First, links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Tass, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Then, via Popular Resistance, commentary comparing news reports of recent months with yesterday’s military actions by Russia. Next, from the Washington Post, commentary by Carl Bildt, prime minister of Sweden from 1991 to 1994 and that country’s foreign affairs minister from 2006 to 2014. — MCM

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Kremlin war hawks demand more devastating strikes on Ukraine, by Dasha Litinova | AP  TALLINN, Estonia — Moscow’s barrage of missile strikes on cities all across Ukraine has elicited celebratory comments from Russian officials and pro-Kremlin pundits, who in recent weeks have actively criticized the Russian military for a series of embarrassing setbacks on the battlefield. Russian nationalist commentators and state media war correspondents lauded Monday’s attack as an appropriate, and long-awaited, response to . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine leader to ask G7 for air defence weapons after Russian strikes, by Max Hunder and Jonathan Landay | Reuters  * G7 leaders to discuss Ukraine later today * Expected to review Kyiv’s request for air defence systems * May also warn Belarus against closer involvement * Russia says it will respond to greater Western aid | KYIV — President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will ask the leaders of the G7 group of nations to urgently supply Ukraine with air defence weapons, after Russia rained down cruise missiles in its latest escalation of its unravelling invasion. Ukrainians woke up to the wailing of new air raid sirens on Tuesday, with parts of the country left without power. Officials said 19 were killed on Monday in . . . READ MORE . . .

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NATO chief says Russia’s Ukraine strikes ‘sign of weakness.’ From AFP. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said today Russia was striking Ukraine’s infrastructure to make up for battlefield losses by its troops and vowed allies would “step up and sustain” support for Kyiv. “I think what we saw yesterday is actually a sign of weakness, because the reality is that they are not able to make progress on the battlefield. Russia is actually losing on the battlefield,” Stoltenberg told journalists.

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Russia puts Meta on its list of extremists and terrorists. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian financial watchdog Rosfinmonitoring today placed U.S. corporation Meta Platforms, Inc. (deemed extremist in Russia) on its list of extremists and terrorists. . . . In March, Moscow’s Tverskoy Court declared the social networks — Instagram and Facebook — owned by Meta, extremist and banned them across Russian territory.

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Ukraine says exhumed dozens of civilian bodies in recaptured Donetsk towns. From AFP. Ukraine said today that it had recovered the remains of dozens of civilians killed during Russia’s invasion in two towns in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine recently recaptured from Moscow’s forces. “In the liberated towns of Sviatogirsk and Lyman, law enforcement officers discovered the sites of mass burials of civilians,” the prosecutor general said in a statement, adding that 34 remains were exhumed in Sviatogirsk and another 44 in Lyman.

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Russia says it retaliated against Ukraine in response to an attack on a key bridge. Reported by Jason Beaubien and Kat Lonsdorf | NPR  Russia has carried out a barrage of air-strikes across Ukraine in retaliation says Moscow for an attack on a key bridge over the weekend. Click HERE to listen and read.

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Russia’s strikes on Ukraine may also have been meant to quell doubts at home. Reported by Leila Fadel and Charles Maynes | NPR  Russia carried out a barrage of airstrikes across Ukraine on Monday. But what has been the reaction in Moscow to its own military escalation? The Russian assaults were widely condemned by the West. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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Russia, having ‘run out of missiles,’ launches barrage on Ukraine, by Moon of Alabama  | Educate! Back in March I had warned that Lies Do Not Win Wars. Here is another practical example. After allegedly having ‘run out of missiles’ and, more importantly, patience, the leadership of the Russian Federation decided to de-electrify Ukrainian cities with a ‘barrage of missile strikes’. But first came the propaganda blubber: . . . READ MORE . . .

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This is the best way to counter Putin’s nuclear threats, by Carl Bildt | The Washington Post Is Vladimir Putin really going to use nuclear weapons as part of his effort to subjugate and break up Ukraine? Some months ago, most observers dismissed this as . . . READ MORE . . .

The essay that begins below was posted by its author on Oct. 9 and is entered here on Oct. 10. Please scroll down for “Americas, 10-10-22” and “Ukraine, 10-10-22.” — MCM

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The U.S. Is Leading the World Into the Abyss

By Edward Curtin | Behind the Curtain

A few years after WW I, the poet T.S. Eliot opened his famous poem “The Wasteland” with these words: “April is the cruelest month … “  I think he may be wrong, for this October may be the cruelest month of all, followed by November.  Unprecedented.  You can hear the clicking and grating of spades if your antennae are attuned.

We are on the brink of ominous events created by the U.S. war against Russia.  Yet so many people prefer to turn away and swallow the lies that the U.S. wants peace and not war and is the aggrieved party in the crisis.

A friend of mine, who is constantly charging me with having turned right-wing because of my writing that accuses many traditional liberal/leftists of buying the national security state’s propaganda on the JFK assassination, “9/11,” Syria, Ukraine, Covid-19, censorship, the “New” Cold War, etc., and whose go-to news sources are The Guardian, CNN, The New York Times, NPR, ABC, seems oblivious to the fact that right and left have become useless terms and that these media are all mouthpieces for the CIA and their intelligence allies in the new Cold War; that the so-called right and left are joined at the hip with their obsession with Pax Americana.

There are no right and left anymore; there are only free and independent voices or those of the caged parrots repeating what they have been taught to say:

“Polly wants a war!”  “Polly wants a war.”

I am afraid that I will never convince this dear friend otherwise and I find that depressing.  Yet I know such views are shared by millions of others and that even if nuclear war breaks out their minds will not change.  Propaganda runs very, very deep into their psyches, and they desperately want to believe.  Hitler said it clearly in Mein Kampf:

“The masses … are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods.”

Hitler learned so much about “manufacturing consent” from his American teachers Edward Bernays, Walter Lippmann, et al., who accomplished so much brainwashing of the American people.  They were all masters of the lie and millions continue to believe their followers.

If nuclear weapons are again used (and everyone knows the only country to have used them), these believers will blame their use on Russia, even though Russia has made it very clear that it would only resort to such weapons if the country’s existence were threatened, while the U.S. continues affirming its right to preemptively use nuclear weapons when it so chooses.

And even if nuclear weapons are not used, the recent sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines and the bombing of the Crimean Bridge, both clearly the work of U.S./NATO/Ukrainian forces, have raised the ante considerably.  The door to hell has just been opened wider, and I suspect not by accident, as the U.S. elections approach.

In his recent television talk, Vladimir Putin made Russia’s nuclear position very clear, mentioning nuclear weapons only in the context of Western threats of using them, as Moon of Alabama reported.  Putin said:

“They [the U.S./NATO/Ukraine] have even resorted to the nuclear blackmail. I am referring not only to the Western-encouraged shelling of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, which poses a threat of a nuclear disaster, but also to the statements made by some high-ranking representatives of the leading NATO countries on the possibility and admissibility of using weapons of mass destruction – nuclear weapons – against Russia.

“I would like to remind those who make such statements regarding Russia that our country has different types of weapons as well, and some of them are more modern than the weapons NATO countries have. In the event of a threat to the territorial integrity of our country and to defend Russia and our people, we will certainly make use of all weapon systems available to us. This is not a bluff.

“The citizens of Russia can rest assured that the territorial integrity of our Motherland, our independence and freedom will be defended – I repeat – by all the systems available to us. Those who are using nuclear blackmail against us should know that the wind rose can turn around.”

When the long-planned U.S. war against Russia, so obvious to anyone who sees past the propagandist headlines and studies the matter, soon explodes into full-scale open war for all to see in horror, as it will, these true believers will dig in their heels even more.  They will find new reasons to justify their faith, and it . . . READ MORE . . .

For now, links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, teleSUR, and Agencia EFE; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. — MCM

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UN mulls quick foreign troop deployment to ease Haiti crisis, by Dánica Coto | AP  SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The United Nations Security Council was evaluating options including the immediate activation of foreign troops to help free Haiti from the grip of gangs that has caused a scarcitY of fuel, water and other basic supplies. Such a force would “remove the threat posed by armed gangs and provide immediate protection to critical infrastructure and services,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres wrote in a letter submitted to the council on Sunday. READ MORE . . .

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Haiti activists rally at White House seeking end of U.S. support for Henry, by Brian Ellsworth | Reuters Activists n Sunday rallied at the White House to call on the Biden administration to end support for the government of Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, as the Caribbean nation faces a humanitarian crisis due to gangs blocking the distribution of fuel. Haiti’s dire situation has gotten increased attention from around the world in recent weeks as severe fuel shortages have forced many businesses and hospitals to shut their doors, just as health authorities confirmed a surprise cholera outbreak. A broadcast of the rally showed several hundred people . . . READ MORE . . .

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Venezuela decrees national mourning for Las Tejerias landslide. From teleSUR. Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday decreed three days of national mourning after confirming the death of 22 citizens and the disappearance of 52 people in Las Tejerias, in the state of Aragua, as a result of a landslide that took place on Saturday night. To facilitate recovery actions, he declared the communities of Las Tejerias, the epicenter of the landslide and flooding, as a “Natural Disaster and Catastrophe Zone.” Maduro asked Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, his ministers and all security agencies to carry out “the maximum deployment” to attend to the people affected . . . READ MORE . .  Click HERE for coverage in Spanish.

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Presented here are links to reports from the Associated Press, National Public Radio, Tass, Agence France-Presse and, in Spanish, Agencia EFE; others are accessible by clicking on their names and initials below. — MCM

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Russia blasts Kyiv, other Ukrainian cities in deadly strikes, by Adam Schreck and Hanna Arhirova | AP  KYIV — Russia unleashed a lethal barrage of strikes against multiple Ukrainian cities today, smashing civilian targets including downtown Kyiv where at least six people were killed amid burnt-out cars and shattered buildings . . . . Police said a total of at least 10 people were killed and around 60 others were wounded in the morning attacks across Ukraine. . . . Russian President Vladimir Putin . . . said the strikes were in retaliation for what he called Kyiv’s “terrorist” actions — a reference to Ukraine’s attempts to repel Moscow’s invasion forces and cripple their supply lines. . . . He vowed a “tough” and “proportionate” response should Ukraine carry out further attacks that threaten Russia’s security. “No one should have any doubts about it,” he said. The intense, hours-long attack by Russia marked a sudden military escalation in its assault on Ukraine. READ MORE . . .

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Russian missiles hit multiple Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv. Reported by STEVE INSKEEP and Jason Beaubien | NPR  The attacks came days after an explosion partially damaged a bridge strategic to Moscow that connects Russian-occupied Crimea to mainland Russia. Russian President Putin called it an act of terrorism. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Belarus’s Lukashenko warns Ukraine, deploys troops with Russia. From Reuters. LONDON — Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said today he had ordered troops to deploy with Russian forces near Ukraine in response to what he said was a clear threat to Belarus from Kyiv and its backers in the West. His remarks . . . indicate a potential further escalation of the war in Ukraine. . . .”We have been preparing for this for decades,” he said. “If necessary . . . READ MORE . . .

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Beneficiary of Nord Stream sabotage well-known, Russia not allowed to investigate — Putin. From Tass. MOSCOW — While Russia is not allowed to investigate the sabotage at the Nord Stream pipeline, but the beneficiary is already known, Russian President Vladimir Putin said today. . . .  “Russian representatives are not allowed to investigate the causes of explosions and destruction of international gas transmission systems passing through the bottom of the Baltic Sea, but we all know the ultimate beneficiary of this crime,” he said. Four leaks were discovered on the Nord Stream gas link, with the most recent one pinpointed . . . READ MORE . . .

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Macron says Russian strikes signal ‘profound change’ in Ukraine war. From AFP. — French President Emmanuel Macron said that Russian air strikes across Ukraine and against civilians today signalled a “profound change” in the conduct of the war. The “deliberate strikes by Russia over the whole of Ukraine’s territory and against civilians, it’s a profound change in the nature of this war,” he told reporters . . . READ MORE . . .

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Putin amenaza con más bombardeos masivos y Zelenski pide a los ucranianos resistir. De EFE.  Moscú/Leópolis — El presidente ruso, Vladímir Putin, amenaza con lanzar nuevos bombardeos masivos contra ciudades de Ucrania si Kiev perpetra «atentados terroristas» de envergadura en Rusia, mientras su homólogo ucraniano, Volodímir Zelenski, ha animado a la población a resistir y a no abandonar los refugios. Putin dejó claro que . . . LEA MÁS . . .

At least for now, links to reports from the Associated Press and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their initials below. — MCM

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Ukraine: Russian strikes kill 17 following bridge attack, by Justin Spike and Adam Schreck | AP  ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine — A Russian missile barrage that crumbled apartment buildings and houses in Ukraine’s city of Zaporizhzhia killed at least 17 people and wounded dozens, Ukrainian officials said today as Moscow strained to enforce its takeover of illegally annexed territory. The blasts that collapsed at least one high-rise residential building and blew out the windows of others came from six missiles launched in Russian-occupied areas of the Zaporizhzhia region, the Ukrainian air force said. The region is one of four Russia claimed as its own this month, but the regional capital remains under Ukrainian control. The multiple strikes . . . READ MORE . . .

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A day after critical bridge explosion, Russian forces strike Zaporizhzhia. Reported by Ayesha Rascoe and Jason Beaubien | NPR  Russian forces struck Zaporizhzhia, in a region of Ukraine Russia claims to control, after yesterday’s explosion that damaged a critical bridge linking Russian-occupied Crimea to Russia. Click HERE to listen and, sometime, read.

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MAY BE CONTINUED

First, links to reports from teleSUR, Reuters, the Associated Press, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. — MCM

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Tropical Storm Julia could become a hurricane this weekend. From teleSUR. Tropical storm Julia formed Friday off the Colombian peninsula of La Guajira with sustained winds of 65 km. Julia was 175 kilometers north of Colombia, moving westward at about 30 kilometers per hour, said the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INETER). Its path could reach Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico. Some Caribbean and Central American . . . READ MORE . . .

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Chile permanently closes mining areas connected to giant sinkhole, by Alexander Villegas | Reuters SANTIAGO —  Chile’s mining minister announced on Friday the permanent closure of mining stopes directly related to a giant sinkhole that appeared in the northern part of the country in July. Mining minister Marcela Hernando made the announcement after meeting with union members, mine workers and technical experts studying . . . READ MORE . . .

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Appeals court ruling allows Arizona abortions to restart, by Bob Christie | AP  PHOENIX  — Abortions can take place again in Arizona, at least for now, after an appeals court on Friday blocked enforcement of a pre-statehood law that almost entirely criminalized the procedure. The three-judge panel of the Arizona Court of Appeals agreed with Planned Parenthood that a judge should not have lifted the decades-old order that prevented the older law from being imposed. The brief order . . . READ MORE . . .

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Mexico’s armed forces are becoming increasingly powerful under its president. Scott Simon of NPR talks with Mexican security analyst Alejandro Hope about the increasing power the Mexican armed forces are getting under President Anders Manuel Lopez Obrador. Click HERE to listen and, another time, read.

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Linda Ronstadt on her new book ‘Feels Like Home.’ Scott Simon of NPR speaks with singer Linda Ronstadt about her new book, “Feels Like Home,” which looks back at her family’s deep Southwestern roots. Click HERE to listen and, another time, read.

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MAY BE CONTINUED

First, links to reports from the Associated Press, teleSUR, Reuters, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Then, via Popular Resistance, links to two articles on Ukraine’s Azov Battalion and news media treatment of it. — MCM

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Crimea bridge blast damages key Russian supply route; 3 dead, by Adam Schreck and Vasila Stepanenko | AP  KHARKIV — An  explosion caused the partial collapse of a bridge linking the Crimean Peninsula with Russia today, damaging a key supply artery for the Kremlin’s faltering war effort in southern Ukraine. Russian authorities said a truck bomb caused the blast and that three people were killed. . . . Moscow didn’t apportion blame. . . . Kyiv stopped short of claiming responsibility. The bombing . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia opens criminal iInvestigation of Crimea bridge explosion. From teleSUR. The Russian government today opened a criminal investigation into the explosion of a cargo truck that caused a fire and the collapse of two sections of the bridge road linking the Crimean peninsula with the rest of Russian territory. In the Kremlin it was noted that an Investigative Committee is establishing all the circumstances of the incident and the persons involved . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia names air force general to lead its forces in Ukraine. From Reuters. * This content was produced in Russia, where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine. | MOSCOW — Russia’s Defence Ministry today named Air Force General Sergei Surovikin as the overall commander of Russian forces fighting in Ukraine, Moscow’s third senior military appointment in the space of a week. The change follows the reported sacking earlier this week of the commanders of two of Russia’s five military regions, as . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia is firm about its measures in regard to Donbass, Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russia is firm about its righteousness and feasibility of steps taken in regard to the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR respectively) as well the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said today. “We are absolutely sure in the rightful cause and the steps that we take,” Lavrov said. . . . “Our evaluations and arguments, which we will continue sharing with international partners, are quite obvious and many of our partners share them. . . . People residing in the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions were deprived of any prospects for their self-identification within Ukraine as a result of the Kiev’s launched military . . .READ MORE . . .

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‘Now, all of you are Azov’: ‘Openly Neo-Nazi’ Ukrainian Delegation Meets Congress, Tours U.S.,* by Moss Robeson | The Grayzone / Educate!  This September, a delegation of the Ukrainian neo-Nazi-led Azov movement arrived in the United States, at a time when myth making about the far-right network’s “depoliticization” had reached a fever pitch. By this time, the New York Times had ceased referring to Azov as “openly neo-Nazi,” and was . . . READ MORE . . .

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Media hide fascist ideology of Ukrainian militia who visit Congress, by Moon of Alabama | Educate!  “Western” media continue to denazify Ukraine by pretending that the Nazi formations in that country, which they had long decried, are now a harmless collection of celebrities. One could follow those changes along various pieces in the New York Times: Mar 15 2019: “On his flak jacket was a symbol commonly used by the Azov Battalion, a Ukrainian neo-Nazi paramilitary organization.” Feb 11 2020: . . . READ MORE . . .

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MAY BE CONTINUED

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* This article was originally published by Moss Robeson’s Ukes, Kooks and Spooks blog and lightly edited by The Grayzone. Read part one of Robeson’s series on Azov’s U.S. tour here.

First, links to reports from National Public Radio, the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, teleSUR, Tass, and the Moscow Times; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. — MCM

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The differences between what Russia and Ukraine say is happening on the  ground. Reported  by Tom Bowman and Jason Beaubien | NPR Russia says it is claiming parts of Ukraine, but facts on the ground say otherwise. Ukrainian troops continue a counteroffensive in the country’s south and east that is upending the Kremlin’s plans. Click HERE to listen and read.

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Ukraine city takes more hits as apartment attack deaths rise, by Adam Schreck | AP  KYIV — The death toll from a missile attack on apartment buildings in a southern Ukrainian city rose to 11 as more Russian missiles and — for the first time — explosive packed drones targeted Ukrainian-held Zaporizhzhia today. As the war sparked by Russia’s February invasion of its neighbor ground on, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize . . . READ MORE . . .

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France creates 100-mn-euro fund for Ukraine to buy arms. From AFP. France has created a fund, initially worth 100 million euros ($98 million), for Ukraine to directly buy weapons and other materiel it needs in its war against invading Russia, President Emmanuel Macron said today. “We are setting up this . . . READ MORE . . .

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Erdogan and Putin discuss improving ties, ending Ukraine war. From Reuters. ISTANBUL — Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin about improving bilateral ties and he repeated Ankara’s willingness to do its part to peacefully resolve the war in Ukraine, Erdogan’s office said today. . . . Ankara’s relations with Russia are complex, with . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia’s response to EU price cap, reorientation of oil exports. From teleSUR. A European Union package of sanctions adopted this week is aimed at “strengthening pressure on the Russian government and economy, and weakening Russia’s military capabilities,” and Russia “will respond by redirecting oil exports to countries that are ready to cooperate with us under normal conditions,” a Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Thursday. READ MORE . . .

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Brain-dead NATO’ has gone too far, Lavrov says. From Tass. YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, Russia — NATO, whom French President Emmanuel Macron at one time called ‘brain dead’, has gone too far, judging from the US-led Western bloc’s recent policies on Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said today. . . . “Macron at one time diagnosed the North Atlantic alliance as being `brain dead’, he commented. “Judging from how the bloc has been grooming Kiev’s neo-Nazi regime, the disease has deteriorated far too much already. . . . As you know . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian rights defenders awarded Nobel Peace Prize. From the Moscow Times. The Norwegian Nobel Committee today awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize to Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian human rights champions. Russia’s Memorial group, Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties and jailed Belarusian rights activist Ales Bialiatski share this year’s prestigious award. “They . . . READ MORE . . .

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MAY BE CONTINUED

First, links to reports from the Associated Press, National Public Radio, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Tass, and the Moscow Times; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. Then, via Consortium News, a link to a report from Declassified UK. — MCM  

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Russia’s military woes mount amid Ukraine attacks. From AP. Even as the Kremlin moved to absorb parts of Ukraine in a sharp escalation of the conflict, the Russian military suffered new defeats that highlighted its deep problems on the battlefield and opened rifts at the top of the Russian government. The setbacks have badly dented the image . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukrainian troops keep up their counteroffensives in the country’s south and east. Reported by Leila Fadel and Kat Lonsdorf | NPR  As Russia completed its controversial annexation of four occupied regions of Ukraine, the Ukrainian army is taking back some of that territory village by village. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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Nord Stream investigation finds evidence of detonations, Swedish police say, by Essi Lehto and Anna Ringstrom | Reuters * Swedish Security Service says ‘gross sabotage’ indicated * Investigation shows detonations at Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines * Russia says not asked to participate in investigation | HELSINKI/STOCKHOLM — A crime scene investigation of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines from Russia to Europe has strengthened suspicions of “gross sabotage” involving detonations, Sweden’s Security Service said on Thursday. . . . Europe, which is a facing an energy crisis in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is . . . READ MORE . . .

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European Union adopts eighth package of sanctions against Russia, including oil price cap. From Tass. BRUSSELS — The European Union has adopted the eighth package of economic and individual sanctions against Moscow over the accession of four constituent entities to the Russian Federation, including the price cap on Russian oil and import bans worth 7 bln euro, the EU Council said in a statement today. “The agreed package includes . . . READ MORE . . .

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Zelensky Says Ukraine Must Win To Protect Europe. From AFP. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said today that his country must fend off Moscow’s invasion “so that Russian tanks do not advance on Warsaw or again on Prague”. Addressing a meeting in Prague of European heads of state convened by French President Emmanuel Macron, Zelensky also . . . READ MORE . . .

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Kremlin-Installed Official in Ukraine Slams Russian Military Leaders Over Mounting Losses. From the Moscow Times. A senior Kremlin-installed official in Ukraine’s partially occupied Kherson region lashed out at Russian military officials today, a rare example of full-throated criticism from an official as Moscow faces mounting military losses to Kyiv. “Many are saying . . . READ MORE . . .

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British intelligence predicted Ukraine war 30 years ago, by Phil Miller | Declassified UK / Consortium News When British intelligence warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin was about to attack Ukraine earlier this year, the spooks’ foresight won many plaudits. Yet their prediction mirrored a scenario Whitehall had long known might unfold. In May 1992, just six months after the Soviet Union broke up, Britain’s then Prime Minister John Major . . . READ MORE . . .

Readers of this blog who have never heard of Katie Halper or even of The Hill, where she worked, should nonetheless find the piece that begins below worthwhile. It includes a video of the career-altering segment Halper put together and an interview between her and its author. Click on TK NEWS below for more about that Substack newsletter. — MCM

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Meet the Censored: Katie Halper

By Matt Taibbi | TK News

The longtime co-host of Useful Idiots, Katie Halper, made headlines last week, and not for any reasons she would have asked for. Katie was fired from a part-time hosting arrangement at The Hill’s Rising, whose editor told her an editorial critical of Israeli policies in Palestine was “not in our sweet spot of coverage.”

Rising grew a significant audience as an independent media vehicle between 2019 and 2021, when it was hosted by the left-right team of Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti. It has since undergone changes, piloted for a time by Intercept reporter Ryan Grim and Emily Jashinsky of The Federalist, and ultimately moving to a new incarnation featuring Briahna Joy Gray and Robby Soave. Part of the hosting job involves monologues called “radars.” Katie, who had a fill-in arrangement at the outlet for years, was let go over just such a radar. You can see it [in this video].

The controversy began when Michigan Democrat Rashida Tliab spoke at an online seminar on September 20th and said, “It has become clear that you cannot claim to hold progressive values, yet back Israel’s apartheid government.” Tliab gave her talk in the wake of the shooting of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed in the West Bank City of Jenin in May. Abu Akleh’s family met with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in July, and asked the International Criminal Court to open a case two weeks ago, simultaneous to Tlaib’s seminar.

Tliab’s comments inspired an immediate reaction from the Anti-Defamation League, which deemed them anti-Semitic. CEO Jonathan Greenblatt ripped Tliab for ostensibly telling “American Jews they must pass an anti-Zionist litmus test to participate in progressive spaces.” The ADL reaction got wide play on stations like CNN.

Katie’s “Radar” argues Tliab’s comments laid bare what has long been a source of tension among self-described progressives, who often tiptoe around the subject of occupied Palestine. As you’ll see [in the video], she approached her subject with great care, leaning on statements from groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Agree with her or not, her editorial certainly wasn’t fake news, or flippant, or gratuitous. It’s what the media business normally wants: a decisive, well-argued opinion.

However, the Hill thought otherwise, and what makes the situation unusual is a media company saying the proverbial quiet part out loud. When editors refused to run the “Radar,” Katie asked flat-out if the problem was the subject of Israel. Though there was some hemming and hawing (at one point she was told the problem was that the show’s focus was on domestic and not foreign policy, despite running content about Brazilian elections, Italy’s new prime minister, and multiple Ukraine pieces that week), eventually they just told her that was, in fact, the case. The next day, she was let go via a curt email ending, “We wish you all the best.”

Gary Weitman, the chief communications officer for Nexstar Media Group, which owns the Hill, declined to respond to queries from Grim, for a story in The Intercept. My own queries have so far not elicited a response.

Israel’s Palestine policies, which Human Rights Watch and others have long described as apartheid, obviously arouse very strong feelings. Still, a lot of media figures avoid the topic, as it can be a career-defining or at minimum a career-complicating decision to go there. The fact that Palestinian journalists and Palestinian news sites are often canaries in the content moderation coal mine, deleted or suppressed in creative ways by platforms like Facebook and Google, has added another layer of trepidation for editorialists. Episodes like this don’t help:

Matt Taibbi: What happened?

Katie Halper: I’ve been appearing [on Rising] for three years as a weekly guest. There are some weeks I took off when things were in disarray, but then the new iteration of the show came, and they asked me if I wanted to appear. So I started doing a weekly segment once again with them.

When you’re a host, you do these things called “Radars,” which are monologues. I came up with three ideas of radars I wanted to do. One was on Ukraine, one was on immigration, and one was on Israel. It’s funny, because had I done the other ones first, I’d still be working at the Hill. At least, until I did the Israel one.

Anyway, I did my Israel radar. I put a lot of work into it because I thought it was really important. You have to be thorough, because you get attacked, and . . . READ MORE . . .