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.

lousubcap

Monday Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah update:

"Israeli forces yesterday advanced further into the Shejaia neighborhood of Gaza City while pushing deeper into western and central Rafah, residents said, killing at least six Palestinians and destroying several homes. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed yesterday that fighting in Gaza will continue until Hamas is eliminated and “all the other goals of the war are achieved.” Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Kamel Hamdan report for Reuters; Marianne Gros reports for POLITICO.

Gaza’s remaining hospitals, health centers, and oxygen stations will stop functioning within 48 hours due to fuel shortages, the Hamas-run health ministry said yesterday. Aid groups say that Israel’s closure of the Rafah crossing last month cut off key supply lines, limiting humanitarian and medical supplies entering the enclave. Jennifer Hassan, Claire Parker, Sarah Dadouch and Heidi Levine report for the Washington Post.

Tens of thousands of Jewish ultra-Orthodox men clashed with Israeli police in central Jerusalem yesterday at a protest against the Supreme Court decision ordering conscription. Police said they had to use force to disperse protesters, as rioters threw stones at law enforcement and the car of Israel’s housing minister. Ohad Zwigenberg reports for AP News; Lauren Izso and Hande Atay Alam report for CNN.

A drone strike in the northern Golan Heights along Lebanon’s border injured 18 soldiers yesterday, the Israeli military said. The Israeli Air Force said it had struck two “Hezbollah terror targets” in southern Lebanon, and that Israeli forces fired artillery into southern Lebanon “to remove threats in multiple areas.” The New York Times reports."

lousubcap

Monday Russia-Ukraine update:

"Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its forces had taken control of the villages of Spirne and Novooleksandrivka in Donetsk, and improved their position around the front line in the area. Ukraine’s General Staff said in its daily update on the battlefield situation that “heavy fighting” was taking place in the area around the villages, but did not report any losses.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had dropped more than 800 glide bombs in Ukraine in the past week, and appealed to Western countries to further relax restrictions on the use of weapons against military targets inside Russia. Glide bombs are heavy Soviet-era bombs fitted with precision guidance systems and launched from aircraft flying out of range of air defences.

While on glide bombs:
Russia’s glide bombs are striking their own territory likely due to faulty guidance systems, an internal Russian document has revealed. At least 38 of the bombs, which have been credited with assisting Russia’s recent territorial advances, crashed into the Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine between April 2023 and April 2024. Mary Ilyushina and Isabelle Khurshudyan report for the Washington Post."

lousubcap

Tuesday Israel-Hamas update: (Relatively quiet with Hezbollah.)

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that Israeli forces were “advancing toward the final stage of eliminating” Hamas’s “terrorist army,” adding that they will “continue striking its remnants.” The Washington Post reports.

The Israeli military yesterday ordered Palestinians to leave a region east of the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis after rockets were fired towards Israel. Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack. While Israel pulled back its forces from Khan Younis in April, the evacuation orders indicate Israel could be preparing for a fresh raid. The New York Times reports; David Gritten and Rushdi Abualouf report for BBC News.

Netanyahu has privately shown openness to Palestinian Authority involvement in a post-war Gaza, Israeli and U.S. officials told The Times of Israel. While Netanyahu continues to publicly reject the idea of PA rule over Gaza, his top aides have privately concluded that individuals with links to the PA are the only viable option Israel has if it wants to rely on “local Palestinians” to manage civilian affairs in Gaza, the officials said. Jacob Magid reports."

lousubcap

Tuesday Russia-Ukraine update:

"Ukraine’s security service said yesterday it had foiled another Russian plot to topple the government and stir civil unrest. The S.B.U. said it had discovered a “group” of conspirators accused of planning to start a riot, seize Ukraine’s parliament building, and replace the leadership. Four people have been arrested and charged, though it is unclear whether any of the accused have connections to Russia. Marc Santora reports for the New York Times; Mariya Knight and Lex Harvey report for CNN.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Putin’s biggest European ally, is in Kyiv today for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, his first trip to the country since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Justin Spike reports for AP News.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence claimed that its forces captured two more Ukrainian villages, Novopokrovske in the war-battered eastern Donetsk region, and Stepova Novoselivka in the northeastern Kharkiv region.

The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, in its evening update, said its forces had repelled 17 attacks in the Kupiansk sector near Kharkiv, including at Stepova Novoselivka. It said fighting was also raging near Synkivka, further west. It identified the Pokrovsk front as the location of some of the fiercest fighting, saying 44 Russian assaults had been repelled there in the previous 24 hours, with 14 battles still raging."

lousubcap

Wednesday Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah update:

"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the idea of initiating a ceasefire in Gaza while Hamas is in power, after The New York Times published an article citing six current and former security officials who said a truce would allow Israel regroup for a potential war with Lebanon’s Hezbollah. In a statement, Netanyahu said, “I do not know who these anonymous sources are, but I am here to make it unequivocally clear: This will not happen. The war will end once Israel achieves all of its objectives.” Amy Cassidy and Eugenia Yosef report for CNN.

Israel has created a new power line to supply electricity to a desalination plant in Khan Younis, allowing it to provide up to 20,000 cubic meters of drinking water per day, the Israeli military said yesterday. A senior military official said that the Palestinian Authority would pay for the electricity, and that UNICEF would manage the plant. The New York Times reports. 

A senior White House official plans to meet with French officials in Paris today in a bid to defuse tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border. The visit by Amos Hochstein comes after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week that the border clashes had caused Israel to lose sovereignty in its north. Michael Crowley reports for the New York Times.

The deputy leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah said yesterday the group would stop fighting with Israel “without any discussion” if there is a ceasefire in Gaza. Abby Sewell and Sarah El Deeb report for AP News."

lousubcap

Wednesday Russia-Ukraine update:

"Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced a new $2.3 billion package for Ukraine. Austin met yesterday with the Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov at the Pentagon, where he announced the package and underscored U.S. commitment to Kyiv. Brad Dress reports for The Hill.

While in Kyiv yesterday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine could speed up negotiations to end the war. “I have asked the president to consider whether … a quick ceasefire could be used to speed up peace negotiations,” Orbán said in a statement. Nick Thorpe reports for BBC News.

Russia said it destroyed five Ukrainian SU-27 fighter jets with Iskander-M missiles and damaged two more at the Myrhorod Air Base in Ukraine’s central Poltava region. The attack comes as Ukraine prepares for the arrival of long-awaited F-16 fighters.

Ukraine said there had been a strike at the Myrhorod Air Base but claimed Moscow was exaggerating the damage caused. Its Air Force commander, Mykola Oleschuk, said Ukraine’s military had also carried out a “destructive strike” on a Russian ammunition depot in the town of Balaklava in Moscow-occupied Crimea on Monday.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its air defence systems destroyed 11 drones that Ukraine launched at Russian territory and the occupied Crimean Peninsula in the early hours of Tuesday."

lousubcap

Thursday Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah update:

Qatar and Egypt yesterday delivered Hamas’s updated response to Israel’s proposal for a hostage and ceasefire deal, Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad said in a statement. Two Israeli officials said Hamas’s updated response was constructive and paves the way for more detailed negotiations that could result in a deal. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.

Israel has seized more land this year than in the past 30 years, according to Peace Now, the Israeli watchdog organization that tracks settlement growth. Nearly half of all West Bank land seized by Israel since the 1993 Oslo Accords was taken this year, the group says. Carrie Keller Lynn reports for the Wall Street Journal.

Israel’s Finance Ministry transferred about $115.5 million in previously withheld tax funds to the Palestinian Authority in exchange for Israeli legalization of five West Bank outposts. While the move may ease financial pressure on the PA, the Palestinian territorial losses further complicate any possibility of a two-state solution. Ephrat Livni reports for the New York Times.

Israel killed a senior Hezbollah commander in a drone strike in southern Lebanon yesterday. Mohammad Naameh Nasser is the one of the highest-ranking Hezbollah fighters to have been killed since cross-border clashes erupted. As an “initial response,” Hezbollah said it fired 100 rockets over the border into northern Israel. The Israeli military said most of the barrage landed in open areas. Euan Ward reports for the New York Times.

lousubcap

Thursday Russia-Ukraine update:
"Moscow-appointed officials at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine said a Ukrainian drone attack on a nearby electricity substation injured eight workers and left the plant’s dormitory town of Enerhodar without power and water.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its forces destroyed two Ukrainian sea drones targeting the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, a key naval base and hub for oil shipments. No casualties or damage were reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed Ukraine when they met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Astana, and agreed that peace talks on Ukraine without Russia’s presence were pointless."

lousubcap

Friday Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah update:

"President Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a call yesterday “it is time to close” a hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza. White House officials say they want to take advantage of Hamas’s positive response to the latest proposal to close the remaining gaps. A senior Biden administration official said there was now a broad agreement about the steps required to transition from phase one, a temporary ceasefire, to phase two, a permanent end to the fighting and a hostage release. Barak Ravid reports for Axios; Aaron Boxerman, Michael D. Shear, and Thomas Fuller report for the New York Times.

One of the largest hospitals in southern Gaza, the European Hospital in Khan Younis, is “now completely empty” after medical staff, patients, and their families fled the facility following an Israeli evacuation order, according to World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Annabelle Timsit, Hazem Balousha, and Anika Arora Seth report for the Washington Post.

The Israeli military said today it was conducting counterterrorism activity that included an airstrike in the West Bank city of Jenin. The Palestinian ministry of health said five people were killed. AP News reports. 

Lebanon’s Hezbollah launched more than 200 rockets into northern Israel in response to Israel’s killing of one of its senior commanders. The Israeli military said one of its officers was killed in the barrage. Lebanese media reported that one person was killed in an Israeli strike on the town of Houla. David Gritten reports for BBC News."

lousubcap

Friday Russia-Ukraine update:

"Russian troops have taken control of parts of Chasiv Yar, a key hilltop town in eastern Ukraine, the Russian defense ministry said yesterday. The town is seen as a gateway to the parts of the Donetsk region that are still in Ukraine’s hands. A spokesperson for Ukraine’s military said its forces had retreated from the district after their defensive positions were destroyed. Ivana Kottasová, Daria Tarasova-Markina and Radina Gigova report for CNN.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and visiting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban began talks on the Ukraine conflict at the Kremlin. At the televised talks, Putin said he wanted to take the opportunity to “discuss the nuances that have developed” over the conflict in Ukraine with Orban, who visited Kyiv earlier this week.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed that the European Union’s backing for Ukraine would not weaken despite Orban’s meeting with Putin. Scholz said Orban does not represent the EU on the visit, underlining that the bloc’s “clear message is that Ukraine can count on our solidarity, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin cannot count on our solidarity and support waning”.

Earlier this week, Orban visited Kyiv and urged Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to consider a ceasefire to accelerate an end to the war with Russia. Hungary currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union and a visit to Moscow would spark fury in the bloc."

dbCooper

Vive la France

lousubcap

At bit more on the above from @dbCooper: From Bloomberg-

Welcome to Balance of Power, bringing you the latest in global politics. Readers of the Paris Edition, Weekend Reading and Economics Daily newsletters are also receiving this special edition. To receive Balance of Power going forward, sign up here. So did the gamble pay off? There are many ways to dissect the shocking reversal of political fortunesin the second round of French legislative elections.  There is one interpretation where Emmanuel Macron is rubbing his hands in delight, and where the naysayers who thought he was nuts to roll the dice have been proved wrong. He dared voters to invite the far right into government, and after flirting with the idea in the first round, they resoundingly decided “non, merci.” Marine Le Pen’s National Rally came third, as voter turnout was the highest since 1981. Then there is another, far less charitable take, one where Macron has simply swapped compromise with one extremist group for another and is not really in control of the events he unleashed. The bottom line is that with the far left winning the most seats instead of the far right, he’s simply swapped one devil for another. And the markets see a scenario where if the far left is calling the shots, then all the hard-won pro-business reforms that Macron fought for could be rolled back. That would be disastrous for the country’s finances. And investors hate surprises. Just ask Liz Truss. the shortest-tenured prime minister in UK history. So yes, this pendulum swing in French politics — just as Western leaders are wondering about the stability of their democracies as they watch Joe Biden’s struggles in the US — doesn’t end the chaos. It adds to it. Perhaps the most benign interpretation is that the center-left held, and that days after Labour was restored to power in the UK, it isn’t a foregone conclusion that nationalist populism is here to stay.  The biggest certainty is that the so-called Republican Front is stronger than ever. This political tradition dating back to postwar France, where all parties band together to keep the fascists at bay not only held, it was perhaps, a bit too successful. First out the gate was the real winner in all this. Jean-Luc Melenchon, France’s answer to former UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn — a 72-year-old left winger who is anti-euro, anti-NATO and unapologetically critical of Israel. He aspires to tax the wealthy, increase the minimum wage and cut the pension age. He wants to open the spending flood gates — or else.  Macron had warned, to some derision, that a victory by the far right or left would spark “civil war.” What will the leader who compared himself to the Roman king of gods say now?"

Botch

dbCooper said:

Vive la France

Finally saw this on the evening news; GB and now France.  Fingers crossed for the US and eventually israel.  

lousubcap

The latest in French politics:
"France is facing political deadlock after parliamentary elections dealt a blow to the far-right National Rally but left no party with a majority. In a surprising surge, the left-wing New Popular Front won 177 seats, compared with 148 for President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist bloc Ensemble, and 142 for National Rally. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced he would stand down after Macron’s coalition lost its majority. BBC News reports; Aurelien Breeden and Roger Cohen report for The New York Times."

lousubcap

Monday Israel-Hamas update: 

"Hamas is ready to reconsider its key demand that Israel commit to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza before signing an agreement that would result in a temporary ceasefire and begin a hostage release process, according to a senior Hamas official. Separately, a Hamas official and an Egyptian official said on Saturday that Hamas has given its initial approval of the U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal. Ibrahim Dahman, Eugenia Yosef and Tim Lister report for CNN; Samy Magdy and Wafaa Shurafa report for AP News.

At least 16 people were killed and 50 injured on Saturday by an Israeli airstrike on a U.N.-run school in Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry said. Israel said it had struck several Hamas “terrorists operating in structures located in the area of Al-Jaouni School.” Separately, an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City yesterday killed a senior official in the Hamas-run government. Rushdi Aboualouf and Tom McArthur report for BBC News; CNN reports. 

Thousands of Israelis took to the streets yesterday to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, a sign of increasing discontent with his handling of the war and failure to secure the release of the remaining hostages. Protesters blocked the main thoroughfares across Israel, calling for new elections. Carrie Keller-Lynn reports for the Wall Street Journal."

lousubcap

Monday Russia-Ukraine update:

"At least 23 people have been killed after Russia launched a hypermissile attack against cities across Ukraine. In Kyiv, at least ten were killed in a rare daytime attack, including two at a children’s hospital. The head of the military administration in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih said at least 10 people had been killed there, with three more killed in the eastern town of Pokrovsk and one in Dnipro. Rob Corp reports for BBC News; Veronika Melzokerova reports for POLITICO.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday the alliance is expected to agree to a five-point plan to support Ukraine, including creating a unified command in Germany and establishing pledges from nations to sustain military support to Kyiv for at least another year. Brad Dress reports for The Hill. 

Russia’s Federal Security Service today said it has blocked an attempt by Ukraine to organize the hijacking of a Russian strategic bomber and fly it to Ukraine. “Ukrainian intelligence intended to recruit a Russian military pilot for a monetary reward and the provision of Italian citizenship, to persuade him to fly and land a missile carrier in Ukraine,” the FSB said. The Guardian reports. 

The Netherlands will begin sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine “without delay” after export licenses were granted, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said during a visit to Kyiv this weekend. The Guardian reports. 

Ukrainian attacks on Russian supply lines have left Russian units short of food, water, and ammunition, hindering Moscow’s renewed invasion into the Kharkiv region, according to Ukrainian field commanders. Siobhán O’Grady, Kostiantyn Khudov and Serhiy Morgunov report for the Washington Post."

lousubcap

Could not get the article to work as a web link so here it is: Definitely worth a read)

MONDAY, JULY 8, 2024

Tom Nichols STAFF WRITER

After President Joe Biden’s disastrous recent public appearances, he and his supporters are attacking media outlets for a double standard in coverage of him and his opponent. They’re right, but that double standard is structural and, unfortunately, will not end during this campaign.

This morning, Biden released a letter he sent to his Democratic colleagues, in which he threw punches in multiple directions at those suggesting that he step down: “press,” “pundits,” “big donors,” and a “selected group of individuals.” (You could almost hear the part he didn’t say: selected individuals, especially certain Democrats on the Hill.) He later called the MSNBC talk show Morning Joe to make many of the same points.

The president’s crisis is of his own making. Biden is clearly no longer up to any kind of prolonged extemporizing, but his campaign gambled first on a debate and then on a hastily arranged interview, both of which went badly. Many of Biden’s supporters are blaming members of the media for a pile-on of negative coverage, but there is no planet on which Biden’s behavior isn’t a major and continuing news story.

If I may paraphrase a line from Midnight Run, one of my favorite movies: Mr. President, you’re in this mess because you’re in this mess. The media didn’t put you in this mess.

But critics of recent media coverage of Biden are dead right about one thing: Many outlets have for years been employing a significant double standard in covering Biden and his opponent, Donald Trump. When Biden stumbles over words, we question his state of mind; when Trump acts like a deranged street preacher, it’s … well, Tuesday. If Biden had suggested setting up migrants in a fight club, he’d be out of the race already; Trump does it, and the country (as well as many in the media) shrugs. Recognizing this inequity is the easy part, but here’s the harder realization: The double standard is a structural problem, it won’t change, and everyone in the prodemocracy coalition needs to grit their teeth and accept that reality.

The structural issue is that in an open society, almost all views may be expressed in the public square—even outright falsehoods. This principle of liberal democracy leaves Trump free to lie and propagandize, which he and his footmen do confidently and effortlessly. These tactics have been highly effective among a GOP base whose senses have been pounded into numbness by relentless propaganda, a daily barrage of **** Artillery that leaves a smoking, pockmarked no-man’s-land in the mind of almost anyone subjected to it for long enough.

Media outlets cannot counter this by responding with a similar “truth barrage,” in part because there are simply not enough hours in the day. But it is also inaccurate to say that media outlets have not recently tried to cover Trump’s bizarre behavior. The NYU professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat, who regularly warns about Trump’s fascistic plans, posted in frustration yesterday that the top stories in several national publications were all about Biden, and not about “Trump and Epstein, Trump and Putin, Trump telling us to inject bleach, Trump wanting to deport up to 20 million.” (If you’re looking for in-depth reporting about the unique threats Trump poses to American democracy, I suggest revisiting the special package in our January/February issue, “If Trump Wins.”)

In fact, all of those stories have been reported on—extensively—including Trump’s interactions with Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of several sex crimes in 2019 but died before he went to trial. (It’s also worth noting that credible news outlets rarely treat a single deposition as adequate sourcing for incendiary accusations against any individual.) And the press would appear hopelessly partisan if it included a sidebar in every story about Biden that said “Joe Biden was incoherent today in a debate, but by the way: Trump and Putin,” or “Democrats are raising doubts about Biden’s candidacy, but remember: Back in 2020, Trump raised the idea that COVID might be treated by injecting people with disinfectants.”

People who support democracy should think hard if they believe that the right model for a free press is, in essence, to take its assignments from political parties and their supporters and repeat stories just to balance bad news from the other side. Members of the media can take on would-be dictators (and have throughout history), and defend the American tradition of press freedom, without becoming openly partisan.

Some of Biden’s supporters argue that the problem is an imbalance in quantity, pointing to the avalanche of coverage of Biden over the past couple of weeks. But they are less willing to accept that Biden has for many years gotten plenty of sympathetic coverage from a press that, until now, mostly gave him the benefit of the doubt about his age and competence. Media outlets are covering Biden as they would any accountable politician whose campaign has not been honest with the public—which means things are as they should be. In fact, the shock of the debate suggests that the media’s present focus on Biden’s cognition is not misplaced but overdue.

The real double-standard problem is not about coverage, but about interpretation. This is not “bias” in the political sense. It is, as Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg put it, a bias toward coherence, the inability to accept—and say—that one of the presidential campaigns is completely bonkers. “Trump overwhelms us with nonsense,” Jeff notes, and so, when confronted with Trump’s obvious mental instability, we work backwards: “Trump sounds nuts, but he can’t be nuts, because he’s the presumptive nominee for president of a major party, and no major party would nominate someone who is nuts.”

The result of this bias is that the press too often continues to present what should be appalling, even horrifying information as if it is just part of the normal give-and-take of a political campaign: Trump goes to Las Vegas and rants about sharks, and the press, likely trying to appear unbiased, instead pulls out a dull nugget about Trump’s mention of not taxing tips. Trump vows to destroy the American civil service, and the headlines talk about his “plans to increase presidential power.”

Why? Because it is not in the American journalistic tradition to say: Today in Las Vegas, one of the two major candidates said things so rabidly toxic and incoherent that they raised doubts about his sanity.

Media outlets should stop embracing the bias toward coherence; this is now a struggle between a free press and a would-be dictator. But people cannot expect journalists to provide a daily flood of truths about Trump—and they are sorely needed—while also ignoring grave questions about Biden’s presidential fitness. A free and honest press committed to the truth doesn’t work that way.

I am not counseling defeatism. Rather, I am counseling focus and perseverance. Trump’s allies would love for major news outlets to call on him to drop out: They’d reprint it and fundraise off it. Instead, the media should report on Trump’s behavior and emphasize that American candidates—and normal people—do not refer to their fellow citizens as “vermin” or muse about having them prosecuted by military tribunals. A steady recounting of Trump’s ravings and his hideous plans is important—not because it is political, but because it is true, and the public needs to know about all of it.

Setting up a defensive perimeter around Biden won’t change the fact that Trump stands at the head of a cult completely sealed in its own information bubble. Americans, including those who work in the media, can walk and chew gum; we can see that Biden’s campaign is in crisis and also recognize that Trump is a dangerous autocrat. Many Americans are sophisticated enough to discuss multiple worrisome issues, but a fair number refuse to pay attention to politics at all. They don’t like hard-edged partisanship. They are also put off by relentless bombast (one of my core skills, unfortunately). They are especially not interested in abstract debates over fascism. I remain convinced, however, that seeing a fascist every day, along with a reminder that this is not the American way, will have an effect on them. Indeed, understanding that Trump is an unhinged menace is what makes Biden’s future such a crucial story for all of us."

lousubcap

Tuesday Israel -Hamas update:

"Hopes of a ceasefire in Gaza were dashed yesterday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas both issued statements narrowing the chances of reaching a compromise. In a statement, Netanyahu said he would only agree to a deal that would “allow Israel to resume fighting until all of the objectives of the war have been achieved,” reiterating his longstanding position that the war must continue until Hamas is defeated. In a statement, Hamas said that Israel’s ongoing military operations across Gaza risked returning “the negotiating process to point zero.” Patrick Kingsley reports for the New York Times.

Israeli forces today killed at least 18 Palestinians on the second day of a stepped-up offensive in Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry said. Meanwhile, the Israeli military issued a fresh evacuation order for several areas in Gaza City yesterday. Hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians are expected to flee. Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters; Abeer Salman, Kareem Khadder, and Tim Lister report for CNN.

The outgoing chief of Israel’s Central Command yesterday condemned the rising “nationalist crime” among Jewish settlers in the West Bank and criticized the Israeli government for trying to financially cripple the Palestinian Authority. The New York Times reports."

lousubcap

Tuesday Russia-Ukraine update:

"Biden condemned the Russian missile strikes yesterday that killed at least 38 people, saying the attacks serve as a “horrific reminder of Russia’s brutality.” At least 190 were injured across the country, including some at a children’s hospital in Kyiv. Biden’s comments come as Washington prepares to host a NATO summit in Washington today. Emily McGarvey reports for BBC News.

It was Russia’s heaviest bombardment of the Ukrainian capital in almost four months, hitting seven of the city’s 10 districts. Authorities in Kyiv said at least 27 people had died in the city, including three children.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised retaliation, writing on the Telegram app, “The Russian terrorists must answer for this.” He also called for Kyiv’s Western allies to respond firmly.

The Russian Ministry of Defence said its forces had carried out strikes on defence industry targets and aviation bases in Ukraine.

In Russia, a fire broke out at a power substation in the Rostov region after Ukraine launched “tens” of drones overnight, according to Vasily Golubev, governor of the southern border region with Ukraine.

Ukraine’s navy chief Vice Admiral Oleksiy Neizhpapa told the Reuters news agency that the Russian navy’s Black Sea Fleet has been forced to rebase nearly all its combat-ready warships from occupied Crimea to other locations, and its main naval hub is becoming ineffectual because of attacks by Kyiv."