On Saturday morning, the day after Russian president Vladimir Putin’s birthday, a large explosion badly damaged the Kerch Strait Bridge linking Russia to Crimea. Completed in 2018, the Kerch Bridge is a symbol of Putin’s attempt to restore imperial Russia by attaching Ukraine to Russia after the 2014 invasion. The bridge is also a symbol of his corrupt regime, as Putin handed the contract for it to his close associate Arkady Romanovich Rotenberg, who completed it at a cost of close to $4 billion.
In the Texas Hold'em game of Democracy vs Authoritarianism, everyone is having to ante up as we get to the last cards. In the past many (Saudi Arabia, India, China, Belarus, Germany, Italy, Turkey, etc.) played footsies with both sides and bluffed. But Putin running out of money-weapons-armaments and losing the war is making all players ante up or fold. 84 missiles at $4.6-8.3M a piece sounds like the value of infrastructure destroyed per missile, not a winning strategy. The domestic game of Texas Hold'em for Democracy vs Authoritarianism, not many cards remain except to indict Trump. Will he be fully charged and convicted and in this process everyone will have to ante up, no more footsie by the Rubios, McConnells, Garlands, Cruzs, Grahams, Thomas, Cannons et al. Either the law applies to all, or not?! This moment is a pivotal time in history wherein the future of democracy abroad and domestically will be decided! Buckle up!
‘Russian forces conducted a massive missile strike attack against over 20 cities, including Kyiv, on October 10. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian forces launched over 84 cruise missiles and 24 drone attacks, 13 of which were carried out with Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones.[1] Ukrainian air defense shot down 43 cruise missiles, 10 Shahed-136 drones, and 3 unspecified drones. Russian forces launched missiles from 10 strategic bombers operating in the Caspian Sea and from Nizhny Novgorod, Iskander short-range ballistic missile systems, and 6 missile carriers in the Black Sea.[2] Russian forces launched the Shahed-136 drones from Crimea and Belarus.[3] Ukrainian media reported that Russian missile strikes hit 70 targets, including 29 critical infrastructure facilities, 4 high-rise buildings, 35 residential buildings, and a school. (InstitutefortheStudyofWar) See link below.
‘Indeed, the deadly attacks on civilians appear to have hardened the resolve of Ukraine’s allies.’ (Letter)
‘Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued a statement saying, ‘…I pledge to use all means at my disposal to accelerate support for the people of Ukraine and to starve Russia’s war machine.” (Letter)
The Ukrainians have shown absolute resolve and courage throughout Putin’s desperate attempts to take their country and make it his own. But what of their resolve if Putin bombs Ukraine to a crisp?
‘…staving off defeat is not the same thing as victory. …What does Ukraine need in order to win the war?
'A first step must be to address the disparity in airpower. Success in modern, high-intensity warfare is almost impossible without at least parity in the air. Ukraine began the contest woefully behind the curve with perhaps 100 flyable jets compared to Russia’s more than 1,500. Where Russia has been able to conduct 100-200 sorties per day, the much smaller Ukrainian air force can manage around 10-20.'
'Accordingly, Ukraine has been generally unable to provide air support to its ground forces for fear of losing its small inventory of high-performance aircraft (mostly MIG-29 and SU-27 fighters and Su-24 and SU-25 ground attack aircraft). Instead, its approach has been to carefully husband its assets and use them only selectively.' (AtlanticCouncil)
It is long past time for NATO, the US, France and Germany to deliver the weaponry needed for Ukraine to win the war. Can Putin be trusted to engage diplomatically in a peace settlement with Ukraine? I know what you are thinking.
Fern, thank you for that collection of the important military facts. We shall soon see the grim casualty reports that we all are dreading.
Time for all of Ukraine's allies to really step up the aid and comfort! Belarus will find out what it will cost them to attack their peaceful neighbor, and what it will cost them internationally as well....
Thanks Fern. I decided a while back to do more listening than speaking. Took a short vacation from all media, and concentrated on candidates. But I've been back for many weeks listening and I always look for your comments....I learn so much more when I'm not commenting!
I was just thinking the same thing about "seeing" your familiar faces in the comments. I too have taken some down time due to a totally unexpected family crisis (slowly improving) which for my sanity has required taking a break from the overwhelmingly tragic Ukranian war and the ongoing certified craziness coming from republicans. Fall foliage in NE has been beautiful so getting out and taking pictures has been my safe space!
Janet, even without personal crises, the last six-plus years have been a debilitating, trying time. I hope your family trials resolve soon, and you're able to regain your footing. Fall in New England is glorious and restorative.
Yes, thank goodness we have had a spectacular Fall foliage season! A life saver for sure! We are fortunate our family is in the same camp politically ….otherwise things would be beyond difficult! 😵💫 My golfing ladies and I agree, everything thing that is wrong in the world is trump’s fault! 😖
Mike and Jeri, the most horrifying part of remembering Bush's folly in Iraq and Afghanistan is realizing that those years no longer seem as corrosive and disheartening as the last six years have been. Now, we fear what our future will be if our own terrorists are not permanently neutralized, and there's no guarantee of that. TFG managed (with much assistance) to seed our government and population with disease which only enormous amounts of therapy can cure.
Re., Air superiority; "Germany will speed up its delivery to Ukraine of air defense systems that can protect entire cities." “[a]dditional military support from the E.U. is on its way.” President Biden - "“to continue providing Ukraine with the support needed to defend itself, including advanced air defense systems. "
I think we've all seen evidence of Ukraine's unexpected success' so far. I'm fairly certain they didn't achieve all that without 'special' help and weapons. Do I know they'll get what they need ? No. But as I've insinuated, they evidently got what they've needed so far; or do you believe they've achieved what they have via only hopes, prayers, and guts ? ... I am no hawk, but the outrages of this conflict nudge me that way. War... is hell. We shall see through their success'. For the sake of my own sanity, I have to make a daily practice of tossing out my crystal ball and the desire to peer into it. Cheers friend !
D4N, Ukraine still has not received weapons that Zelenskyy cried for a long time ago. How could you imagine that I thought they achieved what they have on hopes and prayers...hmmm?
The chess game continues, seems that some participants are blindfolded. Although some are clear eyed in supporting Ukraine, the underdog here. Sadly, Rupert Murdoch is clear-eyed in his support for Putin. Just listen to the Foxers and the clowns.
No thanks...I've had to turn off my occasional monitoring of the rightwing crazy channel. Just the political ads alone here in Maine are driving me nuts. Time to go outside and commune with the wood splitter. Fresh air, upper body exercise and having to focus on where the fingers are at all times is a good break from the current world insanity.
My husband, dog and I just arrived in FL with our RV for two weeks. First thing I saw on TV were Rubio ad portraying (and picturing) Demings as a crazed socialist. Second thing was ad portraying Charlie Crist as some kind of criminal. <sigh> Glad I brought reading material.
The missile attack on the Ukraine Civilian Targets is reminiscent of the WWII Allied bombing of German Cities in hope of demoralizing German support of the Nazi Regime. But the opposite occurred with the destruction helped the Nazi’s convince the people of their impending destruction at the hands of the Allied forces.
Putin just ensured his failure and sadly guarantees the destruction of more conscripted troops by a growing Ukraine resolve.
I never could understand why we didn't start training them in ALL things U.S. weapons from Day 1. Did we, like Russia, think the invasion would end in a matter of days or weeks, so it didn't matter?
Hello Stuart. Tim Snyder is the person I want to read most. No one's work at this time is more penetrating and soulful. His 'Russia's Crimea Disconnect' sent me in search of learning about the Crimean Tatars. As a moving sidebar I listened to Jamala. She represented Ukraine and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with her song "1944". Link to her singing it below, which I strongly recommend. Stuart, tell me about Lawrence Freedman. I only know his name. Good to see you.
fern, you'll find him on Substack. He is of the older generation of history profs. He is at King's in London. World renowned expert on war. Military management and particularly on the Ukraine situation and Russia. He works with most western governments. Nice to see you too.
Just found Tim Snyder's site and read part of a recent piece about how the war ends. Why is it that historians like Tim and HCR have such incredible insights into our current reality? But they do, that is the bottom line.
Because in part they take the time to discover and understand what really happened and from authentic, archival sources and thus give the lie to modern, self-serving or simplified, ideological interpretations. Otherwise they do not have the same objectives as the modern politicians of different stripes as they tend towards a search for the least subjective truth possible.
And all this extended bullshit about the documents. It's not complicated. HE STOLE THE FUCKING DOCUMENTS and still has many more (39 empty classified folders) although probably the contents of those have long since been transferred to the Middle East, Russia, turkey, Poland et al.
Finally! A one paragraph, one sentence statement describing this particular legal problem involving Trump. Thank you for putting it in a nice, neat nutshell.
Damn, I thought it was chess. But playing footsie gives the arses blather room to continue the muddying of the waters. MTG calling Joe Biden a Hitler should wake up a few fence sitters. Sadly, the cult will baa
There is no 'in between' here. E.g. New York AG sues Trump and his co-conspirators (Err...I mean children) in Civil Court but District Attorney declines to prosecute. Lesson, bank fraud does not apply to Trumps. How many thousands of people went to jail during the Great Recession for Liar Loans? But not the Trumps! That is 'footsies'. Garland can legitimately charge Trump for stolen records at Bada Bing Lounge (Errr.....Mar-a-Lago), all sorts of crimes related to Insurrection on Capital, crimes related to fake electors, crimes related to 'find me 11,780 votes' in Georgia, crimes related to Ukraine extortion...who knows what else I am forgetting. Let' be honest. Any other American did these crimes they would have been indicted convicted LONG AGO! The glaring criminality of it all makes its worse if it is not fully prosecuted! SOOOO, how does Garland play his hand? Plea deal to a misdemeanor for the records? Let the SOL (Statute of Limitations) run on Ukraine extortion (not heard a word about it in forever), leave State of Georgia to deal with the voter fraud there? The Republicans are just blowhards BUT Garland is the MOST CONSEQUENTIAL guy in the mix! If Garland fails to indict and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law this Orange Clown then the message is clear. The President can blatantly violate the law. A Former President cannot be charged even after leaving office. Election fraud and cheating is allowed so long as it originates in the Oval Office. THAT is the beginning of the end of our democracy. Every GOP President subsequent will use that as their play book. Democrats would need to also cheat to ever obtain the White House again. Democracy gone! Other countries are willing to charge former leaders for unjust enrichment, just over money. We charged and drove from office VP Spiro Agnew while in office, for bribes! If we can not charge and convict the Orange Clown to the fullest for this litany of crimes, truly we have lost our democracy.
'Biden Releases Marijuana Offenders from Prison to Make Room for Trump Administration'
'WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—President Biden announced that he was pardoning all people convicted under federal law of marijuana possession in order to make prison cells available for members of the Trump Administration.'
'Announcing the decision from the Oval Office, Biden said, “At present, thousands of Americans are in prison for the possession of marijuana. Those thousands of prison cells are badly needed to accommodate the influx of Trump aides, associates, and family members.”
'Biden said that vacating the existing prison cells would save the American taxpayer billions “since the only alternative was to construct approximately forty thousand new cells that the incoming Trump prisoners would require.” (Satire,NewYorker)
Oh thank you so much! You are so right about the time for laughter. I took several classes at DC Improv and making people laugh (one on one or in a group) is one of my favorite things in the world!
I don't think Garland is playing footsie. The DOJ is building a careful case and that takes time, unfortunately. The rest of them belong to the party of death and don't care about our democracy, only their own power.
Is anyone wearing the Repub or trump label stop to think about the way things are going? Are those trumplican-types on the Supreme Court awake and aware? The times, my friends, they are changing.
It seems to me, no expert by any stretch, that antagonism between progress vs. status quo, liberal vs. conservative, kindness vs. selfishness, open minds vs. closed minds, has always been a human issue, politically, personally, culturally. I doubt it will ever be resolved but always exist on some point on the spectrum.
Really well done. One suspects that the Germans are still trying to play both sides since, with only 74 shopping days until Christmas, the "coming days" that Minister Lambrecht mentioned as a delivery window for the air defense weaponry coincide nicely with the end of the year when they were originally promised.
My hope is that this is what it took to unite Europe and the West to defend Ukraine democracy and sovereignty. We must vote Blue to keep our own Democracy.
So much destruction, so much loss. I spent part of elementary school in drills going under my desk to protect from atomic attack by the Russians (yes there was a logic problem). Is it time to do this again, or are the drills children do to protect themselves against mass shootings from our own late adolescents/young adults sufficient?
Yes, Kathy, but it's not just when will Russia learn, it's when will we as a species learn? How can we be the best of us? Read the Lyrics of the Universal Soldier. Or Rat a Tat Tat an Italian anti Vietnamese war song.
It is Putin and HItler and Trump and the NRA and the Fratelli di Italia and how hard it can be for all of us to win the battle of love against hate, and for some of us, (not Heather) to act, to make "good trouble" and remember the memoir of Elijah Cummings, "We better than this"--a powerful memoir written while he was quite literally dying, this representative to Congress, written and told to a high school classmate.
Russia doesn't care about its young men, or any of its population for that matter. Strongmen despise their own people. If Putin cared, he would take his billions and spend it where it deserves to go, to make life better for the Russian population. Now he is draining the ethnic populations to go to the war front.
Maybe just as bad was candidate Nixon undermining the peace talks between Vietnam and the Johnson White House. He managed to keep that quiet a long time, as well as his secret bombing campaign.
It’s becoming more and more apparent that TFG and CPAC speakers are in bed with Putin. It reminds one of the Congress Critters in 1940 who were close friends with German agents who wanted to take over the US for Hitler (listen to Rachel Maddow’s new podcast, Ulta, for the complete story). The parallels are chilling.
A good sign tonight was Tim Ryan shaming his opponent, J. D. Vance, for making nice with TFG right after TFG said Vance was “kissing my ass” for support. Not a good look for Vance. Maybe this signals a beginning willingness of Democratic candidates to call out their opponents who are supporters of TFG, and, by definition, election deniers. I certainly hope so.
The best part of the “debate” between Ryan and Vance, was watching Vance leave immediately afterwards without taking any questions from the media. He knew Ryan wiped the floor with his face in that debate! Have to say how satisfying that was to witness, watching a Trump nominee go down in flames, at least in that moment.
Here’s to hoping the good folks in Ohio were listening and paying attention, and will vote appropriately. Yet watching Republicans line up behind Herschel Walker, I guess I’d better not hold my breath but rather, get back to actively helping get out the vote. What a world we live in.....
If I'm dead serious about that slogan, appropriately illustrated by film and photos of the devastation visited by General Surovikin, the man they call "the Butcher", upon, not friends, but neighbors from another branch of the family.
Even in Russia, this man and his brand of Nazi represents a small minority, one that has now been given a free hand.
Surely those mindless zombies like him are an even smaller minority in America... even among the brainwashed worshippers of Agent Orange.
But if the midterms go the wrong way, they may be unleashed to run amok...
Mike, I think that doesn't matter so much as that Ryan's confronting Vance might (hopefully) encourage people leaning toward Ryan to get out and vote for him.
But those in that category with whom I've spoken are firm in that belief! When they've not let themselves be seduced into seeing their "Success" as a sign that they are Gawd's Chosen Ones.
A friend and I were discussing politics as we often do, and we were speculating about what would happen if the MAGAts took over the US. We figured the Drumpfenfurher would ally with Putin & his pals. If Putie decided to go with nukes or otherwise start WWIII, we would be the baddies. There are plenty of “good Germans”, as well as rabid MAGA fascisti, in this country, who would support all the bloody repression necessitated by the neoNazi scumbag regime.
Russia must be careful firing on Kyiv. The ambassadors are in country. Each embassy is sovereign territory of the country it represents. Hit one and Putin has attacked one of those famous inches of NATO.
It is! - Spending a large share of it's GUIDED missiles on a blunt revenge. ISW assesses this is not sustainable, but it does temporarily satisfy the critical milbloggers.
Russia kept Assad in power in Syria by means of steadily increasing brutality against the civilian population. Eventually so many Syrians were dead or refugees, there was no one left to fight against them. From Putin’s point of view, losing on the battle field to Ukrainians makes it time to “bomb them back to the Stone Age”, as an American general said during the US war in Viet Nam. Ukraine should have been delivered advanced air defense systems a long time ago.
I agree wholeheartedly, and with great sadness, that the Ukraine being left without an advanced air defense system from the beginning of the invasion was a terrible mistake. If I recall, the same Russian general who oversaw the slaughter of tens of thousands of Syrians is the same general whom pukin recently appointed to take charge of the Russian invasion.
Thank you, Olof. You introduced me to a word I did not know: 'milbloggers'
'Milblogging.com was a web portal that indexed military blogs worldwide. As of November 2007, Milblogging indexed over 1,800 military blogs in over 30 countries, including those written by troops deployed to the frontlines of Iraq and Afghanistan. As of early 2016, the website had become no longer reachable.' (Wikipedia)
I am reading 'milblogger' regularly in the ISW reports. I noticed Google was insisting on the red underlining, which I ignored, and that is very exceptional. I use Google a lot to learn new English words, but the ease to look something up also makes me a lazy learner.
A truthful and comprehensive use of history to make history a living part of the present; that's what I have called 'compost modernist'. I did not make any comment to it because I thought there was nothing more important to say.
Give Ukraine the rocket systems to attack the Russian airfields in Crimea. Knock out the airfields and destroy the aircraft on the ground, and there won't be a way for the Russians to launch ALCMs. They'd only have their eight Tu-160s, and those are nice big targets that the Ukrainians could shoot down with SAMs at long range, and that would be the aerial equivalent of sinking the Russian Navy's boat back this summer.
So the Orange Sadist has offered his services as a negotiator (sorry! I can't keep from laughing) in the Russian War against Ukraine. We can all imagine how THAT would go: "Vlad, old buddy, what do you want?" pukin: "I vant UKRAINE!" O.S.: "OK."
Can you envision what Ukraine would be experiencing now, if O.S. was POTUS! I sometimes wonder if Ukraine was on the table in the uber secret Helsinki meeting. Wonder whatever happened to the Translator & her notes. At Mara-a-Lago???
There was no American translator at that meeting, if I recall correctly. The Orange Sadist refused to have one there. A Russian person did translation for both, and a Russian transcriber was the only one there. I have absolutely NO question in my mind that the meeting was how the U.S. would respond (not at all) to a Russian invasion into Ukraine. I'm sure that the O.S. was paid handsomely for his services.
In September 1940, the Nazis abandoned their aerial bombing campaign against British industrial targets to concentrate on the war of terror against civilians by bombing London. That was the moment that Churchill recognized as the turning point in the Battle of Britain. He knew that the air war had failed and that no invasion could be successful. Putin is adopting Nazi strategy in so many ways, and like Hitler, he's a loser.
He is a psychopath, Robert Burns said it best. “O wad some Power the giftie gie us to see oursels as ithers see us.” We cannot take the view of the louse, but we don’t have to take the view of Murdoch’s propaganda machine either. Tfg does but he is beyond redemption. Are we??!
Burns wrote plenty of sense and maybe our propagandists will do well to remember that his work was well translated into Russia and popular throughout the Soviet Union. It will still be available even in today's Russia and maybe still have some resonance... even now...
I hesitate to go all Alex Jones here, but the OPEC plus action on oil production is bound to — and has—affected gas prices , less than a month before US elections. Putin and MBS trying to sabotage Democratic prospects?
Though I read the cuts were dated to start in November, the reaction time of the market is reliable. Seems objectively unquestionable MbS has chosen to roll with the American authoritarians and Putin. Strategic mistake on his part? Your move, Joe.
I am going to a language school. Three of the women in my class are from Ukraine. They came here to Spain when the war began. Yesterday (Monday) they were so fearful for family and friends in their neighborhoods. When I walk to school I pass elementary schools brimming with children and sidewalks teeming with fathers and mothers walking their little ones to school. And, I think constantly that once upon a time these were Ukrainian families in Ukrainian neighborhoods in a peace-filled Ukraine that one day because of the ego of one man became a nightmare. In a flash. In a brief moment. And how it can happen anywhere at anytime. Even in the U.S. where a different kind - but no less dangerous - of attack is happening through missiles of misinformation being fed to the ignorant. And my god. The legions of ignorant who have the right to vote in this country. For those who haven't seen this. It is so powerful. So true. and must be shared.
Yes... They worship the Constitution as a fetish, while subverting it in favor of the Articles of Confederation, reheated, with bits added on to ensure that what remains of the federal government is at their exclusive service.
Where was the outrage over the U.S.'s "shock and awe" campaign? Invading Iraq and Afghanistan for no reason whatsoever. Gazillions of civilian casualties. Decades of destruction of entire civilizations. Entire countries bombed back into the stone age. No repercussions for assassinating an entire family with a drone as they arrived at their home after distributing water their neighbors. The U.S. need to clean up its own house. No more righteous sputtering of the inhumanity of Russia. This war is no more inhumane than any other. Just ask the Vietnamese. Or the Koreans. Or the Philippines. Or indigenous nations. War is Hell. Hell on earth.
"Where was the outrage over the U.S.'s "shock and awe" campaign?"
I am with you. Usually I write the paragraph you have contributed today. Thank you for saving me from doing so.
We all knew from the get go that the on ground weapons inspectors had been giving interviews to everyone, BBC, Al Jazeera, CNN that there were no weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq.
We allowed a formerly respected black man to lie for his boss EVEN though British intelligence was calling out the lie from inside PUBLICLY.
WE ALL enabled our country to kill hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians and destroy hundreds of ancient cities and Mosques that were thousands of years old.
Almost nobody here cared at all.
I too, am horrified at the outrage I see for "civilian casualities" in Ukraine when we had no outrage for those we killed.
I can only assume that since Ukrainians are white, they are more valuable to Americans than the brown people we were killing in Iraq.
“Almost nobody here” had about a million people in NYC, and more across the country and the world, in the streets protesting the war in Iraq.
We were out there against the war in Viet Nam, too. There was a whole network of folks breaking into draft offices and burning the files used to draft men for soldiers.
Don’t help the war makers by disappearing the history of the opposition.
Indeed, 200.000 dead in The Middle East in revenge for 2.000 dead in the 9/11 attack, and not even noticing the date 9/11 is known for the US supported Pinochet coup in Chile.
'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth' is the formula for not escalating a conflict, known already from the Old Testament. "Christians" forgetting about the message in the New Testament, and the Old, while 'stirring the pot' in the Middle East, without a recipe! - "The mother of all wars", as Saddam Hussein put it.
Lot of flaws and scars in the American historical archetype. Guess who doesn't want to teach that in our schools? Pretty much the same people who supported the Iraq invasion and the reelection of Bush and Cheney. Pretty much the same people who are now supporting Trump. Notwithstanding the Democratic pols cowed by the national 'patriotic' fervor and fear of 2003, by name, mostly Republicans. That scourge seems less represented on this comments section than you might find elsewhere. Oddly, they seem to be holding true to form, and are supportive of Putin's aggression. Maybe you can reach them on cpac.org.
Nothing is more important to the future welfare of the planet than Ukraine's effort to stop Putin's criminal rampages. Thank you, Heather, for providing this concise update/summary of where this highly dynamic situation now stands. Clarifying where the political commitment now stands is very revealing.
Something is at least as important, potentially more so. And this is within reach. It is the responsibility of the Justice Department and of every American citizen:
- Making the US and the planet safer by defeating the Russian Party at the midterms and, above all...
- Removing Trump and top cronies from circulation, permanently.
Literally, nothing is more important to the future welfare of the planet than avoiding nuclear war. Also, avoiding drastic climate change is pretty important, especially to many poorer countries full of nonwhite people.
Putin obviously hopes that his threat of using nuclear weapons will give him an edge in taking over Ukraine. If that is successful, think of what comes next?
Here's what JFK had to say after the Cuban Missile Crisis: “Above all, while defending our own vital interests, nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war.” Choosing that path would be evidence of a “collective death-wish for the world." The first step to avoid nuclear war would be for President Biden to be clear with the American people that we are probably going to need to reach a compromise, as happened in the Cuban Missile Crisis. As Biden said, an off-ramp for Putin. And for Biden to dampen the fantasies of crushing Putin into the dust, which would vastly raise the risk of nuclear war. Putin has clearly given up taking over all of Ukraine. It looked months ago like there might be a peace deal to be had whereby the parties went back to the status quo before the invasion in which Crimea and much of the Donbas were under Russian influence or control.
As to what comes next, Putin has an exhausted, demoralized and decrepit army which is in no shape to march into, e.g., Poland, nor has Putin ever made any claim over it.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was one nuclear power facing another. Putin's criminal attempt to crush Ukraine is quite different in every regard. Does anyone know what Putin's off-ramp might be? And does this criminal deserve one?
Justice for Ukraine is a primary issue now, with implications for all of human civilization. If warned beforehand, as he has been, his nuclear weapons are really useless.
Apart from nuclear war, no issue exists that is even vaguely comparable in importance to climate change.
Its very enormity perhaps explains the ease with which mendacious politicians and businessmen have denied it. People just can't get their minds around an issue on that scale.
In the Texas Hold'em game of Democracy vs Authoritarianism, everyone is having to ante up as we get to the last cards. In the past many (Saudi Arabia, India, China, Belarus, Germany, Italy, Turkey, etc.) played footsies with both sides and bluffed. But Putin running out of money-weapons-armaments and losing the war is making all players ante up or fold. 84 missiles at $4.6-8.3M a piece sounds like the value of infrastructure destroyed per missile, not a winning strategy. The domestic game of Texas Hold'em for Democracy vs Authoritarianism, not many cards remain except to indict Trump. Will he be fully charged and convicted and in this process everyone will have to ante up, no more footsie by the Rubios, McConnells, Garlands, Cruzs, Grahams, Thomas, Cannons et al. Either the law applies to all, or not?! This moment is a pivotal time in history wherein the future of democracy abroad and domestically will be decided! Buckle up!
‘Russian forces conducted a massive missile strike attack against over 20 cities, including Kyiv, on October 10. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian forces launched over 84 cruise missiles and 24 drone attacks, 13 of which were carried out with Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones.[1] Ukrainian air defense shot down 43 cruise missiles, 10 Shahed-136 drones, and 3 unspecified drones. Russian forces launched missiles from 10 strategic bombers operating in the Caspian Sea and from Nizhny Novgorod, Iskander short-range ballistic missile systems, and 6 missile carriers in the Black Sea.[2] Russian forces launched the Shahed-136 drones from Crimea and Belarus.[3] Ukrainian media reported that Russian missile strikes hit 70 targets, including 29 critical infrastructure facilities, 4 high-rise buildings, 35 residential buildings, and a school. (InstitutefortheStudyofWar) See link below.
‘Indeed, the deadly attacks on civilians appear to have hardened the resolve of Ukraine’s allies.’ (Letter)
‘Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued a statement saying, ‘…I pledge to use all means at my disposal to accelerate support for the people of Ukraine and to starve Russia’s war machine.” (Letter)
The Ukrainians have shown absolute resolve and courage throughout Putin’s desperate attempts to take their country and make it his own. But what of their resolve if Putin bombs Ukraine to a crisp?
‘…staving off defeat is not the same thing as victory. …What does Ukraine need in order to win the war?
'A first step must be to address the disparity in airpower. Success in modern, high-intensity warfare is almost impossible without at least parity in the air. Ukraine began the contest woefully behind the curve with perhaps 100 flyable jets compared to Russia’s more than 1,500. Where Russia has been able to conduct 100-200 sorties per day, the much smaller Ukrainian air force can manage around 10-20.'
'Accordingly, Ukraine has been generally unable to provide air support to its ground forces for fear of losing its small inventory of high-performance aircraft (mostly MIG-29 and SU-27 fighters and Su-24 and SU-25 ground attack aircraft). Instead, its approach has been to carefully husband its assets and use them only selectively.' (AtlanticCouncil)
It is long past time for NATO, the US, France and Germany to deliver the weaponry needed for Ukraine to win the war. Can Putin be trusted to engage diplomatically in a peace settlement with Ukraine? I know what you are thinking.
https://www.understandingwar.org/
Fern, thank you for that collection of the important military facts. We shall soon see the grim casualty reports that we all are dreading.
Time for all of Ukraine's allies to really step up the aid and comfort! Belarus will find out what it will cost them to attack their peaceful neighbor, and what it will cost them internationally as well....
Gus, I'm very happy to see you. I wanted to say 'hello' about a week ago when I first saw your face after what felt like a long break.
Yes, Gus, our world is getting pummeled; It hurts like hell, but we'll make better.
Thanks Fern. I decided a while back to do more listening than speaking. Took a short vacation from all media, and concentrated on candidates. But I've been back for many weeks listening and I always look for your comments....I learn so much more when I'm not commenting!
Gus, you are right; listening is crucial. You've always been good at that.
I was just thinking the same thing about "seeing" your familiar faces in the comments. I too have taken some down time due to a totally unexpected family crisis (slowly improving) which for my sanity has required taking a break from the overwhelmingly tragic Ukranian war and the ongoing certified craziness coming from republicans. Fall foliage in NE has been beautiful so getting out and taking pictures has been my safe space!
Janet, May being outdoors, walks, taking pictures and healing bring you satisfaction and pleasure.
Thank you, Fern.
Janet, even without personal crises, the last six-plus years have been a debilitating, trying time. I hope your family trials resolve soon, and you're able to regain your footing. Fall in New England is glorious and restorative.
Yes, thank goodness we have had a spectacular Fall foliage season! A life saver for sure! We are fortunate our family is in the same camp politically ….otherwise things would be beyond difficult! 😵💫 My golfing ladies and I agree, everything thing that is wrong in the world is trump’s fault! 😖
It looks like Putin is trying "SHOCK AND AWE" to see if he can win?
Always interesting to see world leaders emulating one another.
Perhaps next week he will declare victory from an aircraft carrier in a flight jacket??
Mike and Jeri, the most horrifying part of remembering Bush's folly in Iraq and Afghanistan is realizing that those years no longer seem as corrosive and disheartening as the last six years have been. Now, we fear what our future will be if our own terrorists are not permanently neutralized, and there's no guarantee of that. TFG managed (with much assistance) to seed our government and population with disease which only enormous amounts of therapy can cure.
Oh, I remember and cringe. How could we have been so stupid. Easy with the propaganda machine in full bull Schitt mode.
Re., Air superiority; "Germany will speed up its delivery to Ukraine of air defense systems that can protect entire cities." “[a]dditional military support from the E.U. is on its way.” President Biden - "“to continue providing Ukraine with the support needed to defend itself, including advanced air defense systems. "
I think we've all seen evidence of Ukraine's unexpected success' so far. I'm fairly certain they didn't achieve all that without 'special' help and weapons. Do I know they'll get what they need ? No. But as I've insinuated, they evidently got what they've needed so far; or do you believe they've achieved what they have via only hopes, prayers, and guts ? ... I am no hawk, but the outrages of this conflict nudge me that way. War... is hell. We shall see through their success'. For the sake of my own sanity, I have to make a daily practice of tossing out my crystal ball and the desire to peer into it. Cheers friend !
D4N, Ukraine still has not received weapons that Zelenskyy cried for a long time ago. How could you imagine that I thought they achieved what they have on hopes and prayers...hmmm?
The chess game continues, seems that some participants are blindfolded. Although some are clear eyed in supporting Ukraine, the underdog here. Sadly, Rupert Murdoch is clear-eyed in his support for Putin. Just listen to the Foxers and the clowns.
No thanks...I've had to turn off my occasional monitoring of the rightwing crazy channel. Just the political ads alone here in Maine are driving me nuts. Time to go outside and commune with the wood splitter. Fresh air, upper body exercise and having to focus on where the fingers are at all times is a good break from the current world insanity.
My husband, dog and I just arrived in FL with our RV for two weeks. First thing I saw on TV were Rubio ad portraying (and picturing) Demings as a crazed socialist. Second thing was ad portraying Charlie Crist as some kind of criminal. <sigh> Glad I brought reading material.
The missile attack on the Ukraine Civilian Targets is reminiscent of the WWII Allied bombing of German Cities in hope of demoralizing German support of the Nazi Regime. But the opposite occurred with the destruction helped the Nazi’s convince the people of their impending destruction at the hands of the Allied forces.
Putin just ensured his failure and sadly guarantees the destruction of more conscripted troops by a growing Ukraine resolve.
To deliver air support, Fern, we would also have to deliver American pilots.
Ukrainians are not trained to fly our aircraft.
So, do we want direct involvement with our own troops? Do we want to declare war on Russia?
We should at least ask this question and understand the consequences before demanding we do escalate to this level, at least from my perspective.
It sounds good......"it is long past time...."
but, the next step will have consequences. Should we not game those out clearly, and, vote a declaration of war so that we, as a Democracy, decide?
You cannot think that only Americans fly those planes.
Ukranians are not trained to fly our high tech fighters Fern.
And, we are not training them to do so.
So, that leaves our boys up there.
I never could understand why we didn't start training them in ALL things U.S. weapons from Day 1. Did we, like Russia, think the invasion would end in a matter of days or weeks, so it didn't matter?
Other countries!
Hi Fern, i'm sure that you have also read the latest contributions from Lawrence Freedman and Tim Snyder yesterday.
Hello Stuart. Tim Snyder is the person I want to read most. No one's work at this time is more penetrating and soulful. His 'Russia's Crimea Disconnect' sent me in search of learning about the Crimean Tatars. As a moving sidebar I listened to Jamala. She represented Ukraine and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with her song "1944". Link to her singing it below, which I strongly recommend. Stuart, tell me about Lawrence Freedman. I only know his name. Good to see you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B-nbLVqDjY&list=RDMM2B-nbLVqDjY&start_radio=1
fern, you'll find him on Substack. He is of the older generation of history profs. He is at King's in London. World renowned expert on war. Military management and particularly on the Ukraine situation and Russia. He works with most western governments. Nice to see you too.
Just found Tim Snyder's site and read part of a recent piece about how the war ends. Why is it that historians like Tim and HCR have such incredible insights into our current reality? But they do, that is the bottom line.
https://snyder.substack.com/p/how-does-the-russo-ukrainian-war
Because in part they take the time to discover and understand what really happened and from authentic, archival sources and thus give the lie to modern, self-serving or simplified, ideological interpretations. Otherwise they do not have the same objectives as the modern politicians of different stripes as they tend towards a search for the least subjective truth possible.
Thanks for this Bill. It really makes sense.
Hadn't gotten this far when I posted my comment about Snyder. I read his substack post yesterday and it was very enlightening.
Thank you, Stuart. I will find Lawrence Freedman.
FERN MCBRIDE (NYC) - "I will find Lawrence Freedman."
https://samf.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=substack_profile&utm_source=%2Fprofile%2F69709932-lawrence-freedman&utm_medium=reader2
https://samf.substack.com/p/going-nuclear
I don't understand a word she's saying, but the song is pretty. Thanks!
And all this extended bullshit about the documents. It's not complicated. HE STOLE THE FUCKING DOCUMENTS and still has many more (39 empty classified folders) although probably the contents of those have long since been transferred to the Middle East, Russia, turkey, Poland et al.
Throw this common criminal in jail.
Finally! A one paragraph, one sentence statement describing this particular legal problem involving Trump. Thank you for putting it in a nice, neat nutshell.
Damn, I thought it was chess. But playing footsie gives the arses blather room to continue the muddying of the waters. MTG calling Joe Biden a Hitler should wake up a few fence sitters. Sadly, the cult will baa
Panthers - I mostly agree; but Garland ? Not connecting with the reasoning there and curious. Thx
There is no 'in between' here. E.g. New York AG sues Trump and his co-conspirators (Err...I mean children) in Civil Court but District Attorney declines to prosecute. Lesson, bank fraud does not apply to Trumps. How many thousands of people went to jail during the Great Recession for Liar Loans? But not the Trumps! That is 'footsies'. Garland can legitimately charge Trump for stolen records at Bada Bing Lounge (Errr.....Mar-a-Lago), all sorts of crimes related to Insurrection on Capital, crimes related to fake electors, crimes related to 'find me 11,780 votes' in Georgia, crimes related to Ukraine extortion...who knows what else I am forgetting. Let' be honest. Any other American did these crimes they would have been indicted convicted LONG AGO! The glaring criminality of it all makes its worse if it is not fully prosecuted! SOOOO, how does Garland play his hand? Plea deal to a misdemeanor for the records? Let the SOL (Statute of Limitations) run on Ukraine extortion (not heard a word about it in forever), leave State of Georgia to deal with the voter fraud there? The Republicans are just blowhards BUT Garland is the MOST CONSEQUENTIAL guy in the mix! If Garland fails to indict and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law this Orange Clown then the message is clear. The President can blatantly violate the law. A Former President cannot be charged even after leaving office. Election fraud and cheating is allowed so long as it originates in the Oval Office. THAT is the beginning of the end of our democracy. Every GOP President subsequent will use that as their play book. Democrats would need to also cheat to ever obtain the White House again. Democracy gone! Other countries are willing to charge former leaders for unjust enrichment, just over money. We charged and drove from office VP Spiro Agnew while in office, for bribes! If we can not charge and convict the Orange Clown to the fullest for this litany of crimes, truly we have lost our democracy.
'Biden Releases Marijuana Offenders from Prison to Make Room for Trump Administration'
'WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—President Biden announced that he was pardoning all people convicted under federal law of marijuana possession in order to make prison cells available for members of the Trump Administration.'
'Announcing the decision from the Oval Office, Biden said, “At present, thousands of Americans are in prison for the possession of marijuana. Those thousands of prison cells are badly needed to accommodate the influx of Trump aides, associates, and family members.”
'Biden said that vacating the existing prison cells would save the American taxpayer billions “since the only alternative was to construct approximately forty thousand new cells that the incoming Trump prisoners would require.” (Satire,NewYorker)
Love Andy Borowitz!!😂
Too funny Fern. I love it!!
Would that it were true...
It should be
Thank you Fern! I don't know the Borowitz Report, but know I need to!
Hi Chaplain Terry,
Andy Borowitz’s short satires, such as the one I posted, are in the New Yorker Magazine.
Here is a list of his books. The last is the most recent. Has there ever been a better time for a laugh or two?
The Republican Playbook
Andy Borowitz, Author . Hyperion $16.95 (157p) ISBN 978-1-4013-0290-0
THE BOROWITZ REPORT: The Big Book of Shockers
Who Moved My Soap?: The CEO's Guide to Surviving Prison: The Bernie Madoff Edition
Just Released
Profiles in Ignorance: How America’s Politicians Got Dumb and Dumber
Andy Borowitz. Avid Reader, $28.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-66800-388-6
***
I had one Audible credit left before my budget decision to stop it, so I celebrated with Profiles in Ignorance!
I ordered 3 of his latest book for friends and for myself back in July. Got them all last week.
Oh thank you so much! You are so right about the time for laughter. I took several classes at DC Improv and making people laugh (one on one or in a group) is one of my favorite things in the world!
This made my morning!
I don't think Garland is playing footsie. The DOJ is building a careful case and that takes time, unfortunately. The rest of them belong to the party of death and don't care about our democracy, only their own power.
Is anyone wearing the Repub or trump label stop to think about the way things are going? Are those trumplican-types on the Supreme Court awake and aware? The times, my friends, they are changing.
It seems to me, no expert by any stretch, that antagonism between progress vs. status quo, liberal vs. conservative, kindness vs. selfishness, open minds vs. closed minds, has always been a human issue, politically, personally, culturally. I doubt it will ever be resolved but always exist on some point on the spectrum.
I would say we are at the extremes now....Rs are far right radical regressives. Things work better when people are not at the extremes.
Really well done. One suspects that the Germans are still trying to play both sides since, with only 74 shopping days until Christmas, the "coming days" that Minister Lambrecht mentioned as a delivery window for the air defense weaponry coincide nicely with the end of the year when they were originally promised.
My hope is that this is what it took to unite Europe and the West to defend Ukraine democracy and sovereignty. We must vote Blue to keep our own Democracy.
This is now overwhelmingly imperative. The alternative is in plain view.
So much destruction, so much loss. I spent part of elementary school in drills going under my desk to protect from atomic attack by the Russians (yes there was a logic problem). Is it time to do this again, or are the drills children do to protect themselves against mass shootings from our own late adolescents/young adults sufficient?
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing.
Where have all the young men gone.......gone to soldiers everyone. When will Russia learn?
Yes, Kathy, but it's not just when will Russia learn, it's when will we as a species learn? How can we be the best of us? Read the Lyrics of the Universal Soldier. Or Rat a Tat Tat an Italian anti Vietnamese war song.
It is Putin and HItler and Trump and the NRA and the Fratelli di Italia and how hard it can be for all of us to win the battle of love against hate, and for some of us, (not Heather) to act, to make "good trouble" and remember the memoir of Elijah Cummings, "We better than this"--a powerful memoir written while he was quite literally dying, this representative to Congress, written and told to a high school classmate.
Carol. thank you!
Russia doesn't care about its young men, or any of its population for that matter. Strongmen despise their own people. If Putin cared, he would take his billions and spend it where it deserves to go, to make life better for the Russian population. Now he is draining the ethnic populations to go to the war front.
Up until last week Putin was primarily sacrificing the Russian minority in the war.
Not that we would do anything like that in, say, Iraq.
No, no, not at all.
"Strongmen" a euphemism for domination-obsessed sociopaths.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, the noted historian and expert on authoritarianism, wrote the book, Strongmen, From Mussolini to the Present. Well worth reading.
I can’t shake the feeling that the world is cracking up, again. Maybe we will muddle through it. Maybe.
Joseph, No worries.
The "world cracking up" has been ongoing for a while.
In fact, during our illegal saturation bombing of Cambodia, Cambodians could be heard shouting: "The world is cracking up".
This, of course, had great impact on the hearts and minds of Americans who were, mostly unaware it was even happening.
I remember the monks in S. Vietnam. self-immolation as their country consumed by war. Couldn’t understand why. Now I can.
Maybe just as bad was candidate Nixon undermining the peace talks between Vietnam and the Johnson White House. He managed to keep that quiet a long time, as well as his secret bombing campaign.
We bombed all those flowers to death in Iraq and Afghanistan when we targeted Mosques and schools and hospitals and flattened them in Mosul.
Putin is just emulating success.
It’s becoming more and more apparent that TFG and CPAC speakers are in bed with Putin. It reminds one of the Congress Critters in 1940 who were close friends with German agents who wanted to take over the US for Hitler (listen to Rachel Maddow’s new podcast, Ulta, for the complete story). The parallels are chilling.
A good sign tonight was Tim Ryan shaming his opponent, J. D. Vance, for making nice with TFG right after TFG said Vance was “kissing my ass” for support. Not a good look for Vance. Maybe this signals a beginning willingness of Democratic candidates to call out their opponents who are supporters of TFG, and, by definition, election deniers. I certainly hope so.
The best part of the “debate” between Ryan and Vance, was watching Vance leave immediately afterwards without taking any questions from the media. He knew Ryan wiped the floor with his face in that debate! Have to say how satisfying that was to witness, watching a Trump nominee go down in flames, at least in that moment.
Here’s to hoping the good folks in Ohio were listening and paying attention, and will vote appropriately. Yet watching Republicans line up behind Herschel Walker, I guess I’d better not hold my breath but rather, get back to actively helping get out the vote. What a world we live in.....
I’m old enough to remember when “I could shoot someone in on 5th Avenue in broad daylight and not lose any votes” was considered hyperbole.
Suggested slogan:
VOTE FOR PUTIN!
Vote for G.O.P.
The Russian Party
[Suitably illustrated...]
I vote for the guy who created that slogan. He's a winner!
At the Charlottesville rally, right wing marchers alternated chants of “Jews will not replace us” with “Russia is our friend”.
Sure.
If I'm dead serious about that slogan, appropriately illustrated by film and photos of the devastation visited by General Surovikin, the man they call "the Butcher", upon, not friends, but neighbors from another branch of the family.
Even in Russia, this man and his brand of Nazi represents a small minority, one that has now been given a free hand.
Surely those mindless zombies like him are an even smaller minority in America... even among the brainwashed worshippers of Agent Orange.
But if the midterms go the wrong way, they may be unleashed to run amok...
Very true. Get Out the Vote!
Wouldn't that be wonderful!
Mary,
In the culture that Trump operates within and with the people who feel part of that culture, kissing arse is as normal as a sunrise.
Vance will be ADMIRED as a consequence of being accused of doing what is expected in that culture.
Mike, I think that doesn't matter so much as that Ryan's confronting Vance might (hopefully) encourage people leaning toward Ryan to get out and vote for him.
Way past time. Wake up Dems
I can’t wait to start her new podcast! The first one she did, “Bagman” was terrific.
How about: VOTE RED!! (If you think those making over $400,000/yr deserve to pay LESS TAXES!!
But those in that category with whom I've spoken are firm in that belief! When they've not let themselves be seduced into seeing their "Success" as a sign that they are Gawd's Chosen Ones.
Wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn that Putin’s still pulling the strings of his ex-USpresident finger-puppet, Trump.
Yes interesting. It was postulated long ago that Putin must have some leverage on the Cheese Whizzed one.
D4N, Definitely! Something that benedict donald must really fear.
Perhaps those are the missing classified documents that were buried with Ivanka.
Ivana. I made that mistake myself too!
Of course he is. Who doesn’t see that, after Helsinki.
I am certain that he is.
A friend and I were discussing politics as we often do, and we were speculating about what would happen if the MAGAts took over the US. We figured the Drumpfenfurher would ally with Putin & his pals. If Putie decided to go with nukes or otherwise start WWIII, we would be the baddies. There are plenty of “good Germans”, as well as rabid MAGA fascisti, in this country, who would support all the bloody repression necessitated by the neoNazi scumbag regime.
Russia must be careful firing on Kyiv. The ambassadors are in country. Each embassy is sovereign territory of the country it represents. Hit one and Putin has attacked one of those famous inches of NATO.
I hadn't thought about this, Paula. Excellent point.
It is! - Spending a large share of it's GUIDED missiles on a blunt revenge. ISW assesses this is not sustainable, but it does temporarily satisfy the critical milbloggers.
Russia kept Assad in power in Syria by means of steadily increasing brutality against the civilian population. Eventually so many Syrians were dead or refugees, there was no one left to fight against them. From Putin’s point of view, losing on the battle field to Ukrainians makes it time to “bomb them back to the Stone Age”, as an American general said during the US war in Viet Nam. Ukraine should have been delivered advanced air defense systems a long time ago.
I agree wholeheartedly, and with great sadness, that the Ukraine being left without an advanced air defense system from the beginning of the invasion was a terrible mistake. If I recall, the same Russian general who oversaw the slaughter of tens of thousands of Syrians is the same general whom pukin recently appointed to take charge of the Russian invasion.
Thank you, Olof. You introduced me to a word I did not know: 'milbloggers'
'Milblogging.com was a web portal that indexed military blogs worldwide. As of November 2007, Milblogging indexed over 1,800 military blogs in over 30 countries, including those written by troops deployed to the frontlines of Iraq and Afghanistan. As of early 2016, the website had become no longer reachable.' (Wikipedia)
I am reading 'milblogger' regularly in the ISW reports. I noticed Google was insisting on the red underlining, which I ignored, and that is very exceptional. I use Google a lot to learn new English words, but the ease to look something up also makes me a lazy learner.
You are not lazy. Have you read Timothy Snyder's, 'Russia's Crimea Disconnect'? I would very much like to know your response to it. We'll talk.
This piece of Timothy Snyder is absolutely excellent: https://snyder.substack.com/utm_source=account-card&utm_content=reads
A truthful and comprehensive use of history to make history a living part of the present; that's what I have called 'compost modernist'. I did not make any comment to it because I thought there was nothing more important to say.
Thanks, Olof. Great piece.
Paula,
Almost like when we "accidentally" bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48134881
Excellent point, Paula.
Give Ukraine the rocket systems to attack the Russian airfields in Crimea. Knock out the airfields and destroy the aircraft on the ground, and there won't be a way for the Russians to launch ALCMs. They'd only have their eight Tu-160s, and those are nice big targets that the Ukrainians could shoot down with SAMs at long range, and that would be the aerial equivalent of sinking the Russian Navy's boat back this summer.
So the Orange Sadist has offered his services as a negotiator (sorry! I can't keep from laughing) in the Russian War against Ukraine. We can all imagine how THAT would go: "Vlad, old buddy, what do you want?" pukin: "I vant UKRAINE!" O.S.: "OK."
Can you envision what Ukraine would be experiencing now, if O.S. was POTUS! I sometimes wonder if Ukraine was on the table in the uber secret Helsinki meeting. Wonder whatever happened to the Translator & her notes. At Mara-a-Lago???
And that phone call. A little favor.
There was no American translator at that meeting, if I recall correctly. The Orange Sadist refused to have one there. A Russian person did translation for both, and a Russian transcriber was the only one there. I have absolutely NO question in my mind that the meeting was how the U.S. would respond (not at all) to a Russian invasion into Ukraine. I'm sure that the O.S. was paid handsomely for his services.
Kerch: A Bridge Under Troubled Waters.
lol.. That made me snicker.
Me too!
lol
In September 1940, the Nazis abandoned their aerial bombing campaign against British industrial targets to concentrate on the war of terror against civilians by bombing London. That was the moment that Churchill recognized as the turning point in the Battle of Britain. He knew that the air war had failed and that no invasion could be successful. Putin is adopting Nazi strategy in so many ways, and like Hitler, he's a loser.
He is a psychopath, Robert Burns said it best. “O wad some Power the giftie gie us to see oursels as ithers see us.” We cannot take the view of the louse, but we don’t have to take the view of Murdoch’s propaganda machine either. Tfg does but he is beyond redemption. Are we??!
Thanks for the reminder, Jeri.
Burns wrote plenty of sense and maybe our propagandists will do well to remember that his work was well translated into Russia and popular throughout the Soviet Union. It will still be available even in today's Russia and maybe still have some resonance... even now...
More like the Nazi withdrawal, destroying, massacring as they went.
Thanks for brilliant writing HCR. POWER AND VICTORY to the brave Ukrainian people over the vile Russian military machine!
I'd drop the last two words
I hesitate to go all Alex Jones here, but the OPEC plus action on oil production is bound to — and has—affected gas prices , less than a month before US elections. Putin and MBS trying to sabotage Democratic prospects?
Unquestionably, in my mind.
Though I read the cuts were dated to start in November, the reaction time of the market is reliable. Seems objectively unquestionable MbS has chosen to roll with the American authoritarians and Putin. Strategic mistake on his part? Your move, Joe.
Where is Roger Stone? Should have had a tail on this viper 24/7.
Perhaps, while it's being less traveled, 🇺🇦 will render more, if not all, of the "bridge" unusable. The tyrant has earned it! Free Crimea!
I am going to a language school. Three of the women in my class are from Ukraine. They came here to Spain when the war began. Yesterday (Monday) they were so fearful for family and friends in their neighborhoods. When I walk to school I pass elementary schools brimming with children and sidewalks teeming with fathers and mothers walking their little ones to school. And, I think constantly that once upon a time these were Ukrainian families in Ukrainian neighborhoods in a peace-filled Ukraine that one day because of the ego of one man became a nightmare. In a flash. In a brief moment. And how it can happen anywhere at anytime. Even in the U.S. where a different kind - but no less dangerous - of attack is happening through missiles of misinformation being fed to the ignorant. And my god. The legions of ignorant who have the right to vote in this country. For those who haven't seen this. It is so powerful. So true. and must be shared.
https://t.co/JSmch1n6WE
(https://twitter.com/IAmPoliticsGirl/status/1578058132533542921?t=ru9ZbgaQCj1-8USxu33lYA&s=03)
Yes... They worship the Constitution as a fetish, while subverting it in favor of the Articles of Confederation, reheated, with bits added on to ensure that what remains of the federal government is at their exclusive service.
Excellent talk from this filmaker, lays out some very stark realities.
Thank you for sharing.
Where was the outrage over the U.S.'s "shock and awe" campaign? Invading Iraq and Afghanistan for no reason whatsoever. Gazillions of civilian casualties. Decades of destruction of entire civilizations. Entire countries bombed back into the stone age. No repercussions for assassinating an entire family with a drone as they arrived at their home after distributing water their neighbors. The U.S. need to clean up its own house. No more righteous sputtering of the inhumanity of Russia. This war is no more inhumane than any other. Just ask the Vietnamese. Or the Koreans. Or the Philippines. Or indigenous nations. War is Hell. Hell on earth.
Spud,
"Where was the outrage over the U.S.'s "shock and awe" campaign?"
I am with you. Usually I write the paragraph you have contributed today. Thank you for saving me from doing so.
We all knew from the get go that the on ground weapons inspectors had been giving interviews to everyone, BBC, Al Jazeera, CNN that there were no weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq.
We allowed a formerly respected black man to lie for his boss EVEN though British intelligence was calling out the lie from inside PUBLICLY.
WE ALL enabled our country to kill hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians and destroy hundreds of ancient cities and Mosques that were thousands of years old.
Almost nobody here cared at all.
I too, am horrified at the outrage I see for "civilian casualities" in Ukraine when we had no outrage for those we killed.
I can only assume that since Ukrainians are white, they are more valuable to Americans than the brown people we were killing in Iraq.
“Almost nobody here” had about a million people in NYC, and more across the country and the world, in the streets protesting the war in Iraq.
We were out there against the war in Viet Nam, too. There was a whole network of folks breaking into draft offices and burning the files used to draft men for soldiers.
Don’t help the war makers by disappearing the history of the opposition.
I was as outraged as anyone and I haven’t forgotten, but I can only handle one hell at a time…
Indeed, 200.000 dead in The Middle East in revenge for 2.000 dead in the 9/11 attack, and not even noticing the date 9/11 is known for the US supported Pinochet coup in Chile.
'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth' is the formula for not escalating a conflict, known already from the Old Testament. "Christians" forgetting about the message in the New Testament, and the Old, while 'stirring the pot' in the Middle East, without a recipe! - "The mother of all wars", as Saddam Hussein put it.
Lot of flaws and scars in the American historical archetype. Guess who doesn't want to teach that in our schools? Pretty much the same people who supported the Iraq invasion and the reelection of Bush and Cheney. Pretty much the same people who are now supporting Trump. Notwithstanding the Democratic pols cowed by the national 'patriotic' fervor and fear of 2003, by name, mostly Republicans. That scourge seems less represented on this comments section than you might find elsewhere. Oddly, they seem to be holding true to form, and are supportive of Putin's aggression. Maybe you can reach them on cpac.org.
Nothing is more important to the future welfare of the planet than Ukraine's effort to stop Putin's criminal rampages. Thank you, Heather, for providing this concise update/summary of where this highly dynamic situation now stands. Clarifying where the political commitment now stands is very revealing.
Something is at least as important, potentially more so. And this is within reach. It is the responsibility of the Justice Department and of every American citizen:
- Making the US and the planet safer by defeating the Russian Party at the midterms and, above all...
- Removing Trump and top cronies from circulation, permanently.
Excellent. The Russian Party! Even better, the Putin Party!
I did propose the following in an earlier post (and gathered apposite reactions, reminding us of Nazi slogans chanted in Charlottesville):
"Suggested slogan:
VOTE FOR PUTIN!
Vote for G.O.P.
The Russian Party
[Suitably illustrated...]"
If only Rupert didn’t side with evil.
Literally, nothing is more important to the future welfare of the planet than avoiding nuclear war. Also, avoiding drastic climate change is pretty important, especially to many poorer countries full of nonwhite people.
Do you have a plan for avoiding nuclear war?
Putin obviously hopes that his threat of using nuclear weapons will give him an edge in taking over Ukraine. If that is successful, think of what comes next?
Here's what JFK had to say after the Cuban Missile Crisis: “Above all, while defending our own vital interests, nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war.” Choosing that path would be evidence of a “collective death-wish for the world." The first step to avoid nuclear war would be for President Biden to be clear with the American people that we are probably going to need to reach a compromise, as happened in the Cuban Missile Crisis. As Biden said, an off-ramp for Putin. And for Biden to dampen the fantasies of crushing Putin into the dust, which would vastly raise the risk of nuclear war. Putin has clearly given up taking over all of Ukraine. It looked months ago like there might be a peace deal to be had whereby the parties went back to the status quo before the invasion in which Crimea and much of the Donbas were under Russian influence or control.
As to what comes next, Putin has an exhausted, demoralized and decrepit army which is in no shape to march into, e.g., Poland, nor has Putin ever made any claim over it.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was one nuclear power facing another. Putin's criminal attempt to crush Ukraine is quite different in every regard. Does anyone know what Putin's off-ramp might be? And does this criminal deserve one?
Justice for Ukraine is a primary issue now, with implications for all of human civilization. If warned beforehand, as he has been, his nuclear weapons are really useless.
Apart from nuclear war, no issue exists that is even vaguely comparable in importance to climate change.
Its very enormity perhaps explains the ease with which mendacious politicians and businessmen have denied it. People just can't get their minds around an issue on that scale.