First, links to Associated Press and Reuters stories related to the war. (Several others are available on the two news services’ websites.) Then, links to three National Public Radio stories from “Morning Edition.” Next, via the Greanville Post, the beginning of an essay by Patrick Lawrence in which, among other things, he reworks some points he has made before; and, via Consortium News, the beginning of Lawrence Davidson’s reflection on heroism using Madeline Albright and Julian Assange as examples. — MCM
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Ukraine slams Kyiv attack amid new Mariupol rescue effort, by David Keyton and Inna Varenytsia | The Associated Press KYIV — Ukraine’s leader accused Russia of trying to humiliate the United Nations by raining missiles on Kyiv during a visit by Secretary-General António Guterres, an attack that shattered the capital’s tentative return to normality as the focus of the war moved east. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s forces were holding off Russia’s attempted advance in the south and east, as efforts continued to secure safe passage for residents trapped in Mariupol, which has been largely reduced to rubble in a 2-month-long siege. An official in the president’s office did not rule out an evacuation as soon as today. Russia pounded targets all over Ukraine on Thursday . . . READ MORE . . .
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‘It was a massacre’: Mariupol residents recall battle for Ukrainian city. From Reuters. MARIUPOL, Ukraine — Residents of Mariupol recounted the horrors of the battle for their now devastated city this week as they sifted through the rubble for belongings, cooked meals by the roadside or just stared at the charred shells of buildings all around them. “It was terrible . . . like films that show the last days of the planet – the same thing happened here,” said Viktoria Nikolayeva, 54, who like many residents stayed with her family in a basement as Russian and Ukrainian forces battled overhead. “We were hungry, the child was crying when the Grad [multiple rocket launcher] shells were striking near the house. We were thinking, this is it, the end. It can’t be described . . . I can’t put it into words,” she tearfully told Reuters. Emergency . . . READ MORE . . .
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A family in Kharkiv refuses to leave, even as the Russians shell their city. Reported by Eyder Peralta | NPR Millions have fled the war in Ukraine and left the country, but some refuse to leave. For one family in Kharkiv, their fight to simply staying alive has become their biggest act of resistance. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.
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Russian missile hits Kyiv just after the head of the U.N. spoke there. Reported by A Martinez and Frank Langfitt | NPR Attacks on Ukraine’s capital had mostly stopped until Thursday’s missile strike. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was in Kyiv trying to negotiate humanitarian corridors for civilians. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.
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With an increase in funds to Ukraine, the U.S. aims to help it hold off Russia. NPR’s A Martinez talks to deputy national security adviser Jonathan Finer about the largest single funding proposal for the war after the White House sent a $33 billion request to Congress for Ukraine. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.
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The ‘defactualization’ of America: Ukraine as mirror, by Patrick Lawrence | The Greanville Post It is perfectly obvious by now, to anyone who cares to look, that mainstream media in America and the other Western powers are not reporting the Ukraine crisis accurately. Let me try that another way: The government-supervised New York Times and the rest of the corporate-owned media on both sides of the Atlantic lie routinely to their readers and viewers as to why Russia intervened in Ukraine, the progress of its military operation, the conduct of Ukrainian forces, and America’s role in purposely provoking and prolonging this crisis. So far as I know, this is the first war in modern history with no objective, principled coverage in mainstream media of day-to-day events and their context. None. It is morn-to-night propaganda, disinformation and lies of omission—most of it fashioned by the Nazi-infested Zelensky regime in Kiev and repeated uncritically as fact. READ MORE . . .
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Who is the hero? Albright vs. Assange, by Lawrence Davidson | Consortium News Our image of a hero has two aspects. The first consists of generic, stereotypical traits: bravery, determination in the face of adversity, achievement against heavy odds — the kind of person who saves the day. The second aspect is more culturally specific, describing and contextualizing the circumstances of bravery and determination, and the nature of achievement in terms that are narrowly defined. In other words, cultural descriptions of bravery are most often expressed in terms compatible with the social and political conditions of the hero’s society. Heroes are ubiquitous. For instance, there are American heroes, Russian heroes, Israeli heroes, Arab heroes, Ukrainian heroes, and so on. Where does good and bad come into it? Well, that too becomes a cultural judgment. Below are two examples of “heroes.” READ MORE . . .
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TO BE CONTINUED