ukraine has captured around 40 tanks and 76 armored infantry vehicles since the counteroffensive began. A full-strength Russian BTG is 10 tanks and 40 armored infantry vehicles. We’ve got over two BTGs worth of equipment over here. The tally will only go up as more territory is liberated, more weapons depots and bases are discovered, and more of the captured loot is documented and posted online.
Add around a dozen total artillery guns, and dozens of assorted command vehicles, engineer vehicles, anti-aircraft guns, trucks, etc. There have been well in excess of 300 pieces of equipment captured.
And if you look closely, there are far more vehicles captured than destroyed. This was a Russian army that was completely routed, putting up little fight.
The Bavarian newspaper got this information at the Ramstein gathering of nearly 50 nations supporting Ukraine’s war effort, led by the U.S. and the U.K. If the U.S. is ready to deliver M1 Abrams and M2 Bradleys to Ukraine, it’s because they think Ukraine’s logistics can finally handle the expensive requirements of those weapons systems. (The M1’s mileage is 2 gallons per mile.)
Perhaps they’re talking about German Leopard tanks, fielded by several NATO nations, but there just aren’t that many of those in operation, while the U.S. has thousands of Abrams tanks in storage.
Ukraine has two glaring holes in its war fighting capabilities left—modern armor, and aircraft. Ukraine will have M1s and F16s in its future. Only question is whether they’ll get those systems before or after the war is over.
[Tweet and video at the link] Always so delightful seeing the Tractor Brigade in action!
Kherson wasn’t a diversion. There’s still lots of movement. [Tweet and map at the link]
[…] There are lots of rumors about a broader Russian pullback closer to Kherson, which I hope are confirmed and real [Tweet and video at the link of a stubborn hedgehog slowing the Ukrainian counteroffensive with more fight than any Russian in Kharkiv.] […]
SC @441:
Some people were asking what Tucker would say given the clear battlefield reversal, and I responded “why would he change? He’ll keep lying about it.” Well, there you go.
Russia spent months building up the location of Kozacha Lopan, north of the city of Kharkiv. When Ukraine first began a counteroffensive in the area, back in April, Russia made protection of Kozacha Lopan a priority. It was seen as the gateway to the E105 highway crossing, the largest and most active border crossing between Russia and Ukraine. Just 30km down the highways from the base at Belgorod, this was also one of Russia’s most important locations for bringing in military vehicles and supplies. Every tank, transport, and mobile gun that rolled past Kharkiv in the opening weeks of the invasion came past the crossing at Kozacha Lopan.
So it wasn’t surprising when Russia reacted to Ukraine pushing north out of Kharkiv by beginning a series of fresh fortifications. Trenches were dug along the road south of Kozacha Lopan. Dug in equipment and gun positions were constructed further north. Images showed trucks bringing pre-cast pill boxes of reinforced concrete to be planted on local hills. […]
[Tweet and video at the link, note tears of joy in the eyes of citizens. Not propaganda. That’s the real thing.] Russia abandoned Kozacha Lopan to advancing Ukrainian forces. On Sunday, residents who had suffered under Russian occupation for over six months wept with joy as they greeted the first Ukrainian troops. South of town, Russia’s rings of fortification were empty.
[map at the link]
In mapping northern Ukraine this evening, I’ve made a compromise. Russia claims it is completely “regrouping” out of (i.e. retreating from) Kharkiv oblast. Given the situation at Kozacha Lopan and other locations that are vital Russia’s positions in eastern Ukraine, they may intend to actually follow through on this statement and withdraw beyond the boundaries of the oblast. However, there are large areas where there have yet to be confirmation of Ukrainian troops. So I’ve marked the whole oblast as in dispute, then filled in areas around known points where there is confirmed information. It’s not that every village in these areas has been confirmed, […]
Whether or not Russia actually retreats beyond the border of the oblast, there is another part of this announcement that Russia is trying to make true. And it’s an action that is causing hundreds, maybe thousands of deaths right now. In this hour.
In giving an excuse for why they suddenly lost more than 3,100 square kilometers of territory, Russia’s military propagandists used the same excuse they dragged out after Russia lost the battle for Kyiv; they said they were taking the troops out of Kharkiv Oblast to bolster their attack in the Donbas. Now they’re trying to make that “true,” no matter how many people have to die.
Over the last day, Russia’s assault on positions around the town of Bakhmut have increased enormously. They’re trying not just to show that there’s something behind their claims about “regrouping,” but to create a “win” that they can talk about in Russian media. They understand that they desperately need a distraction […]
What do Russian generals want? A win. Where do they want it? Bakhmut. And to get it, they are staging near continuous attacks in which artillery [attacks] Ukrainian positions while “zerg waves” of Russian infantry attempt to storm Ukrainian positions. The fighting may be the most intense of the entire invasion. So intense that at one point on Saturday, Russia reportedly agreed to a brief armistice in order to remove mounds of bodies along a slope leading up to Ukrainian positions. [JFC, war is so sickening. Map at the link]
Casualties for Russian troops in this assault are insanely high. But they are also extremely high for Ukrainian forces. As nimble as Ukraine has proven in its high-speed run across Kharkiv Oblast, the people fighting at Bakhmut are still in a position of being under a heavy artillery barrage, including regular strikes from MLRS and even thermobaric weapons. Their losses are also tremendous.
So much so that on Sunday morning there were concerns about whether sufficient Ukrainian forces remained at some locations to simply shoot the Russians who were coming at them across fields that had been stripped of any cover by days of continuous fire. Russian forces, including Wagner Group mercenaries, had reportedly captured a large factory at the edge of Soledar and were pushing into the streets of that town.
As of the time of this writing (7PM ET, 3AM in Kyiv), Ukrainian forces were reportedly still holding positions in Bakhmut and Soledar, but they continue to be under what is described as unrelenting assault. Mercenaries from the Wagner Group had reportedly reached an industrial area on the edge of Bakhmut, and were exchanging withering fire with Ukrainian troops, all while Russian artillery continues to pound Ukrainian positions near the center of town. [map at the link]
Across Kharkiv Oblast, Ukrainian troops, and liberated civilians, are celebrating one of the great military victories of recent history. And they deserve to celebrate.
But down the road at Bakhmut, Ukrainian forces are still fighting a desperate pitched battle with Russian forces—and with Russian commanders determined to give Vladimir Putin something he can call a win after a week of devastating defeats.
Getting these guys the supplies and reinforcements they need keep fighting in this location is going to be tough, because Russia is all in on taking Bakhmut. Just remember, if Russia does take this location: it’s one small city. It won’t heal any of the damage that’s been done to the Russian military […] [tweet and video at the link]
Make no mistake, the men and women fighting around Soledar and Bakhmut are GD heroes, who are holding out in the toughest situation even while many of their compatriots get to take a victory lap. These guys, and this place, are a win for Ukraine. No matter what Putin claims.
For Russia, this battle is what desperation looks like. For Ukraine, holding ground in the face of an all on assault … it’s just what they do.
[Klaus Eriken tweeted]
Putin has already instructed his minions to start the blame game and set himself up as the leader that got bad advice. Will be interesting to see where this goes as the groups which are blamed obviously have no choice but to fight back
Throughout the day, there have been reports that Russia is withdrawing from positions along the front line in Kherson and repositioning 5-10km closer to Kherson. Supposedly this is so they can have their artillery backed up in multiple ranks going back into the city, and still range out into enemy positions.
If true … it’s kind of amazing. There is widespread suspicion that the root cause of this is simply a lack of sufficient artillery ammo to keep up the kind of extremely imprecise, but constant, barrage favored by Russia. By backing up, they tighten the arc around Kherson, allowing them to fire fewer shells while still continuing the same level of ground-plowing fire.
[map at the link] This map from last week is provided for orientation purposes. It doesn’t reflect this pull back, or any other changes that have happened since the Kharkiv counteroffensive began.
Of particular note, there have been reports since midday (still unfirmed) that Russia is pulling back from its well fortified position at Snihurivka directly north of Kherson city. If so, it’s hard to see exactly where Russia does move to in order to sustain it’s position along this north-south line. Unlike to the west, where Russia has prepared positions at Chornobaivka, there’s almost no position on that north-south road, beyond Snihurivka, that offers a good defensive position. It’s flat, open, treeless, and has just a few small towns that are off to the side of the highway.
If Russia withdraws to a “smaller arc” around the city, it will mean abandoning its prepared positions for a lot of makeshift points in open fields. And the idea of shortening the lines to compensate for a lack of artillery shells seems like the very definition of “temporary solution.”
@DefMon3 notes that Russia’s reported pull back in Kherson could also be the prelude to an evacuation.
[…] [Regarding the enormous amount of captured Russian equipment …] I’d gather that all this equipment needs serious maintenance. But Ukraine’s mechanics are competent and prioritize working gear, unlike the Russians who sold their lubricants (and everything else) for vodka.
Pray for Ukraine’s mechanics, as they won’t get any rest for weeks getting all the new loot back to running condition.
Meanwhile on Russian state TV: top propagandists urge a total blackout of Ukraine, with no electricity or running water. They argue that those whom they consider “their people” can be fed and warmed up later and the rest are “serving the U.S.” to bring about Russia’s destruction.
[…] He was still wearing golf shoes, a polo shirt, and a brown jacket. Is he there for the free medical care at Walter Reed, or will he throw himself on the mercy of the court. More likely his lawyer(s) weren’t going to front their travel to Boxminster. [“Boxminster” is a reference to video surfacing of Trump’s minions moving boxes from Mar-a-Lago to Bedminster] He’s already returned once to DC for a speech. Speculation swirls like torn up memos in a gold toilet, but maybe he’s just down for a golf date at the Virginia golf course.
[Raw Story]
Trump didn’t have any Sept. 11 remembrance ceremonies planned on Sunday, as other leaders were attending events. He did mark the occasion by posting two memes on his social media account. The only other activity was a series of news stories from last week to as far back as June 2022. He didn’t make any remarks about the trip to DC or what he’s doing in the city.
It left a void for others, to suggest what they thought Trump was doing. It’s possible Trump is continuing his fundraising with some large donors. He could be meeting with Republican leaders to convey talking points in person about his document scandal. If he was speaking to a group it would likely have been announced and promoted by the group. […]
Responding to the photos were some were asking if Trump was turning himself in or if he was handcuffed upon landing. Trump’s allies have been begging for him to attend the royal funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II. The White House said that a delegation was going to the funeral but it’s unclear who those attendees will be.
Comedian Betty Bowers suggested that Trump being away from his country club in New Jersey is the perfect time for the FBI to conduct a search warrant for documents he may have taken there.
Steve Janoski of the North Jersey Media Group is hoping that Trump’s arrival in Washington means it’s finally Infrastructure Week.
Others joked perhaps he had more documents to move, this time to his Virginia golf course. Another posed he was heading to his indictment appointment or skipping the country. A self-described biotech veteran and software designer predicted that Trump was in Washington to announce his long-awaited healthcare plan.
Lawyer George Conway noted that it hasn’t been “golf weather” in the area lately. It’s scheduled to continue raining on Monday after drizzling most of Sunday. Conway explained: “It’s been arraigning — I mean, raining.”
[…] There’s a gala celebrating the Roe repeal on Tuesday at the National Building Museum. It’s not being widely advertised, but the big GOP folks will be there. […]
Ukraine: Russian military command has suspended the sending of new units into Ukraine
The military command of the Russian federation has stopped sending new units into Ukraine following a dramatic Ukrainian counter-offensive that has reshaped the war and left Moscow reeling, the general staff of the armed forces of Ukraine said Monday.
“The military command of the Russian federation has suspended the sending of new, already formed units into the territory of Ukraine,” officials said on the general staff Facebook page.
“The current situation in the theatre of operations and distrust of the higher command forced a large number of volunteers to categorically refuse the prospect of service in combat conditions,” the statement continued. “The situation is affected by information about the actual number of dead, while losses from private military companies and those mobilised from temporarily occupied territories are not taken into account. The situation worsens due to the general attitude toward their own wounded. In particular, in Russian hospitals, diagnoses and the nature of combat injuries are deliberately simplified and no time is given for rehabilitation in order to quickly return servicemen to the combat zone.”
This information could not be corroborated. The Kremlin has yet to respond.
Europe’s swift transition to a sustainable, low-carbon future will not happen without the engagement and involvement of citizens producing and consuming energy locally, experts say – and across the continent, there are signs it is happening.
A summer of wildfires, drought and record heatwaves fuelled by climate breakdown has combined with soaring gas and electricity prices, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to inject a new urgency into the switch to alternative, renewable sources.
From solar panels in the Netherlands to biomass burners in Spain, communities across Europe are increasingly making, consuming and selling their own energy, a trend the EU sees as vital if the bloc is to meet its climate targets. […]
The requests for records related to the 2020 election have complicated preparations for November, which some officials say may be the point.
Supporters of former president Donald Trump have swamped local election offices across the nation in recent weeks with a coordinated campaign of requests for 2020 voting records, in some cases paralyzing preparations for the fall election season.
In nearly two dozen states and scores of counties, election officials are fielding what many describe as an unprecedented wave of public records requests in the final weeks of summer, one they say may be intended to hinder their work and weaken an already strained system. The avalanche of sometimes identically worded requests has forced some to dedicate days to the process of responding even as they scurry to finalize polling locations, mail out absentee ballots and prepare for early voting in October, officials said.
In Wisconsin, one recent request asks for 34 different types of documents. In North Carolina, hundreds of requests came in at state and local offices on one day alone. In Kentucky, officials don’t recognize the technical-sounding documents they’re being asked to produce — and when they seek clarification, the requesters say they don’t know, either.
The use of mass records requests by the former president’s supporters effectively weaponizes laws aimed at promoting principles of a democratic system — that the government should be transparent and accountable. Public records requests are a key feature of that system, used by regular citizens, journalists and others. In interviews, officials emphasized that they are trying to follow the law and fulfill the requests, but they also believe the system is being abused. […]
They believe that those organizing the effort are not out for information but rather are trying to cause chaos as their fall crunchtime approaches, making it more difficult to run smooth elections and giving critics new openings to attack the integrity of election administration in the United States. They point to the identical nature of the requests as well as the number of duplicates individual counties have received — each one of which they must respond to, by law. […]
Many of those submitting the requests say they are following the call of several leading election deniers allied with Trump, including MyPillow founder Mike Lindell. […]
Election officials and their advocates said they are dispirited that Lindell continues to encourage his followers to distrust the voting process. Many counties have already published electronic images of their ballots, giving skeptics all they need to conduct their own hand recount of the 2020 election. The fact that offices are nonetheless being inundated with requests, some officials said, raised questions about the true motives of those who are instigating them.
“The only way to look at it is as a denial-of-service attack on local government,” said Matt Crain, who leads the Colorado County Clerks Association, using the term for an intentional bombardment of a computer network for the purpose of shutting it down. “The irony is, if Lindell wanted the cast vote records, he could have just put in a request to get them. They don’t do that. They put out this call to action for people to do it, and they know it’s going to inundate these offices, especially medium and small offices who are understaffed and overwhelmed already. They know exactly what they’re doing.”
[…] “Their whole goal is to destabilize our system.”
[…] Election officials say the premise behind the requests is flawed, and cast vote records don’t provide any evidence of fraud. […]
Ukraine says it has continued to attack Russian positions near Kherson, targeting Russian transportation and logistics facilities.
Reports suggest Ukrainian troops have made gains at several locations on the Russian front line in recent weeks.
They have also attacked bridges, ferries and pontoons, attempting to make Russian positions of the west side of the Dnieper River unsustainable, and thereby force a withdrawal.
They might be getting a surrender (see #440 above).
18 municipal deputies of Moscow, St Petersburg demand Putin resign
Municipal deputies from 18 districts of Moscow and St Petersburg have signed a public statement demanding that Vladimir Putin resign.
“We, the municipal deputies of Russia, believe that the actions of President V. V. Putin harm the future of Russia and its citizens. We demand the resignation of Vladimir Putin from the post of President of the Russian Federation!” read the statement published by Ksenia Torstrem, the municipal deputy of the Semenovsky district of St Petersburg.
“It is difficult to speak out publicly because of the repression. Therefore, we came up with such a concise text,” Torstrem told the The Insider. “Deputies are not yet forbidden to have an opinion. And it is also not forbidden to speak for the resignation of the president. He is not a monarch, but a hired worker, receives a salary from our taxes.
“Our function is to represent the interests of the people, and we see that the people are not satisfied. And our people are the source of power according to the Constitution. I personally do not understand the motives of Vladimir Putin’s actions. I think you can’t be in power for so long.”
Lawyers for former President Donald Trump on Monday urged a federal judge to reject the Justice Department’s attempt to continue to review classified documents seized from Mar-a-Lago as part of its criminal investigation, saying that the materials may not be classified and that his Florida resort is secure.
Trump argues that he has broad authority as President to declassify records, and that a former President should have “absolute right of access” to presidential records – whether they are classified or not.
The filing is the latest attempt from Trump to muddy the perception of the investigation into the mishandling of national security documents after he left the presidency. The DOJ has continued to emphasize the stakes of their findings so far, calling for the need for a swift and private intelligence community review and flagging risks to national security.
Trump’s team continues to characterize the situation as a spat over presidential records.
“In what at its core is a document storage dispute that has spiraled out of control, the Government wrongfully seeks to criminalize the possession by the 45th President of his own Presidential and personal records,” Trump’s legal team writes.
An aerial view of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home after Trump said that FBI agents raided it, in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. August 15, 2022.
A new deadline and critical questions bear down on judge in Trump documents case
Trump’s filing called Mar-a-Lago a “a secure, controlled access compound utilized regularly to conduct the official business of the United States during the Trump Presidency, which to this day is monitored by the United States Secret Service,” and that the documents were kept in a locked room.
“The Government generally points to the alleged urgent need to conduct a risk assessment of possible unauthorized disclosure of purported ‘classified records.’ But there is no indication any purported ‘classified records’ were disclosed to anyone,” Trump’s filing states.
According to court documents, investigators previously asked Trump in June to secure any classified documents in a locked room at Mar-a-Lago.
When FBI agents arrived in August, they seized 11 sets of classified documents from Mar-a-Lago, including some marked as “top secret/SCI” – one of the highest levels of classification, according to court documents. Prosecutors have also said that dozens of empty folders marked with “classified banners” were found in the search.
The “likelihood that improperly stored classified information may have been accessed by others and compromised” is a “core aspect of the FBI’s criminal investigation,” prosecutors have said.
The Justice Department has said in court that it treats documents marked as classified as such, until they can be fully reviewed. But Trump’s team uses the fact that documents haven’t been fully reviewed yet to argue that he and a special master should be able to access the records marked as classified.
“There still remains a disagreement as to the classification status of the documents. The Government’s position therefore assumes a fact not yet established,” Trump’s team wrote.
The Justice Department submitted its request for a stay last week.
US District Judge Aileen Cannon, when she ordered a special master be brought in to review documents obtained during the search, halted any use of the seized materials for the DOJ’s criminal investigation. She said, however, that the intelligence community’s assessment could continue. The Justice Department argues the criminal probe could not be decoupled from the intelligence community’s review, and that the intelligence review has been paused.
The DOJ has also said it will appeal to a higher court if Cannon doesn’t allow the intelligence work in the probe on the classified records to continue.
A special master has not yet been appointed, but Trump’s team makes clear Monday they believe that third-party appointee could work with them in a review of seized classified records. “President Trump (and, by extension, a requested special master) cannot be denied access to those documents,” his lawyers wrote Monday.
Trump’s team also wrote that a “President enjoys absolute authority under the Executive Order to declassify any information. There is no legitimate contention that the Chief Executive’s declassification of documents requires approval of bureaucratic components of the executive branch. Yet, the Government apparently contends that President Trump, who had full authority to declassify documents, ‘willfully’ retained classified information in violation of the law. Moreover, the Government seeks to preclude any opportunity for consideration of this issue.”
From my reading of this article, it sounds like Trump’s lawyers are arguing that the Presidential Records Act is null and void, that the classification system for sensitive documents is null and void, and that they Espionage Act, as it relates to US defense information being retained by a private individual, is also null and void. If Trump’s lawyers are actually asserting this, then either their ignorance or their sheer chutzpah is absolutely unprecedented and mind blowing.
A Michigan man’s obsession with the pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy theory culminated in a Sunday incident in which he murdered his wife and badly injured one of his children, his daughter told The Daily Beast.
Igor Lanis, a 53-year-old resident of the Michigan city of Walled Lake, was killed Sunday by police after he started shooting at them with a shotgun, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.
Inside Lanis’ house, police found Lanis’ wife, Tina Lanis, dead after being shot four times with a handgun. Lanis also shot his daughter Rachel, 25, in the back and legs with a shotgun during the attack, but she managed to call police and survived. Lanis also killed the family dog, shooting it multiple times.
The sudden violence stunned Lanis’ other daughter, 21-year-old Rebecca Lanis, who was at a friend’s birthday party during the murder.
Rebecca Lanis told The Daily Beast that her father became obsessed with QAnon and other conspiracy theories in 2020, consuming huge amounts of online videos and following far-right figures like InfoWars’s Alex Jones.
According to his daughter, Igor Lanis was a car designer with no history of violence. She described her parents as once “extremely loving,” but her father changed after Donald Trump lost 2020.
“He had a sense of reality,” Rebecca Lanis said. “But then after 2020, when Trump lost, he started going down these crazy rabbit holes.”
That year, Lanis became fascinated by QAnon and the idea that Joe Biden stole the election.
“It’s a very big contributor to what happened,” Rebecca Lanis said of her father’s QAnon beliefs.
Igor Lanis’ mental health worsened as he became drawn into the conspiracy theories, according to Rebecca Lanis. He insisted that family members watch conspiracy theories videos about the 5G cell towers, vaccines, and the election. He started to believe that some world leaders were in fact alien lizard-people in disguise, a fringe conspiracy theory even among QAnon supporters. Rebecca Lanis said family members tried to pull her father out of his beliefs, but arguing with him was “pointless.”
The Walled Lake shootings are just the latest killing tied to QAnon….
Wonkette: “Trump Lawyer Whines To Hannity After Insane Clinton RICO Suit Dismissed For Being Hot Garbage”
Back in March, Donald Trump sued Hillary Clinton, the DNC, and half of DC for RICO-ing him to death with the Russia investigation in 2016. His theory of the case (and we use that term generously) was that Clinton was in cahoots with her BFFs James Comey and Andy McCabe at the FBI to frame Trump for NO COLLUSION with Russia to torpedo his presidency and ruin his business. He even blamed her for getting him kicked off Twitter on January 7, 2021, which is … not how we remember it.
There were upwards of two dozen defendants in this clownsuit, including former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who was appointed by Trump himself, and DNC lawyers Marc Elias and Michael Sussmann. It was really fucking dumb, and now it’s really fucking done, after US District Judge Donald Middlebrooks yeeted this piece of garbage into the sun last week.
“At its core, the problem with Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint is that Plaintiff is not attempting to seek redress for any legal harm; instead, he is seeking to flaunt a two-hundred-page political manifesto outlining his grievances against those that have opposed him, and this Court is not the appropriate forum,” he wrote in his order dismissing the suit, because WAAH, THEY WERE MEAN TO ME isn’t actually a cognizable legal claim.
He also made some very pointed references to the poor quality of lawyering by Team Trump, and all but invited the two dozen defendants to file sanctions motions against Trump and his attorneys for engaging in this pointless exercise.
For instance, Trump’s counsel repeatedly cited the Justice Department inspector general’s report on the origins of the Russia investigation, in support of his argument that “the scheme was conceived, coordinated and carried out by top-level officials at the Clinton Campaign and the DNC—including ‘the candidate’ herself—who attempted to shield her involvement behind a wall of third parties.” They also pointed to Special Counsel John Durham’s prosecution of DNC attorney Michael Sussmann for making a false statement when he flagged the Alfa Bank server data to the FBI, suggesting it was part of the predicate for the Crossfire Hurricane investigation of the Trump campaign — all while failing to mention that Sussmann was acquitted.
Here on Planet Earth, the IG report found that the Russia investigation was appropriately predicated because Trump’s “coffee boy” Russia adviser George Papadopoulos got shitfaced and bragged to an Australian diplomat that Russia had stolen Clinton’s emails and would release them to help Trump get elected — six weeks before they did just that using WikiLeaks as a cutout.
“[I]f a party chooses to include such references, it is expected that they be presented in good faith and with evidentiary support,” the judge writes. “Unfortunately, that is not the case here.”
The court was similarly unimpressed with 118 pages of incoherent screeching in the complaint that was supposed to be a succinct statement of the facts and the law, but was instead “difficult to summarize in a concise and cohesive manner.” [LOL] The order ends with an ominous statement by Judge Middlebrooks: “I reserve jurisdiction to adjudicate issues pertaining to sanctions.”
That is not good news for attorneys Alina Habba and Donald Trump’s long-ago military school roommate Peter Ticktin, whose efforts forced dozens of defendants to hire lawyers to represent them in Florida, a jurisdiction to which they had no connection.
Luckily Alina Habba is handling the whole thing like a professional. By which we mean she raced to Sean Hannity to cry salty tears and talk shit about Judge Middlebrooks. [video at the link]
“When you have a Clinton judge here, Judge Middlebrooks, who I had asked to recuse himself, but insisted that he didn’t need to, that he was going to be impartial. And then he proceeds to write a 65-page scathing order where he basically ignored every factual basis which was backed up by indictments, by investigations, the Mueller report, etcetera etcetera etcetera, not to mention [Special Counsel John] Durham and all the testimony we heard there. We get dismissed,” she huffed. “Not only do we get dismissed, he says that this is not the proper place for recourse for Donald Trump. He has no legal ramifications.”
Yes, that is what happens when you pretend that accessing publicly available DNS lookup data is theft of trade secrets in order to bootstrap into a civil RICO claim, and then jam in a lot of defamation-type charges that are long outside the statute of limitations. There are, indeed, no legal ramifications. Well, except for possible Rule 11 sanctions.
“What is the proper place for him? Because the FBI won’t help,” she scoffed. [video at the link]
Habba said she might appeal to the Eleventh Circuit, before admitting that she insisted in continuing this pointless exercise over the objections of her own client.
“The former president looked at me and he told me, ‘You know what, Alina? You’re not going to win. You can’t win. Just get rid of it. Don’t do the case.’ And I said, ‘No, we have to fight. It’s not right what happened.’ And you know, he was right. It’s a sad day for me personally because I fought him on it and should have listened, but I don’t want to lose hope in our system, I don’t.”
Cool. Well, maybe the defendants won’t see this video and flag it for the court in their inevitable sanctions motions. Because it seems pretty likely that Habba and Ticktin have one or two more sad days coming down the pike.
LOLOLOLOL.
Reginald Selkirksays
@425: I would suggest Paul as someone who possibly did more to shape Christianity than Jesus H. Christ.
[…] Putin fired his top army commander Lieutenant General Roman Berdnikov just 16 days after he was hired. […]
We’re sure Russia will continue lashing out like a wounded animal, but that doesn’t change a key reality: Ukraine is winning this war. Meanwhile, Americans should never forget the Putin-hugging Republicans who bet against Ukraine. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was one of the hateful eight who voted against suspending trade negotiations with Russia, a hostile foreign power. She posted on Facebook: “If we truly care about suffering and death on our television screens, we cannot fund more of it by sending money and weaponry to fight a war they cannot possibly win!”
[…] Ohio GOP Senate candidate J.D. Vance didn’t understand why we should care about human suffering at all. He said in February, shortly before Russia’s unprovoked invasion: “I think it’s ridiculous that we are focused on this border in Ukraine. I got to be honest with you, I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other.” He tried to backtrack shortly after.
Those J.D. Vance, Sociopath for Senate yard signs sell themselves, don’t they.
Barely two weeks ago, volunteer Kremlin operative (allegedly!) Tucker Carlson was begging us to cut and run on Ukraine.
[…] Putin has his own Baghdad Bobs on Republican state media and even within the US Congress. We should continue ignoring them and support our allies. […]
Herschel: “Warnock, I remember hearing him say, ‘America need to apologize for it whiteness.’ That’s not in a Bible I ever read. Our Founding Fathers already apologized for its whiteness. Because if you read the Constitution, it talks about every man being treated fair.”
Keith Boykin:
This is all wrong.
Warnock never said America should apologize for its whiteness.
America didn’t exist when the Bible was written.
The founders never apologized for whiteness.
The Constitution doesn’t say every man will be treated fairly.
And Herschel Walker never read it.
Kirk Rudell:
Herschel Walker has the confident, punch-drunk patter of an old boxer working as a casino host. He knows that no matter what he says the faces will smile because they still remember him from the thing he was good at.
Wonkette:
[…] Walker cannily noted that white guilt isn’t a prominent topic in the Bible (neither is America, which didn’t exist when the Bible was written). The genius went on to explain how “Our founding fathers already apologized for (America’s) whiteness,” in the same document that legally treated Black people as second-class citizens. The text for the Three-Fifths Compromise didn’t end with “Whoopsie!”
He said, “(If) you read the Constitution, it talks about every man being treated fair.” If we’re feeling generous, we can assume he’s actually referring to the Declaration of Independence, which says “all men are created equal.” This offer applied only to white men, not white women or anyone of color. A majority of the white men who signed the Declaration of Independence, including its author, profited from the labor of enslaved people.
But this is all conservative porn, and it’s an even bigger kink when a Black man repeats this drivel.
Sunday, Walker, who is definitely completely in command of his faculties, had this to say on the 21st anniversary of 9/11.
WALKER: Well, you know, you’ve gotta pay tribute to the 9/11 victims, you know? But also, you saw America come together. You saw America come together because this country was, you know, it was on a war with a country that didn’t believe in us. And right now we have leaders in Washington like Joe Biden doing venomous speeches that doesn’t believe in American people. He’s trying to separate us. I’m running against Senator Warnock who’s another one that says White people gotta apologize for whiteness.
And so forth!
The United States wasn’t at “war” on 9/11. The terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center weren’t acting as another country’s recognized military. However, Walker has just absorbed the Bush administration’s 9/11 propaganda that insisted we were attacked because of “our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other.” (Right-wingers would later demonstrate how much reasonable disagreement with our government mattered when they cancelled the Dixie Chicks and french fries.)
Like Donald Trump, Walker talks like someone who only knows what he’s told on Fox News.
During his interview with Walker, Sean Hannity gloated that the Georgia election could decide the balance of power in the Senate. Damnit, he’s probably right.
Ukrainian defenders have liberated Svyatohirs’k in the north of Donetsk region. They’re now solidly across the Siverskyi Donets River in this sector of the battlefront.
The rashists will almost certainly abandon temporarily-occupied Lyman, if they have not already.
Team Trump’s newest court filing referenced the so-called “Clinton sock drawer case,” but not in a way that made any sense.
As expected, Donald Trump’s lawyers delivered their latest court filing this morning in the classified documents case, and for the most part it stuck to familiar claims and arguments. There were, however, some notable exceptions.
The point of the filing was straightforward: The former president’s lawyers want a Trump-appointed judge to continue to block the Justice Department from reviewing the classified documents it’s already seized from Mar-a-Lago. This continues to be odd: I’ve never understood why the executive branch should be banned from examining its own classified records, currently in the executive branch’s possession.
The attorneys also claimed that “there still remains a disagreement as to the classification status of the documents” — apparently alluding to one of their client’s more outlandish claims, without actually endorsing his apparent nonsense.
But as NBC News report added, it’d be an overstatement to suggest there was nothing new in the filing.
Trump’s newest filing for the first time refers to what has been called “the Clinton sock drawer case,” a 2012 ruling concerning a former president’s power — in this case, Bill Clinton — to unilaterally decide what is a private record and what is a Presidential Records Act document in his post-presidency.
And what, pray tell is “the Clinton sock drawer case”? I’m glad you asked.
During his White House tenure, Bill Clinton spoke at some length with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Taylor Branch, and as part of the project, there were many recordings of their conversations. According to one 2007 account, tapes were at one point stored in a sock drawer.
A conservative group called Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit, demanding that Clinton be forced to turn over the recordings. In 2012, a federal court rejected the organization’s claims, concluding that the tapes were personal records, not official presidential materials.
In today’s filing, Trump’s lawyers highlighted the controversy as an example of a former president exercising some discretion over what materials would and would not be turned over to the National Archives. If Clinton made such a decision with his records, the argument goes, and that was considered legally permissible by a federal court, then Trump should have similar discretion.
But it’s not nearly that simple. NBC News’ report added, “[U]nmentioned by Trump’s defenders who began raising the issue of the sock drawer case last month is that Jackson’s ruling explicitly states that the Presidential Records Act distinguishes presidential records from ‘personal records,’ defined as documents that are ‘purely private or nonpublic character.’”
In contrast, Trump took highly sensitive national security secrets to his glorified country club. To see the two as comparable is to overlook every relevant detail.
The Justice Department’s latest filing is due later today.
The Queen is dead and likely to remain so. Her Majesty had a good run. She produced one genuinely awesome daughter, who once told attempted kidnappers to fuck off, and three otherwise useless male heirs. I don’t think “son who’s a king” balances out “son who’s accused of sexual assault on a minor,” but maybe Her Majesty considered it a wash.
Right-wingers in America are in genuine mourning. It’s not a surprise that they would embrace the monarchy. An inherently white supremacist, elitist institution is their jam. However, they’ve been weird as hell about it.
Professional terrible person Laura Ingraham declared the Queen “the gutsiest and most courageous woman of the past 100 years.” This is a curious description of a monarch who studiously avoided controversy. That was the whole point. You can love the Queen more than high tea and still recognize that she was hardly an activist. [Tweet and video at the link]
Hillary Clinton just wrote a book about “gutsy” women. Guess which 96yo reigning monarch of 70 years she failed to include? [tweeted by Laura Ingraham]
The Queen probably wouldn’t have appreciated Ingraham vulgarly using Her Majesty’s memory as a bludgeon against political enemies. Ingraham seized on this moment to attack Hillary’s and Chelsea Clinton’s book turned Apple TV series “Gutsy Women,” which celebrates women such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Mary Ritter Beard, Harriet Tubman, Edith Windsor, and Malala Yousafzai.
Ingraham was very upset, it seems, that Clinton didn’t include a portrait of the famously overlooked, underreported Queen Elizabeth II. [LOL] The Queen doesn’t need Hillary and Chelsea when she has Claire Foy, Olivia Colman, and Helen Mirren.
We get it: Ingraham likely loathes all the women Hillary and Chelsea recognize. But their book and TV series isn’t the defining word on “gutsy women.” They’re under no obligation to please Ingraham […]
Hillary Clinton clapped back at Ingraham this morning. She tweeted, “Thanks for getting the word out about #Gutsy, Laura. A book now turned @AppleTVPlus docuseries, it was a challenge to narrow down who to feature because — it’s true — there are just too many amazing women in the world.”
If Ingraham was typically petty about the Queen’s death, fairytale troll Stephen Miller was predictably racist.
Thursday, dime store Goebbels shared this bizarre tweet: “Her Royal Majesty’s passing is not only a tragedy for England, Britain, the UK & Commonwealth but all decent people everywhere. Queen Elizabeth was our last link to a lost age of magic and glory, radiating our world with light. After a life of service she rests in God’s Kingdom.”
The Queen was 96 years old. She wasn’t assassinated. She died from natural causes. It is certainly a personal blow to her loved ones, but not quite what I’d describe as a collective tragedy. Also, what the fuck does Mr. “America First” mean by “our last link to a lost age of magic and glory?” We’re not British. (And I don’t think many tears were shed in Ireland.)
“America First” was always a white nationalist mantra. Any actual Americans who are minorities or LGBTQ come a distant second in Miller’s worldview. He also boasted about the British Empire’s great contributions to “art, science, literature, culture, philosophy and the expansion of personal rights and political freedom.” Look, I love Benny Hill as much as the next guy, but didn’t America fight a war with Britain over personal rights and political freedom? Wrong again, Yankee, apparently: Miller argues that woke schools are incorrectly teaching that “our Founders rebelled against the British system itself. Colonists wanted self-rule and independence. The whole American experiment is grounded in British common law, natural rights and political philosophy—eternal treasures all.”
Britain wasn’t even a democracy when the American experiment began. That was an ongoing source of tension between the nations for several decades. How can you read the Declaration of Independence and not understand that colonists were rebelling against the “British system itself,” specifically an unhinged monarch? Miller doesn’t just have a soft spot for power-mad tyrants. He also swoons over the monarchy in general, even in its less powerful, slightly more respectable Kardashians model.
Dig this shit: “Key to monarchy is its mystery. Key to its mystery is that monarchs descend from an ancient line of fabled kings and queens. Though it may not be apparent now, a longterm concern for UK monarchy will be if, due to marriages, future monarchs have same family trees as their subjects.”
Americans apparently are supposed to find the “mystery” of in-bred aristocrats extremely compelling. “All men are created equal” wasn’t fully practiced for a long while, but the concept in theory is preferable to an openly classist system.
Miller is descended from eastern European Jews but kneels to the British monarchy. It’s pathetic.
SC @464, yikes. That is a truly damning video. Dr. Oz as the conman.
In other news about weird and inauthentic politicians:
[…] the most peculiar thing we noticed is this need to rewrite the history of the immediate aftermath of September 11 (again), whether through purposeful propaganda or plain ignorance of actual history.
Take Republican House minority leader and malfunctioning cyborg Kevin McCarthy. Appearing on Maria Bartiromo’s MAGA infomercial Fox Business show “Sunday Morning Futures,” McCarthy had a whopping 18 minutes of airtime to spout off.
Because we at Wonkette love you and want to spare you the mental torture, here are the “highlights.”
First, McCarthy spoke about the Republican fantasy version of the aftermath of 9/11:
MCCARTHY: … united as one nation. We put our political parties aside. We worshiped together. We united together. People signed up to go to the military. People came down to dig out those towers.
Pretty sure plenty of Muslim Americanswould disagree with this whitewashing.
[…] Around the 2:26 mark, McCarthy and Bartiromo tried to bring back Benghazi, like they were playing an encore of “Free Bird” from their glory days. They then brought up the Afghanistan withdrawal, hinting that it should be investigated (Benghazi 2: The Next Batch?) while never mentioning the context of said withdrawal. That morphed into how Russia, China and the Mexican cartels have maybe all united at the southern border to invade us!
Then McCarthy gave one of his patented idiotic axioms:
MCCARTHY: If you want to know about 21 years ago today, you’ve got to pay attention to what is happening now. So in the future, nothing like that happens again.
This makes absolutely zero sense. Or does it? The phrase McCarthy is coopting is about learning from past mistakes to not repeat them in the future. But his inversion, however intentional or unintentional, might highlight the GOP’s revisionist view of history. Rather than look to the past to fix the future, why not look at what you want now and “fix” the past to justify doing so. Be it guns or abortion or civil rights or 9/11 even, let’s revise things so that you can say your AR-15 was blessed by Jesus and the ghosts of every founding father.
McCarthy then spent some time talking about how the Iran Deal and inflation have made us “less safe.”
Maria Bartiromo “reported” a story about a student caught with drugs in California, which allowed McCarthy to complain about the border. Then he told a story you will never believe, unless you are very not smart, of a school guidance counselor who OD-ed on fentanyl when they caught a student with drugs, just by touching the drugs: [video at the link]
McCarthy’s story is bullshit. Refuted by numerous sources just by doing a simple Google search, it’s clear that it’s scaremongering used for politics. Which McCarthy made even more obvious with his next talking-point after this story.
MCCARTHY: Don’t think that your city is not a “border city” today. Every single city in America is now a “border city.”
McCarthy is technically right. Almost every major city is a “border city,” but that has to do with CBP enforcement bullshit, not drugs. [map at the link]
But McCarthy wasn’t talking about that. He was scaremongering and lying.
McCarthy ended his extended political ad by touting the great candidates they are running (they are not great) and the “divisiveness” of Joe Biden’s speech condemning insurrectionist “MAGA Republicans,” despite how Biden really gave Republicans a lot of unearned leeway in that one.
It was a Kevin McCarthy interview. It was 18 full minutes of garbage. The end.
The Ukrainian authorities have said they are capturing so many prisoners-of-war among Russian soldiers retreating from occupation of the north-eastern region that the country is running out of space to put them, the Associated Press reports.
…
Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovich did not specify the number of Russian prisoners but said the POWs would be exchanged for Ukrainian service members held by Moscow.
Military intelligence spokesman Andrey Yusov said the captured troops included “significant” numbers of Russian officers.
Ukraine’s deputy interior minister accused fleeing Russian forces of burning official documents and concealing bodies in an attempt to cover up rights violations in the areas they controlled until last week….
Retreating Russian forces have crossed border back into Russia – US military official
The United States assesses that Russia has largely ceded its gains near Kharkiv and many retreating Russian soldiers have exited Ukraine, moving over the border back into Russia, a senior US military official said on Monday, Reuters reports….
Shapoval, ballet soloist and Honored Artist of Ukraine, was killed near Maiorske, Donetsk Oblast on Sept. 12, said Valentyna Samchenko, deputy editor-in-chief of the Ukraina Moloda media outlet.”
President Biden on Monday made calls to union leaders and rail companies, pressing for a deal to avert a national railroad strike that is days away from shutting down much of the country’s transportation infrastructure, according to a White House official.
Mohegan Chief Marilynn ‘Lynn’ Malerba was sworn in Monday as the Treasurer of the United States, the first Native American to hold that office. Her signature will now appear along with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on U.S. currency.
It also seized the phones of two top Trump advisers, a sign of an escalating investigation two months before the midterm elections.
Justice Department officials have seized the phones of two top advisers to former President Donald J. Trump and blanketed his aides with about 40 subpoenas in a substantial escalation of the investigation into his efforts to subvert the 2020 election, people familiar with the inquiry said on Monday.
The seizure of the phones, coupled with a widening effort to obtain information from those around Mr. Trump after the 2020 election, represent some of the most aggressive steps the department has taken thus far in its criminal investigation into the actions that led to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.
The extent of the investigation has come into focus in recent days, even though it has often been overshadowed by the government’s legal clash with Mr. Trump and his lawyers over a separate inquiry into the handling of presidential records, including highly classified materials, the former president kept at his residence in Florida, Mar-a-Lago.
Federal agents with court-authorized search warrants took phones last week from at least two people: Boris Epshteyn, an in-house counsel who helps coordinate Mr. Trump’s legal efforts, and Mike Roman, a campaign strategist who was the director of Election Day operations for the Trump campaign in 2020, people familiar with the investigation said.
Mr. Epshteyn and Mr. Roman have been linked to a critical element of Mr. Trump’s bid to hold onto power: the effort to name slates of electors pledged to Mr. Trump from swing states won by Joseph R. Biden Jr. in 2020 as part of a plan to block or delay congressional certification of Mr. Biden’s Electoral College victory. […]
Today’s newsletter is an exclusive adapted excerpt from “Servants of the Damned: Giant Law Firms, Donald Trump, and the Corruption of Justice,” a new book by my colleague David Enrich. David is the business investigations editor at The New York Times, responsible for handling some of the newspaper’s most ambitious projects.
Ben Ginsberg’s office at the international law firm Jones Day was like a shrine to the old Republican Party.
Its walls and shelves were crowded with campaign artifacts that he had collected over the years, including on the trail with George W. Bush and Mitt Romney, whose presidential campaigns Ginsberg had helped run. In the summer of 2020, with Jones Day’s neoclassical building on Capitol Hill largely deserted because of Covid, Ginsberg started boxing the stuff up.
Week by week, Ginsberg had been feeling worse about his and his law firm’s work on Donald Trump’s campaign. Jones Day had begun representing Trump back in 2015, only months after Ginsberg and Don McGahn had arrived to set up a political law practice devoted to helping elect Republicans.
Since then, the firm had helped Trump shore up his support among conservatives; worked to staff the upper echelons of his administration; and defended him against sundry investigations. Now it was working for his 2020 re-election bid.
The president was intensifying his message about the risk of a rigged election, and he and his Republican Party had essentially declared war on mail-in voting and other policies that might encourage democratic participation at a time when large areas of the country were operating under Covid restrictions.
At one point, Ginsberg flagged his discomfort to Jones Day’s leader, Steve Brogan, describing Trump’s language as “beyond the pale.” Brogan, a staunch conservative, nodded and said he agreed. But that didn’t mean Jones Day would drop the Trump campaign as a client.
Another time, Ginsberg complained to Michael Glassner, a senior Trump campaign aide. Not only did Ginsberg object to what Trump was saying, but it was just stupid politics, he noted. Why oppose mail-in voting in the middle of a pandemic? (Glassner dismissed Ginsberg as an elitist and a prima donna.)
Other Jones Day lawyers, too, were getting anxious that Trump was laying the groundwork to try to overturn the election results if they didn’t go his way — and that Jones Day would end up being sucked into the ensuing disaster.
What would happen if Trump or his allies asked the firm to take on a case to challenge the election results? To sow doubts about the integrity of those results or the vote-counting process? To defend Trump if he refused to leave the White House?
These were crucial questions for Jones Day, the culmination of five years of having stood by an increasingly radical leader. For how long would the firm invoke its obligation to remain loyal to even the most dangerous clients?
A time for choosing
In conversations with other partners, Ginsberg argued that Jones Day should pre-emptively draw a series of bright lines: It would not take cases that called into question the fairness of the election. It would not take cases in which it argued for voting restrictions, such as by banning ballot drop-boxes or discouraging the use of absentee voting. It would not participate in the further erosion of democratic norms.
Ginsberg, of course, was no political pacifist. This was a guy who, decades earlier, had conceived a redistricting initiative in the South that was intended to divide Democrats. He had helped attack John Kerry’s decorated record in Vietnam.
But this felt like a dangerous, decisive moment. The way Ginsberg saw it, no believer in the rule of law — and certainly no respectable law firm — should flirt with the antidemocratic notions that Trump and more than a few of his backers were peddling.
Ginsberg was 69, and he didn’t want his last presidential campaign to involve helping a demagogue destroy democracy. It was time to take a stand.
That summer, Ginsberg, his neatly trimmed reddish beard long since having faded to white, told Brogan he was leaving the firm. The process of extracting someone from the Jones Day partnership normally took many months; Ginsberg wanted to accelerate it so that he could leave by Labor Day — and well before the November election. Brogan didn’t try to talk Ginsberg out of it.
When Ginsberg told McGahn, McGahn laughed it off. “You’ll be back in January when you get bored,” he predicted.
Not fading away
Ginsberg doubted it.
He left the office for the final time the last week of August. Days later, he was booked to appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press” to discuss the homestretch of the presidential race. Ginsberg would be on with Marc Elias, the Democratic Party’s most prominent election lawyer and a fierce partisan warrior.
Beforehand, Ginsberg reached out to Elias and asked him to please not paint him as a pro-Trump vote suppressor. Elias didn’t know what to make of this, but he had enough respect for Ginsberg that he agreed to pull his punches.
“So, Ben, welcome to retirement, I guess,” Chuck Todd, the “Meet the Press” host, said as he introduced Ginsberg on TV. Viewers were treated to 12 parched minutes of discourse about the minutiae of state laws governing the counting of votes.
When Todd asked Ginsberg whether Trump was inviting fraud by encouraging his supporters to try to vote twice, Ginsberg dodged, referring to Trump’s “mangled syntax.” (“What’s new?” Elias snarked in the background, and Ginsberg chuckled. It was the closest the show got to drama.) Ginsberg didn’t condone Trump’s efforts to question the integrity of the election, but he didn’t denounce them either.
Todd looked bored. “Ben, good luck with retirement,” he said, wrapping things up. “It’ll suck you back in, my friend.”
“It may,” Ginsberg allowed.
A fiery op-ed
Two days later, it became clear that Ginsberg had no intention of fading away quietly. He had written a fiery opinion piece for The Washington Post condemning the entire Republican apparatus, which Ginsberg said was complicit with the president’s assault on democracy.
The piece ran on Sept. 8, two months before Election Day. Ginsberg blasted Trump and the Republican Party for fear-mongering about voter fraud to help the G.O.P. win more votes: “transactional hypocrisy designed to provide an electoral advantage,” as Ginsberg put it.
“The president’s rhetoric has put my party in the position of a firefighter who deliberately sets fires to look like a hero putting them out,” he continued. “Republicans need to take a hard look before advocating laws that actually do limit the franchise of otherwise qualified voters. Calling elections ‘fraudulent’ and results ‘rigged’ with almost nonexistent evidence is antithetical to being the ‘rule of law’ party.”
These were strong words, and they were made stronger because Ginsberg was a prominent Republican lawyer who, until very recently, had represented the Trump campaign.
Blowback
Inside that campaign, Michael Glassner was already irate that Ginsberg was bailing so soon before the election. The Post piece felt like a betrayal. Glassner called Jones Day and lodged a complaint that Ginsberg, by attacking his recent client, was violating professional ethics.
To Ginsberg, this was exactly backward. Sticking to his core principles was the embodiment of ethics — even if it meant turning his back on a client. He couldn’t afford to be complicit any longer.
Marc Elias read Ginsberg’s piece in The Post. Now it made sense why he’d asked Elias, before “Meet the Press,” to avoid tarring him as part of the problem. Elias called Ginsberg.
“Thank you,” he said, “for standing up for democracy.”
It is. He was, according even to the critical accounts I’ve read, a fine heart surgeon. Reading the recent stories, I started to wonder if his previous medical work had been more motivated by his ego and ambition; but the evidence doesn’t seem to support that. It appears more likely that it was his involvement with “alternative medicine” and wooish hucksterism, with their roots in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century ideas about health, that led him to his current attitudes. In this view, health outcomes are the result of individual choices, particularly with regard to consumption; people who are unhealthy are inferior and “deserve” their problems; and health disparities are caused not by structural forces but by individual or group characteristics, weaknesses, and habits. It also fosters a basic antipathy to medical institutions and experts and credulity about anyone who claims to challenge them. It really is a poisonous ideology and the exact opposite of what the data show and basic decency and empathy (not to mention medical ethics) demand. As you (poetically) suggest, it makes its believers heartless.
Remember when Russia walked into an obvious trap in Kherson Oblast and everyone knew it except Russia? Well, they finally caught on. [Tweet and map at the link]
Rumors about this have swirled for the past several days, with reports of entire units abandoning their positions or of Russian forces collapsing their lines closer to Kherson city, so that artillery on the other side of the Dnipro River can help support them. But this isn’t a rumor. It’s sourced to the Ukrainian military itself. So several things might be happening:
1) It’s psyops. It’s all fiction, meant to pressure Russian units in the area into quitting. If they believe their fellow countrymen are negotiating a way out, they might not want to be left holding the bag.
2) It’s true, but it’s some units negotiating. There’s no single command for this axis—there’s Rosgvardia (Putin’s personal national guard), VDV airborne, Russian naval infantry, regular Russian army, proxy forces from Luhansk and Donetsk, and who knows what else, and all answer to different commands.
3) It’s true, and somehow, Ukraine is negotiating with that entire mishmash of an occupying force.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych thinks it’s the second option.
Regarding low morale in Russian forces. Ukrainian south command report that junior officers of the Russian army are looking for contacts with Ukrainian security forces to surrender. Units in the right bank of Dnieper are deserting.
Assuming it’s the second or third option, Ukraine’s negotiating position should be simple: Russian forces can happily withdraw into a POW camp after handing their equipment over. Seriously, “We’re out of ammo, please let us out with all our gear” is not a particularly well-leveraged negotiating position. There’s no plausible “or else…” that is even remotely compelling to Ukraine. The only one that applies here is “or else the occupiers die.”
So yeah, this: [Tweet and images showing surrender cards.]
Aretovych says that “In places where Russian forces demonstrate resistance, Ukrainians are firing shells with leaflets calling for surrender. An unofficial report says there are 5,000 Russian POWs in Ukrainian hands.” This pause to rest, refit, refuel, and repair forces used in the Kharkiv offensive is a great time to coax Russian and proxy forces to surrender.
We’ve seen Russians overrun, and we’ve seen them run. We hadn’t seen them play dead though: [Tweet and video at the link]
This is pretty: [map at the link showing over 60,000 square km of territory liberated since April]
That chunk of red in the northeastern corner of the country will soon be blue.
As for the current situation on the ground, it’s mostly mopping up in Kharkiv right now. Lots of rumors on other fronts, but I’m not sure most are believable. What better way to sow panic in Russian soldiers than to tell them that all the fronts are collapsing? Ukrainian forces will need a week or two to catch their breaths after that Kharkiv sprint.
The one rumor I’ll mention, because it’s all over Russian Telegram, is that Ukraine is massing forces around Vuledar, presumably for a push toward Mariupol. If true, and not saying it is, why would anyone assume that Ukraine would do the obvious thing? Hasn’t Kherson-Kharkiv taught us that Ukraine thrives on misdirection, and is quite capable of pulling it off? If Ukraine is genuinely massing forces around Vuledar, nothing guarantees that’s where Ukraine will launch a major attack.
[…] Russia got two trucks across the Antonovsky Bridge connecting Kherson city to the south. Today, it announced that the bridge was once again impassable. HIMARS keeps pounding bridges down here, ensuring the trap remains shut.
Remember the video of the American gunner on a Humvee storming a village? That was Ternovy Pod, and it was declared Ukrainian liberated. Just a couple of hours ago […]
It is reported that Russian border guards do not allow holders of Russian passports issued in Ukraine to enter the Russian Federation. […] Russia invaded Ukraine to “protect Russian speakers.” […]
ISW: Ukraine’s southern counteroffensive continues to have significant impact on Russian military capabilities.
The Institute for the Study of War said satellite imagery of known Russian positions in Kyselivka, 15 km northwest of Kherson, shows just four Russian vehicles left
Kyselivka was strategically important for Russian forces as it is the last major settlement along both the E58 highway and railway line between Ukrainian positions and Chornobaivka, according to the ISW.
“The apparent withdrawal of Russian troops from this position may compromise the Russians’ ability to defend the northwestern outskirts of Kherson,” the ISW wrote.
Rachel Maddow reads an excerpt from former U.S. attorney for SDNY Geoffrey Berman’s new book, “Holding the Line,” in which Berman describes the pressure from Trump acolytes at Main Justice to remove mentions of “Individual-1” from Michael Cohen’s charging document, holding up any further investigations of the matter for months.
Geoffrey Berman, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, talks with Rachel Maddow about efforts by Donald Trump and his attorney general, Bill Barr, to manipulate the Justice Department to protect and cover up for Donald Trump and attack Trump’s political enemies.
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian (support them if you can!) Ukraine liveblog. From there:
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said his country’s forces had taken back 6,000 sq km (2,400 square miles) of Russian-held territory in the country’s south and east. Ukraine’s forces have continued to press their counterattack in Kharkiv, seeking to take control of almost all of the province. Ukraine’s troops headed north, reportedly recapturing towns all the way to the Russian border.
The Ukrainian military says it had freed more than 20 settlements in 24 hours. In recent days, Kyiv’s forces have captured territory at least twice the size of greater London, according to the British Defence Ministry.
Ukraine’s military says the Antonivsky Bridge across the Dnieper River near occupied Kherson in the south is now unusable by Russian military
One day after municipal deputies from 18 districts of Moscow and St Petersburg have signed a public statement demanding that Vladimir Putin resign, the Kremlin is coming out with a vaguely veiled threat:
[tweet at the link: "Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov: The line between legally criticising Russia's military campaign in Ukraine and falling foul of wartime censorship laws that carry penalties of up to 15 years in prison 'is very, very thin'"]…
Key Russian army ‘severely weakened’, says MoD
The UK’s Ministry of Defence says Russia could take years to rebuild one of its most prestigious tank units after the retreat from Kharkiv oblast. In its latest intelligence briefing on Twitter, the MoD said the 1st Guards Tank Army had been severely degraded, leaving Russia’s conventional forces “severely weakened”.
Ukrainian MFA Dmytro Kuleba tweeted: “Disappointing signals from Germany while Ukraine needs Leopards and Marders now — to liberate people and save them from genocide. Not a single rational argument on why these weapons can not be supplied, only abstract fears and excuses. What is Berlin afraid of that Kyiv is not?”
Ukraine is calling for more air defence and an overall increase in weapons deliveries, following two days of targeted attacks on Kharkiv’s electrical grid and repeated Russian shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
In an attempt to convince even more Russian soldiers to give up, Ukrainian forces are launching shells filled with flyers ahead of their advance, said Hanna Maliar, Ukrainian deputy minister of defence.
“Russians use you as cannon fodder. Your life doesn’t mean anything for them. You don’t need this war. Surrender to Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the flyers read.
Just went to Parliament Square & held up a blank piece of paper. Officer came & asked for my details. He confirmed that if I wrote “Not My King” on it, he would arrest me under the Public Order Act because someone might be offended.
A period of quiet mourning for the Queen is fine, but using that period to cement Charles Accession as King & cracking down on any dissent to the accession as disrespectful is outrageous.
Ukraine: Russian intelligence officers and military commanders flee Crimea, southern Ukraine
In the Russian-occupied regions of the Crimea and southern Ukraine, Russian proxies, intelligence officers and military commanders have begun to evacuate and “urgently resettle their families” back into Russian territory, the defence intelligence of Ukraine’s military of defence said.
Defence intelligence officials noted that Russian nationals were “secretly trying to sell their homes and to urgently evacuate their relatives from the peninsula”.
Don’t know if it’s true, but it’s totally believable.
ravensays
Thread
Will Vernon @BBCWillVernon
Moscow confirms Russian teachers in Ukr’s Kharkiv Region have been arrested by advancing Ukr forces. The teachers had been reportedly sent by Moscow to teach a Rus curriculum in schools in occupied Ukr territory. When Rus forces retreated, it seems the teachers were left behind.
This is part of the Russian genocide plan.
They sent in “teachers” from Russia to take over the schools and teach the Russian curriculum. It’s indoctrination of children to erase the Ukrainian language and culture.
When the Russians retreated they left a huge amount behind; weapons, ammunition, armored vehicles, personal belongings, and a lot of alive and dead Russian soldiers. They also forgot to collect their teachers. Typical.
The Russians don’t care about their own people.
Russian Gazeta:
“Russian teachers didn’t work in Russian-controlled territories in the Kharkiv oblast. The fate of local teachers, who were ready to teach according to the new methods and were cooperating with Russia is unknown”
Russia has already thrown them under the bus.
These so called teachers are all from Russia.
Many of them are there because they are Russian nationalists who think it is their duty to teach the natives the right language and culture.
It’s not clear what will happen to them.
They will probably be tried as civilian criminals and get a few years in prison.
The city’s mayor Ivan Fedorov said that three loud explosions had been heard at around 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 13 at an airfield in Russian-occupied Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.”
The EU “must confess we have adopted too naïve an attitude toward Russia and based our expectations on…erroneous ideas,” Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin tells the European Parliament.
“We should have listened to our Baltic and Polish friends who lived under Soviet rule.”
Pressure on Olaf Scholz increases by the hour: German opposition announces motion next week demanding more weapon supplies to [Ukraine] (which risks to attract support from coalition partners).
Meanwhile, U.S. picks apart Scholz’s argument that he has to wait for allies to do more.
Financial Times: US, allies discuss providing Ukraine with fighter aircraft.
The U.S. and its allies have been discussing Ukraine’s longer-term needs, such as air defenses, the Financial Times reported, citing an anonymous senior U.S. defense official.
They are also discussing whether to provide Ukraine with fighter aircraft in the “medium to longer-term” perspective.
Official: Ukrainian forces have liberated over 300 settlements in Kharkiv Oblast since Sept. 6.
Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on Sept. 13 that 3,800 square kilometers of Kharkiv Oblast had been liberated during Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive.
“More than 150,000 of our people have been liberated from (Russian) occupation, during which they were, in fact, hostages,” Maliar said.
As the Kremlin claims not to be considering nationwide mobilization, multiple experts and pundits on state TV admit that it is needed, but would be next to impossible to implement. Here is one example:…
“This is what the #TruthSocial office looked like in Sarasota, Fl. on Wed. afternoon. There was no one inside the social media company’s headquarters, no receptionist, no business sign, no sign of CEO Devin Nunes, nothing with Trump’s name anywhere in the building.”
Photo at the Twitter link.
Democrat Mary Peltola beats Sarah Palin in Alaska special election
Since we’ve started a new chapter, here again is the link to today’s Guardian (support them if you can!) Ukraine liveblog. From there:
SC: I think that the morbidity numbers for Russian business leaders must be frightening. Between suicides and unexplained deaths and long illnesses, these people would be horrible insurance risks.
The oligarchs of Russia wanted stability. Putin gave them that. Now, they have the proverbial tiger by the tail. They have to acquiesce to whatever Putin decides to do to recreate the empire myth that exists in his (and other Russian nationalists’) minds or bad things happen. Not to Putin, of course.
DB/Yahoo! – “Trump Lawyer Alina Habba Leans Into New Defense: Staged Pic of Documents”:
Comically stupid.
Staged to influence public opinion. But the photo was only released because Trump and his ~lawyers put the DOJ in a position in which they had to show the photo as part of the argument as to why a special master is not needed.
Here is a progress report on the Kherson offensive from the WSJ.
The tl:dr version.
It is going OK but not well.
Ukraine is advancing slowly but taking heavy casualties.
The Russian army, usually portrayed as a bunch of drunken orcs, seems to be fighting effectively.
I’m not there (obviously) but it would be nice if there was another way to do this then a frontal assault against well armed, dug in Russian soldiers.
Moscow Times – “Six Months of War: What Putin Wanted; What Putin Got.”
Here is an article by the German Foreign Minister about how to deal with Russia.
It is obvious that everything changed when Russia invaded Ukraine. We are now in a new Cold War, Cold only if we are lucky.
The tl’dr version.
.1. Support Ukraine.
.2. Invest in national defense.
.3. Invest in partnerships with other nations in eastern Europe and the Third World.
.4. Support progressive elements in Russia. They exist. Right now they are just keeping their heads down and hoping not to get thrown out of windows.
“On 24 February, the Russian war changed our world. There will be no way back. But there is a clear way forward, which we must take with determination, prudence and solidarity.”
We are in a new Cold War with Russia and might as well settle in for the long haul.
Putin wants to recreate the USSR. Because it worked so well.
So we get Gulags, frequent murders of Russian citizens who get in the way, and…a new Cold War, complete with thousand of nuclear weapons.
Politico – “The shit-posting, Twitter-trolling, dog-deploying social media army taking on Putin one meme at a time”: “The North Atlantic Fellas Organization is fighting the Kremlin’s propaganda machine — and winning….”
I wish I had several thousand disposable dollars to send to sign my rocket. It isn’t often that you can be an agent of karma, but an American sending Russia bombs, inscribed from some German people they ‘disappeared’ in Ukraine and Crimea over 100 years ago, would be apropos.
A new, and very funny explanation from Trump’s lawyers:
Link
Link
https://twitter.com/JeepersMedia/status/1565193957151309825
Selection of photos available at the link. Really an astounding array of junk scattered all over the place, with Trump proudly presiding over the entire mess.
From the linked article in 13:
But I thought that Trump had magically declassified all documents the picosecond they left the Oval Office with his magic ego. Why would the special master need a security clearance IF HE DECCLASSIFIED THEM? They can’t even keep track of their own lies!
And I love this cartoon. Trump’s President’s Day sale. Heh.
Wonkette: “Go Home, Dumbf*ck Trump Lawyers, You’re Drunk. Wait, You Did This Sober?”
https://www.wonkette.com/-2657987981
Yet another young unarmed Black man shot dead in his bed at home by a white cop (Donovan Lewis of Columbus, Ohio, this time) – does this even count as news any more?
Ukraine update: Ukraine reinforced entire front, not just Kherson
Guardian liveblog:
Quoted in Lynna’s #18:
It’s one of the most disturbing aspects of this panic to me – just what is sexual about this?
NBC – “Oath Keepers lawyer Kellye SoRelle charged in Jan. 6 conspiracy case”:
“Putin’s propagandists on state TV casually discuss terrorist acts against Americans and murdering liberal opposition, all of whom they suspect of working with Western intelligence agencies. They openly advocate murdering Ilya Ponomarev, who lives in Kyiv….”
Subtitled video at the Twitter link.
NBC – “FBI, Homeland Security search alleged properties of Russian oligarch in New York and Florida”:
LOL:
Subtitled video at the Twitter link. Fun comments.
Eric Hananoki, MMFA:
“Ginni Thomas urged Wisconsin legislators, along with Arizona legislators, to overturn those states’ 2020 presidential vote. The new revelations make it even more problematic that Justice Thomas failed to recuse from cases involving the 2020 election.”
WaPo link at the Twitter link.
More on the GOP War on Women.
Their is a voter referendum to keep abortion legal for the ballot next election.
They got 750,000 signatures, more than enough.
A state board refused to allow it for no real reason.
They didn’t like the font. Which should be irrelevant since I’m sure it will be reset for the actual ballot.
It may be overturned by the courts.
The GOP always says they are for states rights until the states want to claim rights they don’t like. The GOP wouldn’t exist without hypocrisy.
Ron Filipkowski:
Video at the Twitter link.
Thomas Webster, a January 6th insurrectionist and former NYC cop who attacked cops and then lied about it in court, just received a 10-year sentence, the longest yet.
SC @22, “just what is sexual about this?”
It is obviously sexual to Dennis Prager, which says more about him than it does about story hour at the library.
Trump says he knows why the FBI really searched Mar-a-Lago: They were looking for Hillary’s emails
https://www.wonkette.com/-2657998710
Quoted in Lynna’s #33::
I like it. Maybe -a-Lago can replace -gate as the scandal suffix…
Quoted in Lynna’s #34:
Thank you! I was thinking about mentioning it above, but I didn’t want to listen to it again and thought it could be due to the audio (even though it sounded like it was him slurring).
“NEW: @January6thCmte has requested information from Newt Gingrich.”
Gingrich.
On tonight (& every Friday), 5 pm Adelaide Rundle Mall near the Steel Pigeon Sculpture and Gawler Place intersection. Adelaide Refugee Vigil. Details from their fb page :
Give Us Transparency! Well, except when we want it kept secret. From Newsweek (via a Microsoft feed)
From CNN:
So when do Democratic politicians get to start demanding apologies from GOPers for calling Democrats, and Democratic voters, communists, NAZIs, socialists, and every other thing under the sun? After all, the semi-fascist line was, if anything, an understatement, but all of the things the right slings at the middle-of-the-road Democrats is either a lie or a gross distortion of a tiny glimmer of reality?
From Insight:
Or, from Washington Monthly :
Which political party does that sound like? Which news network does that sound like?
@39,
“controlled mass media”
On that note, I don’t think enough is talked about the recent takeover of CNN by Warner Bros Discovery and its MAGA owners. They quickly got rid of Brian Stelter, Erin Burnett hasn’t been seen for weeks, and John Bolton is now giving expert commentary to a Brianna Keilor who increasingly sounds like that Bartiromo lady after the third glass of gin. And don’t get me started on Tapper. Which leaves what, ?MSNBC for the occasional balanced reporting for 300 million people. This is a big problem, as anyone who has ever lived in Australia could attest to. For all intents and purposes CNN seems to be cactus, no matter how many crosses to Clarissa Ward with open blonde hair on the streets of Kabul you do.
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian Ukraine liveblog. From there:
Guardian – “‘Last-chance saloon’: race to wreck the Amazon as prospect of Bolsonaro defeat looms”:
(via Twitter)
Press conference from Tucumán, Argentina just before.
No new developments so far, according to the local Health Minister.
Death toll still 3.
They are double-confirming the Negatives from Tucumán.
This is bad news. It’s obviously not something as easily detected as Legionella. Even a Covid that has mutated out of PCR detectability is imo very unlikely. Thrombocytopenia was reported, so something possibly hemorrhagic. This won’t be good news, whatever it turns out to be. The hospital is reported to have been locked down now, which feels a tad late.
Re rorschach’s #43 – DW – “Mysterious disease claims third victim in Argentina”:
Election Law Blog
“Trump Allies Back Mass Challenge to Voter Eligibility in Georgia”
RICK HASEN / September 1, 2022
Bloomberg:
KREM2 (AP) – “Trump search inventory released, reveals new details on documents”:
Followup to SC @46 and Oggie @47, yes, it is very disturbing to find out that an alarmingly large number of folders with “Classified Banners” were found EMPTY!
A list compiled by Steve Benen:
New York Times:
Commentary:
Link
Trump is now eyeing more than just pardons for Jan. 6 rioters
Donald Trump now wants to give pardons, apologies, and money to political radicals who launched an insurrectionist attack on his own country’s Capitol.
Melania Had To Get New Underpants
https://www.wonkette.com/-2658013764
Guardian liveblog:
War assessments:
Guardian liveblog –
War On the Rocks – “Into the Breach: Ukraine’s Counter-Offensive Begins”:
Meduza – “The fog of war: Military analyst Rob Lee on Ukraine’s push to liberate Kherson and Russia’s manpower problem”:
Quoted in Lynna’s #51:
JFC, CNN.
From the Guardian US liveblog:
(I mean, it’s obviously all political; it’s not – or shouldn’t be – partisan.)
John Harwood:
He was one of the best they had. What a shitshow.
Guardian liveblog:
SC @56,
“JFC, CNN.”
“today’s my last day at CNN”
Holy shit, they are leaving the sinking ship fast. Like I said, this does not get enough attention, the iconic American news channel is being broken up and will be turned into a Fox News Lite. Don Lemon will be next, because why would he stay for all this false balance shit.
Hollywood Reporter – “CNN Parts Ways With White House Correspondent John Harwood”:
rorschach @ #58, Lynna and I posted about it in the previous chapter of the thread (#s 152 and 235).
.
This sentence is absolutely idiotic. Crimes of treason are not politically insensitive, nor should the possibility of a political campaign affect the indictment and conviction for treason and espionage.
Firing squads vs electric chairs are what news organizations should be putting out there, rather than claiming impartiality while they give fascists miles of rope.
Guardian US liveblog:
Ukraine update: Some parts of Kherson counteroffensive are coming into focus
Barr defends DOJ in Trump investigation: ‘They probably have pretty good evidence’
As Biden warned about democracy’s collapse, TV networks aired reruns.
Washington Post link
While broadcasters typically air a prime-time address by the president, they determined that this speech was more ‘political’ than newsworthy for live coverage.
I did think Biden’s talking about the laws that have been passed had no place in those remarks. It was both default partisan (since very few Republicans voted for them) and totally irrelevant to the title/rest of the speech.
Good new episode of QAA – “Episode 201: A Death on W Street feat Andy Kroll”:
I don’t agree with all of the analysis at the end, though it’s all worthy of discussion. Here’s the organization Kroll mentions – Law for Truth.
From Rawstory:
So. Unreported gifts, some from foreign sources, and some with monetary value, in Trump’s Mar-A-Lago storage areas? For a public employee (and the President is a public employee), that is unethical at the least, possibly criminal. Nothing compared to all of the empty classification folders, but still . . .
From Historian Nancy MacLean, part of an article at RawStory:
<
blockquote>My overall response is that this was the most important speech of President Joe Biden’s political career, and it was a wake-up call to the nation, and particularly to the mainstream media, in the nick of time. He was absolutely right, in my opinion, that the Trump wing of the party and the MAGA Republicans have jumped the rails of constitutional democracy, of the factual universe and of representative democracy. You cannot have a democracy in which one party does not accept the legitimacy of the other party’s candidates, elected officials and the outcomes of elections. But that is where we have come with Donald Trump and the MAGA faction since they first questioned the legitimacy of President Obama’s election and denied that he had been born in America. That was the start of all that has ensued since. And it’s really important that President Biden called that out for the nation.<.blockquote>
The whole article is pretty damn good. Trump and his MAGA terrorists are an existential threat to the democracy of the United States. And, thus, an existential threat to the world.
Bolding is mine.
This shit bears repeating. This is from a different article, also at Rawstory :
Every fucking time any Republican tries to defend Trump, or deflect, or soft-pedal, the one asking the questions needs to ask “Why. Are. There. Empty. Folders?” Loudly. Emphatically. They also need to ask why Trump and his lawyers did not want this list released. Loudly. Emphatically.
Second launch attempt for the new Artemis SLS rcket happening in 2 hours 51 minutes from now. Viewing on youtube here as one of many Safly that’s going tobe about 3 a.m. my time and much as I struggle to sleep and stay up late and much as its Sunday tomorow here, I’m going to struggle to make..
See also :
https://www.space.com/nasa-artemis-1-mission-exploration-beyond-earths-orbit
Whilst this rocket size comparison featuring the SLS-Artemis at the 2 min 15 seconds mark or so is also pretty impressive i reckon.
@70. Oggie: Mathom :Truth.
Quoting for it. Yes!
Trigger Alert!!!
This article about the disappeared of Ukraine is a nightmare just to read.
I can’t even imagine what it is like to be the people who actually live it.
This “thousands of disappeared” is off by three orders of magnitude.
The number of Ukrainians deported to Russia at last report was 2.8 million people, 400,000 of them children.
It is the same story. These Ukrainians are being sent to the outback of Russia, the far north and far Siberia, and left to fend for themselves in a strange land with no resources.
NBC News:
USA Today:
Artemis a.k.a. SLS 1 launch now scrubbed.
Sigh. Frustrating but better they get it right than blow it up.
See youtube clip noted in # 71 (first link) & here :
Source : https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/2022/09/03/artemis-i-launch-attempt-scrubbed/
ABC News:
Followup to SC @56 and 59. Also a followup to PZ’s main-page post Turn Off CNN.
Josh Marshall:
A guest on MSNBC compared the rightwing’s working-of-the-refs to Victor Orban’s successful campaign in Hungary. He made the media a tool of his authoritarian regime.
StevoR @76, that was disappointing news, but as you said, “better they get it right than blow it up.”
Behind a neofascist façade, Patriot Front is really just another ‘white nationalist pyramid scheme’
“Warriors” who long to be told what to eat, what to buy, who to hate, and what to do on a daily basis.
This is the same as my old friend who was a slave laborer in a Russian prison camp.
His crime was being young, fit, and…not a Russian, one of the far northern people.
He was never charged with anything.
He never had a trial.
They just picked him up and took him away.
He escaped and managed to run the border.
Who knows what happened to the rest of the slave laborers.
Ukraine update: A closer look at Ukraine’s bridgehead across the Inhulets River
Link
More commentary:
Link
So I went out to the grocery store this morning. The store I was heading for has a special, ending today, on black angus London broil two packs. $2.99 a pound. One package is six meals for wife and I. So I got into my car and drove right into a traffic jam.
My first clue that something was up was a vacant lot that was filled with Trump banners and other paraphernalia for sale. Lots of traitors staffing the sales location or buying the stuff supporting the traitor. And I ended up right behind a giant FIAT truck, covered with Trump stickers, with five pro-treason flags flying from flagpoles in the bed. Okay, it was actually a RAM truck, but that is FIAT, right? And he was going between 1mph and 15mph, flooring it to belch black smoke and then slamming on the brakes. There were dozens of them cruising back and forth from Wegmans to the mall, all doing the same idiocy.
The parking lot at the arena is filled with supporters of treason who, apparently, started camping there yesterday morning. Lots of tents. Lots of pro-treason merchandise for sale. I didn’t get close enough to see if they were selling top secret documents, but it wouldn’t surprise me. Banners calling Biden a communist, a pedophile groomer, gay, un-American, an anti-gun terrorist, a Muslim, etc. They are also appropriating LGBT, with banners showing the statue of liberty, a gun, a beer, and trump. Assholes. And it was a good cross-section of America: all older, all white, mostly men.
Considering the way that the right likes to sheepdip their opponents so they can do it with impunity, it really makes me wonder just what the right is doing beyond what we know.
And I just heard someone come up onto my porch. I figured it was the post, so I walked over, opened the door, and discovered a legal-size paper taped to my door. And the paper said: “Trump! Time to Save America!” and a bunch of other shit.
So I yelled at the two guys taping one to my neighbor’s house (a nice couple from Puebla whose daughter is the first person in the family to graduate from college with an honours degree in forensic accounting) and told them to take this shit with them and not to enter my property again. They accepted the pieces of torn poster that I handed to them and played my card: “I’m a veteran, disabled. Retired ranger*. I have held security clearances at multiple levels. Trump is at the very least a criminal, at worst, a traitor. Now get off my property. And do not come back.”
They took their trash and went on down the block posting their shit.
I kinda lied by omission. I was a National Park Ranger, not an Army Ranger, but I really enjoyed the look in their eyes.
I will be so glad when the criminal/traitor and his entourage of sycophants and enablers and fascist fellow-travelers are gone. I fucking detest circuses.
Azerbaijan plans to double its natural gas pipeline capacity to Europe.
Undoubtedly seeing a business opportunity here.
No one trusts Russia to be an energy supplier any more.
As the German leadership said, cheap Russian gas isn’t cheap. You pay for it with your national freedom and national security.
“If the parties resolve this issue, the Russian gas transportation system will suddenly face a severe shortage of gas, since practically most of the volumes going through the southern corridor of this system are of Central Asian origin.”
I didn’t know this. Apparently, most of the natural gas going through the southern Russian pipelines isn’t…Russian gas. It is from Central Asia.
I’m sure Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan etc. are waching the Ukraine invasion closely. If Ukraine falls, they are next.
Oggie 284: “he was going between 1mph and 15mph, flooring it to belch black smoke and then slamming on the brakes.” Not just pro-treason then, but also pro pollution.
@83
Both-siderism works for the corporate-controlled press. The right wing threatens their ability to report on what they want while the left endangers their ability to make a profit off of it. Therefore, it’s in their best interests to condemn both without actually examining the goals and intentions of Marxism versus those of fascism or capitalism; a examination that socialism/communism would handily win. But no, it’s all “Holocaust BAAAAD! Holodormor BAAAAD! Therefore left and right SAAAAME!”
The only way the truth is ever going to reported on is if we can find a way to sever the profit-motive from journalism.
Two inspectors from international nuclear agency to remain at Ukrainian nuclear plant
Link
Lynna @88:
Not to mention breaking the law in every state. De-tuning a diesel engine in order to produce (a) more power and/or (b) more smoke and particulate matter and/or better fuel mileage (slightly) may be a violation of federal law. If the emissions fluids, particle filter, or other parts and processes are altered or removed, the EPA fine is $2500.00. But they don’t care. They’re older white men, so the laws don’t apply to them. Or their hero.
Are all of Trump’s lawyers idiots?
<
blockquote>(Bloomberg) — Donald Trump’s lawyers failed to meet a key filing deadline in his effort to stop the US from being removed as a defendant in a lawsuit in which the former president accused Hillary Clinton and various officials of conspiring against him during the Russia probe.
Former US President Donald Trump speaks during the America First Policy Institute’s America First Agenda Summit in Washington, D.C., US, on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. Trumps remarks come on the heels of a House hearing that portrayed him standing by indifferently, even vindictively, for hours as a mob of his supporters battled police and chased lawmakers through the halls of the Capitol.
Former US President Donald Trump speaks during the America First Policy Institute’s America First Agenda Summit in Washington, D.C., US, on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. Trumps remarks come on the heels of a House hearing that portrayed him standing by indifferently, even vindictively, for hours as a mob of his supporters battled police and chased lawmakers through the halls of the Capitol.
US District Judge Donald Middlebrooks on Friday said Trump failed to respond by Sept. 1 to a motion to dismiss filed by the US government, which is one of many defendants in the suit filed under a civil racketeering law.
Middleton, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, granted Trump an extension to Sept. 6, but had a warning for the former president.
<
blockquote>
Well, apparently, I am an idiot when it comes to HTML.
From Business Insider:
In the California Desert, L.G.B.T.Q. Voters Could Sway a Key House Race
Stephanie Lai / September 3, 2022
@ 93
I don’t think there is any component attorney who’d tell him he stands even a snowball’s chance on the day side of Mercury of getting out of this mess. He wants lawyers who will tell him what wants to hear and the only place he can find those are among his cult.
@ 88
Remember, these clods don’t believe that excess carbon or even basic air pollution is dangerous. It’s only those limp-wristed, tree-hugging commies who think that. Therefore, they’re going to show us where we can stick our unnecessary and “tyrannical” environmental regulations by openly polluting; rolling coal doesn’t really hurt anyone but it offends the unamerican tofu-eaters. Take that shit-libs, consider yourself “owned.”
Akira:
Oh, I know why the coal-rollers are doing it. I just think it amusing that the ones who are all-fired law-and-order neo-Nazis are breaking the law. Which makes them, what, criminals?
Oggie@98 Ah, but they have a very elastic understanding of what the law is. Anything they do is acceptable, no matter what is written in legal statutes because they serve a higher level of authority: their own wishes and desires. This is the lesson taught by the Orange Racoon and why he has so many followers.
Ukraine update: One of the oldest, ugliest weapons is still shaping much of what happens in this war
More updates from Ukraine:
Letter to the local paper: Dear MAGAs
Link
Michael McFaul:
Under pressure, security firm Cloudflare drops Kiwi Farms website
Company’s CEO says the firm had detected imminent threats and that law enforcement could not keep up with them.
AP News
GOP escalates fight against citizen-led ballot initiatives
By DAVID A. LIEB / September 3, 2022
There is a new report out on how Covid-19 virus has harmed the US and its ecooomy.
Highlights.
.1. 16 million people have long Covid syndrome.
.2. 2 to 4 million of those are affected severely enough to be not working.
.3. The annual cost in lost wages (and the missing taxes paid on those wages) is $170 billion.
This contributes a lot to our labor shortages and low unemployment today.
Barack Obama just won the Emmy that has forever eluded Trump. Cue social media meltdown.
Trump hangs his black, narcissistic heart, (and his rabid squirrel mind), out there for all to see. So obvious.
Link
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian (support them if you can!) Ukraine liveblog. From there:
[LOL, the official is Stremousov.]
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian UK liveblog. From there:
Also in the Guardian:
“Chile votes overwhelmingly to reject new, progressive constitution”:
“Canada stabbings: police say 10 killed and 15 hurt in Saskatchewan”:
As you can imagine the Saskatchewan stabbing murders have already brought out the “If they only had guns!” crowd. They of course ignore that people in a rural area are more likely to have guns around, and that if the killers had been armed with guns the death toll would likely be higher. The first stabbing seem have happened around 5 AM, when most people would still have been asleep, especially on a holiday Sunday. But I guess the Magic Powah of Gunz would have woken the victims up in time to use them.
I’ve also seen a chud on Twitter claim it was an antifa attack. I’m sure he’s not the only one.
Guardian liveblog:
One of the photos they just posted is captioned:
You can see the wound on the little cat’s leg.
New podcast episodes:
The Bunker – “Requiem for a Slob Clown with James O’Brien”:
Oh god, what now? – “End of an Error”:
Geoff Brumfiel, NPR:
Shashank Joshi quoting the Guardian on Ivan Safronov, the journalist who was just sentenced to 22 years in a penal colony:
@ 116
Yeah, “mysteriously.”
BBC – “Donald Trump: What we learned from his rally in Pennsylvania”:
Kyiv Post – “Trump Slammed for Praising Dictators Putin and Xi Jinping”:
My wife sent me an email with a link to this video from CNN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDWaa3NshyM . (I hope the link works, I don’t know how to do links here.)
I know CNN is in the tank, but this piece is very good, I think, It’s about a town’s library in Idaho, and hoo boy, it’s frightening. Here’s what I wrote back to my wife, and, yeah, I could have just said it to her, but it just came out of my fingers. I wanted to share my thoughts with more than just her because my actions are limited, so here you go:
‘I kept dwelling in my mind last night on that Idaho library video. We are in such deep shit because of the consequences of the insane things the Supreme Court has ‘decided’ in the past decade or so. Guns for everybody is one of the big ones. If those folks who spoke at those meetings had been unarmed, they would simply have been laughed at and dismissed. But, because everyone knows that even if they didn’t have guns with them, they could have guns with them, perfectly legally, and no one could even say anything against it, let alone do something, until one of the guns was used to kill someone, or at least that a clear and open threat was made, that right there destroys democracy by putting power into the hands of those who might be willing to use violence, even if they never do. Intimidation is what works for them, and they know it, even if they are simple-minded in most other ways. Their threats are carefully made to avoid legal trouble for them while still being clear. They don’t show up to meetings where their intimidation can be clearly recorded on video. It’s the cunning — and cowardess — of bullies, and the Supreme Court is stacked with bullies.
I read a lot of the comments on that library video, and it seemed that no one really grasped the larger issue that I just wrote about. They were mostly either laughing at the stupidity of what the nuts were saying, or praising those who were working against them. But, as long as these folks can openly carry military weapons into public meetings, especially when even their opponents believe that they have some almost religious right to do so (again, because of the ridiculous rulings of the Supreme Court), the bullies will just keep on winning.’
Guardian liveblog:
Guardian liveblog:
Link
A far-right company took over four Texas school boards, and hate is at the top of their agenda
Judge grants Trump’s request to appoint special master to review Mar-a-Lago documents
Followup to comment 125.
Neal Katyal:
A key concept in Graeber and Wengrow’s The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity is schismogenesis – the tendency of a group or culture to develop and define its identity in contrast to another group or culture, articulating and emphasizing distinctions and differences between them. Reading in US colonial/revolutionary history recently I noticed – but frustratingly can’t find now – early negative references to Russia in political contexts. It would be really interesting to study how a desire to define ourselves against Russia, or in some cases to reject this opposition, has shaped the US over the centuries and vice versa. If anyone knows of a book or article or whatever on the subject, please let me know!
If she had said that, it would certainly have been memorable! I’m guessing it was a Grauniad typo – that item now says 2024!
Guardian liveblog:
KG @ #128, yes, I meant to note that and then forgot!
Guardian liveblog:
News:
@ #125
This isn’t surprising from this judge, who was appointed after Trump had already lost the election and is among the worst of all his terrible judicial appointments. It wouldn’t have been surprising if she had said return everything to Trump, it’s all his, and shut down the inquiry entirely.
Guardian – “The super-rich ‘preppers’ planning to save themselves from the apocalypse”:
Be careful what you whish for:
Elon Musk told Trump to sail into the sunset, now the former President tells supporters it’s time to get rid of electric cars in Pennsylvania rally rant
Remember, folks. One of the things that Trump trumpeted during the 2016 election was that his business experience was that he knew how to find and hire the absolute best people:
Trump and his lawyer are trying to completely rewrite Presidential Executive Privilege. Of course, that requires throwing out almost all precedents regarding said PEP.
His definition of ‘the absolute best’ is slightly at odds with reality.
More evidence that conservatives do not grok sarcasm or comedy.
Lori Lightfoot doubts Gov. Abbott’s faith as migrant buses arrive in Chicago: ‘He professes to be a Christian’
It’s a surprise/delight to see GOP politicians called out on their god-bothering hypocrisy, but look at the venue: this was reported on FauxNews.
True narcissism on display:
This was a rally for the (incredibly laughable) candidates, but it, as always, revolved around how great Trump is and how persecuted Trump is.
@ 139
Meanwhile, Christianity’s 2000 year history of cruelty, tyranny, and death makes Abbott’s antics look downright secular.
This is from Wife:
“Maybe Trump was saving all those documents for his library. After all, prisons do have libraries, right?”
Foo Fighters: Girl, 12, drums at Taylor Hawkins memorial gig
Say her name: Nandi Bushell
“Executive privilege” doesn’t apply because Trump is no longer the chief executive. I’m just hoping they won’t have to exercise Rule 34 in this case.
SC @132, well that’s direct, succinct and correct!
Posted by readers of TPM articles about Trump claiming to have declassified all those documents:
Steve Vladeck:
@ #147:
“DOJ can now take to the Eleventh Circuit.”
Where the Chief Judge is a W. Bush appointee, and six of the remaining ten judges are Trump appointees. The 11th Circuit doesn’t fill me with confidence.
It really is OK if you are a Repulican:
First, IOKIYAR is not an actual defense that will stand up in court. B, why the obsession with classified documents on the part of the GOP when that is not the law used to get the search warrant? And, finally, this bozo is on House Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs committees? That makes me feal much safer. Fourth,
yes, you do. If the documents were declassified, they would have all of the declassification markups on them. THIS is the kind of markup a declassified document would have. And it would no longer be in a numbered/coded folder.
Alex Jones just had a massive meltdown. I think this is what one could call a (This is for long-time members of the Pharyngulite grope) Starfart.
Fetterman’s campaign continues to show that they really do get it.
Seriously, Fetterman’s campaign should be a national model on how to deal with right-wingers who have no government or political experience and want to jump to higher office. He and his campaign have been needling Oz with reality.
And the mocking of Fetterman’s recent stroke? Didn’t Oz take any medical ethics classes? He should have, after the first tweet, told his campaign that that is not acceptable. Ever. But he doesn’t care who gets hurt because Oz is, once again, trying to sell snake oil.
I feel like, every time Trump or one of his sycophants or one of his lawyers or damn near anyone in the GOP starts speaking, we need to flash THIS at them. It’s from My Cousin Vinny so you can probably guess what it is.
It would be horrible for any candidate to do, but from a doctor it’s shocking and disturbing.
Updating the Saskatchewan murder spree story, it was announced Monday afternoon that suspect Damien Sanderson was found dead on the James Smith Cree Nation. The wounds that killed him apparently weren’t self inflicted. Myles Sanderson, who is his brother, is still at large.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/suspects-mass-stabbings-weldon-james-smith-saskatchewan-1.6572876
Guardian – “Flash flood watch under way for 80m in eastern US as heatwaves broil west”:
Fellas in Idlib.
This is BIG!
Solar cells are still expensive, but it will be much cheaper to use other tech than silica
Perovskite solar cells are quite cheap, but have so far been unstable and degraded too fast to warrant investments.
https://techxplore.com/news/2022-09-major-stable-high-efficiency-perovskite-solar.html
Linköping University has made a breakthrough.
Link
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian Ukraine liveblog. From there:
Link
The Guardian has a piece about tonight’s episode of Frontline on PBS, a documentary by Michael Kirk – “Enabling a demagogue: a new film traces Republicans’ capitulation to Donald Trump”:
Here’s a teaser for the film, which airs at 9 ET.
Guardian liveblog:
Guardian – “Revealed: jailed Saudi woman was convicted of ‘spreading lies through tweets’”:
New New Abnormal – “Why Trump Refused To Make Giuliani His Secretary of State”:
Just how far out there does someone need to be for TRUMP to see him as a liability?
Guardian liveblog:
Andy Kroll in Rolling Stone – “Pro-MAGA D.C. Cop Secretly Worked to Undermine Seth Rich Investigation”: “A hard-nosed federal prosecutor was determined to figure out who killed the 27-year-old Democratic National Committee staffer. But someone with access to the case file had a different agenda…”
I don’t understand how what he did isn’t a crime.
Here again is the link to the new interview with Kroll at QAA.
Ukraine Update: Russia wants to talk peace again because it is losing
Fox News producer tried to get Jeanine Pirro muzzled for her Big Lie ‘conspiracy’ lies
First time since 1869 a court has disqualified an insurrectionist.
New Mexico county commissioner and Cowboys for Trump founder (Couy Griffin) removed from elected office for role in US Capitol riot
I still can’t believe she was caught doing 119 mph. 119!
Whomever that judge selects as “Special Master” for the documents Trump stole will need to have clearance to handle highly classified documents.
About those Russians trapped against the Dnieper river
Oggie: Mathom @ # 165: Just how far out there does someone need to be for TRUMP to see him as a liability?
Per the Raw Story recap (quoting a Giuliani biographer):
Alas, no clients’ names named.
Apparently, Giuliani’s severe alcoholism – he & wife-at-the-time stayed at Merde-a-Lago for a month at the low point (after losing the ’08 GOP presidential nomination), so it must have been obvious – did not disqualify him by Trump™ standards.
Reginald Selkirk @ # 173: Whomever that judge selects as “Special Master” for the documents Trump stole will need to have clearance to handle highly classified documents.
That person will need to have particular “compartmentalized” clearance for multiple categories: probably the only individual in the world who qualifies is one Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., who may not be available, or acceptable to Trump™ &/or his pet judge.
>
You always want to leave them at least the perception of an escape route. Basic “Art of War” stuff.
Ukraine update: Russian ‘hard points’ are falling in Kherson, Kharkiv, and near Izyum
The FDA has authorized, and the CDC has recommended, a new bivalent version of the coronavirus vaccine for adults.
Link
Followup to comment 180.
Link
Wonkette: “Actual Racist Trolls Real Mad About Fictional Black Elves, Hobbits”
https://www.wonkette.com/-2658150373
Satire from Andy Borowitz:
New Yorker link
Axios:
SC @167:
If it were done by a liberal, it would be a crime. But on the right, no one actually commits crimes. They are serving a higher power.
Oggie @ #185, but he did it in DC. The prosecutors there aren’t rightwing ideologues. He endangered a homicide witness and obstructed justice, for overtly political motives. At the very least, he committed police misconduct. It’s odd to me that he could just quit and avoid any consequences.
California is a mess right now.
A record heat wave and the electricity grid is struggling with rolling blackouts.
That 116 F. is 46.7 degrees C.
It was hotter in Death Valley but not by much at 121 F.
The other difference is that almost no one lives in Death Valley while 2.6 million people live in metro Sacramento.
Whose Nukes Plans Got Stored in the Closet at Mar-A-Lago?
And now we get to watch various news organizations put together videos that feature Trump saying, and posting on Truth Social, that the news about him having nuclear-related material at his trash palace is a “hoax.” Well, Fox News won’t do that, but others will.
Followup to comment 188.
Trump reportedly had documents on nuclear capabilities of a foreign government in Mar-a-Lago hoard
Followup to comments 188 and 189
Excerpt from the Washington Post article:
Threatened Species Day – Sept 7th – in Australia here today :
https://www.wwf.org.au/what-we-do/species/national-threatened-species-day
For which I’ve written :
See :
https://blog.csiro.au/spotted-handfish-the-darlings-of-the-derwent/
Plus
this good little 4 minute clip on the ceramics artist woking to save them here .
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian (support them if you can!) Ukraine liveblog. From there:
Guardian:
“Six Gulf states warn Netflix over content violating ‘Islamic values’”:
“Hong Kong therapists convicted of sedition over children’s books”:
Guardian – “Steve Bannon to be indicted on fresh fraud charges over border wall – sources”:
The gall of this man not only to respond with an anti-Semitic trope but to try to claim the victims of his fraud are the targets of the people prosecuting him for fraud. He’s expected to surrender himself today.
Guardian liveblog:
Francis Scarr, BBC:
Photo and video clip at the (Twitter) link.
Illia Ponomarenko:
Yaroslav Trofimov:
My heart is racing.
META:
I am an historian (retired). I majored in modern military history. I spent my life as a public historian interpreting industrial and labour history. I have never stopped reading in my major. It is so weird (nice technical and specific word, there) to see the same names from World War I, the Stalinist anti-nationalism decimation of Soviet Ukraine, and World War II come up again and again and again. Western Ukraine was a battlefield for four years during the first world war. All of Ukraine, as well as border areas in Russian SSR, were hit especially hard during the anti-‘kulak’ operations, killings and deportations of the 1930s. Eastern Poland (parts of which are now in Byelorussia and Ukraine) suffered severely under the Soviet occupation of 1939 to 41, as the intelligentsia, the educated, the middle and upper class, as well as ethnic Ukrainians. From June of 41 until almost the end of the war, Ukraine, Byelorussia, and Poland were Europe’s killing fields — more Jews were killed in those areas than they rest of Europe combined. The number of Ukrainians who died — in military action, German anti-partisan operations, or Soviet anti-collaboration operations — is still just a guess. Now, to read of war and war-crimes in the same cities and villages and towns is depressing. And jarring.
The names, of course, have changed. Lemburg/Lvov/Lviv; Stalino/Donetsk; Kiev/Kyiv; makes it hard for someone who has studied military operations in that area from the early and mid 20th century to keep track of the town or city.
Fact Check: Could Barack Obama Be Appointed Donald Trump’s Special Master?
Unlikely to happen, but a nice bit of trolling.
I won’t horn in on Lynna’s turf, but I’ll say that the latest Ukraine update at Daily Kos is very good.
Gallup Poll:
U.S. Approval of Interracial Marriage at New High of 94%
BY JUSTIN MCCARTHY
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ninety-four percent of U.S. adults now approve of marriages between Black people and White people …..just 4% approved when Gallup first asked the question in 1958.
SC @201, yes, that update is good!
Ukraine update: A huge day as Ukraine advances in every area
Las Vegas Review-Journal – “Police search county official’s home in connection with reporter’s killing”:
Quoted in tomh’s #202:
Wow. Wow.
portrait of the con artist as a dumpster fire
Illustrated with workmen supposedly hanging Donald Trump’s official presidential portrait. Dumpster fire.
New podcast episodes:
Fever Dreams – “”:
I enjoyed the Bump interview.
Maintenance Phase – “BONUS: Moon Juice Taste Test”:
Sorry – this is the title of the Fever Dreams episode: “Return To Beartaria w/ Phillip Bump.”
Peppa Pig: First same-sex couple for children’s show
Today’s entry in Tony Ortega’s “Today in Q” series: “Can the Dumbocrats stop targeting Q patriots with all of this apocalyptic weather already?”
“Lol, Ukrainian refugee in Sweden:
‘All Swedish flats are the same – same IKEA furniture, same scented candles. It’s like the flats in my childhood’s Soviet Union.
Sweden is like the Soviet Union for rich people’.”
Baskin-Robbins, Nintendo collaborate to create squid-themed ice cream in Japan
Guardian – “‘Deep roots in racist organisations’: Sweden’s PM Magdalena Andersson on the far-right threat in the election”:
More at the link.
New On the Media – “‘Library With A Turret On Top'”:
Michelle Obama digs at Trump: ‘Once our time is up, we move on’
Wonkette: “Catholic League President: Some Of Those Kids Priests Abused Were Full-Grown Adolescents”
https://www.wonkette.com/-2658158736
Oh god. Donohue is still whining?
PZ @217, Donohue is consistent. Consistently offensive and clueless.
In other news, let’s look in on another twisted, sick brain, Senator Ted Cruz.
Link
Oh, FFS.
TX Judge Rules HIV PrEP Insurance Coverage Violates Religious Freedom
in re 219:
I remember, long ago, last century (and (I guess (in the early years of this one), when conservatives milked their flock by screaming, loudly, that anytime a crybaby liberal feels offended, doesn’t like a law or rule, or just wants to hurt real Americans (read that as Christian Americans), they would run to court with a lawsuit, knowing that the justice system was so filled with bleeding heart liberal lawyers who would always rule in favour of the anti-American liberals. And the constant litany of complaints about those evile liberal courts that kept finding new rights and new regulations — legislating from the bench, they called it.
Now, of course, after a thirty- or forty-year campaign to remake the local, state, and federal court system into something resembling the religious courts of Iran (but for Christians, not those horrible brown people), the right has been cherry-picking federal districts for friendly judges, so that they can get whatever ruling they want (even if it gets overturned on appeal, it is still a victory (and can be used for fundraising)). And it gives the radical right judges the chance to do what they claimed the left and centre was doing for decades — legislate from the bench.
Now that the right has a solid majority in SCOTUS, and a majority who ALL LIED to get onto the court, every single thing that progressives have fought for will suddenly be showing up in lawsuits. Teacher led prayer in school? Segregation? Social Security? And these judges will be there, most likely, for the rest of my life. Bleagh.
Oh! Last note on my kidney-thing. I got the pathology back on the mass and YUP, IT WAS CANCER! As I stated earlier, it was entirely confined to the one kidney with no metastasis detected via MIR or visual inspection during surgery, so I’m done.
In the meantime, I’m recovering quite well. I’m still a little sore and it’s hard to bend at the waist, but I’m off opioids and managing my pain with Tylenol. I got in a 3/4 mile hike in at a local nature center on the north side of Waukesha. I took things slow and stopped frequently, but I intended to get in more and improve.
My sister jokingly quipped that I can now call myself a “cancer survivor.” I replied that a lot more people get and (sometimes) survive far worse forms of that malady than I had, so I best not steal their valor.
Akira:
That is scary and wonderful. Wife’s doctors were able to catch hers before it actually became cancer.
She is recovering from her tendon surgery on her foot and ankle. Lots of pain. Saw the doctor today and she got to see the incision. The surgeon cut across the blue Lego she has tattooed on her foot.
Best in recovery.
@ 213
The Libertarian Left: “Far-right parties are a threat to democracy!”
Me: “Then ban them and arrest their leaders.”
Libertarian Left: “We can’t do that! That’s would be anti-democratic! The people have the right to vote in fascists!”
No wonder we’re fucking doomed.
In my 222, “She”, at the beginning of the second paragraph, should actually read “Wife”.
Whoa. (Twitter link.)
This is the song in #225.
Ruslan Trad: “Telegram channels are full of graphic images and video footage of Russian soldiers in Kherson and Eastern Ukraine. For the last few hours, the Russian army has been experiencing serious blows. Entire units have been wiped out.”
Craftswoman Goes Viral Making & Selling Semen Jewelry!!!
“Half of Belgorod is left without electricity after what appears to be a Ukrainian attack on its central electricity distribution station”
Good news from here in Saskatchewan. Myles Sanderson, the suspect in Sunday’s mass stabbing murders, was arrested this afternoon near the town of Rosthern.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/myles-sanderson-suspect-in-sask-stabbing-rampage-arrested-1.6575208
The names of Sanderson’s alleged victims had been released earlier today.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/rcmp-mass-saskatchwan-stabbing-1.6574445
timgueguen @ #230, does anyone (aside from Sanderson) know what the motive was?
“Russian Starshe Eddy: ‘In Balakleya, Ukrainian command completely outplayed our command. Izyum is getting ready for a fight’.”
Rob Lee:
SC@231 we may never know now what his motive was. Myles Sanderson has apparently died of a drug overdose. It’s being reported he swallowed a large quantity of pills just before his arrest.
timgueguen @ #234, thank you for the update. Gosh. I don’t know what to say.
“CON ALTURA @ROSALÍA – En Vivo Movistar Arena Buenos Aires ,Argentina 26/8/22.”
Amazing choreography and dancing.
To add to my comment @234 in a segment on tonight’s edition of The National, CBC’s nightly newscast, it was reported that one of the dead, Earl Burns Sr., was a previous victim of violence by Sanderson. Sanderson stabbed Burns in a 2015 incident, and Burns was Sanderson’s father in law at the time. Burns was a Canadian Army veteran, having served in the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry regiment.
Sanderson died in a Saskatoon hospital after going into medical distress after his arrest. Because he died in RCMP custody an independent investigation will be conducted by the Saskatoon Police Service and the Saskatchewan Incident Response Team.
Update to #204 – Telles has now been arrested on suspicion of murder. He was taken from his house on a stretcher, reportedly with some self-inflicted stab wounds.
This explains why every time I go to the grocery store, prices are higher.
There are also occasional shortages of items with empty shelves.
40% of the US is in drought and just about all food crops have lower harvests.
That is corn, wheat, beef, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, cotton, rice etc..
It is that way all over the world right now, droughts in other countries.
With the ongoing war in Ukraine by Russia, food is going to be limited all over the world this year.
That global warming that isn’t happening is starting to be visible and affecting more and more people.
It appears that LondonBridge is tottering.
The predictions from Grauniad journalists about Truss’s cabinet I cited here turned out to be correct: Kwasi Kwarteng as Chancellor, Suella Braverman as Home Secretary, James Cleverley as Foreign Secretary. All the other significant posts have gone to Truss’s cronies andor hard right ideologues, including climate denialists such as Jacob Rees-Mogg. Today she’s announced a two-year cap on energy prices for households, and temporary dropping of environmental and social levies of around £150/year, which will leave bills at an average around £2500/year – which is still several times what they were at the start of 2022. Businesses are to get a 6-month price cap. This is going to cost around £150bn, which will be borrowed – before the last election, Labour plans to borrow around £28bn were of course denoiunce by the tories and their tame media as disastrous. Measures to increase energy supply include new licences for North Sea oil and gas, and a resumption of fracking – which won’t make the slightest difference this winter or probably next, but will of course add to climate disruption. So the balance of evidence favours Truss being a genuine ideologue herself, but one capable of a swift U-turn (during the leadership campaign she denounced “handouts”) if she thinks it advantageous.
In trivia news, now Johnson is out, the UK has a record six living ex-PMs: Major, Blair, Brown, Cameron, May, Johnson. There have previously been six living people who had ended a period as PM, most recently in 1924-1928, when Baldwin was PM, Macdonald, Lloyd George, Asquith, Balfour and Rosebery were still alive, and Baldwin himself had had a previous term – but never seven living people who were currently or had been PM. Let’s hope an eighth can be added very soon!
Further to #240,
Given the gathering of royals at Balmoral, changes to BBC programming, etc., it seems likely Liz Windsor is expected to pop her clogs very shortly. However, given the amount of “thought and prayers” coming her way, maybe she’ll be leaping buildings at a single bound by tomorrow!
In fact she may already have gone. Personally, I suspect the French! They just couldn’t let her reign longer than Louis XIV!
New malaria vaccine is world-changing, say scientists
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian Ukraine liveblog. From there:
Secretary of State Blinken visited Kyiv and they have a photo of him holding Patron. My immediate reaction was jealousy that he got to hang out with Patron!
Guardian – “‘We have already lost’: far-right Russian bloggers slam military failures”:
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian US liveblog:
CNN and MSNBC are on full deathwatch.
Guardian – “Iran condemns two women to death for ‘corruption’ over LGBTQ+ media links”:
Guardian liveblog:
Guardian liveblog:
“Armed Forces hit pontoon bridges, Russian command center in Kherson Oblast.
The Operational Command ‘South’ also reported on Sept. 8 that they had recently killed 82 Russian troops, as well as destroyed four tanks and an amphibious assault vehicle.”
“Ukraine’s flag is flying again over Balakliya, a town of nearly 30,000 before the war, as Kyiv develops what looks like its most successful offensive since the war began. Russian forces in Izyum increasingly face the risk of being surrounded.”
Photo at the (Twitter) link.
Guardian liveblog:
Courthouse News Service/AP – “Albanian police force open Iranian Embassy after expulsions”:
Ukraine update: Balakliya and Shevchenkove liberated on the incredible drive to Kupyansk
Link
Noah Lanard at MoJo – “Newly Uncovered Emails Show Blake Masters’ Long History of Hating Democracy”:
Much more at the link.
Guardian liveblog:
Illia Ponomarenko in the Kyiv Independent – “Taras Chmut: ‘If you want to help Ukraine’s military, buy communication equipment’”:
“All Phones near Russian held districts of Eastern #Kharkhiv are receiving this text message. Suddenly Sorta useful!”
Translation at the link:
The contemporary equivalent of leaflets dropped from the sky.
Giant squid statue defies critics, pays off 22-fold for Japan town
She has died.
UBC researchers say insulin pill to treat diabetes is one step closer to reality
Evidently having to make Truss PM was just one insult too many!
Someone on MSNBC is saying people are going to be shocked by this news, that even though she was 96 many never imagined this moment would come.
Viral Vietnam noodle seller arrested over Salt Bae parody
Guardian liveblog:
How the ‘man in black’ was exposed by the Russian women he terrorised
“Foreign/Ukrainian unit in action during a recent Ukrainian offensive, during which a large quantity of US-donated materiel is used; from M1151A1 HMMWV (Humvee) with mounted Browning M2 HMG, to M136A1 AT4-CS AT launchers.”
“The Armed Forces of Ukraine are storming one of the positions of the Russian occupiers..”
Video at the (Twitter) links. As others have pointed out, at least one person is a (probably Southern) USian.
As sovereigns go, she could have been much worse.
I heard the news while processing tomatoes. Got fifty pounds of assorted Roma, beefsteak, and heirloom tomatoes. About half of them have been processed into sauce and are now cooking down. Tomorrow I will do the other twenty-five pounds as chunks in light sauce. Our own tomatoes produced an even 12 fruits, so I had to get them at the farmer’s market here in town. Fifty pounds for $36.00.
They just read Biden’s statement regarding the Queens death. Typical pablum. But he did not insert himself into the release. Had it been the orange haired dumpster fire, he wouldn’t have made it all the way through the first sentence before pivoting to either ‘I am great’ or ‘I am so persecuted.’
I accidentally cut off the beginning of the first tweet @ #269: “#Ukraine: Intense footage of a mixed Foreign/Ukrainian unit in action during a recent Ukrainian offensive, during which a large quantity of US-donated materiel is used; from M1151A1 HMMWV (Humvee) with mounted Browning M2 HMG, to M136A1 AT4-CS AT launchers.”
Guardian liveblog:
Tweet o’ the day.
According a leading prosecutor in the former administration, Team Trump’s efforts to politicize federal law enforcement was even worse than we realized.
A federal grand jury is reportedly taking a closer look at Donald Trump’s PAC operation and its dubious fundraising, adding to his list of legal troubles.
DOJ Appeals Cannon’s Order Halting Mar-a-Lago Doc Review
That last sentence sounds like an attempt to put Judge Cannon back in school. Funny that the DOJ has to explain that to Cannon.
Killer Queen
Followup to comment 277.
Posted on Twitter by Jon Cooper.
Other comments posted by readers of the article:
Josh Marshall:
@277 U.S. District Judge Aileen “Loose” Cannon.
Followup to comment 276.
Link
Video is available at the link.
Michael Kofman:
Earlier today someone posted a clip of this video from Kupyansk in the early days of the invasion, suggesting that Ukrainian forces were now about 12 km from the city. I probably posted about it here at the time but had forgotten it was in Kupyansk:
Guardian (March 1) – “Unarmed Ukrainians try to push back Russian troops – video”:
Another person tweeted this morning about civilians in still-occupied towns providing the Ukrainian forces with information about Russian troop locations and movements; I’ve also seen wonderful videos of people in newly liberated towns cheering the Ukrainian troops. If the people trying to stop a Russian military vehicle with their own bodies in that video are any indication, the Russian invaders are facing a brave, determined, and hostile local population in Kupyansk.
I probably posted about it here at the time
Sure enough.
“Black Twitter” and “Irish Twitter” are trending on Twitter.
From the responses: “Disgusting content. Shared, liked and followed.”
“This is so horribly insensitive you all should be ashamed. Liked, followed, shared and I plan to teach the chant to my children.”
I mean…
Vice – “These Brands Are Very Sad About the Passing of the Queen.”
“Zelensky: Armed Forces have liberated over 1,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian land since Sept. 1.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Ukrainian military has already liberated dozens of settlements as part of the ongoing counteroffensive in Kherson and Kharkiv oblasts.“
“Holy shit Irish tiktok doesn’t fuck around”
Good thoughtful extensive article on thethreat wetsern democracies are facing from the authoritarian Pentecostal religious reich wing here :
https://theaimn.com/australians-must-not-ignore-the-religious-rights-global-warnings/amp/?fbclid=IwAR0FSdFMPD-dNtu_VE0Psct3XRSMACTYX-1oTgNPM6brhkBGh_6sutI8W4Q
Nikita Yurefev has guts.</a?
I suspect that Nikita Yurefev and Dmitry Palyuga (as well as the others not named in this article) have just become one of the worst insurance risks on the planet. He needs to make sure that he stays in one story buildings. Or basements. With no windows or balconies.
I apologize for my difficulties with HTML coding. Teh nerve damage from my neck injury and neck surgery, though not as bad as it could be, is still enough to make typing difficult. I’ve got spelcheck for the writing, but it doesn’t help with HTML.
Since her death, Queen Elizabeth will be now officially known in Britain as the “Heyday Monarch”.
Apparently nothing happened yesterday. I tuned in to BBC Radio 4’s 7.00 news bulletin, and the whole thing was about the death of some 96-year-old woman! Nothing at all about the war in Ukraine, the floods in Pakistan, the “cost of living crisis” in the UK, the legal cases over Trump’s theft of documents and Bannon’s of money…
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian (support them if you can!) Ukraine liveblog. From there:
Illia Ponomarenko just tweeted a photo of Ukrainian troops apparently entering Kupyansk.
LOL – Guardian liveblog:
Love to see it:
Twitter link. I’ve further bleeped out the slurs.
“Igor Girkin – Ukrainians will continue advancing aiming to strike approaching Russian reserves during the march. Russians may be forced to abandon Izyum very soon.“
The Moscow Times also has a liveblog. From there:
The Ukrainian army is advancing so fast, it is hard to keep up. Not with the army, but with the news.
They have already reached Kupiansk.
A day ago I had no idea what Kupiansk is but it is deep in formerly Russian occupied territory and near some key strategic objectives including a major railroad hub that the Russians use to supply their soldiers.
It appears that the Russian army has more or less collapsed here.
Reports are that the Russians are trying to reinforce with more troops and weapons.
And, those troops are not well trained or equipped reserves.
Peter Strzok tweeted: “Trump’s lawsuit against me and many others just dismissed. The Court had some things to say….”
There’s a link to the order and a few screenshots at the link. I’m reading it now. I think it’s a valuable historical document in that, in spelling out all of the problems with this attempt by Trump’s lawyers to turn a conspiracy theory into a legal pleading, it illustrates a number of the techniques used by conspiracy theorists.
Further to #283 – Guardian liveblog:
“Independent Russian journalist Dmitry Kolezev is taking legal action against Vladimir Solovyov over multiple remarks made during his TV and radio broadcasts which he says are defamatory
I’ve translated Dmitry’s accompanying letter to Solovyov into English…”
Translation at the (Twitter) link.
Breaking News: Queen still dead.
‘Substantial victory’ for Kyiv acknowledged on Russian TV after Ukrainian breakthrough
That’s not like them. I expected something like “Russia troops accidentally take wrong turn, leave Shevchenkove vacant.”
Larry Madowo:
Video at the (Twitter) link.
Interesting. I used to like Nabisco Heyday bars myself.
“Russian propagandists are having a breakdown on social media accusing different high ranking officers of incompetency.”
IAEA/Rafael Grossi – “Director General’s Statement on Serious Situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant”:
@311: Needs to replace “accident” with “incident”
SC @291, Holy shit, that was great!
In other news: Ukraine update: The battle for Kupyansk has begun
https://twitter.com/irgarner/status/1568224936325713920
Rob Lee:
Good news, as summarized by Steve Benen:
More good news from Michigan:
<
blockquote>[…] a special prosecutor was named yesterday to determine whether Matthew DePerno should face criminal charges as a result of a GOP scheme to undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election. DePerno is currently the Republican nominee in the state attorney general’s race.< […]/blockquote>Detroit Free Press link
HA! This reminds me of all the Russian bots posting on social media that “there is no panic” over the way things are going in Ukraine:
Yep, I agree.
Washington Post link
Regarding my comment #316, we all fuck up the HTML code from time to time.
In other news, Susan Collins fucks up frequently: Susan Collins’ unfortunate response to the classified docs scandal
Trump’s anti-Clinton lawsuit fails badly, could lead to sanctions
Donald Trump filed a dumb case against Hillary Clinton, which failed spectacularly. But the closer one looks at this case, the more unsettling it becomes.
And another Trump lawsuit bites the dust.
Michigan Supreme Court Says Abortion Rights Proposal Must Go On November Ballot
September 08, 2022
ReligionClause
With endorsement of foreign autocrat, Trump proves Biden right
President Biden called out the Republican Party’s radicalized wing that “promotes authoritarian leaders.” Donald Trump just proved him right — again.
Alito’s financial disclosure shows teaching income, speaking engagements, and stock ownership
Amy Howe / Sep 6, 2022
[teaching income and speaking engagements info snipped]
Followup to comment 320.
Francis Scarr:
Video at the (Twitter) link. I hope as many Russian soldiers as possible see this.
Followup to comments 320 and 324.
Posted by Don Lewis:
Posted by readers of the TPM article:
“According to the preliminary reports, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have entered the city of #Izum.”
Lynna @ #326, and it’s not just that they filed a frivolous suit. I’m still not even halfway through, but the judge points specifically to Trump’s lawyers making false representations in their pleading (pp. 6-7):
Julia Davis: “Watch this roundup of clips, featuring panicked Kremlin propagandists on several state TV programs, discussing impressive gains by Ukraine’s Armed Forces in reclaiming control over Ukrainian territory. More in my article”
Video at the (Twitter) link. Amazing suggestion that Russia form an “anti-imperialist front” with…North Korea. Dude, you’re the imperialist aggressors here!
Looks like they’re starting to see the Hague as a possibility for themselves…
SC @328, “the judge points specifically to Trump’s lawyers making false representations in their pleading”
Oh, yes. Good point. Thanks for adding that.
The Judge’s statements would have been so different if Trump’s lawyers had been able to present their case to faux judge, (and Trump sycophant), Aileen Cannon.
U.S. reveals more classified records may be missing in Trump probe
Oh goodie, I am looking forward to the next raid.
U.S. announces $2B in aid for 19 countries ‘at risk for future Russian aggression’
SC @329, “Amazing suggestion that Russia form an “anti-imperialist front” with…North Korea. Dude, you’re the imperialist aggressors here!”
Holy fuck.
In other news: GOP’s McCarthy asks the wrong question about recent U.S. progress
The question isn’t whether the United States is better off now than it was two years ago. The question is why Kevin McCarthy doesn’t know the answer.
I think he probably knows what “better” means, he just thinks he can get away with saying anything, like his Dear Leader. Also, he doesn’t have a fucking leg to stand on, so he decided that making nonsensical arguments was as good a strategy as any. He is spreading disinformation.
“Another top line Russian unit gone.
[From the Ukrainian General Staff:] The 237th Guards Airborne Assault Regiment of the Russian Federation ceased to exist due to the death or injury of all servicemen. A significant part of those who survived are in an extremely difficult condition.”
UN: Disabled people used as human shields by Russia
Gov. Kristi Noem tried to avoid ethics hearing, seal records
Speaking out against Trump:
Link
Federal judge blocks Arizona law restricting filming of police
OPINION: UGA minus God
Link
Exclusive: Georgia probe into Trump examines chaplain’s role in election meddling
Narcissists are more likely to fall for conspiracy theories. Why?
Ukraine update: Izyum, Kupyansk, Lyman all under attack as Ukraine doubles size of liberated area
Republicans to Trump: Pony up more cash in battle for Senate
Ha. Apparently there are some people who do not understand the direction of money flow. The only way Trump would allow money to flow away from him if is he gets to take a percentage.
The offsite power plant supplying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has been disconnected for a long time to come by shelling damage.
The two operating reactors of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant themselves need to be supplied with electricity to operate and cool them down if they get shut off by pumping through a lot of cold water.
This is just physics, the reactors have residual decay heat from the products of the Uranium chain reaction themselves decaying and producing a lot of heat. They need active cooling after shutdown for about a month.
The reactors are now off the grid.
The backup power supply was a nearby thermal (coal burning) power plant that had a line to the cooling pumps. The Russian destroyed that connection by shelling the power plant switching yard.
The only backup left are diesel generators run by diesel. It’s not known if they even exist any more, or if there is enough diesel to run them. The Russians loot everything and may have stolen the generators or used up the diesel .
This is why the Fukushima reactors melted down and exploded. The tidal wave took out the backup diesel generating system.
So what is the strategy here?
It looks like the Russians are trying to destroy the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and blame Ukraine for it.
I don’t have the words to express my contempt for an atrocity like this.
Everyone knows that Ukraine has been advancing rapidly into Russian occupied Ukraine.
The Russians are clearly running away in a hurry, leaving a lot of their gear behind.
They are also leaving…a lot of their soldiers behind.
They are surrendering, which IMO is the smartest thing they can do.
I’d like to see some numbers but probably they don’t have a complete tally yet. The number might still be going up.
Arestovych is a high govenment official in the Ukrainian office of the President.
Cross-posted with another thread:
OK, I thought this might be the case, but it’s a fun video: “Irish Dancers, Cairde, at Buckingham Palace is an Old Video.”
They were dancing to Queen for the queen.
This is fun tennis.
Tweet o’ the day.
Lovely match.
Good informative article here on the hsitory of the British Monarchy and slavery :
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/07/british-royal-family-slavery-reparations.html
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian Ukraine liveblog. From there:
Rob Lee:
Kyiv Independent:
“(Reuters) – Ukrainian officials shared photos on Saturday showing troops raising the nation’s flag over the main railway city that has supplied Russian forces in northeastern Ukraine, as a collapse in Russia’s frontline threatened to turn into a rout”
Kyiv Post: “The #Ukrainian army is reportedly attacking #Lysychansk, #Luhansk Oblast.”
!!!
Guardian liveblog:
Maybe Mexico will pay for it?
I swear there is not enough popcorn in the world. Schadenfreude. Not just for breakfast any more. Donald Trump has this amazing ability to cover his associates with slime.
“Russian military says it decided to pull out of Kupyansk and Izyum to better focus on Donbas. Izyum was the main Russian HQ for ops in northern Donbas, but who cares about little details. Meanwhile, the occupation administration of Vovchansk says Russian forces are leaving it too”
Going across the border to Belgorod.
From Rawstory: I really wonder just how much Hillary Clinton’s tweet (quoted up thread) and what she said about handling classified documents is doing to Trump’s head.
I love the fact that these keep showing up on Fox News. I really wonder if the Fox News viewers just mentally edit it out.>/a>
And of course Barr doesn’t want to see him indicted. Because theft of government property and misuse, theft, and improper storage of classified documents is something every ex-President should be able to do, right?
I love the fact that these keep showing up on Fox News. I really wonder if the Fox News viewers just mentally edit it out.>/a>
And of course Barr doesn’t want to see him indicted. Because theft of government property and misuse, theft, and improper storage of classified documents is something every ex-President should be able to do, right?
Illia Ponomarenko: “Today is one of the greatest days in modern history”
It is clear the Russian army is collapsing right now.
Reports of unknown reliability say that;
.1. The Russians are leaving a lot of ammunition and armored vehicles behind.
You don’t do that unless you are leaving in a hurry.
.2. Some twitter accounts say there are now 3,000 new Russian POWs.
Who knows what is really going on with the Russian army right now?
I’m guessing that it is like the end of the Vietnam war.
“Who wants to be the last American killed for absolutely nothing and no good reason.” We lost and a few dozen more dead soldiers changes nothing.
If the Russians lay down their arms, they go home, open a bottle of vodka, and see what is on TV. If they stay in Ukraine, they get killed, injured, or taken captive. And lose the war anyway. Not much of a choice IMO.
If the Ukrainians lay down their arms, they get genocided and disappear forever.
Sorry for the doublepost.
Ukraine update: Izyum is liberated! Lyman is liberated! Kupyansk is liberated!
Followup to comment 366.
This struck me as such truthful assessment:
“Ukrainian MP close to defense minister has told me that Ukrainian troops are once again fighting in Donetsk airport….
It may well be in the vicinity however and we need to be careful with wether they are middle of it – but yes – exciting”
Guardian liveblog:
Republicans collaborate with Politico to issue thinly veiled threats to Biden administration
“There are Extremely Unconfirmed Reports from within the last few minutes that Ukrainian Forces have managed to capture Donetsk International Airport after Russian Forces retreated and that they are now beginning to advance into the outer areas of Donetsk City.”
Extremely Unconfirmed Reports reminds me of Rodents of Unusual Size.
A Black pastor sues the police who arrested him while watering his neighbors’ flowers
(Childersburg, Alabama)
Alexander Khrebet, Kviv Independent:
Illia Ponomarenko:
Ukraine update: Russia ‘regroups’ out of Kharkiv oblast as invasion tide rolls in reverse
At the Cope-a, Cope-acabana…
Wonkette: “John Roberts Defends SCOTUS’ Legitimacy, Ginni Thomas In Cahoots With 38 Anti-Choice Lobbyist Groups”
Elizabeth Warren:
California congressman Brad Sherman
Rebecca Dixon, Executive Director of the National Employment Law Project:
Lynna @378
Someone made a mistake because if 3.1% wage loss is about $11000 that makes the yearly revenue around $322000 which is not the average worker salary. I assume this should have been $1100.
Not quite sure where I stumbled onto the link to this, but it’s hilarious, The Daily Mail Song (video) by Dan & Dan.
As a reminder (from 2017), Wikipedia bans Daily Mail as ‘unreliable’ source: “Online encyclopaedia editors rule out publisher as a reference citing ‘reputation for poor fact checking and sensationalism’”.
“On state TV, Zakhar Prilepin talks about some of Russia’s miscalculations during its invasion of Ukraine, including the Kremlin’s assumption that it would be welcomed by Ukrainians. Prilepin also tells the audience that they’re constitutionally obligated to support Russia’s wars.”
Video with subtitles at the (Twitter) link. “Turns out…they can counterattack as well.” I think he’s on speed.
MAGA — Making Attorneys Get Attorneys:
Formerly Anti-Abortion Texas Woman Had to Drive 10 Hours to Get One to Save Her Life
It’s nice that her position has improved, but it sounds like a typical case of a conservative who can’t care about people unless it personally happens to her.
I called it up at 293:
How long until we find out they fell out of windows?
I think that one of the reasons Trump is so in love with Putin is that Putin can (so far) do what Trump wants to do to all of his critics.
Kyiv Independent:
To be sure, it was an easy call.
Those seven Russian lawmakers are either very brave or very stupid.
When the war started I read a long post by a young Russian college student woman about why almost no one in Russia was protesting the war.
She said:
1. It won’t do any good.
Russia is a dictatorship run by a small group of oligarchs and ex-KGB agents.
What the people want or think is irrelevant.
2. It could get you killed to protest the war.
Human life is cheap and meaningless in Russia.
You can die any time someone with money or power finds it useful.
The people who oppose the war all end up in the Gulag or dead.
There are progressive groups in Russia. They are mostly the young and educated of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Most of them leave Russia by the millions and never go back because they don’t see any future there.
This is how genocide works.
The Russians deport the native population to Siberia or the arctic.
They then move in Russians to the conquered territories.
These teachers from Russia were in Kupyansk to erase the Ukrainian language and culture and replace it with Russian and Russian culture.
Not going to happen now.
They’ve been arrested by the Ukrainian police.
“Well, the academic year will not end for another 15 years, – wrote Alexey Goncharenko.”
I doubt they will really get 15 years in prison.
Most likely they will be deported as illegal aliens.
No, no! It was a gesture of goodwill!
Sorry, #304->#364 @388.
Kyiv Independent:
Kreminna is right near Severedonetsk and Lysychansk.
Kviv Independent – “Crimean Tatars dream of their homeland’s liberation as Ukraine strikes back in the south”:
Kyiv Independent:
Much of the media is showing little interest in the progress of the Ukrainian counteroffensive while closely following the progress of a coffin in Scotland.
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian Ukraine liveblog. From there:
Guardian liveblog:
“New and new villages liberated today. In some of them locals seeing RU flee, raise UA flag without waiting for #UkrainianArmy to arrive.”
Photos at the (Twitter) link.
“According to this map by the Ru MoD, the RuAF have retreated to behind the Oskil river. This would mean Ukraine just liberated 8370 km2.”
“Chief of Zelensky admin encodes a big thought with a single emoji.
It’s not just a wolf. In Ukrainian a wolf is вовк [vovk]. This tweet is an allusion to the town of Vovchansk in Kharkiv region which got its name for its wolves and which is being reportedly fled from by RU troops”
Yesterday I learned (also from Twitter) that Izyum means raisin, and shortly afterwards Yermak tweeted a grapes emoji. So I assume this basically means Vovchansk is liberated.
Kyiv Post:
Kyiv Independent:
Illia Ponomarenko:
Illia Ponomarenko:
Video at the (Twitter) link. The dog popping out from behind the flag at the end is great, too.
Update to #368:
Jean @379, thank you for pointing that out. Yes, correction as needed.
SC @393, yep. It’s starting to get on my nerves. Well said.
Ukraine Update: Massive Ukrainian victory, Russia leaving all of Kharkiv oblast
There’s also the fact that many Russian soldiers did not want to be there fighting a senseless war.
Excerpted from Ukrainian Officials Drew on U.S. Intelligence to Plan Counteroffensive, a New York Times article.
Darth Putin: “Looking back, I should known it would be disaster as soon as Trump said it was ‘genius move’.”
Lynna… @ # 405: The decision by Ukraine to tout its counteroffensive in the south before striking in the northeast is a standard technique for misdirection used by the American Special Operations troops, who have been training the Ukrainians since the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Much like I, years ago, expected V. Putin to apply his judoka skills to warfare, instead of the coarse massive pounding by artillery which seems to be the only tactic known to the Russian army. I find it a bit surprising that American military teachings go beyond saturation bombing from the air, given US on-the-ground warfighting failures since Vietnam.
Meet Politico’s new maverick publisher, Peter Elon Bezos Yang Musk or whatever
“#Ukrainian official: The #Russian army has left Svatove in #Luhansk Oblast as well as several locations in #Kherson Oblast.”
Oh, FFS. In a way, this is a followup to comment 408.
Really?! CNN held a panel discussion on whether Biden should invite Trump to the queen’s funeral
More commentary:
“Chinese social media has completely turned on Russia, it’s hilarious to read, the jokes are actually funny.”
They really are. Translated screenshots at the Twitter link.
Tweet o’ the day.
“Ukrainian official: #Russia has struck critical infrastructure in #Kharkiv Oblast, causing a power outage and disrupting the water supply.”
“Russia is retaliating against its military defeat in Kharkiv by hitting the power grid across eastern Ukraine, plunging Kharkiv, Dnipro, Poltava and other cities — and millions of civilians — into darkness.”
Andriy Yermak tweeted: “Russia is a terrorist state.”
Update to #260 (Twitter link):
“Zelensky to Russia, tonight…”
Text at the Twitter link.
I haven’t seen the whole thing, but I think the Zelenskyy “Without You” speech is one that will be studied for some time to come. Even the little bit I’ve seen is masterful rhetoric.
“The Armed Forces of Ukraine crossed the Oskil River to complete the liberation of Kharkiv region.
Minister of Defence of Ukraine, Oleksiy Reznikov, thanked the people of Australia in particular for the provision of Bushmaster armoured personnel carriers.”
Video at the (Twitter) link.
Ukraine Update: Pro-Russian sources react to their stunning defeat … and it’s hilarious
Julia Davis:
Video at the (Twitter) link. That is wild.
Well, at the very least, we have discovered where Trump learned to write.
And this also sounds like Trump’s dreams. And propaganda.
Shaun Walker re #421:
Or die mysteriously.
“Yuriy Samoylenko RIP. He defended Shchastia in 2014-2015. Died from severe wounds when liberated Balakliya from the russian evil. He left behind a wife and a kid. Each inch of free Ukraine costs us too dear. Lest we forget. Glory to the Heroes! Photos from Natasya Nagorna”
RIP.
I really have no idea how to react to this. Except by laughing.”
Augustine would also be a top contender. At least for what Christianity became.
I get a little depressed dumping infuriating news, mostly about Putin or Trump right now. So, Here is a bit of positive news, or, at least, positive publicity, for a change.
Oggie @ #426, beavers are amazing! I’m so happy to see so many people appreciating them!
Setting aside the harm to beavers themselves and to the environment, I think the beaver trade has poisoned every culture that’s been involved in it.
More fun tennis tonight!
Wow, congratulations, Alcaraz!
He should speak Spanish, FFS. I have no idea what he’s trying to say.
That was all weird and stupid. Anyway, good job, kid. :)
Interviews with Ukrainian soldiers involved with the counterattack around Kharkiv.
The Russian command and control didn’t work at all.
The Russian soldiers just ran as fast as they could. They left behind everything including huge amounts of armored vehicles of one sort or another.
More on the Russian soldiers fleeing from the Ukrainians.
Ironically, the areas they were occupying seem to be where Russians who are Ukrainian citizens live.
Mariupol was the most pro-Russian city in Ukraine. It didn’t help them at all.
3/4 of the city is either dead or refugees, most being deported to Russia.
Two anti-monarchist protestors have been arrested at events around the proclamation of “Charles III”, one in Edinburgh apparently for holding a placard reading “Fuck Imperialism, Abolish the Monarchy” (there was also reportedly some booing at the proclamation), one in Oxford for asking “Who elected him?”. Truly, the monarchy is the defender of our liberties, unless we actually want to use them!
In other news, it looks as though Sweden may have voted Nazi.
From the linked article @ KG’s #435:
Yes, it is! I couldn’t imagine what their alleged crimes were, and it appears the police struggled to articulate any. The references to Section 5 of the public order act in his case and to “breach of the peace” in hers are laughably pretextual.
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian Ukraine liveblog. Their latest summary:
Hahaha:
Video at the Twitter link. I can’t get over how much these people look like Republicans.
Guardian liveblog:
Um…:
Wow:
Video at the Twitter link. JFC.
Text quoted by SC in comment 421:
Watching that video, I couldn’t help but notice that the pundit is blaming unnamed “others” for giving Putin bad information. He was trying to shift blame away from Putin.
Ukraine Update: What now after Kharkiv?
The top of this update is accompanied by a photo of Ukrainian citizens celebrating with the soldiers that liberated them. Babushkas are included. Great photo.
SC @441:
Ukraine update: Russia suffered a massive defeat, now they’re venting their anger on one small city
Julia Davis:
Subtitled video at the Twitter link.
Trump in DC.
Guardian liveblog:
Energy citizenship: Europe’s communities forging a low-carbon future.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/03/energy-citizenship-europes-communities-forging-a-low-carbon-future
Good news.
Trump backers flood election offices with requests as 2022 vote nears.
Washington Post link
The requests for records related to the 2020 election have complicated preparations for November, which some officials say may be the point.
The BBC has an article with helpful maps of the military situation in Ukraine. From there:
They might be getting a surrender (see #440 above).
Meduza is reporting Putin’s plan for sham “referendums” in occupied Ukraine to “approve” annexation by Putin and his cronies have been postponed (again), ‘There’s no talk of November anymore’ Moscow’s plans to hold ‘referendums’ on annexing Ukrainian territories have been ‘put on hold indefinitely’ (details at the link). Apparently, the latest date was 4th November — Russia’s Unity Day — and chosen by Putin himself.
Guardian liveblog:
CNN:
From my reading of this article, it sounds like Trump’s lawyers are arguing that the Presidential Records Act is null and void, that the classification system for sensitive documents is null and void, and that they Espionage Act, as it relates to US defense information being retained by a private individual, is also null and void. If Trump’s lawyers are actually asserting this, then either their ignorance or their sheer chutzpah is absolutely unprecedented and mind blowing.
Daily Beast – “Man Murdered Wife, Shot Daughter After Being Sucked Down ‘Q Rabbit Hole,’ Family Confirms”:
Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. as the ‘Not My King’ tag grows
Hopefully it goes better than it did in Moscow.
There are family left after that to confirm anything?
Wonkette: “Trump Lawyer Whines To Hannity After Insane Clinton RICO Suit Dismissed For Being Hot Garbage”
@425: I would suggest Paul as someone who possibly did more to shape Christianity than Jesus H. Christ.
https://www.wonkette.com/-2658195732
Herschel Walker:
Keith Boykin:
Kirk Rudell:
Wonkette:
https://www.wonkette.com/-2658195466
Reginald Selkirk @ #456, it’s in the text I quoted from the article!
They’re still going:
https://www.wonkette.com/-2658195466“>Team Trump takes an interest in the ‘Clinton sock drawer case’
Team Trump’s newest court filing referenced the so-called “Clinton sock drawer case,” but not in a way that made any sense.
John Fetterman: “Too bad there’s no miracle cure for being a total fraud…”
Video at the Twitter link.
‘America First’ Conservatives Sure Do Love Their British Monarchy!
https://www.wonkette.com/-2658198965
“Governor of Belgorod region of Russia urges citizens in Zhuravlyovka and Nekhoteyevka villages on the border with Kharkiv region to evacuate”
Map at the Twitter link.
SC @464, yikes. That is a truly damning video. Dr. Oz as the conman.
In other news about weird and inauthentic politicians:
https://www.wonkette.com/the-9-12-project-part-deux
Guardian liveblog:
LOL.
Russia’s pro-war patriarch conspicuously absent in pope’s Kazakh trip
“Ukrainian National Opera ballet dancer Oleksandr Shapoval killed in combat.
Shapoval, ballet soloist and Honored Artist of Ukraine, was killed near Maiorske, Donetsk Oblast on Sept. 12, said Valentyna Samchenko, deputy editor-in-chief of the Ukraina Moloda media outlet.”
Oz: Heart Surgeon to Heartless Huckster. How sad.
Washington Post:
Associated Press:
Justice Dept. Issues 40 Subpoenas in a Week, Expanding Its Jan. 6 Inquiry.
New York Times link
It also seized the phones of two top Trump advisers, a sign of an escalating investigation two months before the midterm elections.
40 subpoenas!!!
From The New York times newsletter:
Oggie @ #472:
It is. He was, according even to the critical accounts I’ve read, a fine heart surgeon. Reading the recent stories, I started to wonder if his previous medical work had been more motivated by his ego and ambition; but the evidence doesn’t seem to support that. It appears more likely that it was his involvement with “alternative medicine” and wooish hucksterism, with their roots in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century ideas about health, that led him to his current attitudes. In this view, health outcomes are the result of individual choices, particularly with regard to consumption; people who are unhealthy are inferior and “deserve” their problems; and health disparities are caused not by structural forces but by individual or group characteristics, weaknesses, and habits. It also fosters a basic antipathy to medical institutions and experts and credulity about anyone who claims to challenge them. It really is a poisonous ideology and the exact opposite of what the data show and basic decency and empathy (not to mention medical ethics) demand. As you (poetically) suggest, it makes its believers heartless.
Seems positive!
Tweet o’ the day.
Emmy speech o’ the day.
Ukraine update: Russia wants out of Kherson, as the reality of their trap finally dawns on them
Kyiv Independent:
Update to #390 – Kyiv Independent:
Rachel Maddow last night (YT links):
“How Trump Loyalists In The DOJ Pushed Prosecutors To Protect ‘Individual-1′”:
“Former U.S. Attorney Details Trump, Barr Efforts To Corrupt DOJ With Political Agenda”:
After the first segment aired, she reported that the Senate Judiciary Committee is opening an investigation into Berman’s allegations.
Jean-Luc Godard has died.
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian (support them if you can!) Ukraine liveblog. From there:
Ukrainian MFA Dmytro Kuleba tweeted: “Disappointing signals from Germany while Ukraine needs Leopards and Marders now — to liberate people and save them from genocide. Not a single rational argument on why these weapons can not be supplied, only abstract fears and excuses. What is Berlin afraid of that Kyiv is not?”
Guardian liveblog:
From yesterday:
Video at the (Twitter) link.
Guardian liveblog:
Don’t know if it’s true, but it’s totally believable.
This is part of the Russian genocide plan.
They sent in “teachers” from Russia to take over the schools and teach the Russian curriculum. It’s indoctrination of children to erase the Ukrainian language and culture.
When the Russians retreated they left a huge amount behind; weapons, ammunition, armored vehicles, personal belongings, and a lot of alive and dead Russian soldiers. They also forgot to collect their teachers. Typical.
The Russians don’t care about their own people.
Russia has already thrown them under the bus.
These so called teachers are all from Russia.
Many of them are there because they are Russian nationalists who think it is their duty to teach the natives the right language and culture.
It’s not clear what will happen to them.
They will probably be tried as civilian criminals and get a few years in prison.
“According to the preliminary reports, the #Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated Bilohorivka in #LuhanskOblast close to #Severodonetsk.”
“Mayor: Explosions heard at Russian military base in Melitopol.
The city’s mayor Ivan Fedorov said that three loud explosions had been heard at around 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 13 at an airfield in Russian-occupied Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.”
DW:
Georgian Legion:
Wonderfully subtitled video at the Twitter link.
Hans von der Burchard (via Guardian liveblog):
Kyiv Independent:
Kyiv Independent:
Julia Davis:
Subtitled video at the (Twitter) link.
I feel like I’m starting to understand Russian.