Occupy Banksters & Crony Capitalism & GREED

Dashboard: Russian invasion of Ukraine
Axios | staff | 04/29/22

Lawmakers fret over dwindling Javelin supply
Axios | Alayna Treene | 04/29/22

Some members of Congress are calling for President Biden to invoke the Defense Production Act amid concern the diversion of Javelin anti-tank and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine could leave the U.S. itself militarily vulnerable.

Why it matters: The president is planning to visit a Lockheed Martin facility in Alabama that makes Javelins next Tuesday. Having a ready supply of such potent and proven weapons is seen as vital not only to Ukraine but to ensuring Taiwan is prepared for a potential Chinese invasion.

Driving the news: Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) warned of a potential Javelin shortage during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing this week.

"The United States military has probably sent about one-third of its Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine — one-third of our supply given to them," Blumenthal said. "Replenishing U.S. stocks or those weapons would require 32 months." ... Read more

The stock market is a mess
Axios | Matt Phillips | 04/27/22

40 Million People Rely on the Colorado River, and Now It's Drying Up | Vice | 2021 | 9:23

Beijing braces for COVID lockdown with mass testing and panic buying
Axios | Dave Lawler | 04/27/22

Beijing is bracing for a potential lockdown in the face of a new COVID outbreak. Residents are stocking up on supplies, and authorities have ordered 20 million people to take three mandatory tests this week.

Why it matters: Sticking with President Xi Jinping's zero-COVID strategy effectively means leaving the entire country indefinitely on the edge of lockdown.

Between the lines: Xi is so personally tied to the zero-COVID approach - which he publicly defended last week— that some experts think he simply can't be seen to abandon it.

Driving the news: Shanghai's brutal lockdown is shaping the way officials and ordinary citizens in Beijing are responding to rising COVID infections. ... Read more

Dashboard: Russian invasion of Ukraine
Axios | staff | 04/26/22

Biden to nominate Bridget Brink as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine
Axios | Oriana Gonzalez | 04/25/22

President Biden announced on Monday that he intends to nominate Bridget Brink to serve as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.

Driving the news: The U.S. has not had an ambassador to Ukraine since former President Trump removed Marie Yovanovitch from the position in 2019.

The big picture: The White House's announcement follows Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday, the first time top U.S. officials have traveled to Ukraine since the start of Russia's unprovoked invasion.

Blinken announced during the visit that U.S. diplomats would return to Ukraine this week, the State Department said in a statement. ... Read more

PFAS: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | 10/04/21 | 19:57

Scientists fear Ukraine war will worsen Siberian wildfires
Axios | Andrew Freedman | 04/22/22

A tragic link between war and global warming could unfold imminently in Siberia: Wildfires that spew emissions may burn out of control because Russian military units that normally locate and fight them are in Ukraine.

Why it matters: Russian wildfires are a major source of carbon dioxide emissions, and some types of fires there also send black carbon, or soot, into the Arctic, which fuels sea ice melt.

The big picture: Eurasia as a whole, and Siberia in particular, has been warming at some of the fastest rates on Earth, with ripple effects extending throughout the landscape.

In 2020, for example, Siberia set its hottest temperature on record as well as an all-time Arctic record, at 100.4F in Verkhoyansk, about 3,000 miles from Moscow. ... Read more

PFAS: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | 10/04/21 | 19:57

ON THE ROAD WITH BERNIE SANDERS | TheIntercept | 04/22/22 | audio

The Fighting Soul: On the Road with Bernie Sanders Hardcover by Ari Rabin-Havt (04/26/22)

Bernie Sanders inspires fervent love and, even among his enemies, a measure of grudging respect-yet, curiously, we know little about who the man really is, with Sanders deliberately keeping the focus on his policies.

Now, with The Fighting Soul, Ari Rabin-Havt takes us where no profiles or televised interviews have been able to go. As a close advisor and deputy campaign manager on Sanders most recent-and likely last-presidential campaign, the tireless Rabin-Havt spent more hours between 2017 and 2020 with the Vermont senator than anyone else. Traveling the country for rallies and to support striking workers, the two visited thirty-six states, drove tens of thousands of miles, and ate in countless chain restaurants. One result was a meteoric and galvanizing presidential campaign. Another is The Fighting Soul, an unforgettable chronicle of life on the road with Sanders and the first in-depth portrait of this fiercely independent, and famously private, left-wing firebrand.

Sanders's second bid for the presidency began in Rabin-Havt's apartment in Washington DC in January 2018. From there, Rabin-Havt offers a behind-the-scenes account of Sanders run, including his heart attack in Las Vegas, his notorious debate encounter with fellow-progressive Elizabeth Warren, and a momentous conversation between Sanders and Barack Obama that has never been reported before. At every step, Rabin-Havt shows us Bernie Sanders when the cameras turn off: his dry sense of humor; his views of his young supporters; the pivotal role his wife, Jane, plays in every decision he makes; and more. Delving into Sanders life and career, with moving glimpses of his childhood in Brooklyn and first forays into politics in Burlington, Rabin-Havt discloses that Sanders is shocked by his ascent: "Ari, my parents would tell me I was crazy if I told them I would become a senator, much less could become president of the United States."

Though his campaign ended in abrupt and unexpected defeat, Sanders has pushed the Democratic Party to the left and helped remake American politics-as Rabin-Havt suggests, he has done more to shape our history than anyone else who has not reached the White House. Revelatory and heartfelt, The Fighting Soul depicts the rare politician motivated by principle, not power.

Democracy Now! U.S. and World News Headlines for Friday, Apr 22 [12:26]

"Powerlands": Young Dine Filmmaker on Indigenous Resistance to Resource Colonization Worldwide | DN | 04/22/22 | 22:12

Pathetic Republican Puppets Caved To Trump's Demands | TYT | 04/22/22 | 10:01

Trump FUMING Over Distorted Interview With Piers Morgan | TYT | 04/22/22 | 11:12

Biden announces $800M in security assistance, $500M in economic aid to Ukraine
Politico | Andrew Freedman | 04/22/22

President Joe Biden on Thursday announced an $800 million package of security assistance to Ukraine to "further augment" its ability to fend off Russia's new offensive in the southeastern Donbas region.

The package will include heavy artillery weapons, tactical drones and dozens of howitzers, as well as 144,000 rounds of ammunition for those howitzers, Biden said in a speech at the White House.

The package includes a new drone made specifically for Ukraine. The Air Force and AEVEX Aerospace, a firm that has done business with U.S. Special Operations Command, rapidly developed the weapon, a senior Defense Department official said.

The drone, known as the Phoenix Ghost, will require "minimal training," the official said. The official likened it to the Switchblade drones that the United States previously sent to Ukraine because they are "one-way" weapons, suggesting that the new drone may be a loitering weapon that flies to a target and detonates an explosive warhead, although the official did not offer clarity on that specific point. ... Read more

Dashboard: Russian invasion of Ukraine
Axios | staff | 04/21/22

Critical Race Theory: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | 04/21/22 | 28:07

Critical Race Theory Wikipedia

Critical Race Theory: The Key Writings That Formed the Movement by Kimberle Crenshaw

What is Critical Race Theory and why is it under fire from the political right? This foundational essay collection, which defines key terms and includes case studies, is the essential work to understand the intellectual movement

Why did the president of the United States, in the midst of a pandemic and an economic crisis, take it upon himself to attack Critical Race Theory? Perhaps Donald Trump appreciated the power of this groundbreaking intellectual movement to change the world.

In recent years, Critical Race Theory has vaulted out of the academy and into courtrooms, newsrooms, and onto the streets. And no wonder: as intersectionality theorist Kimberlé Crenshaw recently told Time magazine, "It's an approach to grappling with a history of white supremacy that rejects the belief that what's in the past is in the past, and that the laws and systems that grow from that past are detached from it." The panicked denunciations from the right notwithstanding, CRT has changed the way millions of people interpret our troubled world.

Edited by its principal founders and leading theoreticians, Critical Race Theory was the first book to gather the movement's most important essays. This groundbreaking book includes contributions from scholars including Derrick Bell, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Patricia Williams, Dorothy Roberts, Lani Guinier, Duncan Kennedy, and many others. It is essential reading in an age of acute racial injustice.

Overthrow: 100 Years of U.S. Meddling & Regime Change, from Iran to Nicaragua to Hawaii to Cuba | DN | 03/12/18 | 21:59

World's finance leaders face problems they can't solve
Axios | Neil Irwin | 04/20/22

Every April, the world's finance ministers and other economic policy leaders descend on Washington for the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Things feel different this year - and not just because D.C. has had a stubbornly late-arriving spring.

Why it matters: The world is facing profound economic challenges - global supply shortages caused by pandemic and war - that defy the ability of economic policymakers to solve through clever management of spending or interest rates.

State of play: Through the last 15 years years of financial crises and slow recovery, the world faced serious economic problems, but ones that were largely "endogenous," linked to the internal workings of their economies.

The latest: The IMF on Tuesday released its World Economic Outlook, projecting both lower global growth and higher inflation than it had envisioned as recently as January. The fund reduced its 2022 global growth projection by 0.8 percentage points, to 3.6%. It increased its 2022 inflation projection by 1.8 percentage points for advanced economies and 2.8 percentage points for emerging markets. ... Read more

Police Interrogations: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | 04/18/22 | 24:42

Russia begins large-scale offensive in eastern Ukraine
Axios | Zachary Basu | 04/19/22

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Monday that Russia's long-awaited offensive in the Donbas region had begun, setting off a decisive second phase of the war centered on a battle for territory in eastern Ukraine.

The latest: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also said in an interview with India Today Tuesday that the Kremlin was beginning a new stage in its invasion of Ukraine, predicting that it would be "a very important moment."

"Another stage of this operation [in eastern Ukraine] is beginning and I am sure this will be a very important moment of this entire special operation," Lavrov said.

Why it matters: Russian forces pulled back from Kyiv earlier this month to refocus their efforts on the Donbas. U.S. officials and analysts expect Russia to try to overwhelm and encircle Ukrainian forces after failing in its initial push to seize the capital.

What they're saying: "Now we can already state that the Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbas, for which they have been preparing for a long time," Zelensky said in a video posted to Telegram. ... Read more

IMF warns of 'severe' global economic risk from war in Ukraine
Politico | Kathy O'Donnoll | 04/19/22

The global economic outlook has "worsened significantly" since January because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the resulting sanctions by the West, according to the latest assessment of the world economy released by the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday.

The war isn't the only risk to economic growth: The IMF warned of potential new bottlenecks in global supply chains due to the recent lockdowns in China and noted that higher inflation has led many countries to tighten monetary policy.

The war in Ukraine will "severely" set back the global recovery from Covid-19, according to the IMF, which projected global growth of 3.6 percent in 2022 and 2023 - down 0.8 and 0.2 percent, respectively, from its January forecast.

The organization projected 2.9 percent growth in the European Union this year, 1.1 percentage points lower than its January forecast. The U.S. expansion for 2022 is forecast at 3.7 percent, down from 4 percent in January. Russia's economy will contract by 8.5 percent, according to the IMF, which had projected 2.8 percent growth for the country in January. China's output is expected to grow 4.4 percent this year, down from the 4.8 percent forecast in January. ... Read more

Biden's Indo-Pacific gambit puts trade back on the radar
Axios | Javier E. David | 04/15/22

President Biden is putting Asian economies at the center of a new economic accord, at a time when globalization has become anathema, and geopolitical tensions are reshaping the world order.

Why it matters: Regional heavyweights like India, Australia, Japan, and South Korea are linchpins in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), which (at least for now) has pointedly excluded China.

The administration is seeking new regional alliances and fortifying old ones, but those ambitions face an uphill climb.

By the numbers: Two-way trade between the U.S. and the region totaled $1.75 trillion in 2020, according to White House estimates, with American foreign direct investment just shy of $1 trillion.

The other side: According to the Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS), some constituents are worried about the "optics" of not including Beijing. ... Read more

Noam Chomsky and Jeremy Scahill on the Russia-Ukraine War, the Media, Propaganda, and Accountability | TheIntercept | 04/14/22 | 1:02:20

Russian TV Is Filled With Images of Bucha's Dead, Stamped With the Word "Fake"
TheIntercept | Robert Mackey | 04/13/22

Instead of trying to suppress apparent evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, Russian state television inundated viewers with video of the Bucha massacre it calls a hoax.

BECAUSE THE HORRIFYING truth of what happened in Bucha, Ukraine, during the Russian occupation last month is unpalatable to officials in Moscow, the Russian government has invented a lurid fantasy to tell its own people.

For the past week, Russian television, which is under the full control of the government, has presented as fact the fictional version of events crafted by the state - that the bodies of murdered civilians discovered in Bucha last week were planted there after the Russian withdrawal. According to Russian news anchors, correspondents, and pundits, the apparent crime scene discovered after the Russian retreat was a monstrous plot to frame Russian soldiers as war criminals, carried out by Ukraine's intelligence service and its Western partners. ... Read more

Dashboard: Russian invasion of Ukraine
Axios | staff | 04/14/22

1. Russia says flagship of Black Sea fleet damaged in blast
2. In photos: Ukraine after 50 days of Russian attacks
3. Biden says new $800 million Ukraine package will include helicopters
4. German authorities seize world's biggest yacht

Amace Brochure

Leta, GPT-3 AI - Conversations with GPT3 - Episode 49 (death, grief, Miraca, Una, Fairseq, loop) | 02/10/22 | 7:57

First look: Climate, environment shape Gen Z life decisions
Axios | author | 04/13/22

Driving the news: The survey by youth development group 4-H and Harris Poll found that just 45% of teenagers age 13-19 believe political and global leaders are taking meaningful action to protect the environment.

But they do show some signs of hope: 77% feel that they have a responsibility for protecting the future of the planet and the same share feel empowered to act.

The big picture: Generation Z teenagers are very concerned about climate and the environment and see harms already unfolding. ... Read more

Deep Learning Explained by Barack Obama | | 1:20

Leta, GPT-3 AI - Episode 3 (comparing AIs, Hitchhiker's, Limerick, Swearing!) | Episode 03 | 03/19/21 | 5:12

Leta, GPT-3 AI | One AI (Artificial Intelligence) critiquing another AI | Episode 55 | 03/12/22 | 12:12

Inflation surges to 8.5%, highest in over 40 years
Axios | Matt Philip | 04/12/22

Why it matters: The relentless rise in prices is a challenge for investors, Federal Reserve policy makers and politicians, who are all trying to navigate an inflationary backdrop that hasn't been seen since the early 1980s.

Driving the news: The consumer price index rose 1.2% in March compared to February, above economists expectations for 1.1%.

Prices were up 8.5% over the last year, higher than the 8.4% rise that economists expected, according to consensus expectations reported by FactSet.

Gasoline prices jumped 18.3% from February to March - as energy markets reeled from the war in Ukraine - accounting for over half the rise in monthly headline inflation. ... Read more

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy: The 60 Minutes Interview | 60Minutes | 04/10/22 | 27:41

Historians Take A First Draft At Trump's Presidency | Joe MSNBC | 04/12/22 | 9:46

The Presidency of Donald J. Trump: A First Historical Assessment Paperback by Julian E. Zeli

The Presidency of Donald J. Trump presents a first draft of history by offering needed perspective on one of the nation's most divisive presidencies. Acclaimed political historian Julian Zelizer brings together many of today's top scholars to provide balanced and strikingly original assessments of the major issues that shaped the Trump presidency.

When Trump took office in 2017, he quickly carved out a loyal base within an increasingly radicalized Republican Party, dominated the news cycle with an endless stream of controversies, and presided over one of the most contentious one-term presidencies in American history. These essays cover the crucial aspects of Trump's time in office, including his administration's close relationship with conservative media, his war on feminism, the solidification of a conservative women's movement, his response to COVID-19, the border wall, growing tensions with China and NATO allies, white nationalism in an era of Black Lives Matter, and how the high-tech sector flourished.

The Presidency of Donald J. Trump reveals how Trump was not the cause of the political divisions that defined his term in office but rather was a product of long-term trends in Republican politics and American polarization more broadly.

With contributions by Kathleen Belew, Angus Burgin, Geraldo Cadava, Merlin Chowkwanyun, Bathsheba Demuth, Gregory Downs, Jeffrey Engel, Beverly Gage, Nicole Hemmer, Michael Kazin, Daniel C. Kurtzer, James Mann, Mae Ngai, Margaret O'Mara, Jason Scott Smith, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, and Leandra Zarnow.

Russian invasion of Ukraine
Axios | staff | 04/11/22

1. Mariupol mayor says more than 10,000 killed in Russian siege
2. France sends experts to investigate possible war crimes in Ukraine
3. Zelensky: Russia amassing "tens of thousands" of troops for next offensive
4. Inside wartime Russia, Putin isn't losing
5. Zelensky: "Of course I'm ready to give my life for my country"

Eliza 1965

Lucy is the charming actress | The dialogue, and actions, in this video was generated by Artificial Intelligence | 2021 | 5:00

Watch 3 AIs compete for the high score. | 06/21/21 | 6:49

Say Hello to Waymo | 2016 | 1:53

Methane in Earth's atmosphere rose by record amount last year, US government data shows
TheGuardian | Oliver Milman | 04/08/22

Climate scientists say plugging methane leaks and phasing out fossil fuels are necessary to avert catastrophic global heating

Atmospheric levels of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, increased by a record amount for the second year in a row in 2021, according to US government data.

The concentration of methane in the Earth's atmosphere jumped by 17 parts per billion (ppb) in 2021, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) monitoring found, the largest annual increase recorded since modern measurements began in 1983. The previous record increase, of 15.3ppb, was set in 2020.

While carbon dioxide emitted from the burning of fossil fuels can linger in the atmosphere and contribute towards global heating for generations, methane is far shorter lived.

Methane, however, is also far more potent as a greenhouse gas: it is 25 times more powerful at trapping heat and acts as a significant short-term driver of the climate crisis. ... Read more

Jackson joins a Supreme Court at fever pitch
Axios | staff | 04/08/22

The big picture: Ketanji Brown Jackson at the Supreme Court just as it's diving headfirst into the most controversial issues in American politics - and at a moment when its conservative majority is poised to lock in victories that the right has been chasing for years, sometimes decades.

Driving the news: Jackson will start hearing cases when the court's next term begins in October. And even with only about a dozen cases on the docket so far, that term is already shaping up to be a dramatic one.

Jimmy Kimmel Responds to Marjorie Taylor Greene After She Reported Him to Police | 04/07/22 | 14:52

Earth's CO2 levels to hit alarming milestone
Axios | Andrew Freedman | 04/07/22

Monthly average carbon dioxide (CO2) levels are very likely to hit or even exceed 420 parts per million during the month of April, according to readings at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii.

Why it matters: This is a new record high for human history, and very likely the highest level seen in 4.1 million to 4.5 million years.

Scientists tell Axios that the sustained year-to-year growth rates in CO2 concentrations are unprecedented.

Driving the news: The amount of CO2 in the air continues to increase as people burn fossil fuels and chop down rainforests for agriculture, among other activities.

Context: The data plotting the increase in CO2 is known as the Keeling Curve, named after Charles Keeling, who started and maintained the observations. ... Read more

See what three degrees of global warming looks like | The Economist | 10/30/21 | 16:23

Is the world's most important climate legislation about to die in US Congress?
TheGuardian | Daniel Sherrell | 04/07/22

Passage of the bill would probably spell the difference between the US meeting its climate goals and blowing right past them

On April 23, the day after Earth Day, a big tent coalition - climate activists, union workers, civil rights leaders, and increasingly desperate young people - will be gathering outside the White House. If you live on the eastern seaboard and are free that Saturday, you should sign up and join them. Here's why:

Tucked beneath the headlines on Covid and Ukraine, the most important climate legislation in US history - and thus, arguably, in world history - is still stuck in congressional purgatory. You'd be forgiven if you weren't fully aware. It is not trending on Twitter. Joe Biden has mostly stopped talking about it. The enormous moral stakes have been brutally ablated by a broken, farcical and, above all, extremely boring legislative kludge known as budget reconciliation. The months-long saga has turned Biden's original "Build Back Better" plan into the juridical equivalent of a Warhol soup can - a ubiquitous token evacuated of any original meaning. ... Read more

Central bankers put inflation control front and center
Axion | Knoll Irwin | 04/06/22

Inflation has risen to multidecade highs in the U.S. and large parts of the world. The reckoning over why it happened and what central bankers should do about it is only beginning.

That's the takeaway from two speeches delivered Tuesday on opposite sides of the Atlantic, both of which make clear the pressure facing central banks to clean up a mess they helped create.

Why it matters: Even monetary doves have concluded that the economy is at a delicate moment in which high inflation could become entrenched. That has created a new urgency to tighten monetary policy, itself a source of risk for markets and the economy.

Driving the news: Speeches by Federal Reserve governor Lael Brainard and Bank for International Settlements chief Agustín Carstens show that inflation control has become the "paramount" concern of central banks, as Brainard put it. ... Read more

Inflation worldwide: Why things are getting more expensive | DW | 02/03/22| 15:18

1bn for Ukraine, 35bn for Russian energy: top EU diplomat calls out funding gap
TheGuardiane | Jennifer Rankin | 04/06/22

The EU has given 35bn (29.1bn) to Vladimir Putin for energy supplies since the start of his war and 1bn to fund Ukraine's defence, the union's top diplomat said.

Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, made the comparison in a characteristically blunt speech to the European parliament as he urged Europe to send more arms to Ukraine to help end the war. ... Read more

Major UN climate change report: key takeaways
Axios | Andrew Freedman | 04/05/22

The new United Nations climate report provides insights into what needs to be done to avert some of the worst impacts of global warming.

First: In the most jarring finding, researchers concluded that to meet the Paris Agreement's targets - holding warming to "well below" 2C, while working to limit it to 1.5C above preindustrial levels - global carbon dioxide emissions would have to peak by 2025. (Subtle reminder, it's already 2022.)

Not only that, but emissions would have to be cut by between 30% and more than 40% by 2030.

Second: We're so far off course from the Paris targets that the current path would lead us to warming of about 3.2°C (5.8°F) above preindustrial levels.

Third: What must be done seems daunting, but it's actually relatively straightforward: Deploy massive amounts of existing and soon-to-mature clean energy and efficiency technologies while working to advance the options for decarbonizing hard to clean up sectors of the economy.

Fourth: Fossil fuel investments are a one-way ticket to stranded assets (meaning the fossil fuel assets would be unusable).

Fifth: Temperatures will stabilize when emissions reach net zero, but doing so and then bringing temperatures down from there will require some use of potentially risky carbon dioxide removal technologies. ... Please Read the Whole Article

Senate overcomes GOP hurdle to advance Jackson
Politico | MARIANNE LEVINE | 04/04/22

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is one step closer to the Supreme Court after the Senate dislodged her nomination from a deadlocked Judiciary committee, a rare step for a high court hopeful.

In a 53-47 vote, the Senate voted to advance Jackson's nomination out of committee, with Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) joining all 50 members of the Democratic caucus in supporting Biden's high court pick. All three of those senators have now said they will support Jackson's confirmation to the high court. ... Read more

Grassroots or Astroturf? Inside the Republican "Parents Party" Rebrand | TheIntercept | 04/05/22 | 9:47

UN: Over 4.2 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian invasion began
Axios | Erin Doherty | 04/04/22

More than 4.2 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russia launched its unprovoked invasion, according to United Nations refugee agency data on Monday.

State of play: The U.N. refugee agency has labeled the exodus the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.

Driving the news: Most Ukrainian refugees have crossed into Poland, and others have gone to Romania, Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia and other European countries. Many have also fled to Russia. ... Read more

The U.S. Has Its Own Agenda Against Russia
TheIntercept | Jeremy Scahill | 04/01/22

Ukraine is ground zero for the expansion of the U.S.-Russia proxy war.

Ever since Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, there has been an unprecedented cohesion of messaging emanating from the U.S. government, its NATO and other European allies, and large segments of the Western media establishment. As massive quantities of weapons pour into Ukraine, there has been consistent media and political agitation for President Joe Biden and other Western leaders to "do more" or answer for why they are not further escalating the situation, including through the imposition of a no-fly zone.

The White House smells Putin's blood in the waters of his disastrous invasion. The flow of weapons, the sweeping sanctions, and other acts of economic warfare are ultimately aimed not just at defending Ukraine and making the regime pay for the invasion in the immediate present, but also setting in motion its downfall. "For god's sake, this man cannot remain in power," Biden said during his recent visit to Poland. The White House sought to walk back the line and clarify that it did not constitute a change in policy but was merely an expression of the president's righteous anger. The kerfuffle over what Biden really meant is less important than the very public actions of the U.S. and its allies.

The war in Ukraine is simultaneously a war of aggression being waged by Putin and part of a larger geopolitical battle between the U.S., NATO, and Russia. "We are engaged in a conflict here. It's a proxy war with Russia, whether we say so or not," said Leon Panetta, the former CIA director and defense secretary under Barack Obama. "I think the only way to basically deal with Putin right now is to double down on ourselves, which means to provide as much military aid as necessary." Speaking to Bloomberg News on March 17, Panetta laid out the U.S. strategy: "Make no mistake about it: Diplomacy is going nowhere unless we have leverage, unless the Ukrainians have leverage, and the way you get leverage is by, frankly, going in and killing Russians. That's what the Ukrainians have to do. We've got to continue the war effort. This is a power game. Putin understands power; he doesn't really understand diplomacy very much." ... Read more

Russia's powerful friends come to its side
Axios | Dave Lawler | 04/01/22

President Biden has said Russia is "isolated from the world," but the rest of the world doesn't necessarily see it that way.

Driving the news: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's friendly visits to the world's two biggest countries - India and China - suggest that Russia is hardly a pariah.

And while the sanctions on Russia are crippling, they're limited mainly to NATO members and other close U.S. allies like Australia, Japan and South Korea.

Leaders from many other countries, including Brazil, Pakistan and South Africa, are much more open to Russia.

What they're saying: As Lavrov was traveling to Delhi, the U.S. and Australia criticized India for discussing a rupee-ruble trade arrangement with Russia, which could undermine Western sanctions. ... Read more

European Union leaders have called on China to help end the war in Ukraine, after having what they called "frank" exchanges with their Chinese counterparts.
TheGuardian | Jennifer Rankin | 04/01/22

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said the online meetings with the Chinese leadership, prime minister Li Keqiang and President Xi Jinping, had taken place in a very sober atmosphere.

"Today's summit was certainly not business as usual," she said, saying that as a permanent member of the security council China had "a very special responsibility".

Speaking at a press conference alongside her, European Council president Charles Michel said: We call on China to help end the war in Ukraine. China cannot turn a blind eye to Russia's violation of international law. ... Read more