;)
February 28, 2022
Afternoon Update:
CNN's live updates on Russia's invasion of Ukraine Monday are here: "The United States has asked 12 Russian United Nations diplomats to leave the country due to their alleged engagement in '... espionage activites...,' ... the US Mission to the UN ... said in a statement... The UK's communication regulator is launching 15 investigations into Russia Today (RT), the Kremlin-backed news channel.... The International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands, will open an investigation into Russia's invasion of Ukraine as 'rapidly as possible,' [for war crimes & crimes against humanity,] ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan said in a statement Monday.... Norway will provide $226 million in humanitarian assistance and military equipment to Ukraine.... A Russian military convoy that was outside of Ivankiv, Ukraine, on Sunday has since made it to the outskirts of Kyiv, satellite images show."
The New York Times' live updates on Russia's invasion of Ukraine Monday are here: "As Ukraine's second-largest city reeled under a barrage of Russian rockets that officials said killed dozens of people, a Ukrainian delegation met counterparts from Russia for several hours of talks on Monday in Belarus. The bombardment of a residential area of Kharkiv five days after Russia's invasion began signaled a possible intensification of the conflict.... British intelligence officials said that most Russian ground forces in Ukraine were massed more than 18 miles north of Kyiv, the capital, but were being slowed by fierce resistance from Ukrainian soldiers and civilian volunteers.... President Emmanuel Macron of France reiterated calls on Monday for an immediate cease-fire in a phone conversation with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, and urged an end to all attacks on civilians and essential infrastructure, according to the French presidency.... The European Union's representative to the United Nations, Olof Skoog, speaking at the General Assembly, condemned Russia for invading Ukraine and condemned Belarus for its involvement in Ukraine's war." ~~~
~~~ From the Washington Post's live updates, also linked earlier: "The first talks between Russia and Ukraine over the invasion ended with agreement to continue talking in coming days. After almost five hours of talks in southern Belarus near the Ukraine border, the head of the Russian delegation, Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky, said further talks would be held in coming days after both sides consulted with their presidents.... Washington announced a further round of sanctions Monday, effectively prohibiting institutions in the United States from doing business with Russia's central bank.... Ukrainian officials say at least 11 people were killed and more were wounded in the eastern city of Kharkiv on Monday morning after Russia launched rocket strikes, targeting Ukraine's second-largest city with some of the heaviest shelling and street fighting since the invasion began Thursday. Suspected cluster munitions struck buildings in the city. Oleh Synehubov, head of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration, said Monday that 'dozens are dying' and that at least 11 people were confirmed dead."
Even Switzerland Will Sanction Russia. Nick Cumming-Brice of the New York Times: "Switzerland, a favorite destination for Russian oligarchs and their money, announced on Monday that it would freeze Russian financial assets in the country, setting aside a deeply rooted tradition of neutrality to join the European Union and a growing number of nations seeking to penalize Russia for the invasion of Ukraine."
My Mom's Doctor Is My Father. Jacqueline Mroz of the New York Times: "Over the past several years, more than 50 fertility doctors in the United States have been accused of fraud in connection with donating sperm, according to legal experts and observers.... Nearly all of the physicians who have been accused were discovered as a result of DNA tests taken by their offspring." For instance, David Berry, formerly of Rochester, New York, discovered through an Ancestry.com test & further research that his biological father was Morris Wortman, a fertility doctor who still practices in Rochester. "Mr. Berry learned that he had at least 10 half brothers and sisters through [Dr. Wortman].... Dr. Wortman was one of three physicians in Rochester-- all friends and colleagues -- who, starting in the 1960s, had secretly used their own sperm to impregnate women."
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Putin's War
The Washington Post's live updates of developments Monday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "... Russian and Ukrainian diplomats were set to begin talks Monday on the Belarus border, according to the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.... The Kremlin had said it was willing to talk -- on the condition that Ukraine 'demilitarize and denazify,' making it clear it expected Ukraine's capitulation." ~~~
~~~ The AP's updates are here. ~~~
~~~ The Guardian's live updates are here: "Volodymyr Zelenskiy has appealed to the European Union to allow Ukraine to gain membership immediately under a special procedure, as it defends itself from invasion by Russian forces. 'Our goal is to be with all Europeans and, most importantly, to be equal. I'm sure that's fair. I am sure we deserved it,' he said in a speech shared on social media.... Talks between Ukraine and Russia have begun, the foreign ministries of both countries have confirmed. Ukraine has said its goal for the talks is an 'immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of Russian troops'. Its delegation includes several high-ranking officials, but not its president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, himself. The Kremlin has declined to comment on its aim in negotiations...."
The New York Times' live updates Sunday of developments in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: “President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine agreed on Sunday to talks with Russia 'without preconditions,' even as President Vladimir V. Putin further escalated tensions by placing his nuclear forces on alert." They will meet 'on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, near the Pripyat River,' Mr. Zelensky announced on his official Telegram channel." (Also linked yesterday.)
From the Washington Post's live updates Sunday (also linked yesterday): "Belarus is preparing to send soldiers into Ukraine in support of the Russian invasion in a deployment that could begin as soon as Monday, a U.S. administration official said Sunday evening."
This: ~~~
~~~ Then this Ukraine drone attack on the convoy: ~~~
~~~ Marie: Seems like we ought to send Ukraine more drones.
Russia says it isn't targeting civilians, apparently unaware that civilians live in residential apartment buildings (the tower destroyed in the video is in Kyiv):
Sanctions Are Working. Mark Thompson of CNN: "Russia's currency crashed to a record low against the US dollar Monday as the country's financial system reeled from crushing sanctions imposed by Western countries in response to the invasion of Ukraine. The ruble lost more than 30% of its value to trade at 109 to the dollar at 2.30 a.m. ET after earlier plummeting as much as 40%. The start of trading on the Russian stock market was delayed, and then canceled entirely, according to a statement from the country's central bank.... The collapse in the currency prompted the Russian central back to implement emergency measures on Monday, including a huge hike in interest rates to 20% from 9.5%."
CBS News/AP: "In a dramatic escalation of East-West tensions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian nuclear deterrent forces put on alert Sunday in response to what he called 'aggressive statements' by leading NATO powers. The move means Putin has ordered Russia's nuclear weapons prepared for increased readiness to launch, raising the threat that the tensions could boil over into a nuclear war. In giving it, the Russian leader also cited hard-hitting financial sanctions imposed by the Wes against Russia, including Putin himself." MB: So it's, "If I can't have my ill-gotten billions, I'll nuke you." (Also linked yesterday.)
Annabelle Timsit of the Washington Post: "Twenty European countries have closed -- or have said they will close -- their airspace to Russian flights and flight operators, amid a coordinated pushback against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. About half of the countries announced the move on Sunday, ahead of an extraordinary meeting of European foreign ministers to discuss further measures to support Ukraine and punish Moscow. Other countries, including Estonia and Romania, had previously announced their intention to ban Russian flights.... Also on Sunday, Canada's minister of transport, Omar Alghabra, said: 'Effective immediately, Canada's airspace is closed to all Russian aircraft operators....'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Rick Noack, et al., of the Washington Post: "German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday announced a major increase in the country's defense spending, marking one of the most significant changes in decades to the country's post-World War II approach to security and possibly upending European defense policy. German lawmakers were still debating the plans as over 100,000 protesters assembled just a few meters away in front of the Brandenburg Gate to rally for peace. The scale of the protest -- one of the largest in years -- took authorities by surprise, and provided a visible display of just how deeply Russia's invasion of Ukraine has shaken Germans this week." (Also linked yesterday.)
David Lynch, et al., of the Washington Post: "As the leaders of the European Union gathered for an emergency summit on Thursday night, momentum was already moving toward imposing tough new sanctions on Russia.... But a handful of key leaders, notably including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, were reluctant to proceed with some of the harshest proposals. Then Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dialed into the meeting via teleconference with a bracing appeal that left some of the world-weary politicians with watery eyes. In just five minutes, Zelensky -- speaking from the battlefield of Kyiv -- pleaded with European leaders for an honest assessment of his country's ambition to join the European Union and for genuine help in its fight with the Russian invaders. Ukraine needed its neighbors to step up with food, ammunition, fuel, sanctions, all of it.... Before ending the video call, Zelensky told the gathering matter-of-factly that it might be the last time they saw him alive.... Just that quickly, Zelensky's personal appeal overwhelmed the resistance from European leaders to imposing measures that could drive the Russian economy into a state of near collapse." ~~~
~~~ Stephen Collinson of CNN: "Five days into Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his courageous nation have already done more to transform the West's policy toward Russia than 30 years of post-Cold War summits, policy resets and showdowns with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Ukrainian leader's defiance has inspired and shamed the United States and the European Union into going far further -- and far faster -- in turning Russia into a pariah state than it appeared they were ready to go. By promising weapons and ammunition to Zelensky, 44, the West appears increasingly to be drawn into a possible proxy war with Moscow over Ukraine, even though it is not a NATO member that benefits from the bloc's direct mutual defense agreements.... The Ukrainian President's heroism has also touched people across the world and set off a torrent of smaller gestures of support.... Under the most extreme circumstances, Zelensky is ironically displaying the very values -- including a staunch defense of democracy -- that would qualify Ukraine for membership in both the European Union and NATO, a path Putin tried to close off with his invasion."
Miriam Berger of the Washington Post: "More than 400,000 Ukrainians have fled to European neighbors -- mainly to Poland, as well as to Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia and Romania -- since Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday, a spokesman for the United Nations refugee agency said Sunday. Thousands more are still trying to get through the clogged borders, waiting in the cold for hours on end in cars or on foot with only minimal belongings. As of Saturday, there was a nearly nine-mile backlog at the crossing into Poland, with some people waiting for 40 hours in 28-degree temperatures at night.... What could become Europe's biggest humanitarian emergency since 2015 -- when more than 1 million refugees, mainly from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, arrived and triggered a continentwide crisis over whether to accept or reject those fleeing -- is swiftly unfolding.... Meanwhile, the situation keeps getting more grave...." ~~~
~~~ Justin Spike of the AP: "The mass exodus of refugees from Ukraine to the eastern edge of the European Union showed no signs of stopping Monday as they flee Russia's burgeoning war, with the U.N. estimating that more than 500,000 people have already escaped." ~~~
~~~ "Racism and Islamophobia." Renata Brito of the AP: "... while the hospitality ... of countries like Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania ... has been applauded, it has also highlighted stark differences in treatment given to migrants and refugees from the Middle East and Africa, particularly Syrians who came in 2015. Some of the language from these leaders has been disturbing to them, and deeply hurtful. 'These are not the refugees we are used to ... these people are Europeans,' Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov told journalists earlier this week, of the Ukrainians. 'These people are intelligent, they are educated people. ... This is not the refugee wave we have been used to, people we were not sure about their identity, people with unclear pasts, who could have been even terrorists....'... The change in tone of some of Europe's most extreme anti-migration leaders has been striking -- from 'We aren't going to let anyone in' to 'We're letting everyone in.' Those comments were made only three months apart by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.... Syrian journalist Okba Mohammad says that statement 'mixes racism and Islamophobia.'"
Christopher Miller of BuzzFeed News: "A group of 10 special operations forces veterans are staging in Poland and preparing to cross into Ukraine, where they plan to take up President Volodymyr Zelensky on his offer to 'join the defense of Ukraine, Europe, and the world,' according to a US Army veteran arranging their passage. The group, composed of six US citizens, three Brits, and a German, are NATO-trained and experienced in close combat and counterterrorism. They want to be among the first to officially join the new International Legion of the Territorial Defense of Ukraine that Zelensky announced Sunday, according to text messages reviewed by BuzzFeed News. Two former American infantry officers are also making plans to come to Ukraine to provide 'leadership' for the group, the Army veteran recruiter said."
Joanna Partridge of the Guardian: "Russian billionaires Mikhail Fridman and Oleg Deripaska have become two of the country's first leading businesspeople to speak out against Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Fridman, who is one of Russia's richest men [and was born in Ukraine, where his parents still live], controls private equity firm LetterOne and was a founder of Alfa Bank, Russia's largest private bank. In a letter to his employees he called for an end to the 'bloodshed'.... Deripaska, who said as recently as 21 February there would not be a war in Ukraine, has been on the US sanctions list since 2018 over his alleged links to the Russian government, which he has taken legal action to challenge."
Anthony Faoila of the Washington Post: "Even as he puts his nuclear forces on high alert and his troops close in on Kyiv, Russian President Vladimir Putin has reason to worry: His war on Ukraine appears to be backfiring. Unmasked as an unpredictable, even existential threat in the view of governments around the world, Putin has emerged as a dangerous symbol of tyranny, stoking the biggest European defense reassessment in decades. A reinvigorated NATO is emerging. Resurgent Western unity -- wounded under ... Donald Trump -- has enabled sanctions on Moscow that are some of the harshest ever imposed. With Germany suddenly off the fence in what is shaping up to be a historic realignment against Moscow, Putin faces new, as opposed to neutralized, security challenges in Russia's backyard.... Beijing is proving a more reluctant ally than Putin might have hoped, with Xi [Jinping] urging Putin to settle the conflict at the negotiating table."
Ben Collins & Jo Ling Kemp of NBC News: "Facebook and Twitter removed two anti-Ukrainian 'covert influence operations' over the weekend, one tied to Russia and another with connections to Belarus, the companies said."
Ellen Doherty of Axios: "Some liquor stores and bars in the U.S. and Canada are taking Russian vodka off their shelves in protest of President Vladimir Putin's military invasion of Ukraine." Related item about New Hampshire linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday.)
Javier Hernández of the New York Times: "The Metropolitan Opera said on Sunday that it would no longer engage with performers or other institutions that have voiced support for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, becoming the latest cultural organization to seek to distance itself from some Russian artists amid Mr. Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Peter Gelb, the Met's general manager, said that the Met, which has long employed Russians as top singers and has a producing partnership with the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, had an obligation to show support for the people of Ukraine."
Amanda Carpenter of the Bulwark: "Never forget that ... Donald Trump led an organized campaign to withhold military aid and blackmail the Ukrainians. And that Republicans let him get away it." Only one Republican, Justin Amash, voted to impeach Trump, & only one Republican, Mitt Romney, voted to convict him. "The list of Republicans who alibied Trump's treatment of Ukraine is long and distinguished. They hope that their yellow and blue Twitter icons [in ostensible support of Ukraine] will make you forget that they excused it." ~~~
~~~ Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "The Republican senator Tom Cotton refused four times on Sunday to condemn or even comment on Donald Trump's repeated praise for Vladimir Putin, the Russian president who ordered the invasion of Ukraine.... Cotton, from Arkansas, is a military veteran and foreign policy hawk with reputed presidential ambitions from the hard Republican right. His host on ABC, George Stephanopoulos, tried repeatedly to prise comment from him. Cotton was happy to condemn Putin and praise Ukrainian bravery -- and to criticise US allies in Europe." ~~~
~~~ Colin Campbell of Yahoo! News: "Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said Sunday that 'it just makes me ill' to see people inside of the Republican Party praise Russian President Vladimir Putin as he wages war against Ukraine. Romney even went as far as to describe it as 'almost treasonous' to side with Putin."
~~~ MEANWHILE, in the U.K. John Harris of the Guardian: "The Russian president, [Conservative British PM Boris] Johnson says, is 'a bloodstained aggressor who believes in imperial conquest'; he has violated 'every principle of civilised behaviour between states'.... Johnson, indeed, sees himself as leading the charge, repeating the mantra that 'Putin must fail', and claiming that Britain is 'out in front'. All this might seem welcome, but it is also rather absurd. For a long time now, the Conservative party has been happily backsliding on its commitment to liberal values, and dismantling some of the basic structures of political scrutiny and accountability.... Conservative politicians have been happily accepting Russian money while averting their eyes from the Putin regime's meddling in British politics. Now, though, all of that must suddenly be forgotten...."
Ellie Silverman & John Cox of the Washington Post: "Fencing around the U.S. Capitol is being reinstalled in advance of Tuesday's State of the Union address, authorities announced Sunday, in a statement that also referred to potential protests in the city over the next two weeks. The decision was made 'out of an abundance of caution,' according to the Capitol Police, who have long been preparing for the possible arrival of trucks inspired by the 'Freedom Convoy' that occupied downtown Ottawa for more than three weeks to protest vaccine mandates." (Also linked yesterday.)
Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "When the first trial stemming from the attack on the Capitol opens on Monday..., prosecutors ... will present a broad portrait of the violent chaos that erupted that day and seek to persuade a jury that the pro-Trump mob that [defendant Guy Wesley] Reffitt is accused of joining struck at the heart of American democracy by disrupting the transition of presidential power.... Because it is the first to reach a courtroom, it will most likely set the tone for those that follow and serve as a kind of proving ground for the charges prosecutors have filed against hundreds of defendants." There is a question as to whether or not one of the charges against Reffitt -- obstruction -- can be used against him. The judge in the case, Dabney "Friedrich, has said she will strike the count before it goes to the jury if the government fails to prove its case."
Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar, members of Congress who spoke at a white nationalist event in Florida this week, are 'morons' with no place in the Republican party, Mitt Romney said on Sunday.... Greene, from Georgia, and Gosar, from Arizona, spoke at the America First Political Action Conference, or AFPAC, organised by the far-right activist Nick Fuentes."
Book Report. Bill Barr: If Only You Could All Be More Like Me. Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "Former Attorney General William P. Barr writes in a new memoir that ... Donald J. Trump's 'self-indulgence and lack of self-control' cost him the 2020 election and says 'the absurd lengths to which he took his "stolen election" claim led to the rioting on Capitol Hill.' In the book..., Mr. Barr also urges his fellow Republicans to pick someone else as the party's nominee for the 2024 election, calling the prospect of another presidential run by Mr. Trump 'dismaying.' 'Donald Trump has shown he has neither the temperament nor persuasive powers to provide the kind of positive leadership that is needed,' Mr. Barr writes." Barr defends his own tenure and compares liberals to fascists & totalitarians. MB: I'm just picturing two insane over-the-hill sumo wrestlers -- one wearing glasses & the other with dyed orange hair -- fighting to the death. ~~~
~~~ Matt Zapotosky & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "In the book..., Barr takes shot after shot at Trump, especially over his leadership during the coronavirus pandemic and his false claims that the election was stolen from him. Barr, who had a famous falling-out with Trump late in his presidency, writes that Trump's 'constant bellicosity diminishes him and the office,' and that in the final months of the administration, he came to realize that 'Trump cared only about one thing: himself. Country and principle took second place.'... Though he casts himself in his book as resisting pressure to take inappropriate steps, critics are likely to accuse him of offering a self-serving retelling of events to sell books and rehabilitate his own public image." MB: No kidding. ~~~
~~~ ** Jennifer Szalai of the New York Times writes a real book review: Barr's "'One Damn Thing After Another' is an intemperate culture-war treatise smuggled into a lawyer's memoir: a seemingly sober recitation of events that's periodically interrupted by seething tirades about 'militant secularism' and a 'Maoist' American left. He compares Trump's opponents to 'guerrillas engaged in a war to cripple a duly elected government' and calls the pandemic restrictions adopted by some states the most 'onerous denial of civil liberties' in American history, second only to slavery." Szalai's last graf is superb.
** Can Anyone Save Earth from the Supremes? Coral Davenport of the New York Times: "In the most important environmental case in more than a decade, the Supreme Court on Monday will hear arguments in a dispute that could restrict or even eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to control the pollution that is heating the planet. A decision by the high court, with its conservative supermajority, could shred President Biden's plans to halve the nation's greenhouse emissions by the end of the decade, which scientists said is necessary to avert the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.... The outcome could also have repercussions that stretch well beyond air pollution, restricting the ability of federal agencies to regulate health care, workplace safety, telecommunications, the financial sector and more." ~~~
~~~ Laurence Tribe & Jeremy Lewin in a Guardian op-ed: "... the matter the court is considering implicates -- and imperils -- the federal government's power to fashion flexible solutions not only to global heating but to all manner of complex problems. The stakes are higher still: by ruling on the case at all, the court usurps power constitutionally entrusted to government's politically accountable branches. Article 3 of the constitution limits federal courts to deciding concrete 'cases and controversies' about the rights of individual parties. Yet this 'case' involves neither a concrete dispute nor the specific rights of any of the challengers. Instead, it's akin to an exam question about the options theoretically available to a federal agency to address a grave problem. In answering that hypothetical question, the court will have arrogated to itself an unprecedented, open-ended power to reshape the nation's social and economic landscape -- far in excess of its legitimate authority, as the foundational case Marbury v. Madison put it, to 'declare what the law is'." ~~~
~~~ Brad Plumer & Raymond Zhong of the New York Times: "The dangers of climate change are mounting so rapidly that they could soon overwhelm the ability of both nature and humanity to adapt unless greenhouse gas emissions are quickly reduced, according to a major new scientific report released on Monday. The report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body of experts convened by the United Nations, is the most detailed look yet at the threats posed by global warming. It concludes that nations aren't doing nearly enough to protect cities, farms and coastlines from the hazards that climate change has unleashed so far -- such as record droughts and rising seas -- let alone from the even greater disasters in store as the planet continues to warm." The AP's report is here.
The Pandemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here.
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Reader Comments (15)
Well, Fatty never got around to acting (Jesus! Even acting!) presidential, or more accurately, presidential*. Will he ever get around to acting ex-presidential*? Or are ex-presidents* simply congenital assholes?
It’s too easy to thrust out your chest, put on airs, cast aspersions, and finger wag after the fact. Too bad Bill (Dis)Barr didn’t display all this moral outrage and disdain for treasonous behavior when it counted. Another self serving fraud.
So the Fat Fascist was asked if he would pick up a weapon to defend his country if it were under attack, like President Zelensky.
Fatty: “Well, you never know about bravery. Some people think they’re brave and they’re not brave, and other people don’t think of themselves as very brave and they step up. You never know until you get tested.”
I guess that’s a “no”. He could have just said “Ohhh! My bone spurs are back!”
What a fucking disgrace.
https://mobile.twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1497802544730583041?cxt=HHwWgsC95dHeockpAAAA
@Akhilleus: I wonder what Barr says in his faulty "memoir" about his ass-licking resignation letter. I suppose I'll never find out because I sure won't be reading Barr's 600+-page screed.
The tell in the review that I read of the Barr book was glaringly apparent:
Tho' it was obvious to the world that Barr had many opportunities judge the Pretender or his henchmen's actions criminal, he always backed away from that career-ending precipice, saying "No, no, nothing there..."
And now, of course, he cannot admit he was wrong all along. All he can do is indulge in a book length orgy of after the fact name-calling and self justification.
What a coward.
Have to admire the reviewers, however.
Seems it would take a very brave person to read that tripe.
"The nadir of this campaign was the effort to cripple, if not oust, your Administration with frenzied and baseless accusations of collusion with Russia." Barr's letter. I'd say "ass-licking" is about right. What a bunch of fuckin' heathens Orange and his Epstein, Barr, Moscow Mitch brand of Republicans.
In 1946 George Kennan, who coined the notion of "political warfare" dropped by the Moscow embassy code room to relay his thoughts on how to counter the geopolitical threat of Communism. The Kremlin clearly had great ambitions to infiltrate and weaken the Western order, and considered resources to devote to the task. How best to combat those efforts? He put on his thinking cap and came up with what is now known as the "Long Telegram" ––-a key document in the canon of U.S. foreign policy.
"Much depends on the health and rigor of our OWN (emphasis mine) society. "
He likened the Kremlin and its ideologues to a malignant parasite which feeds only on diseased tissue." Every courageous and incisive measure to solve internal problems of our own society, to improve self confidence, discipline, morale and community spirit of our own people, is a diplomatic victory over Moscow worth a thousand diplomatic notes and joint communiques. If we cannot abandon fatalism and indifference in the face of deficiencies of our own society, Moscow will profit."
Kennan is dead but his words need to be stressed once again and sent to members of ALL branches of government. Old George would have been appalled by Trump and others who fed (feed) Putin his porridge of prevarication. To realize Trump began his dirty dealings pressing Ukraine to dig up dirt on Biden's son or else.... is almost the stuff of an interesting spy novel in which the dirty dealer gets his due–-we, here are still waiting.
And there is something beautiful how so many countries are rallying round Ukraine, and taking them in; but ugly how some countries are doing it because Ukrainians are, unlike that flux of immigrants before, white Europeans.
Reading about how the Supreme Court is getting ready to undermine the government's abilities to deal with green house gases and any other regulations their masters want rid of made me think of an article I read yesterday, Meet Alice Hamilton, The Patrician Woman Who Saved Your Grandpa From (More) Lead Poisoning. It reminds you how bad life could be before we had basic protections we take for granted in place. These Supremes and their corporate donors seem to want to take us back to the same magical time Trump was going to take us to. And they are going to try to drag us all back with them. The consequences will be grave if they get their way.
RAS,
Like the word choice. "Grave" indeed.
I think Putin may have learned the wrong lessons from Trump. He thought he could be Teflon Don and get away scot free with anything he did. Trump gets away with a lot because he is so stupid and lazy and people in power don't take him seriously. Also he has been so annoying his entire life that people don't want to have to deal with him and his antics any more than absolutely necessary. Putin on the other hand has killed too many people to not be taken seriously. Also because of Putin's position he doesn't have people to reign in worst impulses or say no to him like Trump did during most of his presidency.
This morning I listened to an On the Media podcast (produced by WNYC) which took a peek inside Russian television and which sounds incredibly like certain media outlets in this country.
An American writer named Michael Wasiura appears regularly on various Russian (ie Putin controlled) discussion shows. The word discussion is used very loosely as the clips played sound more like a combination of Jerry Springer and a street fight with blackjacks and switchblades.
According to Wasiura, the shows are carefully produced to make sure that Russia is always a blameless victim being pummeled by the evil United States. He says there’s not so much ideology as there is a single goal, that the Russian side always wins no matter the facts of any particular topic.
Wasiura is assigned to a side labeled Liberal (the evil side) and the Putin puppets are on a side labeled…ready for this? Patriots! And the Patriots always win, are always right, and if their pre-packaged talking points are ever endangered by inconvenient comebacks replete with factual evidence, they shout down the Liberal commentator (the Russian version of Loofah Boy O’Reilly screaming “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! As if that’s a reasonable riposte) then change the topic.
It all sounds amazingly like shows on Fox, Newsmax, and the other right wing bastions of lying treason.
And very much like Fox, the “Patriots” need to be able to have it both ways. On Ukraine, there are no troops on the border. But if there were, so what? And if there are troops ready to invade, it’s all Biden’s doing anyway, and who is anyone else to say what Russia can and can’t do? (Could be a sound bite right out of a TuKKKer Carlsonovich screed.
No wonder they all love Putin so much.
But as the general feeling in the country grows increasingly anti-Russian, look for the Foxers to suddenly become rabid Putin haters who never, ever supported him! The idea!
@Akhilleus: Several teevee pundits, including Anton Troianovski of the NYT, have said that Russians who get their info from state TV get nothing but the Putin line of crap but that those who have Internet access, which is still available, know what's really going on. That tends to mean that older Russians are clueless & younger Russians know what's happening.
Marie,
Yeah, I’ve read that in several places. Would that were so in the states. Confederate liars and conspiracy theorists dominate much of the internet in this country, aided immeasurably by greedy, amoral pigs like Mark Zuckerberg.
I used to believe that people tended to be liberal in their youth and (for some) grow more conservative as they age.
But here we have teenagers roaming the streets with weapons looking for progressive protesters to murder.
If you’re a rat bastard Nazi fuck at 17, what will you be by the time you’re 40?
TuKKKer KKKarlson, I guess.
THAT THING ABOUT BILLY:
When I learned that Barr had appeared at Notre Dame Law School, in the fall of 2019 to make a case for ideological warfare and proceeded to claim that the "organized destruction" of religion was under way in the U.S. I perked up my ears, but mainly my eyes when I read what he delivered:
"Secularists and their allies among the progressives, have marshalled all the force of mass communications, popular culture, the entertainment industry, and academia in an unremitting assault on religion and traditional values."
Billy being a good Catholic boy from the get go blamed the spread of "secularism and moral relativism " for a rise in virtually every measure of social pathology," and he proceeded to name them all including the break-up of families. Wow! I said to myself back in the fall of 2019: How are we going to deal with this guy and how will Fatty feel about all this religious fervor. I hadn't realized then that Barr sought out the opportunity to be Trump's A.G. in order to prove and change his vision of presidential power. But I guessed it wouldn't be an easy ride which it was until it wasn't.
Best of luck on the book, Billy--I say this with tongue firmly tucked.
P.D.
I remember that vomitous Barr production and thinking that here I am a long lapsed Catholic, one of those double damned secularists in fact, and I can still tell the difference between right and wrong--and you, you fat f___, cannot.
Not a great advertisement for the One Holy and Apostolic Church.