March 14, 2022

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Burgess Everett of Politico: "Sen. Joe Manchin will oppose Sarah Bloom Raskin's nomination to the Federal Reserve Board, imperiling her already stalled bid to win confirmation. Raskin's nomination is stuck in the Senate Banking Committee amid a GOP boycott of a committee vote on her nomination, effectively blocking her confirmation from advancing to the Senate floor." MB: Raskin is married to Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).

Koch Is Bullish on Russia. Judd Legum of Popular Information: "Koch Industries, the conglomerate run by right-wing billionaire Charles Koch, has numerous ongoing business operations in Russia.... The limited public comments made by Koch subsidiaries operating in Russia indicate that their business activities have continued."

U.K. Sky News: "Police with riot shields have entered a luxury property in central London reportedly owned by billionaire Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, after it was occupied by squatters. Police responded to the scene in Belgrave Square after squatters took over the property on Monday morning. A Ukrainian flag was hung from a window and a banner read 'this property has been liberated'. Mr Deripaska, a 54-year-old industrialist who founded the aluminium giant Rusal, was added to the UK government's sanctions list on 10 March, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The fate of his property portfolio in Britain remains unclear after the government said his assets would be frozen."

The New York Times' live updates of developments Monday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Negotiators from Russia and Ukraine met again on Monday for another round of talks aimed at finding a way out of the war, even as Russian forces broadened their devastating offensive and the Kremlin insisted that it would not pull back until 'all plans' for the invasion are fulfilled. Mykhailo Podolyak, a member of Ukraine's delegation, said Monday afternoon that the talks had taken a 'technical pause,' and would resume on Tuesday.... China dismissed U.S. allegations that Russia had asked it for military equipment and economic support.... Kyiv was hit by heavy artillery strikes on Monday morning, after days of severe fighting in the suburbs."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Putin's War Crimes, Ctd.

The Guardian's live updates of developments Monday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy will virtually address the US Congress on Wednesday, 16 March at 1pm GMT, US Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer and House speaker Nancy Pelosi said.... More than 2,400 civilians have been killed in Mariupol since Russia invaded Ukraine last month, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said today.... Russian forces have damaged a high-voltage line connecting Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant to the power grid, Ukraine's state energy company Ukrenergo said. The head of Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytskiy, said the plant was relying on electricity from diesel generators after external power supplies to the plant were damaged again. The retired nuclear plant lost power early last week but supply was restored on Sunday, AFP reports.... A former Russian foreign minister has joined a call for all sides in the Ukrainian war to return to diplomacy and reduce 'the dramatically elevated risk' of a catastrophic nuclear war, Patrick Wintour reports. The appeal co-authored by Professor Igor Ivanov, the president of the Russian International Affairs Council, may be a sign that some in the Russian foreign policy establishment believe the risks of Russia pursuing a purely military solution to its grievances in Ukraine is a strategic mistake." ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates of developments Monday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Talks are set to resume Monday morning between Kyiv and the Kremlin after a weekend of Russian attacks that raised fears of a widening of the war -- and unrelenting fighting that obstructed efforts to provide relief to besieged Ukrainian cities, including the port city of Mariupol. Ukrainian officials have projected a more optimistic tone for the talks than on previous occasions when negotiations between the two nations have ended without resolution. Ukrainian officials say Russia is 'starting to talk constructively' as their forces put up a fierce resistance -- but its position is firm: It wants an immediate cease-fire and Russian troops gone."

BUT. On the Road to WWIII. Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "A growing number of U.S. lawmakers ratcheted up pressure on President Biden on Sunday to increase military aid to Ukraine, including sending fighter jets and air defense systems that the administration rejected last week. The public calls from both Republicans and Democrats to answer Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's urgent pleas for air assistance come as the Biden administration declined an offer from Poland to deliver MiG-29 airplanes to Ukraine for fear such a move could be interpreted by the Russians as an escalation of the United States' role in the war.... [Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio)] argued that because Putin has already declared other forms of U.S. military aid escalatory, sending planes to Ukraine would not risk intensifying the conflict.... Speaking from near the Poland-Ukraine border on Sunday, Portman said the bombing of the military facility in western Ukraine was close enough to be heard on the Polish side.... Separately, 58 members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus on Sunday again urged the Biden administration to try to facilitate the fighter jet deal with Poland, as well as to provide Ukraine with other air defense systems, including drones and surface-to-air missiles." ~~~

MEANWHILE. Edward Wong & Julian Barnes of the New York Times: "Russia asked China to give it military equipment and support for the war in Ukraine after ... Vladimir V. Putin began a full-scale invasion last month, according to U.S. officials. Russia has also asked China for additional economic assistance, to help counteract the battering its economy has taken from broad sanctions imposed by the United States and European and Asian nations, according to an official. American officials ... declined to discuss any reaction by China to the requests.... Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, is scheduled to meet on Monday in Rome with Yang Jiechi, a member of the Chinese Communist Party's elite Politburo and director of the party's Central Foreign Affairs Commission. Mr. Sullivan intends to warn Mr. Yang about any future Chinese efforts to bolster Russia in its war or undercut Ukraine, the United States and their partners." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Isabelle Khurshudyan, et al., of the Washington Post: "Local officials disappearing, public warnings that protests will be considered 'extremism' and signs of Ukrainian resistance anyway: This is what life looks like inside some Ukrainian cities now under the control of Russian troops, according to new photos and videos from those areas posted to social media.... Russia's advance through some parts of Ukraine may have stalled. But in the cities already captured, there has been popular pushback against what appear to be attempts at installing friendly lawmakers and quashing protests.... If [Vladimir Putin's] plan is to occupy Ukraine, then Ukrainians are showing that there will be significant resistance.... [President] Zelensky said Russian forces had captured the mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, which sparked protests over the weekend.... Then on Sunday, Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, accused Russian forces of abducting Yevhen Matveyev, the mayor of Dniprorudne, a city of about 18,000 people in southeast Ukraine." ~~~

~~~ Isobel Koshiw of the Guardian: "Russian soldiers have shot people dead in the street as they took over Ukrainian villages, according to fleeing residents. Soldiers shot randomly at buildings, threw grenades down roads and went from house to house confiscating phones and laptops, witnesses said." The story relates a number of witness reports of atrocities, like this one: "So all of those houses along the main road from Bordyanka to Makariv were hit and some people died. Then they started to go house by house. They killed a teacher who was outside feeding her chickens."

Mstyslav Chernov of the AP: "A pregnant woman and her baby have died after Russia bombed the maternity hospital where she was meant to give birth, The Associated Press has learned. Images of the woman being rushed to an ambulance on a stretcher had circled the world, epitomizing the horror of an attack on humanity's most innocent. In video and photos shot Wednesday by AP journalists after the attack on the hospital, the woman was seen stroking her bloodied lower abdomen as rescuers rushed her through the rubble in the besieged city of Mariupol, her blanched face mirroring her shock at what had just happened. It was among the most brutal moments so far in Russia's now 19-day-old war on Ukraine." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Apparently, the woman & her new baby were among the "actors" the Russian embassy in London has claimed was a fake bombing. (Here's a Sky News story which reports Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov makes a similar claim.

Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday asked President Biden to broaden America's economic campaign against Russia, telling the U.S. president that more should be done to cut off Russia from international trade, according to two people familiar with the phone call. Zelensky has been grateful and supportive of the economic penalties announced by the Biden administration to date, such as a White House measure announced Friday to end normalized trade relations with Russia. But he also requested that Biden seek to close loopholes in the existing sanctions, significantly broaden the list of sanctioned Russian government officials and restrict Russia's access to international waterways, the people familiar with the matter said."

Michael Schwirtz of the New York Times: "Brent Renaud, an award-winning American filmmaker and journalist, was killed in Ukraine on Sunday while reporting in a suburb of the capital, Kyiv, according to Ukraine's Interior Ministry. Mr. Renaud, 50, had worked for a number of American news and media organizations in the past, including HBO, NBC and The New York Times. The Ukrainian authorities said he was killed in Irpin, a suburb that has been the site of intense shelling by Russian forces in recent days, but the details of his death were not immediately clear. Ukrainian officials said another journalist was wounded as well. At the time of his death Mr. Renaud was on assignment for Time Studios working on a 'project focused on the global refugee crisis,' according to a statement from Time executives." An AP story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

There Are Russian Refugees, Too. Anton Troianovski & Patrick Kingsley of the New York Times: "Tens of thousands of Russians have fled to Istanbul since Russia invaded Ukraine last month, outraged about what they see as a criminal war, worried about conscription or the possibility of a closed Russian border, or concerned that their livelihoods are no longer viable back home.... Tens of thousands more traveled to countries like Armenia, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan which are better known as sources of migration to Russia. At the land border with Latvia -- open only to those with European visas -- travelers reported waits lasting hours.... The descent of Russia into new depths of authoritarianism has many Russians despairing of their future."

More Tucker, Please. David Corn of Mother Jones: "On March 3, as Russian military forces bombed Ukrainian cities as part of Vladimir Putin's illegal invasion of his neighbor, the Kremlin sent out talking points to state-friendly media outlets with a request: Use more Tucker Carlson. 'It is essential to use as much as possible fragments of broadcasts of the popular Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who sharply criticizes the actions of the United States [and] NATO, their negative role in unleashing the conflict in Ukraine, [and] the defiantly provocative behavior from the leadership of the Western countries and NATO towards the Russian Federation and towards President Putin, personally,' advises the 12-page document written in Russian. It sums up Carlson's position: 'Russia is only protecting its interests and security.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Donald Trump Explains Invasion of Ukraine as a Demostration of Putin's Love of Country. Andrew Stanton of Newsweek: "... Donald Trump said there is 'a lot of love' behind ... Vladimir Putin's efforts to make 'his country larger' on Sunday as Russian troops continued to invade Ukraine. Trump discussed the conflict during an appearance on Fox News host Jeanine Pirro's radio show Sunday. He said he believes Putin's ultimate goal is to eventually rebuild the Soviet Union, and he went on to explain what he believes to be Putin's mindset. 'You say, what's the purpose of this? They had a country. You could see it was a country where there was a lot of love and we're doing it because, you know, somebody wants to make his country larger or he wants to put it back the way it was when actually it didn't work very well,' Trump said." Firewalled.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "President Biden promised to unravel the 'moral and national shame' of the immigration policies enacted by ... Donald J. Trump.... [But] the gulf between Mr. Biden's words and his government's legal arguments is testing the patience of some of his supporters, including top Democrats in Congress. They say the administration is not only moving too slowly on promised reforms, but also is far too willing to use -- and defend -- Trump-era policies in the meantime.... The tension has also resonated inside the White House, where senior officials have been anxious that unwinding the Trump-era border restrictions would open the United States to an increase in illegal crossings at the southern border and fuel Republican attacks that Mr. Biden is too lenient on illegal immigration.... Mr. Biden has indeed taken steps to roll back much of his predecessor's agenda on immigration...."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Former president Barack Obama said Sunday he has tested positive for the coronavirus, noting that his symptoms appeared mild so far. 'I just tested positive for COVID,' Obama said on Twitter. 'I've had a scratchy throat for a couple days, but am feeling fine otherwise. Michelle and I are grateful to be vaccinated and boosted, and she has tested negative.... It's a reminder to get vaccinated if you haven't already, even as cases go down.'..."

News Ledes

New York Times: "A gunman has been targeting homeless men sleeping in the streets of Lower Manhattan and Washington and has shot five men, two of them fatally, in recent days, the police in the two cities said on Sunday. The two police departments said in a joint statement that 'similarity in the modus operandi of the perpetrator, common circumstances involved in each shooting, circumstances of the victims and recovered evidence' led them and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to undertake a joint investigation.... The Metropolitan Police Department [D.C.] released a photo taken from a security camera that shows the man being sought in the shootings."

New York Times: "William Hurt, who became a hot Hollywood commodity with his performance as a hapless lawyer in 'Body Heat' in 1981 and within a few years had won the best-actor Oscar for the 1985 film 'Kiss of the Spider Woman,' in which he portrayed a gay man sharing a Brazilian prison cell with a revolutionary, died at his home in Portland, Ore., on Sunday. He was 71."

Marie: Not all the news is sad or bad today. It turns out that quarterback Tom Brady's retirement was remarkably shortlived; he will be back in the fall for the 23rd season in which I have never seen him at work. ~~~

~~~ New York Times: Tom "Brady, the 44-year-old quarterback who has won the Super Bowl seven times, wrote on his social media accounts Sunday evening that he would return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to play his 23rd N.F.L. season."

March 13, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Edward Wong & Julian Barnes of the New York Times: "Russia asked China to give it military equipment and support for the war in Ukraine after ... Vladimir V. Putin began a full-scale invasion last month, according to U.S. officials. Russia has also asked China for additional economic assistance, to help counteract the battering its economy has taken from broad sanctions imposed by the United States and European and Asian nations, according to an official. American officials ... declined to discuss any reaction by China to the requests.... Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, is scheduled to meet on Monday in Rome with Yang Jiechi, a member of the Chinese Communist Party's elite Politburo and director of the party's Central Foreign Affairs Commission. Mr. Sullivan intends to warn Mr. Yang about any future Chinese efforts to bolster Russia in its war or undercut Ukraine, the United States and their partners."

Michael Schwirtz of the New York Times: "Brent Renaud, an award-winning American filmmaker and journalist, was killed in Ukraine on Sunday while reporting in a suburb of the capital, Kyiv, according to Ukraine's Interior Ministry. Mr. Renaud, 50, had worked for a number of American news and media organizations in the past, including HBO, NBC and The New York Times. The Ukrainian authorities said he was killed in Irpin, a suburb that has been the site of intense shelling by Russian forces in recent days, but the details of his death were not immediately clear. Ukrainian officials said another journalist was wounded as well. At the time of his death Mr. Renaud was on assignment for Time Studios working on a 'project focused on the global refugee crisis,' according to a statement from Time executives." An AP story is here.

More Tucker, Please. David Corn of Mother Jones: "On March 3, as Russian military forces bombed Ukrainian cities as part of Vladimir Putin's illegal invasion of his neighbor, the Kremlin sent out talking points to state-friendly media outlets with a request: Use more Tucker Carlson. 'It is essential to use as much as possible fragments of broadcasts of the popular Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who sharply criticizes the actions of the United States [and] NATO, their negative role in unleashing the conflict in Ukraine, [and] the defiantly provocative behavior from the leadership of the Western countries and NATO towards the Russian Federation and towards President Putin, personally,' advises the 12-page document written in Russian. It sums up Carlson's position: 'Russia is only protecting its interests and security.'"

~~~~~~~~~~

Putin's War Crimes, Ctd.

In the name of God, let the cry of the suffering people be heard, and let the bombings and attacks stop. In the name of God, I ask you, stop this massacre. -- Pope Francis, St. Peter's Square, Sunday

The Washington Post's live updates Sunday on developments in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "At least 35 people were killed and 134 injured early Sunday when a barrage of Russian missiles slammed into a military facility in Western Ukraine about 15 miles from the border with Poland, a NATO member. The Yavoriv military range near Lviv, also known as the International Peacekeeping and Security Center, has for years been used for exercises by NATO troops and Ukrainians, with Americans on-site as recently as February.... The airstrike came a day after the Kremlin warned that it viewed Western weapons shipments as 'legitimate targets,' heightening the possibility of a direct conflict with the West. A convoy of Russian military vehicles was still about nine to 12 miles from central Kyiv, and making limited progress because of Ukrainian resistance and mechanical issues...." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates Sunday are here: "The base outside Lviv that was attacked by Russian forces early on Sunday was a key link between Ukraine's armed forces and Western militaries before the war -- and has become an important logistics hub and training center for foreign fighters since Russia's invasion began. A Ukrainian military official said that up to 1,000 foreign fighters were training at the base -- the International Peacekeeping and Security Center, which is also known as the Yavoriv military complex -- as part of the new International Legion that Ukraine has formed to help fight Russia." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Sure looks as if Russia is asking for a hot war with NATO countries. ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's live updates Sunday are here.

David Stern, et al., of the Washington Post: "Russian forces continued to grind their way toward Ukrainian cities on Saturday, making limited gains in their attempts to surround Kyiv and capturing a minor city in the country's south. Despite mounting losses and stiff resistance from Ukrainian forces, Russia showed no signs of letting up, and ... Vladimir Putin rejected direct appeals from French and German leaders to de-escalate attacks. The humanitarian crisis is deepening across the country, with convoys of food and medicine still unable to reach hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped behind Russian lines in the southern city of Mariupol. Polish officials warned that they are running out of capacity to care for the over 1.5 million refugees who have streamed across its borders."

The New York Times' live updates of developments in Russia's war on Ukraine Saturday are here: "As Russian forces intensified their campaign of devastation aimed at cities and towns across Ukraine, including in the capital, Kyiv..., Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow on Saturday of terrorizing the nation in an attempt to break the will of the people. 'A war of annihilation,' he called it. Russian forces have not achieved anything resembling a strategic military victory since the first days of the war more than two weeks ago, and have turned to attempts to flatten whole sections of cities. Ukraine's military said on Saturday that all attempts by Russian forces to advance on any front had been stopped and that the Ukrainian forces had inflicted 'heavy losses in manpower and equipment.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "The White House has approved an additional $200 million in arms and equipment for Ukraine, administration officials said on Saturday, responding to urgent requests from ... Volodymyr Zelensky for more aid to stave off the Russian invasion. The latest arms package, which officials say includes Javelin antitank missiles and Stinger antiaircraft missiles, follows a $350 million arms package that the Biden administration approved last month. Altogether, the administration has authorized $1.2 billion in weapons for Ukraine in the past year, officials said."

Claire Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: "The United States and allies have surged weapons to Ukraine in recent weeks in the face of the Russian invasion. Images of destroyed Russian tanks on social media have drawn attention to one particular weapon: the Javelin missile. The U.S. and other NATO countries sent more than 17,000 antitank weapons, including Javelin missiles, overland to Ukraine via Poland and Romania in the span of less than a week this month, the New York Times reported.... Weapons experts say the Javelin could prove particularly effective against Russian tanks.... Here's what to know about how they work and the role they could play."

<>Eaun McGovern of the Guardian: "Vladimir Putin did not show a willingness to end the war with Ukraine during a call on Saturday with French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Olaf Scholz, a French presidency official said. Scholz and Macron called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine during the 75-minute phone call with ... Vladimir Putin, a German government spokesman added. Their demand echoed a statement made by Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, earlier on Saturday, who said negotiations must begin with a suspension of hostilities."

Marc Santora of the New York Times: The mayor of Melitopol, "Ivan Fyodorov, as his name suggests, is an ethnic Russian in a southern Ukrainian city where Russian is commonly spoken and where ties to Russia run deep. On Friday evening, Mr. Fyodorov had a bag thrown over his head and was dragged from a government office building by armed Russian soldiers, according to Ukrainian officials.... Since Russian forces captured his city in the first days of the war, he had encouraged resistance, earning him the support of the public and the ire of the occupying army. On Saturday, hundreds of his townspeople poured out into the streets in an expression of outrage and defiance, despite the presence of troops on their streets. 'Return the mayor!' they shouted.... 'Free the mayor!' But nearly as soon as people gathered, the Russians moved to shut them down, arresting a woman who they said had organized the demonstration, according to two witnesses and the woman's Facebook account. The episode is part of what Ukrainian officials say is a pattern of intimidation and repression that is growing more brutal." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ There is an updated & expanded NYT story here. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Times of Israel & Agencies: "Russia has installed a 'new mayor' in the Ukrainian city of Melitopol, after its elected mayor was kidnapped by Russian troops. The city, now under Russian control, is strategically located between Mariupol and Kherson. The Russians took it over quickly during the invasion, but there have been protests since.... The area's regional administration said a former member of the city council, Galina Danilchenko, is now the mayor. She was previously a member of the opposition on the council.... New York Times correspondent Neil MacFarquhar tweeted that Danilchenko was immediately denounced by regional officials as a 'traitor.'"

War Babies. Andrew Kramer & Maria Varenikova of the New York Times: "Down a dusty stairwell, hidden from the shelling that has become the grim background noise of Ukraine's capital..., there are 19 [babies], sleeping or cooing in neatly arranged cribs, fed regularly from tubs of baby formula.... The babies were born to surrogate mothers, with their biological parents still outside the country. Because of the war, the citizenship of the newborns is unclear, as is the question of who their legal guardians are, since under Ukrainian law their biological parents must be present to confirm their nationality. There is also the question of how, or if, they can possibly be taken to safety. Elsewhere, expectant surrogate mothers are trapped by the fighting. Couples abroad have no idea how they will pick up their babies.... Ukraine is one of relatively few countries that offer surrogacy services to foreigners."

Radio Free Europe: "The bodies of Russian soldiers killed in battle in Ukraine are filling up morgues in Belarus, local residents told RFE/RL. Russian soldiers killed in battle are being brought by truck to the morgues and then sent back to Russia by train or plane, residents said.... 'The number of bodies was unbelievably large. People at the Mozyr station were simply shocked by the number of bodies being put on the train,; a local resident in Mazyr told RFE/RL. The morgues in Homel and Naroulia are also filled up, according to local residents."

Cathy Free of the Washington Post: In "three days and only five hours of sleep ... two Harvard teens, Avi Schiffmann and Marco Burstein..., [developed and] launched Ukraine Take Shelter, a [Web]site in 12 languages where Ukrainian refugees fleeing war can immediately find hosts with spare rooms, unused resort condos, mother-in-law apartments and school dormitories.... 'What we've done is put out a super fast, stripped-down version of Airbnb,' he said. In the first week, more than 4,000 potential hosts around the world, including in the United States, have offered a place to stay through Ukraine Take Shelter, said Schiffmann, noting that the number of hosts grows each day."

Hanan Razek & Ilya Barabanov of BBC News: "Social media channels and private messaging groups are being used in Russia to recruit a new brigade of mercenaries to fight in Ukraine alongside the army, the BBC has learned. The BBC has spoken to a serving mercenary and a former fighter with close links to one of Russia's leading mercenary organisations, who have shared details of the recruitment campaign. The serving mercenary said many veterans of the secretive Wagner organisation were contacted on a private Telegram group a few weeks before the start of the war. They were invited to a 'picnic in Ukraine'.... The message appeals to 'those with criminal records, debts, banned from mercenary groups or without an external passport' to apply. The message also included that 'those from the Russian-occupied areas of Luhansk and Donetsk republics and Crimea - cordially invited'."

Marie: I have been listening to experts lamenting that there is no easy exit from Putin's horrific war on Ukraine. Some have suggested terrible outcomes. I despair, as would anyone. Now, finally, someone comes up with a low-cost, life-saving solution. In yesterday's comments thread, RAS wrote, "Maybe we can send Rudy and the pillow guy to Russia to convince Putin that he has actually already won the war. It was such a massive success and everyone was so impressed by how big and strong Russia is now." In Russia's closed-loop propaganda media world, where millions of people already believe there is no war, RAS's sensible solution could work!

Ginni Thomas' Husband Worried Politics Could Taint Supreme Court. Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "The US supreme court could 'at some point' become 'compromised' by politics, said Clarence Thomas -- one of six conservatives on the nine-member court after Republicans denied Barack Obama a nomination then rammed three new justices through during the hard-right presidency of Donald Trump. 'You can cavalierly talk about packing or stacking the court,' said Thomas, whose wife, Ginni Thomas, has come under extensive scrutiny for work for rightwing groups including supporting Trump's attempts to overturn an election. '... At some point the institution is going to be compromised.' Thomas was speaking at a hotel in Salt Lake City on Friday."

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Steve Bousquet of the Orlando Sun-Sentinel: "Elections police. Thought police. Censoring teachers. Banning books -- then cynically calling it parental involvement. Welcome to America's culture war capital. This is no longer the Florida where you chose to go to college, launch a new career or retire. The place is virtually unrecognizable. After riding Donald Trump's coattails to the Governor's Mansion, Ron DeSantis has built a national cult following, but it comes at a steep cost to the rest of us. The Sunshine State has become a very mean place and it could get meaner." Firewalled. ~~~

~~~ Marie: While the Republican-controlled state legislature was busy passing anti-social bills at Governor Ron's behest, they couldn't seem to find the time to get together on an essential bill that could save lives. ~~~

~~~ Jon Schuppe of NBC News: "In the nine months since 98 people died in the collapse of a Surfside, Florida, condominium, state lawmakers have pledged to pass measures that could help avoid a similar disaster. On Friday, they failed. Negotiations between the Florida Senate and House of Representatives, both controlled by Republicans, broke down, with the two sides unable to agree on a bill that would require inspections of aging condo buildings and mandate that condo boards conduct studies to determine how much they need to set aside for repairs. The talks were undone by a disagreement over how much flexibility to give condo owners in the funding of those reserves."

Ohio. Amanda Holpuch of the New York Times: "For decades, Isaiah Andrews has maintained his innocence in the 1974 murder of his wife, unaware that the key to his exoneration was buried in the archives of the Cleveland Division of Police. The Cleveland police's decision to withhold crucial information in the case resurfaced on Thursday, when an Ohio court determined that Mr. Andrews, now 84, had been wrongfully imprisoned for 45 years. Mr. Andrews, who is sick and uses a wheelchair, has been free since May 2020. He was later found not guilty at a second jury trial in October, but the court had to declare him wrongfully imprisoned so he could seek damages from the State of Ohio." (Also linked yesterday.)

South Carolina Congressional Race. Lexi Lonas of the Hill: "Republican Rep. Tom Rice (S.C.) slammed former President Trump in a statement on Saturday following the former president's rally in South Carolina, calling him 'a would-be tyrant.' At the rally, Trump said Rice is a 'disaster' and 'total fool' and criticized the congressman for voting to impeach him following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Rice was one of 10 GOP House members to vote for impeachment at the time. Rice's primary opponent, South Carolina state Rep. Russell Fry (R), who was endorsed by Trump last month, also spoke at the event. In a statement following the rally, Rice hit back at Trump, saying the former president was in South Carolina 'because, like no one else I've ever met, he is consumed by spite,' according to local CBS affiliate WBTW."

Way Beyond

Iraq. Qassim Abdul-Zahra of the AP: "As many as 12 missiles struck Iraq's northern city of Irbil on Sunday near the U.S. consulate, Iraqi security officials said. A U.S. defense official said missiles had been launched at the city from neighboring Iran. No injuries were reported. Officials in Iraq and the U.S. gave different accounts of the strike and the damage it caused.... [A] U.S. defense official said it was still not certain exactly how many missiles were fired and exactly where they landed."

Saudi Arabia. Reuters, via the Guardian: "Saudi Arabia has executed 81 men over the past 24 hours, including seven Yemenis and one Syrian national, on charges including terrorism and holding 'deviant beliefs', state news agency SPA said on Saturday. The number dwarfed the 67 executions reported in the kingdom in all of 2021 and the 27 in 2020. 'These individuals ... were convicted of various crimes including murdering innocent men, women and children,' SPA said, citing a statement from the interior ministry. 'Crimes committed by these individuals also include pledging allegiance to foreign terrorist organisations, such as Isis (Islamic State), al-Qaeda and the Houthis,' it added."

March 12, 2022

Late Morning Update:

The New York Times' live updates of developments in Russia's war on Ukraine Saturday are here: "As Russian forces intensified their campaign of devastation aimed at cities and towns across Ukraine, including in the capital, Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow on Saturday of terrorizing the nation in an attempt to break the will of the people. 'A war of annihilation,' he called it. Russian forces have not achieved anything resembling a strategic military victory since the first days of the war more than two weeks ago, and have turned to attempts to flatten whole sections of cities. Ukraine's military said on Saturday that all attempts by Russian forces to advance on any front had been stopped and that the Ukrainian forces had inflicted 'heavy losses in manpower and equipment.'"

Marc Santora of the New York Times: The mayor of Melitopol, "Ivan Fyodorov, as his name suggests, is an ethnic Russian in a southern Ukrainian city where Russian is commonly spoken and where ties to Russia run deep. On Friday evening, Mr. Fyodorov had a bag thrown over his head and was dragged from a government office building by armed Russian soldiers, according to Ukrainian officials.... Since Russian forces captured his city in the first days of the war, he had encouraged resistance, earning him the support of the public and the ire of the occupying army. On Saturday, hundreds of his townspeople poured out into the streets in an expression of outrage and defiance, despite the presence of troops on their streets. 'Return the mayor!' they shouted.... 'Free the mayor!' But nearly as soon as people gathered, the Russians moved to shut them down, arresting a woman who they said had organized the demonstration, according to two witnesses and the woman's Facebook account. The episode is part of what Ukrainian officials say is a pattern of intimidation and repression that is growing more brutal."

Amanda Holpuch of the New York Times: "For decades, Isaiah Andrews has maintained his innocence in the 1974 murder of his wife, unaware that the key to his exoneration was buried in the archives of the Cleveland Division of Police. The Cleveland police's decision to withhold crucial information in the case resurfaced on Thursday, when an Ohio court determined that Mr. Andrews, now 84, had been wrongfully imprisoned for 45 years. Mr. Andrews, who is sick and uses a wheelchair, has been free since May 2020. He was later found not guilty at a second jury trial in October, but the court had to declare him wrongfully imprisoned so he could seek damages from the State of Ohio."

~~~~~~~~~~

Putin's War Crimes, Ctd.

The Washington Post's live updates of developments in Russia's war on Ukraine Saturday are here: "Ukrainians in cities across the country awoke Saturday to withering bombardment as Russian forces pummeled targets including Kyiv, the capital, and Mykolaiv, a port on Ukraine's strategically significant southern coast. A health official in Mykolaiv said a cancer hospital had been struck -- though no deaths were reported -- while residents in Kyiv reported loud explosions and air raid sirens piercing the night. Russian ground forces were around 15 miles from the center of Kyiv, while the cities of Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Mariupol and Sumy were encircled and suffering heavy shelling, according to an intelligence update from the British defense ministry Saturday." ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's live updates are here: "Sanctions against Russia could cause the International Space Station (ISS) to crash and lead to a 500-tonne structure to 'fall down into the sea or onto land', the head of Russian space agency, Roscosmos, said.... Publishing a map of the locations where the ISS could possibly come down, he said it was unlikely to be in Russia. But the populations of other countries, especially those led by the 'dogs of war', should think about the price of the sanctions against Roscosmos."

Yuras Karmanau of the AP: "Russian forces pounding the port city of Mariupol shelled a mosque sheltering more than 80 people, including children, the Ukrainian government said Saturday as fighting also raged on the outskirts of the capital, Kyiv."

The New York Times' live updates of developments in Russia's war on Ukraine Friday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Ana Swanson of the New York Times: "President Biden and other Western leaders moved on Friday to further isolate Russia from the global trading system, saying they would strip the country of normal trade relations and take other steps to sever its links to the world economy in response to ... Vladimir V. Putin's invasion of Ukraine. The measures, which were announced jointly with the European Union and other Group of 7 countries, would allow countries to impose higher tariffs on Russian goods and would prevent Russia from borrowing funds from multilateral institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank." ~~~

     ~~~ Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Biden announced Friday that the United States and other allies would move to revoke the 'most favored nation' trade status for Russia in response to its military invasion of Ukraine. In remarks from the Roosevelt Room, Biden said the coordinated move would deal a 'another crushing blow to the Russian economy.' The move requires an act of Congress and Biden said Friday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had agreed to hold off on a bill ending normal trade relations with Russia until he could get U.S. allies behind a plan to do so together.&" (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times report is here. ~~~

Birds, Bats & Bugs. Julian Borger, et al., of the Guardian: "Russia has accused Ukraine and the US at the UN security council of a plot to use migratory birds and bats to spread pathogens, raising alarm among other council members that the accusations could be intended to provide cover for future Russian use of biological weapons. The Russian permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, delivered a lengthy account of the alleged biological weapons plot, and said the birds, bats and insects supposedly intended to spread disease would cross Ukraine's western border.... The United Nations high representative for disarmament, Izumi Nakamitsu, said the UN was 'not aware of any biological weapons programmes' in Ukraine...."

Steven Erlanger of the New York Times: "Russian demands that a revised nuclear agreement with Iran shield it from sanctions imposed because of its war in Ukraine halted efforts to revive the deal on Friday, just as negotiators said they had all but finalized the agreement. The breakdown in talks delays any prospect of a deal, and risks scuttling it entirely, allowing Iran to move closer to the ability to build a nuclear bomb. More immediately, the lack of a deal also delays the resumption of Iran's ability to sell oil on the world market, which Western countries hoped would ease soaring energy prices."

Never Mind. Hugh Son of CNBC: "Deutsche Bank said Friday that it was winding down its operations in Russia, one day after its chief financial officer said it wasn't 'practical' to shutter the unit.... The move by Deutsche Bank, the biggest German bank by assets, follows announcements Thursday that rival investment banks Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase were winding down operations in Russia."

About That Mystery Yacht. Jason Horowitz of the New York Times: "American officials are examining the ownership of a $700 million superyacht currently in a dry dock at an Italian seacoast town, and believe it could be associated with ... Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, according to multiple people briefed on the information. United States intelligence agencies have made no final conclusions about the ownership of the superyacht — called the Scheherazade -- but American officials said they had found initial indications that it was linked to Mr. Putin. The information from the U.S. officials came after The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Italian authorities were looking into the 459-foot long vessel's ownership and that a former crew member said it was for the use of Mr. Putin."

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post thinks everybody should know about Rick Scott's official Senate Republican plan for your future pocketbook: the one with "a 10-year tax increase of more than $1 trillion on, in his own words, 'more than half of Americans,' to make sure every household pays taxes.... The Republican plan would raise taxes by $100 billion a year.... Almost all of it would be shouldered by households with income of $100,000 or less. Scott's plan would also sunset -- eliminate -- all federal legislation over five years, under the (risky) assumption that worthy laws would be reenacted. That could mean an end to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid..., military retirement benefits, veterans programs, unemployment compensation, student loans, deposit insurance and more. Additionally, [it] would require U.S. businesses to shut down $600 billion a year in foreign trade and abandon countless billions in overseas investments....."

Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "A New York judge has rejected a bid by Donald Trump to sue author and columnist E. Jean Carroll on the grounds that her defamation case against him in 2019 was baseless -- a ruling that accused the former president of causing repeated delays to keep a sensitive matter from moving closer to trial. Carroll's lawsuit has also been held up by the Justice Department's bid to intervene as counsel on Trump's behalf, an effort based on the argument that he was acting in his official capacity as a federal employee when he made comments disparaging Carroll." An AP report is here. The Guardian's story is here. MB: So happy our tax dollars are going toward defending Trump against a woman who claims he raped her.

News from Trump Grift, LLC, New Orleans Edition. Igor Derysh of Salon: "Donald Trump's PAC sent a fundraising email touting the construction of a new private jet, dubbed 'Trump Force One,' hours after Trump's plane was forced to make an emergency landing over the weekend, according to Insider. A plane carrying Trump made an unscheduled landing last Saturday, while the former president was returning from a Republican National Committee donor event in New Orleans to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, according to Politico. The plane, which belongs to a donor who loaned it to Trump for the event, suffered engine failure 75 miles after taking off from New Orleans and had to turn back, according to the Washington Post. Trump ultimately returned home on the plane of another Republican donor.... Hours after the incident was reported, the Trump Save America PAC sent a fundraising email.... 'Do you want to see the new Trump Force One?' the email asked, with a link to a site that asks for monthly recurring donations of up to $2,500." Thanks to Patrick for the lead. ~~~

~~~ Josh Dawsey & Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump's political group sent at least 15 emails in recent weeks offering small-dollar donors the chance to win a coveted prize if they gave money: dinner with Trump in New Orleans last Saturday.... [One] pitch promised a full suite of perks. 'We'll cover your flight. We'll cover your very nice hotel. We'll cover your dinner,' the email promised, along with a picture with Trump.... But no such winner was flown to New Orleans last weekend, according to four people familiar with the matter. No flight or 'very nice' hotel was booked. Trump had no individual meeting with a small-dollar donor...."

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A federal jury has acquitted two men of all charges in an alleged scheme to use straw donors to funnel nearly $2 million to various political causes including Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential bid and GOP House candidates in 2018." MB: Mind you, these were not Hillary devotees; "The men shifted their donations and their focus to Republican causes after Clinton's defeat in the 2016 election, exceeding donation limits and using go-betweens...."

All is Not Well in Zuckerberg. Mike Isaac, et al., of the New York Times: "Meta, the parent company of Facebook, told employees on Friday that it was cutting back or eliminating free services like laundry and dry cleaning and was pushing back the dinner bell for a free meal from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., according to seven company employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The new dinner time is an inconvenience because the last of the company's shuttles that take employees to and from their homes typically leaves the office at 6 p.m. It will also make it more difficult for workers to stock up on hefty to-go boxes of food and bring them to their refrigerators at home. The moves are a reflection of changing workplace culture in Silicon Valley. Tech companies, which often offer lifestyle perks in return for employees spending long hours in the office, are preparing to adjust to a new hybrid work model."

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Sarah Whitten of CNBC: "Disney's CEO [Bob Chapek] said Friday the company is ceasing its political donations in Florida due to the state's so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill, and he apologized for the company's previous silence on the issue.... Disney, which operates four theme parks and dozens of hotels in Orlando, Florida, was targeted by activists after it was discovered that the company provided financial support for some of the bill's backers in the state legislature." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: According to Whitten's report, Disney has donated about $300,000 over the past two years to backers of the bill. This, and the fact that Disney is pausing all political donations, suggests they routinely fund a bunch of dimwitted bigots, perhaps only dimwitted bigots.

Texas. Kate Zernicke & Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Texas Supreme Court on Friday effectively shut down a federal challenge to the state's novel and controversial ban on abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, closing off what abortion rights advocates said was their last, narrow path to blocking the new law. The decision was the latest in a line of blows to the constitutional right to abortion that has prevailed for five decades.... It is the most restrictive abortion law in the nation, and flies in the face of the Supreme Court's landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade...." An AP story is here.

Texas. David Goodman of the New York Times: "Investigations of parents with transgender children for possible child abuse were temporarily halted across Texas on Friday after a state court ruled that the policy, ordered last month by Gov. Greg Abbott, had been improperly adopted and violated the State Constitution. The injunction, issued by Judge Amy Clark Meachum in Travis County, stemmed from a legal challenge by the parents of a 16-year-old transgender girl.... In issuing the ruling, which came after a day of testimony, Judge Meachum said the governor's actions, and those of the agency, 'violate separation of powers by impermissibly encroaching into the legislative domain.' She said there was a 'substantial likelihood' that plaintiffs would prevail after a trial on the merits.... The court said [Abbott's order] could no longer be enforced pending a trial on the issue, set for July." A Texas Tribune story is here.

News Lede

New York Times: "Dr. Donald Pinkel, a pediatrician who, starting in the early 1960s, developed an aggressive treatment for childhood leukemia that transformed the disease from a virtual death sentence to one that almost every patient survives, died on Wednesday at his home in San Luis Obispo, Calif. He was 95."