;)
March 5, 2022
Afternoon Update:
The New York Times' live updates of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "As his troops continued to run into stiff resistance in Ukraine..., Vladimir V. Putin of Russia delivered an ominous message to Ukrainians on Saturday, telling government leaders they might lose their statehood and likening the withering sanctions imposed on his country to a 'declaration of war.' 'The current leadership needs to understand that if they continue doing what they are doing, they risk the future of Ukrainian statehood,' Mr. Putin said. He also said any third-party countries that tried to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine would be considered enemy combatants. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has beseeched Western countries to declare such a no-fly zone."
From CNN live updates Friday: "The US Embassy in Kyiv said on Friday that Russia committed a war crime by attacking a nuclear power plant in Ukraine." Marie: Later Friday, I heard on the teevee that the U.S. was downplaying the accusation, even to the point of telling other U.S. embassies not to retweet it. According to the same CNN item, "There is a loud and growing chorus of calls for the International Criminal Court to pursue Vladimir Putin. On Wednesday, the court said it would immediately proceed with an active investigation of possible war crimes following Russia's invasion of Ukraine." But this seems to be a general charge against Russia. Could we please stop being so squeamish? Let every country on Earth charge Putin personally with war crimes. Let him know that if he leaves Russia, any other country where he lands will lock him up & try him, in that order. He needs to understand that sanctions are going to him him in places outside his pockets. Trying to avoid hurting his puti-putin feelings is not working, is it? Unlike Lindsey Graham, I don't want to deprive him of his life; I want to deprive him of his freedom for the rest of his sickening natural life.
Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy implored U.S. lawmakers on Saturday to do more to force Russian leader Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and end the war on his country -- including the establishment of a no-fly zone, additional direct aid and a ban on oil imports from Moscow. In a private Zoom call with Senate and House members, Zelenskyy expressed appreciation for the actions taken so far by the U.S. and NATO allies as Russia continues assaulting Ukraine, including sanctions and weapons transfers, according to five people who participated in the call. But Zelenskyy made a direct appeal for more, those people said, including planes, drones and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. The Ukrainian leader also urged the U.S. to ban Russian oil imports -- a cause with bipartisan support on the Hill but plenty of domestic political volatility -- and target its sanctions regime directly at the Russian people, the people said. He called on lawmakers to pressure eastern-flank NATO partners to approve the transfer of planes that Ukrainian pilots are already trained to fly." ~~~
~~~ WTF Is the Matter with These Asses? Haley Talbot, et al., of NBC News: "Two Republican senators are facing criticism after tweeting photos of a video call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy even though participating lawmakers were told to not share pictures on social media while it was in progress. Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Steve Daines of Montana posted pictures of Zelenskyy on their Twitter accounts during the Zoom meeting Saturday morning, writing that they were on a call with him. Democratic Reps. Dean Phillips of Minnesota and Jason Crow of Colorado criticized the senators on Twitter. Phillips noted that the 'Ukrainian ambassador very intentionally asked each of us on the Zoom to NOT share anything on social media during the meeting to protect the security of President Zelenskyy.' 'Appalling and reckless ignorance by two U.S. Senators,' Phillips wrote." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Someone should warn Marco & Steve not to put their fingers in a light socket because lives might depend upon it. With any luck, both of them will run, not walk, to the nearest outlet.
Ben Collins & Natasha Korecki of NBC News: "Twitter has banned more than 100 accounts that pushed the pro-Russian hashtag #IStandWithPutin for participating in 'coordinated inauthentic behavior,' days after the hashtag trended on Twitter amid the invasion in Ukraine."
Senate Republicans Threaten U.S. Faith & Credit, Ukraine. Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "Senate Republicans have issued a series of early threats against a still-forming deal to fund the federal government, signaling that they could delay the package -- which may include emergency aid to Ukraine -- over concerns about excessive spending and vaccine mandates.... In the first letter, sent Thursday, eight GOP [senators] ... demanded 'appropriate time' to read and review any funding bill. It also called for an official analysis by the Congressional Budget Office to assess the impact of the legislation on inflation and the federal debt.... In the second note, sent Friday, 10 Republicans revived their campaign against federal vaccine and testing requirements."
Zach Montague of the New York Times: "The founder of America's Frontline Doctors, an activist group known for spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories about the pandemic and Covid vaccines, has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge related to the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 last year. According to a filing from the Justice Department, the doctor, Simone Gold, stood by as a Capitol Police officer was assaulted and dragged to the ground in front of her. She then entered the Capitol and delivered a speech in the National Statuary Hall denouncing vaccine mandates and lockdowns. On Thursday, according to the filing, Dr. Gold pleaded guilty to one count of entering a restricted building...."
Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times write an account of how the Manhattan D.A.'s criminal investigation into Donald Trump's business practices unravelled. It is "drawn from interviews with more than a dozen people knowledgeable about the events [and attempts to pull] back a curtain on one of the most consequential prosecutorial decisions in U.S. history. Had the district attorney's office secured an indictment, Mr. Trump would have been the first current or former president to be criminally charged.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here.
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Putin's War Crimes, Ctd.
The Washington Post's live updates of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Ukrainian officials accused Russia of breaching a cease-fire meant to allow civilians to flee Saturday, less than three hours after both sides announced the temporary truce in the southern cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha. The city council in Mariupol -- one of the key ports on Ukraine's southern coast that Russian troops are pushing to conquer -- had advised residents to evacuate, telling drivers to 'fill the vehicles as much as possible.' Then the officials sharply pivoted, urging people to hunker down and accusing Russia of continuing to shell both the city and what was supposed to be a peaceful exit route. Besieged cities needed the cease-fire to restore basic services such as electricity and tap water, Ukrainian officials said, and to bring in medical supplies that Russia's blockades have cut off. The lack of necessities during nonstop bombardment is compounding what local leaders have called a humanitarian 'catastrophe.' Russia denied breaking the cease-fire, accusing Ukraine of using civilians as 'human shields.'" ~~~
~~~ The Guardian's liveblog for Saturday is here. ~~~
~~~ The Guardian has a full story on the aborted evacuation of Mariupol. ~~~
~~~ CNN's live update for Saturday are here: "Russia is poised to deploy up to 1,000 more mercenaries to Ukraine in the coming days and weeks, as a senior Western intelligence official warned Moscow could 'bombard cities into submission,' an escalation that could lead to significant civilian casualties. The US has already seen 'some indications' that Russian mercenaries may be involved in Moscow's invasion of Ukraine 'in some places,' a senior defense official said earlier this week, but it wasn't clear exactly where or in what numbers.... Other officials have noticed a shift in Russian strategy from military targets to civilians, with more attacks becoming focused on population centers." ~~~ "The United States flew B-52 Stratofortress bombers over NATO's eastern flank on Friday, exercising with the German and Romanian militaries in a sign of unity as the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its second weekend."
Helene Cooper & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "Some 14 wide-bodied aircraft transported a bristling array of Javelin antitank missiles, rocket launchers, guns and ammunition to an airfield near Ukraine's border on Friday, as the United States and European allies ramped up their efforts to give the Ukrainian military a leg up in battling a foreign enemy that far outguns it.... The American weaponry ... was part of a $350 million package that [President] Biden authorized on Saturday.... What began as a trickle -- with only two or three planes arriving a day -- is now a steady flow, the official said, with 14 loads from one airfield alone.... The United States has delivered nearly 70 percent of the $350 million package to Ukraine's military, a senior Pentagon official said on Friday. It expects to complete the entire shipment in the next week or so.... The weapons have quickly found their way into the hands of Ukrainian soldiers..., U.S. officials said on Friday." ~~~
~~~ Karoun Demirjian & Alex Horton of the Washington Post: "The United States drastically enhanced its shipments of lethal military aid and protective equipment to Ukraine as the prospect of a Russian invasion became more apparent and then a reality, according to a declassified accounting of transfers and sales reviewed by The Washington Post. The list indicates that as early as December, the Pentagon was equipping Ukrainian fighters with arms and equipment useful for fighting in urban areas, including shotguns and specialized suits to safeguard soldiers handling unexploded ordnance. Over the last week, the Biden administration has increased such shipments.... The list of materiel reviewed by The Post generally tracks with the administration's broad public statements about the transfers."
David Sanger of the New York Times: "When President Biden met in the Oval Office on Friday afternoon with Sauli Niinisto, the president of the non-NATO member and increasingly nervous Finland, Mr. Biden ... said, 'President Obamaused to say, "We'd be all right if we left everything to the Nordic countries."'... Mr. Niinisto nodded, and replied, 'Well, we usually don't start wars.'... [Finland] is rethinking its relationship with Washington, NATO and the West.... The invasion of Ukraine has made it consider seriously, for the first time, whether it should be a member of NATO.... Even if the Finns decided to try to make the leap to full NATO membership -- which still seems a reach -- figuring out how they would move to formal membership is beyond tricky.... Just as the invasion of Ukraine began, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, warned that any such move would carry 'serious military-political repercussions.'"
Harry Taylor of the Guardian: "A Sky News crew has been evacuated back to the UK from Ukraine after journalists were shot during an ambush by a suspected Russian 'death squad' on Monday. The team of five were attacked while out in a car, after unsuccessfully trying to visit the town of Bucha near Kyiv. Chief correspondent with Sky News, Stuart Ramsay, along with camera operator Richie Mockler were shot -- Ramsay in the lower back while Mockler took two rounds in his body armour.... Eventually the group ... managed to escape from the car and jump down an embankment at the side of the road. They eventually found refuge in a nearby garage, and were rescued under the cover of darkness hours later by Ukrainian police. The journalists were later told that the gunmen were a saboteur Russian reconnaissance squad."
Jill Colvin of the AP: "Former Vice President Mike Pence urged Republicans to move on from the 2020 election and declared that 'there is no room in this party for apologists for Putin' as he further cemented his break from ... Donald Trump. Pence, in a speech Friday evening to the party's top donors in New Orleans, took on those in his party who have failed to forcefully condemn ... Vladimir Putin for his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine."
What If ...? Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "Former national security adviser John Bolton told The Washington Post Friday that he thinks ... Donald Trump would have pulled the United States out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization had he been reelected in 2020. Bolton, in an interview with Post opinions editor at large Michael Duffy, said the former president came close to pulling the United States out of NATO in 2018, a claim he originally made in a memoir published in 2020. In his book, Bolton wrote that he had to convince Trump not to quit NATO in the middle of a 2018 summit.... During his presidency, Trump frequently sought to undermine the [NATO] alliance, accusing its members of being 'delinquents' and repeatedly telling aides he wanted to leave it.... Trump has recently tried to revise his history with NATO, saying Monday that there 'would be no NATO' if it hadn't been for him." The Raw Story has a summary report here.
Gina Harkins & Julian Mark of the Washington Post: "Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) was sharply criticized by fellow lawmakers on both sides of the aisle Thursday after saying that the 'only way' to end the crisis in Ukraine is for Russians to assassinate President Vladimir Putin." MB: Just to give you an idea of how irresponsible Graham's exhortation was, "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) called Graham's remarks 'dangerous' and 'unhinged.'"; When even Miss Margie is doling out (correct) lessons on responsibility, you know you are way over the line. (To be fair, Greene has aligned herself with white supremacists, who love Putin.) ~~~
~~~ Sergio Olmos, in the Guardian, explores why so many American right-wing extremists see Vladimir Putin as the white man's hero.
Sarah Ellison of the Washington Post: "Several major media organizations said Friday that they would limit activity in Russia, hours after ... Vladimir Putin signed a measure into law criminalizing news coverage that accurately portrays the country's bloody incursion into Ukraine as an 'invasion.' Bloomberg said it will 'temporarily suspend our news gathering inside Russia.'... CBS and ABC both said they would not broadcast from Russia at least for the day because of the new regulations.... CNN, meanwhile, said the network 'will stop broadcasting in Russia' -- effectively cutting off its signal in the country -- 'while we continue to evaluate the situation and our next steps moving forward.'"
The New York Times' live updates of developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. (Also linked yesterday.)
From CNN's live updates Friday, also linked below: "Russia has used cluster bombs, widely banned artillery in Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday. 'We have seen the use of cluster bombs and we have seen reports of use of other types of weapons which would be in violation of international law,' Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels on Friday.... Cluster bombs -- which not only deliver an initial explosion on impact but also contain multiple smaller bombs that spread over a wide area -- are largely condemned by the international community due to the risk of civilian casualties when they're used in populated areas. US President Joe Biden's envoy to the United Nations [Linda Thomas Greenfield] has accused Russia of preparing to use banned weapons, including 'cluster munitions and vacuum bombs,' in Ukraine. And she issued a stark warning to invading Russian soldiers.... CNN teams in Ukraine have also spotted Russian thermobaric 'vacuum bombs' launchers this past week." (Also linked yesterday.)
Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: "A public health rule that has kept many undocumented migrants from entering the country during the pandemic suffered a blow on Friday, when a federal appeals court said it could no longer be used to expel families to countries where they would face persecution or torture. The ruling, issued by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, partially affirmed an earlier decision in an ongoing lawsuit and applies only to migrant families traveling with minor children. Although it allowed the Biden administration to keep the rule in place, the three-judge panel questioned whether it was still necessary, noting that it 'looks in certain respects like a relic from an era with no vaccines, scarce testing, few therapeutics and little certainty.' Later on Friday, a federal judge in the Northern District of Texasissued a rule that dealt another blow to the Biden administration -- ordering the government to stop exempting migrant children who arrive at the border without a parent or guardian from the public health rule. The administration has seven days to file an appeal."
Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Attorney John Eastman, the architect of Donald Trump's legal strategy to overturn the 2020 election, urged a federal judge Friday to slow down the Jan. 6 select committee's push to obtain documents they say could show the former president criminally conspired to subvert the democratic process. The committee, in an explosive court filing on Wednesday, said ... it has amassed evidence showing that Eastman's work for Trump amounted to a potential criminal conspiracy to obstruct Congress and defraud the U.S. public. Eastman said granting the committee's request would amount to a historic legal finding that Trump -- when he was the sitting president -- committed a crime. And this, he said, in effect turned him into a 'pseudo-defense attorney for the former president.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: You do have to give the guy props in the twisted-logic department (which is, after all, what much of right-wing "legal expertise" amounts to these days). Of course Eastman's argument is nonsense; if Judge David Carter rules for the committee, he would not be ruling that Trump had committed a crime, but could (but not necessarily would) opine that the committee had gathered documents that suggest Trump may have committed a crime or crimes. For one thing, the judge is not presiding over a criminal trial. And since the committee has no prosecutorial authority -- even if they've presented the proverbial smoking gun to the judge -- the judge could rule on whether or not Trump had committed a crime.
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Friday reinstated the death sentence of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was convicted of helping carry out the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. The vote was 6 to 3, with the court's three liberal members in dissent. The bombings, near the finish line of the marathon, killed three people and injured 260, many of them grievously. Seventeen people lost limbs. A law enforcement officer was killed as the brothers fled a few days later. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, Dzhokhar's older brother and accomplice, died after a shootout with the police. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, in Boston, upheld Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's convictions in 2020 on 27 counts. But the appeals court ruled that his death sentence should be overturned because the trial judge had not questioned jurors closely enough about their exposure to pretrial publicity and had excluded evidence concerning Tamerlan Tsarnaev." CNN's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
George Will of the Washington Post: "Floundering in his attempts to wield political power while lacking a political office, Donald Trump looks increasingly like a stray orange hair to be flicked off the nation's sleeve.... He is an entertainer whose repertoire is stale."
Dalton Bennett & Jon Swaine of the Washington Post "reviewed more than 20 hours of video filmed for [a] documentary ... [about Roger Stone] which is to be released later this year.... In addition to interviews and moments when Stone spoke directly to the camera, they also captured fly-on-the-wall footage of his actions, candid off-camera conversations from a microphone he wore and views of his iPhone screen as he messaged associates on an encrypted app.: The video includes episodes on & around January 6, 2021. MB: This is a long report but was more interesting reading than I would have expected, given the subject matter. For instance, Stone was furious at Trump for not pardoning some of Stone's clients, a venture on which Stone would have made a bundle had Trump come through. For some reason, Trump listened to White House counsel Pat Cipolone, according to Stone, who advised Trump against pardoning Stone's gallery of criminal clients. Stone was furious Trump wasn't corrupt enough: he described "Trump as 'a disgrace' and expressing support for him to be impeached. 'He betrayed everybody,' Stone said." The real problem, I would guess, is that Stone didn't offer Trump a big enough cut of pardon pie à la mode.
John Wagner & Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "Former attorney general William P. Barr said in an interview [with Lester Holt of NBC News] broadcast Friday that he believes that ... Donald Trump is 'responsible in the broad sense of that word' for what transpired at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when a violent mob interrupted Congress's count of electoral college votes. '... It appears that part of the plan was to send this group up to the Hill,' Barr said.... 'I think the whole idea was to intimidate Congress, and I think that that was wrong.'... NBC said that Trump provided a statement in response to its interview of Barr in which Trump called Barr's book 'fake' and described Barr as a 'coward,' a 'big disappointment' and 'lazy.'" ~~~
~~~ Bill Barr, a Hero in His Own Mind. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "Have you heard about how Bill Barr saved democracy? It's all there -- in this new book by, er, Bill Barr. In excerpts published Thursday in the Wall Street Journal..., Donald Trump's former attorney general recounts how he bravely stood up to Trump about his bogus claims of election fraud.... Had Barr spoken out publicly about Trump's 'clown show,' perhaps he could have punctured the 'big lie' before it resulted in the Jan. 6 insurrection.... Barr is just the latest in the parade of former Trump officials to wash their hands of him long after their public condemnation would have done any good.... But nobody in the administration did more to enable Trump's deceptions and assaults on democracy than Barr.... Mass deception is the tool of the autocrat. And Bill Barr gave it his blessing."
Ellie Silverman & Emily Davies of the Washington Post: "... about 1,000 vehicles converged at a speedway in Hagerstown, Md. under the rallying cry of 'freedom.' The truckers and supporters are now the closest they have been to the nation's capital, where they want to hold lawmakers 'accountable' for the government's pandemic-responses. But it's not clear what they will do next to accomplish their goals." And the group's "organizers" admit they don't know. An NBC News report is here.
Beyond the Beltway
Florida. Another Draconian "Voter Fraud" Bill. Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "The Florida Senate passed a sweeping new bill overhauling the state's electoral process, adding new restrictions to the state election code and establishing a law enforcement office dedicated solely to investigating election crimes. The bill, which passed 24-14, now goes to the state's House of Representatives, where it could pass as soon as next week and land on the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, who is expected to sign it.... The core of the bill is the establishment of a permanent election crimes office within the Department of State, which would make Florida one of the first states to have an agency solely dedicated to election crimes and voter fraud, despite such offenses being exceedingly rare...."
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