Month: May 2024

1) Siobhán O’Grady and Serhiy Morgunov, “NATO chief and European allies urge U.S. to let Ukraine strike inside Russia; NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and a growing chorus of Western leaders are urging Washington and its allies to drop restrictions on how Ukraine uses donated weapons,” Washington Post, May 28, 2024 (Updated att 12:41 p.m. EDT);

2) Andrew Van Dam, “America’s best decade, according to data; One simple variable, more than anything, determines when you think the nation peaked,” Washington Posr, May 24, 2024 (6:00 a.m. EDT);

3) Warren Murray and agencies, “Ukraine war briefing: Macron, Scholz agree Kyiv should use allies’ weapons against launchers in Russia; Nato secretary general says alliance members should allow deep strikes, which White House says it doesn’t ‘encourage or enable’. What we know on day 826,” The Guardian, May 2o, 2024 (01.38 BST);

4) “Macron spricht sich für Erlaubnis für Ukraine aus, russische Abschussbasen anzugreifen; Nach Ansicht von Frankreichs Präsident Macron sollte der Ukraine ermöglicht werden, militärische Stützpunkte in Russland anzugreifen. Das sagte der Politiker am Dienstag in Meseberg. Auch Kanzler Scholz äußerte sich,” afie Welt, den 28. Mai 2024;;

5) “Macron advocates permission for Ukraine to attack Russian launch bases; According to French President Macron, Ukraine should be allowed to attack military bases in Russia. This is what the politician said on Tuesday in Meseberg. Chancellor Scholz also spoke,” Die zwelt, May 28, 2024;

6) “USA lehnen ukrainischen Einsatz amerikanischer Waffen auf Ziele in Russland noch ab; Bundeskanzler Scholz und Frankreichs Präsident Macron befürworten, dass die Ukraine militärische Stellungen in Russland mit westlichen Waffen angreifen darf. Die USA sprechen sich »zu diesem Zeitpunkt« dagegen aus,” Der Spiegel den 28. Mai 2024 (23.51 Uhr);

7) “USA still rejects Ukrainian use of American weapons on targets in Russia;
Chancellor Scholz and France’s President Macron advocate that Ukraine is allowed to attack military positions in Russia with Western weapons. The USA is against it ‘at this time’,” Der Spiegel, May 28, 2024 (11:51 p.m.);

UPDATES

May 30, 2024

8) John Hudson, Emily Rauhala and Robyn Dixon, “Ukraine setbacks nudge Biden toward allowing use of U.S. weapons in Russia; Washington’s reassessment of its policy follows the Kremlin’s assault on the city of Kharkiv and a chorus of pressure from European allies,” Washington Post, May 30, 2024 Updated at 1:57 p.m. EDT|;

9) Michael Birnbaum, John Hudson, Emily Rauhala and Ellen Nakashima,”Ukraine can use U.S. weapons for limited strikes in Russia, Biden says
The dramatic policy shift follows the Kremlin’s assault on the city of Kharkiv and a chorus of pressure from European allies.

By Michael Birnbaum, John Hudson, Emily Rauhala and Ellen Nakashima
Updated May 30, 2024 at 8:12 p.m. EDT|Published May 30, 2024 at 9:58 a.m. EDT

1) Cyrille Louis, “Ukraine: Zelensky espère lever le tabou de l’utilisation d’armes occidentales pour frapper la Russie,” LevFigaro, le 26 mai 2024 (mis à jour à 19:52);
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2) Cyrille Louis, “Ukraine: Zelensky hopes to lift the taboo of the use of Western weapons to hit Russia,” Le Figaro, May 26, 2024 (updated at 19:52);

3) Phillips P. O’Brien, “Let Ukraine Defend Itself Properly; Biden won’t allow Kyiv to hit targets inside Russia, which is no way to fight,”:Wall Street Journal, May 23, 2024 (5:22 pm ET);

4) “Selenskyj dringt auf Teilnahme von Xi und Biden an Friedenskonferenz,” Die Welt, den 27. Mai 2024;

5) “Zelensky urges Xi and Biden to participate in peace conference,” Die Welt, Zelensky urges Xi and Biden to participate in peace conference,” DiecWely, May 27, 2024,

6) Emmanuel Maxron, “‘”Russia can be here tomorrow’ – Macron’s European speech in front of the Dresden Frauenkirche; On the second day of his state visit to Germany, French President Emmanuel Macron was received in Saxony. In front of the Dresden Frauenkirche, he pleaded for a common European defense strategy. See here Macron’s speech, which he gave in parts in German, in full length (43 minutes),” Die Welt, May 27, 2024.

7) Diana Pieper (Redakteurin Außenpolitik): “Als Macron vom „üblen Wind“ spricht, gibt es nicht nur Jubel,” Die Welt den 28. Mai 2024 03:43 Uhr);

1) David French, “‘Contact. I.E.D.’,” New York Times, May 26, 2024;

1) Carlotta Gall and Vladyslav Golovin: (Reporting from Kyiv and the Donetsk and Kherson regions of Ukraine), “Some U.S. Weapons Stymied by Russian Jamming in Ukraine; Two classified Ukrainian reports show that some U.S. precision-guided weapons are vulnerable to electronic warfare, an element in Ukraine’s recent battlefield setbacks, New York Times, May 25, 2024 (2:56 p.m. ET);

2) Isabelle Khurshudyan and Alex Horton: “Russian jamming leaves some high-tech U.S. weapons ineffective in Ukraine; Confidential Ukrainian assessments obtained by The Washington Post show how accuracy rates of some Western weapons fell after Russian jamming disrupted guidance systems,” Washington Post, May 24, 2024 (10:57 a.m. EDT);

3) Constant Méheut (Kyiv, Ukraine), “Ukraine Steps Up Attacks With U.S. Long-Range Missiles; The assaults have hit military targets in Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine. Pressure is now mounting on Washington to let Kyiv fire the missiles into Russia itself, “New York Times, May 25, 2024 (Updated 12:05 p.m. ET);

4) Phillips P. O’Brien, “Let Ukraine Defend Itself Properly; Biden won’t allow Kyiv to hit targets inside Russia, which is no way to fight,”:Wall Street Journal, May 23, 2024 (5:22 pm ET);

5) Simon Tisdall, “Call to prosecute Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes exposes the west’s moral doublethink; US and Britain condemn Hamas and Putin, yet balk at attempts to hold Israel’s leaders to account. But no one should be above the law,” The Guardian, May 25, 2024 (15.07 BST);

1) restrictions on weapons use against target in Russia
2) urging Ukrain not to hit Russian gas infrastructure because it could drive gas prices up and hurt Biden in the November election
3) giving zykraine just enough mikitarybaid to avoid defeat, never enough to secure victory
4) lack of clarity about negotiated solution
5′ failure tompress the Global South on sanctions
6) failure to mobilize the American people for a long, drawn-out
7 Failure tomunderstand and persuade the American people tgat this is “our war”
8) failure to choose a VP candidarevwho would energize the ticket and be a plausible president

The Real State of the Union

1) “Jonathan Alter, “An Attack on Justice Merchan Is an Attack on the Rule of Law,” New York Times, May 21, 2024, (7:03 p.m.);

2) Owen Jones, “As the ICC seeks arrests, I ask those who facilitated the Gaza slaughter: what were you thinking? The deaths, the atrocities – all were predicted. Those who ignored all the warnings should be held responsible too,” The Guardian, May 22, 2024 (14.34 BST);

3) Laure Mandeville, “„Russland hat eine Ökonomie des Todes erschaffen; Es sei eine Illusion, zwischen Putin und dem russischen Volk zu unterscheiden, sagt der Historiker Sergej Medwedjew. Vielmehr seien Putin und der Krieg gegen die Ukraine undenkbar ohne die Russen. Die Parallelen zu Hitler-Deutschland seien frappierend,” Die Welt, den 22. Mai 2024 (16:09 Uhr);

4) Laure Mandeville, “Sergueï Medvedev: ‘Le poutinisme n’est pas une aberration mais une synthèse de l’histoire russe’; ENTRETIEN – L’historien russe, qui a décidé de quitter la Russie après l’invasion de l’Ukraine, revient sur l’histoire longue de son pays et la question de savoir si Poutine a créé le militarisme conquérant et l’autocratie d’aujourd’hui, ou si c’est la Russie qui a produit ce Poutine effrayant et guerrier,” Le Figaro, le 16 mai, 2024, mis à jour le 17 mai 2024 (à 14:00);

5) Laure Mandeville,”Sergei Medvedev: ‘Putinism is not an aberration but a synthesis of Russian history’; INTERVIEW – The Russian historian, who decided to leave Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, returns to the long history of his country and the question of whether Putin created today’s conquering militarism and autocracy, or whether it was Russia that produced this frightening and warrior Putin, ” Le Figoe, May 16, 2024, updated on May 17, 2024 at 14:00);

6) Editorial, “Guerre Israël-Hamas : la justice internationale contre l’impunité; Le procès promptement instruit par certains pays, comme les Etats-Unis, après que le procureur de la Cour pénale internationale a requis des mandats d’arrêt contre les dirigeants du Hamas et ceux d’Israël est peu convaincant,” Le Monde, le 22 mai 2024 (12h00);

7) Editorial, “Israel-Hamas war: international justice against impunity;
The trial promptly investigated by some countries, such as the United States, after the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court requested arrest warrants against Hamas and Israel’s leaders is unconvincing. May 22, 2024 (12:00 p.m.);

1) Kenneth Roth, “Why is the west defending Israel after the ICC’s request for Netanyahu’s arrest warrant? It is disappointing, if not surprising, that the west’s response to the ICC accusations was to defend Israel despite its war crimes,” The Guardian, May 21, 2024 (17:44 BST);

2) hore Schröder (Tel Aviv): “Kampfansage aus Den Haag; Israel und seine Verbündeten reagieren empört auf einen möglichen Haftbefehl gegen Premier Netanyahu – dem könnte das innenpolitisch sogar nutzen. International drohen jedoch erhebliche Probleme,” Der Spiegel, den 21. Mai 2024 (19.17 Uhr);

3) Thore Schröder (Tel Aviv), “Challenge from The Hague: Israel and its allies react indignantly to a possible arrest warrant against Prime Minister Netanyahu – he could even benefit from domestic policy. However, there are a threat of considerable problems internationally.,” Der Spiegel, May 21, 2024 (7:17 pm);

4) Mathieu von Rohr (Der SPIEGEL-Leitartikel), “Lasst den Strafgerichtshof seine Arbeit tun!; Der beantragte Haftbefehl gegen Israels Premier Benjamin Netanyahu ist für die Bundesregierung ein politisches Problem. Deutschland muss den Internationalen Strafgerichtshof dennoch unterstützen – gerade jetzt,” Der Spiegel, den 21. Mai 2924( 16.04 Uhr);

5) Mathieu von Rohr (Der SPIEGEL-lead Article), “Let the Criminal Court do its job. The requested arrest warrant against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a political problem for the federal government. Germany must nevertheless support the International Criminal Court – right now” Der Spiegel, May 21, 2024 (4:04 p.m.);

6) Audrey Garric, “Crise climatique : l’avis « historique » du Tribunal international du droit de la mer: Selon un avis consultatif de cette juridiction de l’ONU, les pays ont l’obligation de réduire leurs émissions de gaz à effet de serre, afin de protéger l’environnement marin des méfaits du changement climatique,” Le Monde, le 21 mai 2024 (modifié le 22 mai 2024 à 01h38);

7) Audrey Garric, “Climate crisis: the “historic” opinion of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea; According to an advisory opinion of this UN jurisdiction, countries have an obligation to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, in order to protect the marine environment from the harms of climate change, Le Monde, May 21, 2024 (modified May 22, 2024 at 1:38 am);

Analysis

Western critics of the ICC Prosecutor’s request forcarrest warrants for both Israeli and Hamas leaders makes much of tge “false equivalence” of making the requests for Israeli and Hamas leaders on the same day.

If you listen to or read Karim Khan’s announcement of the requests, you will find no expression of equivalence–false or otherwise–between tge two parties’ abd/or their leaders.

If there is any equivalence to be found, it is the result of tge actions of Israeli leaders and tge war crimes they appear to have directed or committed.

1) Maureen Dowd, “The Truth Hurts — Especially When Bill Maher Dishes It Out,” NewYork Times, May 18, 2024;

Back in 2013, I got a call from Bill Maher.

He was being hit with a lawsuit by Donald Trump and thought it would be “comedy gold” for my column. The host of HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher” had joked that Trump was the love child of a human woman and an orangutan — what else could explain the tangerine hair? Maher offered to give $5 million to charity if he could see the birth certificate of Trump, who had offered $5 million to charity for records to verify the birthplace of President Barack Obama.

Trump failed to see the parody and thought the joke was mean. The flamboyant mogul told his lawyer to answer Maher with a letter: “Attached, hereto, is a copy of Mr. Trump’s birth certificate, demonstrating that he is the son of Fred Trump, not an orangutan.” Then Trump sued Maher for $5 million, before dropping the suit eight weeks later. (The Trump representative who threatened to refile the suit was none other than Michael Cohen.)

1) Rob Copeland, “In About-Face, Wall Street’s Big Donors Warm to Trump; They may “hate the man,” as one put it, but major business players from coast to coast are increasingly on board for a second term after the first one alienated them, ” New York Times, May 15, 2024 (11:31 a.m. ET);

We feel so helpless,mwatching our democracy go down the drain.

We want to fight this trend, we want to fight Donald Trump and his fascist Republican supporters, but we don’t know what we can do.

Here is an idea. Boycott the businesses that Trump’s big business supporters come from or are still engaged in.

The big business leaders who support Trump or who talk about supporting Trump as if he were just another candidate are traitors to our democracy.

They are reminiscent of the big business leaders in Germany who helped bring Adolf Hitler to power and to sustain his economy and war machine.

The raw capitalism they espouse is soulless, and seeks only profit no matter what the cost to human beings and the millions of people who may be killed in tbe wars it supports.

They are traitors to American democracy. As patriotic Americans we must do everything in our power to thwart them and the fascist Republican movement led by Donald Trump which they support.

What can we do?

One thing we can do is to launch a massive boycott of their companies and former companies, and tgeir products.

We can take a pledge: We will not spend one penny in support of any of their companies or the latters’ products.

Fascism may triumph in America, but at least we personally don’t have to help fund it.

What is needed are large contributions to set up an institution or institutions which would identify companies and their leaders or former leaders, and identify the products of these companies or their stocks and bonds.

This would be a disinvestment movement for democracy in America.

This would be a giant boycot of goods produced by companies led or formerly by fascist supporters.

This would be a giant movement that might help avoid or minimize tge collusion of big business and big business leaders with the fascist movement of Donald Trump.

Donald Trump is not just another candidate. He ia an arch criminal who has committed many serios felonies in full public view, and who led a coniracy to overthrow the government of the United States.

Big business leaders who support him are traitors to our democracy.

We must oppose them with all pur might, and keep them from even getting close to power ever again.