OT subject but worth a main-stream read- OT News Feeds...

lousubcap

Wednesday Russia-Ukraine update:

"Vadym Filashkin, the governor of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, ordered the evacuation of children and their parents or guardians from several front-line towns and villages because of advancing Russian forces. Filashkin has been urging civilians to leave over recent weeks amid an increase in deadly Russian bombardments.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington, DC-based think tank, said Russian forces were attempting “to make tactically and operationally significant gains” before long-awaited supplies of Western weaponry arrived on the front lines.

Russia launched 42 glide bombs on the northeastern Kharkiv region over a 24-hour period, according to local authorities. No injuries were reported.

Ukraine said it had hit an ammunition depot in the Olkhovatsky district of Russia’s Voronezh region about 50km (30 miles) from the border with Ukraine. Voronezh Governor Alexander Gusev reported a fire at the site but no casualties."

lousubcap

An insightful read from Fareed Zakaria- Focus on the Viet Cong comments...so true!

Is Hamas Getting Stronger?

Since Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacres, Israel’s reprisal campaign in Gaza has cost tens of thousands of lives and has unfurled an intense humanitarian catastrophe. Some say it’s also not achieving its military goal of eliminating Hamas.   In a Foreign Affairs essay, Gen. David Petraeus (ret.), former Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan Meghan O’Sullivan, and former National Security Council official for Near East Affairs Richard Fontaine argue Israel is repeating the mistakes America made in its post-9/11 wars. “Killing and capturing terrorists and insurgents is insufficient,” they write. “[T]he key to solidifying security gains and stemming the recruitment of new adversaries is holding territory, protecting civilians, and providing governance and services to them. That approach reduces the likelihood that fighters will find succor among the population, which would allow them to reconstitute. … As was the case in successful U.S. operations, commanders should ask whether a given operation will eliminate more enemy fighters than it might produce.”   As far as numbers go, it’s not entirely clear how many of Hamas’ fighters have been killed. Regardless, a Foreign Affairs essay by Robert A. Pape argues Hamas is getting stronger in a more holistic sense.   A University of Chicago political scientist and expert on terrorism, Pape writes that “thanks to Israel’s assault, Hamas’s power is actually growing. Just as the Viet Cong grew stronger … in 1966 and 1967 when the United States poured troops into [Vietnam] … Hamas remains intractable and has evolved into a tenacious and deadly guerrilla force in Gaza—with lethal operations restarting in the northern regions that were supposedly cleared by Israel only a few months ago. ... For a terrorist or insurgent group, the key source of power is not the size of its current generation of fighters but its potential to gain supporters from the local community in the future. … After nine months of grueling war, it is time to recognize the stark reality: there is no military-only solution to defeat Hamas. The group is more than the sum of its current number of fighters. It is also more than an evocative idea. Hamas is a political and social movement with violence at its core, and it is not going away any time soon.”"

lousubcap

Thursday Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah update:

"Under Western pressure to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Israel is preparing to boost electricity and increase water supply in the enclave, an Israeli security official and a western official told Reuters yesterday.

Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met yesterday with U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan to discuss developments in the Gaza war. During the meeting, U.S. officials provided a line-by-line explanation of U.S. weapons shipments to Israel, in a bid to rebut Netanyahu’s claims that the Biden administration was delaying military assistance. While the meeting helped resolve some of the problems that have slowed down U.S. weapons shipments to Israel, President Biden’s hold on the delivery of 2000-pound bombs remains under review, U.S. and Israeli officials said. The New York Times reports; CNN reports; Barak Ravid reports for Axios.

Egypt and the United Arab Emirates are prepared to participate in a postwar Gaza security force, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken informed counterparts during his recent visit to the region, three sources said. Both Egypt and the UAE stipulated conditions for their involvement, including the demand that the plan is linked to the establishment of a future Palestinian state, the sources said. Jacob Magid reports for The Times of Israel.

Israel has started deploying extra troops to its northern border in preparation for a potential full-scale war in Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Troops under the banner of the Northern Command conducted a training exercise drilling “extreme” scenarios in the region yesterday. The Guardian reports. "

lousubcap

Thursday Russia-Ukraine update:

"NATO will offer Ukraine a new headquarters in Germany to manage its military assistance at next month’s 75th anniversary summit in Washington, officials said. While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had hoped Kyiv would be offered membership negotiations at the summit, U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan called the step a “bridge to eventual membership.” Steven Erlanger reports for the New York Times.

Oleh Syniehubov, governor of the northeastern Kharkiv region, said the situation in the border town of Vovchansk was “volatile” amid intense fighting with invading Russian forces. He said several dozen Russian soldiers were blocked inside an industrial facility in the town, and that Moscow was also using aircraft to attack Vovchansk, which is about 5km (three miles) from the border.

A Russian missile attack struck Ukraine’s southern city of Odesa, damaging an administrative building, regional governor Oleh Kiper said. No casualties were reported."

lousubcap

Instead of war related posts:
Some observations regarding commercial office space in the PC (Post Covid) world and others:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-06-27/bloomberg-evening-briefing-the-great-emptying-of-the-american-office?cmpid=BBD062724_BIZ&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=240627&utm_campaign=bloombergdaily

lousubcap

Friday Israel-Hamas update: (nothing Hezbollah related today)

"The Israeli security cabinet today approved legalizing five West Bank outposts and a series of sanctions against the Palestinian Authority. In return for the measures, far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich will reportedly release frozen Palestinian Authority tax funds and extend a waiver allowing Israeli banks to work with their Palestinian counterparts. The Times of Israel reports. 

Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men blocked a major highway in central Israel for two hours yesterday to protest the recent Supreme Court decision ordering conscription for young religious men. Ami Bentov reports for AP News.

The Biden administration is expected to soon release 500-lb. bombs that were part of a weapons shipment to Israel put on hold in April over concerns about Israel’s Rafah offensive, U.S. and Israeli officials said. About 1,700 bombs are expected to be delivered after Israel’s operation in Rafah ends, which is expected to happen in two weeks, an Israeli official said. Barak Ravid reports for Axios."

lousubcap

Friday Russia-Ukraine update:

"North Korea will send a “large number” of engineering and construction troops to help rebuild Russian-occupied cities in eastern Ukraine, reports say. The soldiers will arrive as early as this month to take part in “reconstruction” work focusing on the Donetsk region, TV Chosun reported, citing a South Korean government official. Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder warned this week that North Korean troops would become “cannon fodder” if they joined Moscow on the battlefield. The Telegraph reports.

Ukraine’s military said its forces had forced Russian soldiers out of a district in the strategically important town of Chasiv Yar on the war’s eastern front. Russia, meanwhile, said its forces had destroyed a communications tower near the town and made further headway.

The head of Russia’s Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, said the country had sent about 10,000 naturalised citizens to fight in Ukraine, and that it was cracking down on those who had received Russian citizenship but were not registering with military authorities.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said it launched missile attacks on Ukrainian airfields, which it believes have been designated to host Western military aircraft. It said the attacks were successful but did not provide any details.

Ukraine and the European Union signed a security pact to ensure long-term support to Kyiv, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the EU’s leaders to live up to their promises to provide military equipment including air defence systems."

JohnInCarolina

This is fine:

lousubcap

Just reflects a continuing wave across Europe (and slapping the shores here.)  
Related article:
https://apnews.com/article/france-election-far-right-macron-f07061a929ed8eaad0e714e948159cab

Botch

lousubcap said:

Just reflects a continuing wave across Europe (and slapping the shores here.)  

First, our shores got slapped 8 years ago; we may have strengthened the whole anti-social/pro-nationalist/tribal movement.
Second, from what I've read, Great Britain is actually bucking the trend; the conservatives/Tories seem to be coming up on a defeat in an upcoming election; hopefully our British friends can confirm/deny/flesh this out.  

Legume

And Orban's Hungary takes over leadership of the EU, well, now. It's already tomorrow there.