April 4, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Mary Jalonick & Kevin Freking of the AP: "The Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked, 11-11, Monday on whether to send Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court nomination to the Senate floor. But President Joe Biden's nominee is still on track to be confirmed this week as the first Black woman on the high court. The committee's tie vote was expected, as there is an even party split on the panel and all of the Republicans are opposing Jackson's nomination to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. But it was still a blow to Democrats who had hoped for robust bipartisan support -- and it was the first time the committee has deadlocked on a Supreme Court nomination in three decades. In order to move forward, Democrats planned a new vote to 'discharge' Jackson's nomination from committee Monday evening and then take a series of procedural steps in the coming days to wind it through the 50-50 Senate. With the support of at least one Republican, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, Jackson is on a glidepath toward confirmation by the end of the week."

Allie Malloy of CNN: "President Joe Biden on Monday called the atrocities allegedly committed by Russian forces in Bucha, Ukraine, a 'war crime' and called for a trial to take place against ... Vladimir Putin.... [Biden] said he was looking into additional sanctions against Russia.... US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that the State Department would help document any attacks by Russian troops against Ukrainian civilians. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called the deaths of civilians in Bucha a 'brutality' and said 'I strongly welcome' an investigation by International Criminal Court, which has opened an investigation into war crimes in Ukraine. The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed the extensive footage of dead civilians in Bucha was 'fake' and that 'not a single local resident suffered from any violent actions' during Russia's occupation of the town." MB: Second only to the atrocities themselves is the audacity of the Defense Ministry to mock its victims by declaring their dead bodies "fake."

Bethan McKernan of the Guardian: "Women across Ukraine are grappling with the threat of rape as a weapon of war as growing evidence of sexual violence emerges from areas retaken from retreating Russian forces.... As Russian troops have withdrawn from towns and suburbs around the capital in order to refocus the war effort on Ukraine's east, women and girls have come forward to tell the police, media and human rights organisations of atrocities they have suffered at the hands of Russian soldiers. Gang-rapes, assaults taking place at gunpoint, and rapes committed in front of children are among the grim testimonies collected by investigators.... Rape and sexual assault are considered war crimes and a breach of international humanitarian law, and both Ukraine's prosecutor general and the international Criminal Court have said they will open investigations into reported sexual violence."

Francisco Ubilla, et al., of the AP: "The U.S. government on Monday seized a 254-foot yacht in Spain owned by an oligarch with close ties to ... Vladimir Putin, a first by the Biden administration under sanctions imposed after the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine and targeting pricey assets of Russian elites. Spain's Civil Guard and U.S. federal agents descended on the Tango at the Marina Real in the port of Palma de Mallorca, the capital of Spain's Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Associated Press reporters at the scene saw police going in and out of the boat.... The yacht is among the assets linked to Viktor Vekselberg, a billionaire and close Putin ally who heads the Moscow-based Renova Group, a conglomerate encompassing metals, mining, tech and other assets, according to U.S. Treasury Department documents." MB: Gosh, I hope all us taxpayer-owners get to go yachting on our new luxury vessel.

Ha Ha. Meridith McGraw & Emily Birnbaum of Politico: "Top executives from ... Donald Trump's social media venture, Truth Social, have departed the company as the site has struggled to gain traction with users. Three top executives quit Truth Social, including chief technology officer, Josh Adams and Billy Boozer, the head of the company's product development, and chief legal officer, Lori Heyer-Bednar, according to two people familiar with the matter.... Trump launched the Truth Social app as a way to take on 'Big Tech.' He and his allies argued it would rival major social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, which both removed the former president from their platforms following the Jan. 6 riots on Capitol Hill.... Trump himself has only posted once on the app. He had 827,000 followers as of Monday morning. Former Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) quit his job in Congress in order to serve as CEO of Truth Social." ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE, Over at the Competition. Michelle Chapman & Tom Krisher of the AP: "Tesla CEO Elon Musk acquired a 9% stake in Twitter to become its largest shareholder at a time when he is questioning the social media platform's dedication to free speech and the First Amendment. The ultimate aim of Musk's 73.5 million share purchase, worth about $3 billion, is not known. Yet in late March Musk, who has 80 million Twitter followers and is very active on the site, questioned free speech on Twitter and whether the platform is undermining democracy. It's unclear just when Musk bought the stake."

Josh Margolin, et al., of ABC News: "Hunter Biden is apparently spending his father's presidency living in luxury in Malibu -- and so is his taxpayer-funded security detail. The Secret Service detail protecting the president's controversial son has been paying more than $30,000 a month to rent out a swanky Malibu, California, mansion for nearly a year, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News. The agency ... selected the property in order to be located as close as possible to Biden's own rented mansion where he is paying about $20,000 a month according to property listings, sources told ABC News.... The Spanish-style estate that the Secret Service has rented sits on a 0.7-acre lot above the Malibu coast and also features 'gorgeous ocean views,' according to its listing.... Hunter Biden's California lifestyle is coming into focus just as the federal probe into his tax affairs has intensified, as sources familiar with the matter recently told ABC News." MB: Gosh, you wouldn't expect Secret Service agents to stay in more humble digs back in the Malibu hills, would you?

~~~~~~~~~~

Putin's War Crimes, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Monday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Moscow is facing calls for international investigations and harsher sanctions -- even a ban on its gas industry -- because of growing evidence that Russian forces committed atrocities against civilians in Ukraine. Cutting off the supply of Russian gas would be a remarkable step for the European Union, which relies heavily on Russian fuel and has so far rebuffed mounting calls, including from President Biden, to impose energy-related penalties against them.... President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and Poland's prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, each described Russia's actions as genocide.... In what would mark a significant shift in her country's position, Germany's defense minister, Christine Lambrecht, said that because of what happened in Bucha, the bloc should consider banning Russian gas imports. Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, said on Twitter that more sanctions against Russia 'are on their way.'... Even as Moscow's troops pulled away from Kyiv, Russia continued to batter Ukraine's southern coastline with airstrikes on infrastructure Sunday. It has described the withdrawal as a tactical move to regroup its forces for a major push in the Donbas region in the east and south." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Monday are here: "The Washington Post has lifted its paywall for readers in Russia and Ukraine. Telegram users can subscribe to our channel for updates." ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Monday are here: "Ukrainian prosecutors said they found 410 bodies in towns near Kyiv, and 140 bodies had been examined on Sunday. Satellite images from Bucha appear to show an approximately 45ft-long trench dug into the grounds of a church where a mass grave has been identified.... The Kremlin said it categorically denied any accusations related to the murder of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha and said Ukrainian allegations on the matter should be treated with doubt. Russia's foreign ministry said that footage of dead civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha had been 'ordered' by the United States as part of a plot to blame Russia. Russia's foreign ministry said it would reiterate its request for the UN Security Council to meet over what Moscow called the 'criminal provocations by Ukrainian soldiers and radicals' in the town of Bucha. Britain's mission to the United Nations, which holds the presidency of the 15-member council for April, had said the Council would hold a scheduled discussion on Ukraine on Tuesday, and not meet on Monday as requested by Russia. Alexander Bastrykin, head of the Russian Investigative Committee, ordered that an inquiry be opened on the basis that Ukraine had spread 'deliberately false information'.... Poland's prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, has aimed some very strong words at the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, and German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, over economic sanctions."

Jeff Stein & John Hudson of the New York Times: "Biden administration officials have discussed intensifying their sanctions campaign against Russia as evidence emerges of the apparent execution of civilians in a suburb near Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, according to two people familiar with the matter.... The scope of the potential U.S. retaliatory measures was not exactly clear, but senior Biden officials have previously discussed potentially devastating 'secondary sanctions' that would target countries that continue to trade with Russia. The Biden administration could also impose sanctions on sectors of the Russian economy that it has not hit so far, including mining, transportation and additional areas of the Russian financial sector.... Officials stressed that planning was preliminary and no decisions had been made about potential responses." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Oleksandr Stashevskyi of the AP: "Bodies with bound hands, close-range gunshot wounds and signs of torture lay scattered in [Bucha,] a city on the outskirts of Kyiv after Russian soldiers withdrew from the area. Ukrainian authorities on Sunday accused the departing forces of committing war crimes and leaving behind a 'scene from a horror movie.' As images of the bodies -- of people whom residents said were killed indiscriminately -- began to emerge from Bucha, a slew of European leaders condemned the atrocities and called for tougher sanctions against Moscow.... Russia's Defense Ministry rejected the accusations as 'provocation.'" The New York Times story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Annabelle Timsit & Jennifer Hassan of the Washington Post: "Ukrainian officials said they have asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to visit the mass graves seen in Bucha, a suburb northwest of Kyiv, so experts can gather evidence of possible Russian war crimes. The request comes as Kyiv's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said the discovery of the graves -- made as Ukrainian troops recaptured territory and Russian forces pulled back from towns they had seized in the war's earliest days -- could 'only be described as genocide.'... Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, in a tweet Sunday accusing Russia of carrying out a 'massacre,' requested that the ICC visit the scene 'to collect all the evidence of these war crimes' and use it to prosecute those responsible.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Sam Sokol & Jonathan Lis of Haaretz: "Israel's ambassador to Ukraine denounced the killing of civilians in a Kyiv suburb as a 'war crime' on Sunday, in a break from the more restrained rhetoric exhibited by Israeli officials since Russia invaded the former Soviet republic just over a month ago. 'Deeply shocked by the photos from #Bucha. Killing of civilians is a war crime and cannot be justified,' Ambassador Michael Brodsky tweeted on Sunday morning, using the hashtag #UkraineRussiaWar." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Siobhán O'Grady & Max Bearak of the Washington Post: In the Kyiv suburb of Irpin, a battlefield for weeks, "the wasteland of destruction that has replaced the neighborhoods they once called home. Most houses are destroyed or badly damaged. Piles of rubble litter what were once pleasant gardens. Abandoned dogs wander from house to house. The streets are pocked with craters from shelling.... Outside of town, the roads connecting the small enclaves that bore the brunt of the failed Russian advance on Kyiv are marked with abandoned cars, including one that was badly damaged and had the word 'children' taped to its windows. Remnants of weapons litter residents' yards. Many homes and apartment buildings were hit badly by shelling, breaking windows and walls. Russian armored vehicles are still scattered about -- abandoned or destroyed."

Cora Engelbrecht of the New York Times: "A Lithuanian documentary filmmaker has been killed in the besieged southern city of Mariupol, according to his colleagues and the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's information agency. The agency said on Sunday that the award-winning filmmaker, Mantas Kvedaravicius, had been killed in an attack by Russia 'while trying to leave Mariupol.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Justin Gomez of ABC News: "White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain is warning that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is 'far from over,' despite the claim by Moscow that they are retreating from Kyiv and surrounding areas. 'I think there's a lot of evidence that Putin is simply taking his troops out of the northern part of the country to redeploy them to the eastern part of the country to relaunch a battle there,' Klain said during an ... interview with ABC 'This Week' anchor George Stephanopoulos." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Tom Friedman of the New York Times has a thought that's actually worth passing through your brain even if you reject it as another instance of Friedman Oversimplification: "... I'm beginning to wonder if this conflict isn't our first true world war -- much more than World War I or World War II ever were. In this war, which I think of as 'World War Wired,' virtually everyone on the planet can either observe the fighting at a granular level, participate in some way or be affected economically -- no matter where they live.... Though this war is far from over, and Vladimir Putin may still find a way to prevail and come out stronger, if he doesn't, it could be a watershed in the conflict between democratic and undemocratic systems. It is worth recalling that World War II put an end to fascism, and that the Cold War put an end to orthodox communism, eventually even in China. So, what happens on the streets of Kyiv, Mariupol and the Donbas region could influence political systems far beyond Ukraine and far into the future." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Grammys Show Oscars Producers How It's Done. AP: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeared in a video message at the Grammy Awards to ask for support in telling the story of Ukraine's invasion by Russia.... 'Our musicians wear body armor instead of tuxedos. They sing to the wounded in hospitals, even to those who can't hear them,' he said in English. 'But the music will break through anyway.'... 'Fill the silence with your music. Fill it today to tell our story. Tell the truth about the war on your social networks, on TV, support us in any way you can any, but not silence. And then peace will come to all our cities,' Zelenskyy said.... The Recording Academy, with its partner Global Citizen, prior to the ceremony highlighted a social media campaign called 'Stand Up For Ukraine' to raise money and support during the humanitarian crisis.... Following Zelenskyy's message, John Legend performed his song 'Free' with Ukrainian musicians Siuzanna Iglidan and Mika Newton, and poet Lyuba Yakimchuk, as images from the war were shown on screens behind them." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The Oscars managed a whole 30 seconds of silence for Ukraine, during which time a video appeared which read, "We ask you to support Ukraine in any way you are able. #StandWithUkraine."

Oh, Somewhere TuKKKer's Laughing. Andrew Higgins & Benjamin Novak of the New York Times: "Overshadowed by the war in Ukraine, elections on Sunday in Hungary and Serbia appear to have extended the tenures of Europe's two most Kremlin-friendly leaders, both populist strongmen fortified by their overwhelming control of the media and cheap energy from Russia. With more than 60 percent of the votes counted in Hungary, preliminary results indicated that Viktor Orban, Hungary's prime minister since 2010, and already Europe's longest serving leader, had won a fourth consecutive term despite accusations by the opposition that he has enabled Russia's military onslaught by cozying up for years to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.... President Aleksandar Vucic of Serbia, also Moscow-friendly, has governed Serbia since 2012, and was expected to win re-election after rallying his nationalist and pro-Russian base by refusing to join the European Union in imposing sanctions on Russia. Serbia hopes to become a member of the European bloc, but its application has stalled." ~~~

     ~~~ Rob Picheta & Balint Bardi of CNN: "Hungary's authoritarian leader and longtime Russian ally, Viktor Orban, has declared victory in the country's parliamentary elections, clinching a fourth consecutive term in power.... In his victory speech, Orban called Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky one of the 'opponents' he had to overcome during the campaign.... Despite opinion polls forecasting a tighter race, Orban's Fidesz party won comfortably across much of the country. Opposition leader Peter Marki-Zay even failed to win in his own district, where he had served as mayor." ~~~

     ~~~ Justin Spike of the AP: "As Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban prepares to continue his autocratic governance of Hungary for another four years, he faces a shattered opposition at home but an increasingly isolated position abroad, where his flouting of democratic standards and approach to the war in Ukraine has riled the European Union and other nations."

Mary Jalonick of the AP: "Democrats are launching a whirlwind of votes and Senate floor action Monday with the goal of confirming Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court by the end of the week. The Senate Judiciary Committee kicks off Monday morning with a vote on whether to move Jackson's nomination to the Senate floor. Democrats will then wind the nomination through the 50-50 Senate, with a final vote in sight for President Joe Biden's pick to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer."

Washington Post Editors: "Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Biden's Supreme Court nominee, seems to be getting rave reviews from Republicans.... Yet ... Judiciary Committee Republicans are vowing to oppose advancing her nomination when the panel meets on Monday. The reasons they have concocted are not credible.... By heaping praise on Judge Jackson while opposing her nomination, Republicans seek to obscure the unattractive image of their almost entirely White caucus rejecting the first Black woman ever nominated to the high court.... Republican senators' hypocrisy peaks when they complain that Democrats mistreated past GOP nominees, such as Justice [Amy] Barrett and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh. It was Republicans who obliterated the last shreds of goodwill in the judicial confirmation process when they blocked then-Judge Merrick Garland....

David Marchese interviews Thomas Piketty for the New York Times Magazine: "In 2013, the French economist Thomas Piketty, in his best seller 'Capital in the Twenty-First Century,' ... put forth the notion that returns on capital historically outstrip economic growth.... The upshot? The rich get richer, while the rest of us stay stuck in the mud. Now, nearly a decade later, Piketty is set to publish 'A Brief History of Equality,' in which he argues that we're on a trajectory of greater, not less, equality and lays out his prescriptions for remedying our current corrosive wealth disparities. (In short: Tax the rich.)" Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

This guy's head is stuffed with more crap than his pillows. And by the way, I was told not to say this, but I will: His stuff is crap. I mean, it's absolute crap. You only find that kind of stuff in the Trump Hotel. -- Gov. Chris Sununu (R-N.H.) on Mike Lindell ~~~

I was especially stunned that Madison Cawthorn and Matt Gaetz weren't here, because nobody loves a good party more than those guys do. And so, I called Madison up to say, 'What's up, dude?' And it turns out, it was a simple scheduling conflict: The Republicans have their own formal black-tie and white-powder orgy taking place tonight in the Capitol. -- Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.)

~~~ Rachel Bade of Politico reports on some of the jokes delivered at the annual Gridiron Club dinner after a pandemic hiatus. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The Washington Post's story is here.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post is disgusted by CBS "News"' hiring Mick Mulvaney: "... Mulvaney has been on the wrong side -- the deeply, undemocratically wrong side -- of America's most important political issues in recent years. The larger issue here, though, is the news media's blind and relentless pandering to the outdated notion that both sides of the aisle are pretty much equal these days -- that they're similar, just with different governing philosophies. That's simply not the case. 'We have a two-party system and one of the two is anti-democratic,' as NYU professor and press critic Jay Rosen put it. This basic asymmetry, he noted, 'fries the circuits' of the mainstream media, which largely refuses to recognize it or do anything about it in their coverage."

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

Way Beyond the Beltway

Hong Kong. Zen Soo & Vincent Yu of the AP: "Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said Monday she wouldn't seek a second term after a rocky five years marked by huge protests calling for her resignation, a security crackdown that has quashed dissent and most recently a COVID-19 wave that overwhelmed the health system. Her successor will be picked in May and the city's security chief during the 2019 protests is among the possible choices."

Comments

[Akhilleus]

The Mustache of Wisdom, Tom Friedman, sez WWII took care of fascism for good.

Really?

Has he not been paying attention to what Donald (“Heil myself”) Trump has been up to for the last five or six years? The Fat Fascist reeks of the authoritarian, nationalist, racist stench of that particular brand of political philosophy. Just because he’s a low energy, easily distracted man-baby doesn’t mean his urges don’t appeal to the fascistic fucks who fervently yearn for their own dictatorial system in which their enemies are crushed and democracy has its throat slit.

[Bobby Lee]

From "Florida Politics -Sunburn section": Florida governor DeSantis is unconcerned following a court decision striking down portions of a voting law he signed a few weeks ago, saying the only question is how quickly it will be overturned. He's probably right as the active judges in the court that will hear the appeal are 7 gop of 11, including 6 TFG appointees. Should the case go to the Supreme Court, they haven't been exactly supportive of making it easier to vote. Here in Florida voters wrongs trump voters rights.

[Victoria]

Oh!! What's a poor woman to do? The NY Times says that if I drink even a teeny weeny amount of alcohol, I'll die; but the Science section says that women who drink a moderate amount of alcohol have less cardiac morbidity and mortality. This has made me so confused and upset that I'm going to go sit down in a quiet place and have my glass of wine.
ps: lord protect us from self righteous newly sober people.

[Ken Winkes]

One thought and one suggestion:

The thought. For some reason, possibly related to the news about Republicans' refusal to accept the nomination of a supremely qualified black woman to sit on the SCOTUS (sure, she's qualified but I'll vote against her anyway), have been wondering what the term "loyal opposition" could possibly mean in our polity.

In parliamentary systems the term refers to those out of power who oppose specific policies of those in power, but remain loyal to the fundamental principles of their (usually) constitutional government.

In autocratic systems (per Wikipedia) the term loyal opposition designates all the minority parties because they are required to support the boss' actions, regardless. Their loyalty, in other words, is in-built and enforced by the system of which they are a part.

Here in the bastion of democracy, we don't seem to have a loyal opposition of any kind. A disloyal one, instead.

The suggestion: I think Joe oughtta kick that Hunter boy loose. He costs both Joe and me too much.