Ukraine / Russia - Actions and Reactions

[GURPS]

National Review’s Guilt-By-Association Smear Of The Heritage Foundation Is Cowardly Nonsense​

It was that last part, about the $900 per family, that really got the establishment types riled up — especially at National Review. Jay Nordlinger was positively outraged, declaring Heritage to be a “moral obscenity,” while Dominic Pino penned a pair of pieces trying simultaneously to debunk the $900 figure and insist it doesn’t matter because Ukraine aid is a drop in the bucket compared to other federal spending. (Pino also argued, rather comically, that a lot of U.S. aid to Ukraine ends up lining the pockets of defense contractors, “which employ Americans and contribute to U.S. economic output,” as if funding the Ukraine war is tantamount to a U.S. jobs program, or a tool to fix the country’s industrial base.)

Having vented their frustrations with Heritage, the staff at National Review let the matter rest a while. But on Friday, Geraghty found a new cause for complaint. Heritage’s $900 talking point, it seems, has been “frequently quoted on propaganda sites run by the Russian government and Putin’s allies.” How frequently? Three times, according to an unnamed friend of Geraghty’s who monitors Russian media.

You might be thinking, so what? Heritage has no control over who quotes them, and anyway of course Russian state media will quote domestic critics of the Biden administration. They quote right-of-center U.S. media coverage of Biden’s border crisis all the time, why wouldn’t they do the same with critics of Ukraine funding? Just because bad actors latch onto an argument for their own purposes doesn’t invalidate the argument.

Geraghty begs to differ. He thinks Russian state media quoting Heritage is somehow a scathing indictment of the think tank. Not that it means the people at Heritage are “bad folks,” he’s quick to add (with the exception of Daily Signal Executive Editor Rob Bluey, at whom Geraghty directs some juvenile and needlessly personal insults in a bizarre, cringe-inducing footnote), it’s just that they’re Russian dupes. He concedes the obvious point that the foundation can’t control whether Russian state media quote them or in what context. “But if Russian state media is quoting you, it’s probably a sign that you’ve overshot the normal fair-minded range of debating U.S. policies, and strayed, perhaps inadvertently, into the territory of giving Putin’s regime useful fodder.”

Get that? Questioning unconditional, unlimited U.S. funding for Ukraine is outside “the normal fair-minded range of debating U.S. policies.” And Geraghty’s proof, to the extent he offers any, is simply that three Russian state media outlets cited a Heritage talking point.

 

[GURPS]

Nord Stream Attack Updates​

Ukrainian Military Reportedly Responsible for Attack on Nord Stream Pipeline​

Summary from AllSides News Team​

A senior Ukrainian military official with ties to Ukrainian intelligence reportedly played a key role in the bombing of the Nord Stream pipelines on September 26, 2022.

The Details: A joint investigation by The Washington Post (Lean Left bias) and Der Spiegel accuses Col. Roman Chervinsky of coordinating the attacks. The Post cited “officials in Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe” as sources. Chervinsky reportedly took orders from more senior officials, who ultimately reported to Ukraine’s highest-ranking military officer, Gen. Valery Zaluzhny. Chervinsky denied involvement, calling the accusations “Russian propaganda without any basis.”

For Context: Nord Stream carried gas from Russia to Germany and provided Russia with income. In June 2023 The Post reported that the CIA knew in June 2022 of a Ukrainian plot to bomb the pipeline. Chervinsky, who has been in jail since April on abuse of power allegations, has been involved in previous covert operations for Ukraine. Zelensky previously denied his country’s involvement in the bombing, but The Post said the operation intentionally kept Zelenskyy “out of the loop.”

Early Blame Game: At the time of the bombing, President Biden, stopped short of blaming Russia, but said the bombing was a “deliberate act of sabotage” and accused Russia of “pumping out disinformation and lies.” The Kremlin called it “an act of terrorism” that was unlikely to happen “without the involvement of a state of some kind.”

How The Media Covered It: English-language coverage was mostly derivative of The Post’s report.

 

[GURPS]

The Wall Street Journal ran an ‘essay’ yesterday piling on poor Ukraine and topped by a photo of a smirking Vladimir Putin, headlined “It’s Time to End Magical Thinking About Russia’s Defeat.” More like, it’s time to get real about Ukraine’s defeat.



The sub-headline revealed the shifting goalposts’ new position: “Putin has withstood the West’s best efforts to reverse his invasion of Ukraine, and his hold on power is firm. The U.S. and its allies need a new strategy: containment.”

Another new strategy!

For two years, the Journal has resolutely promised that Russia would crumble under Ukrainians’ fierce courage, dissolve under international sanctions, implode due to a lengthy list of allegedly-fatal Putin health problems (six different types of cancer, and counting), wither under a penetrating and glorious Ukrainian Spring Counteroffensive, and be wrestled to the bargaining table, where the former communist empire would be forced to cough up all its annexed territories and the Crimean peninsula to boot.

But um, nope. None of that happened. Not even close. It’s more like the reverse opposite.

Joining Time and NBC, the Wall Street Journal expressed plain pessimism over Ukraine’s plunging prospects:

Putin does not feel any pressure to end the war or worry about his ability to sustain it more or less indefinitely. As winter approaches, the Russian army has mounted a limited ground offensive of its own and surely will expand missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities, power plants, industrial sites and other critical infrastructure.​

At the front line, there are no indications that Russia is losing what has become a war of attrition. The Russian economy has been buffeted, but it is not in tatters. Putin’s hold on power was, paradoxically, strengthened following Yevgeny Prigozhin’s failed rebellion in June. Popular support for the war remains solid, and elite backing for Putin has not fractured.​

What Western leaders conspicuously haven’t done is level with their publics … They have indulged all too often in magical thinking—betting on sanctions, a successful Ukrainian counter-offensive or the transfer of new types of weapons to force the Kremlin to come to the negotiating table. Or they have hoped to see Putin overthrown in a palace coup.​

Yikes. Like the Ukraine war itself, the Journal’s essay ultimately descended into an incomprehensible morass, a laundry list of lame suggestions about how, if Russia can’t be tamed in the short term, the U.S. should triple-down and punish Russia over the long term, invoking direct comparisons to the fifty-year Cold War (even while assuring readers they didn’t mean another Cold War, no, no, never), and waiting for Putin to eventually be replaced, assuming that whoever replaces him will see the wisdom of partnering with the West.

Um. The essay described magical thinking all right. Without naming names, it literally described the magical thinking of the U.S. State Department, the magical thinking of all the liberal war hawks, and by extension the magical thinking of the Corporate Media — which has obediently lapped up the official war propaganda like good little doggies. The article suggested a new narrative that, because Putin, we should expand the way we think about the war, to think far beyond victory in Ukraine. Let’s let the Russian dictator have his little victory — but then take a broad, long-term view of the situation and make Putin pay over time for every inch.

Oh. One more question. Since it’s now suddenly “magical thinking” to believe Ukraine can beat Russia, can we get our hundreds of billions of dollars back? Some of us knew it was magical thinking to start with and would like a refund.

 

[GURPS]

There were so many great moments it was hard to decide which clip to include in today’s post from a recent podcast with Bill Maher and Oliver Stone. I chose this short excerpt where the two media heavyweights discussed shady U.S. biolabs in Ukraine. Maher seemed genuinely shocked to hear there were U.S. biolabs in Ukraine, and Stone was just as shocked that Maher hadn’t heard about the labs, or about Viktoria Nuland, for that matter.

Maher promised to research the Ukraine biolab story, and it sounded like he meant it.



CLIP: Bill Maher and Oliver Stone discuss Ukraine biolabs (4:47).

Bill Maher is a perfect sample of what the intellectual left is thinking these days. Although he often expresses conservative thoughts, Maher is not a conservative. In the full interview, for example, while he conceded that Biden’s vaccine mandates were totalitarian, he insisted that Trump would be much worse — arguing, non sequitur, that Trump never conceded losing the 2020 election. (Stone scoffed at that and asked Maher to show evidence that Trump lost, in a delightful turnaround of the Left’s “no evidence” gag.).

But Maher — already opposed to mandates — is coming even further around about the vaccines, again suggesting that vaccine skepticism is no longer a partisan issue. The whitecoats wish it were a partisan issue.

And get this: both men admitted they took Ivermectin for their breakthrough, post-vaccination covid infections. Haha, nobody trusts the FDA.

In the linked clip, holding his hands out wide to demonstrate the two extremes, Maher explained, “If Fauci’s here and Bobby Kennedy’s here, I’m closer to Bobby Kennedy.” First, by using Fauci as one extreme, Maher basically called the human cockroach a jab-happy nutjob. Later in the interview (not in this clip), Maher called gain of function research “stupid” and “not worth the risk,” but — get this — said it was “pushed by Fauci.”

Saying Fauci was pushing gain of function research is almost calling him a genocidal maniac. Which he is, of course, but I digress. Maher’s evolution is progress. We don’t need to persuade everyone. We only need to reach the tipping point.

It was an interesting podcast with plenty more discussion about covid, the pandemic, and the vaccines. Here’s the link to the full two-hour interview: Oliver Stone | Club Random with Bill Maher.

☕️ NEW CHINA FLU ☙ Saturday, November 25, 2023 ☙ C&C NEWS 🦠

Flying bomb car probably not terrorists; why the new China flu probably isn't the 'big one'; Bill Maher and Oliver Stone talk Ukraine bio-labs; Pfizer picks the wrong fight; and 13 hostages are home.

www.coffeeandcovid.com

 

[GURPS]

A Brit volunteer in Ukraine: looking back on seven months' service​

 

[herb749]

So has Ukraine run out of money yet since they've been cut off .?

 

[Hijinx]

Do I trust Zelenski and more than I trust Putin? Hell no.

 

[GURPS]

Well, this seems like a bad sign. Politico ran a gloomy story yesterday headlined, “NATO should be ready for ‘bad news’ from Ukraine, Stoltenberg warns.” Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who is probably still mad about getting a girl’s name, tried to put a good spin on his dark warning. The sub-headline explained, “‘We have to support Ukraine in both good and bad times,’ NATO chief says in ARD interview.”

[clip]



Tick, tock, Zelensky. Finally, check out this fascinating headline from India’s WION News from last week, which itself was sourced from Germany’s news magazine BILD, which is usually reliable, sort of like a German version of Rolling Stone:





I found this paragraph especially helpful for its potential explanatory power:





In other words, the slowly-increasing bad news is the way they’re ratcheting up the pressure on Zelensky to end the war. Which could only be by letting Russia keep twenty percent of Ukraine, which would be like giving Russia ten U.S. states, and thereby ingloriously becoming a “rump state.” If that happens, Ukrainians will curse Zelensky’s name until the End of Time, since two years ago Russia would have accepted Ukraine’s bare promise it would stay out of NATO — but instead Zelensky decided to play International Craps using Boris Johnson’s dice.

And now where’s Boris? Now that it’s time to settle up the Proxy War’s casino bill?

As a post-script to the Ukraine story, Google News ominously provides very little evidence that any celebrities or politicians are flocking to Ukraine for photo ops, like they used to do back in the Proxy War’s salad days. Now, the only people visiting are diplomats and military personnel. Try it yourself, search Google News for “Ukraine visit.”

Sorry, Zelensky. You had a good run.

☕️ GRIM VERMIN ☙ Tuesday, December 5, 2023 ☙ C&C NEWS 🦠

Good news about free speech; great news about mask science; bad news for Ukraine (good for us); and the most terrifying pandemic we've ever faced, which media has been hiding from you.

www.coffeeandcovid.com

 

[GURPS]

The BBC ran a story yesterday headlined, “Zelensky abruptly cancels US Senate briefing amid funding row.”



Just before the contentious classified Senate meeting on Ukraine funding earlier this week, right before he was supposed to appear by Zoom and give the Senators a top-secret briefing on how the war is going, former comedian and brave wartime president Zelensky suddenly and unexpectedly chickened-out:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called off a high-profile briefing with US lawmakers amid an impasse over future US funding for the country. Virtual appearances in the Senate and House had been scheduled for Tuesday, but were cancelled at the last moment.​

Senate leader Chuck Schumer did not explain why Mr Zelensky was a no-show.​

According to reports, Republicans on the committee responded to Zelensky’s disappearance by testily calling the “classified briefing” a joke and a waste of time and, as you know, no funding was approved for Ukraine. Which started a deep-state narrative tidal wave.

☕️ SORRY ABOUT THE MISTAKES ☙ Friday, December 8, 2023 ☙ C&C NEWS 🦠

Boris says sorry mistakes were made; Zelensky chickens out of Senate hearing; Biden compromises; third front opens in Guyana; Hunter indicted; three more studies are bad news for jabs; and more.

www.coffeeandcovid.com

 

[GURPS]

Are Russian gains in Ukraine worth the costs so far?​

 

[Kyle]

Zelenskyy's return to DC for more cash in Ukraine war a 'most disgraceful charade'


Zelenskyy returned to Washington as the White House calls for Congress to release more aid

Zelenskyy's return to DC for more cash in Ukraine war a 'most disgraceful charade': JD Vance

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has returned to Washington to plead with Congress for more money, as President Biden stands firm with the foreign leader.

www.foxnews.com

This guy spends more time in DC holding out his hand than the Climate Change Commisars.

 

[GURPS]

During my research for today’s post, I ran across a few headlines that tickled me but weren’t worth a full-sized report:

— The Daily Beast ran an entertaining piece yesterday about an official, pro-Ukraine Paris conference where international delegates mused about ‘creative’ ideas for helping Ukraine, like recruiting Taylor Swift, or shuttling Ukrainian Baptists over to America so they can convince their protestant brothers, probably Republicans, to be more generous with the war funding. The article’s headline was the funniest part:



— The New York Times ran an all too telling headline yesterday confirming what we have long known: the government has no idea what it’s doing in Ukraine. It still wants another $100 billion dollars to do it, whatever it is, of course. Just pour money on the problem and and hope for the best:



The Times said it, not me. So.

☕️ SETTLED SCIENCE ☙ Tuesday, December 12, 2023 ☙ C&C NEWS 🦠

Seattle School District follows The Science™; Missouri jumps on Media Matters; SADS news anchor; SADS singer/songwriter; SADS reality star; mini-roundup of hilarious headlines; and more.

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[herb749]

Isn't the EU and other countries still sending money & arms .?

These articles make it sound like they need to fold up shop.

 

[GURPS]

Gutfeld: This war was totally preventable​

 

[GURPS]

Zelensky Meets with Defense Contractors in D.C. During Bid for U.S. Taxpayer Money​

Zelensky said Ukraine was prepared to produce more ammunition and military vehicles, but it required support. He posted on X:

I met with leaders of US defense companies and expressed my gratitude to every American worker who manufactures weapons that help us safeguard our people and defend our land.
I appreciated all American companies that attended last week’s US-Ukraine defense industry conference.
I also proposed establishing a European defense hub in Ukraine. We are prepared to make all essential decisions, cut red tape, and allocate orders.
We are ready to produce more ammunition and military vehicles, but we require support. It is important to develop joint production of artillery ammo, air defense systems, and artillery and missile systems.
Together, we can create more jobs, generate more strength, and provide more opportunities for both of our nations.

In December 2022, U.S. defense contractors — who stand to gain billions from the ongoing war in Ukraine — sponsored a party in D.C. for the Ukrainian armed forces at the Ukrainian embassy. The contractors who sponsored the party was Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Pratt & Whitney, and Lockheed Martin.

Some experts said at the time they thought the move was brazen.

“It’s really bizarre to me that they would put that on an invitation,” a think-tank expert told Vox, who first reported on the party. An academic also told the outlet, “The fact that they don’t feel sheepish about it, that’s interesting.” Vox reported:

The invitation is a clear expression of how the war in Ukraine has been good for business. As Ukraine fights a defensive war against Russia’s brutal invasion, Ukrainians in Washington have been pushing for the US to send Ukraine more weapons. So far, President Joe Biden’s administration has committed a substantial $19.3 billion of military assistance since February.

After that party, in January 2023, Congress passed $113 billion in aid to Ukraine. The four companies sponsoring the party produce missile defense systems and anti-tank missiles that the Biden administration has poured into Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.

 

[GURPS]

We Need An Immediate Ceasefire In Ukraine, Not Israel​

Instead, President Biden embarked on a desultory policy of half-measures, giving Ukraine just enough aid to keep Russia from overrunning the country but not enough to expel Russian forces and risk a potentially catastrophic escalation with a nuclear power. Biden did this, moreover, without ever even attempting to explain to the American people why funding a proxy war against Russia constituted a core national interest. Then and now, anyone who questioned our involvement was labeled a Putin apologist. Insults were traded for arguments, and this is more or less where we are today.

That’s too bad because what the goal should be now is fairly obvious: an immediate ceasefire in which Ukraine de facto accepts Russian control over some of its territory without formally ceding it to Moscow. In exchange for this, Ukraine could fairly ask for and receive the kind of formal Western support that would ensure the territory it does have, which is most of the country, would be secure.

The lazy counterargument that such an arrangement would invite Putin to invade all of Eastern Europe is, as Vance argued, preposterous. Moscow is weaker than anyone thought, and if its military could not overrun Kiev, there’s no reason to think it could so much as set a track on any NATO member territory. Any suggestion to the contrary is fearmongering designed to shut down legitimate debate about what U.S. policy should be in this conflict.

Contrast all this with the war in Israel, which vast swaths of the American left seem to think needs to end immediately even as they support endless support for the Ukraine conflict. It’s a perfect illustration of how Americans tend to view foreign policy as a proxy for domestic politics. For the left, supporting Israel is to side with the oppressor. Never mind that Israel was viciously attacked by Hamas terrorists who control the territory from which they launched the Oct. 7 attacks on Israeli civilians. Hamas has vowed it will launch more such attacks as soon as it can. Under these circumstances, a ceasefire makes zero sense.

 

[GURPS]

Ukraine Soldiers Explain Lessons from Counteroffensive​

 

[GURPS]

 

[GURPS]

 

[GURPS]

Get ready, ladies! It’s time to hit the shooting range. The Hindustan Times ran a story yesterday headlined, “Ukraine Army Orders 50,000 Women Uniforms Amid Anti-Mobilisation Sentiment | Russia's War.” Do not worry, girls; the order specified that the uniforms’ design be flattering.

​

Ukraine has made no formal announcement of conscripting women for combat. But uniforms aren’t needed for non-combatants. And it’s the next logical step. This is what happens when you run out of men. But I was still a little surprised; when they said, “to the last Ukrainian,” I sort of thought they just meant military-age males.

My bad!

I checked and the Kiev Post has nothing about the story, either way, neither confirming nor denying. So.

☕️ DOUBLE TROUBLE ☙ Wednesday, January 10, 2024 ☙ C&C NEWS 🦠

A daily Covid news summary with sarcastically optimistic commentary

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