Covid, etc., 11-17-24

Link to a report from National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

   

FROM NOV. 16  Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ effort is poised for real power. Reported by Will Stone and Scott Detrow | NPR  If confirmed, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will have broad influence over federal agencies and health care policy — a prospect that worries many in public health given his history of conspiracy theories. Click HERE to listen and read.

Gaza, 11-16-24

For today, links to five reports: from the Anadolu Agency, National Public Radio, the Associated Press, and Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date and a COVID ETC. entry are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

   

Fuel shortage in southern Gaza leaves 1.2m without water, by Mohamed Majed | Anadolu Agency  GAZA CITY, Palestine  The southern Gaza city of Khan Younis warned today that a week-long fuel shortage has left more than 1.2 million residents and displaced individuals in the area without access to clean water, amid ongoing Israeli strikes. READ MORE . . .

   

Israel’s escalating attack on Lebanon is destroying entire communities. Reported by Jane Arraf and Scott Simon | NPR  We look at the efforts to broker a ceasefire between the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israel. Fighting has escalated between the two, pushing the conflict deeper into Lebanon. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

   

Israeli troops reach deepest point in Lebanon since Oct. 1 invasion, Lebanese media say, by Bassein Mroue | AP  BEIRUT — Israeli ground forces reached their deepest point in Lebanon since they invaded six weeks ago before pulling back today after battles with Hezbollah militants, Lebanese state media reported. READ MORE . . .

   

FROM NOV.  14  Palestinians are nervous as Mike Huckabee is named ambassador to Israel. Reported by Michele Kelemen | NPR  Trump has named the ambassador to Israel as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who says there is no such place as the West Bank. Click HERE to listen and read.

   

FROM NOV.  14  Israel says it’s close to mission accomplished in southern Lebanon. Reported by Daniel Estrin | NPR  Israeli officials say they’re closer to declaring “mission accomplished” in southern Lebanon. They aimed to push Hezbollah militia away from the border so thousands of Israelis can return to the area. Click HERE to listen and read.

   

FROM NOV. 15  Malcolm X’s daughters sue CIA, FBI and NYPD for $100m over his assassination. From Middle East Eye. Malcolm X was assassinated at the age of 39 on Feb. 21, 1965, by three men who opened fire on him as he was speaking at the Audobon Ballroom in New York City. Two of the three men convicted and sentenced for his murder were exonerated decades later. READ MORE . . .

 

Ukraine, 11-16-24

For today, links to only two reports: from the Associated Press and National Public Rado; others are accessible by clicking on their initials below. NOTE: the UKRAINE entry for Nov. 17 should be longer. (GAZA entry for this date, so far, and a COVID, ETC. entry are HERE and HERE.) — MCM 

   

Investigation reveals a Russian factory’s plans to mix decoys with a new deadly weapon in Ukraine, by Ema Burrows, Hanna Arhirova and Lori Hinnant | AP  KYIV — A high-tech factory in central Russia has created a new, deadly force to attack Ukraine: a small number of highly destructive thermobaric drones surrounded by huge swarms of cheap foam decoys. Dubbed Operation False Target, the plan . . . READ MORE . . .

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‘Even the Forest Hums’ is a new compilation of music from Ukraine.  Scott Simon of NPR talks with Vitalii Bardetskyi, a Ukrainian DJ and music journalist, about a new compilation of music from that country called “Even the Forest Hums.” Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

Covid, etc., 11-16-24

For today, links to four reports: from Reuters and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

   

FROM NOV. 15  RFK Jr. vow to purge FDA sets up collision with Big Pharma, by Ahmed Aboulenein and Michael Erman | Reuters  WASHINGTON — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. vowed to purge the U.S. Food and Drug Administration shortly before being chosen as President-elect Donald Trump‘s nominee for health secretary. Any changes he wants to make . . . READ MORE . . .

   

FROM NOV. 14   Trump picks RFK Jr. to oversee the Department of Health and Human Services. Reported by Jeongyoon Han and Susan Davis | NPR  President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to oversee the Department of Health and Human Services. “For too long,” Trump said in a statement on Truth Social, “Americans have been . . . Click HERE to listen and read.

   

FROM NOV. 14  How the CDC could change under the next Trump administration. Reported by Pien Huang | NPR  In its 78-year history, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has evolved from its origins tackling malaria to an agency that aims to safeguard almost every aspect of Americans’ health. But its mission . . . Click HERE to listen and read.

   

Nursing aides plagued by PTSD after ‘nightmare’ COVID conditions, with little help. Introduced by Scott Simon of NPR reported by Amy Maxmen of the Kaiser Family Foundation. Some of the lowest-paid essential workers during the pandemic also suffered the most trauma. Nursing aides have had trouble getting healthcare officials to pay attention to their plight. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

Gaza, 11-15-24

For today, links to five reports: from Substack, Reuters, Middle East Monitor, and National Public Radio; to commentary from Middle East Eye; and to an imaginary conversation from ScheerPost; other published material is accessible by clicking on their names and initials  below. (UKRAINE and MEDIA entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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FROM NOV. 12  The accusations that could bring Bibi down, by Seymour M. Hersh | Substack  Menachem Mizrahi is a highly respected judge in Israel, a conservative jurist whose magistrate court is the most basic in the country’s court hierarchy, with jurisdiction over criminal matters and family disputes. He has now jailed five senior military and government officials in a rapidly expanding criminal investigation that . . . READ MORE . . .

   

Gaza aid access ‘at a low point’, UN official says, by Emma Farge | Reuters  GENEVA — Aid access in Gaza is at a low point with deliveries to parts of the besieged north of the enclave all but impossible, a U.N. humanitarian official said today. The remarks run counter to a U.S. assessment earlier this week . . . READ MORE . . .

   

HRW: Israel conducting forced population transfer in Gaza. From Middle East Monitor. Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of deliberately forcing the displacement of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity. READ MORE . . .

   

FROM NOV. 14  The status of Israel’s operation in southern Lebanon. Reported by Daniel Estrin | NPR  Israeli officials say they’re closer to declaring “mission accomplished” in southern Lebanon. They aimed to push Hezbollah militia away from the border so thousands of Israelis can return to the area. Click HERE to listen and read.

   

Iran backs Lebanon in ceasefire talks, seeks end to ‘problems, by Maya Gebeily and Riham Alkousaa | Reuters  BEIRUT — Iran will back any decision taken by Lebanon in talks to secure a ceasefire with Israel, a senior Iranian official, Ali Larijani, said today, signalling Tehran wants to see an end to a conflict that has dealt heavy blows to its Lebanese ally Hezbollah. READ MORE . . .

   

FROM NOV. 14  Hezbollah rebuilds resistance as national unity prevails, for now, by Paul Khalifeh and, on video, Daniel Levy | Middle East Eye  Hezbollah is currently fighting on two fronts: resisting the Israeli army, while also managing internal political and social pressures within Lebanon. On Monday . . . Click HERE for article by Khalifeh and talk by Levy.

   

FROM NOV. 13  As Gazans starve, recall your granddad fled the Great Hunger in Ireland. Robert Scheer of ScheerPost in the role of President Biden and Ray McGovern, who was the CIA’s daily briefer to a succession of U.S. presidents, as himself as if he had not retired. In an imaginary post-election “briefing,” McGovern appeals to the grandson of someone who migrated to the United States to escape possible starvation. Click HERE to listen and watch.

 

Ukraine, 11-15-24

For today, links to seven reports: from the Kyiv Independent, Reuters, the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, and the Kyiv Post, and to commentary from Consortium News and Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA and MEDIA entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

   

Scholz condemns war, urges Russia to negotiate with Ukraine in first call with Putin in nearly 2 years, by Kateryna Hodunova | The Kyiv Independent  Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke by phone today, their first direct call in nearly two years, according to a German government statement. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Reuters.

   

Ukrainian soldiers focus on keeping Russian advances at bay and brace for storm to come from U.S., by Vasilisa Stepanenko and Yehor Konovalov | AP  Russia is increasingly hitting the Kharkiv region with unstoppable, building-leveling glide bombs and swarms of drones and chipping away at territory there. Its troops are advancing in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Reuters.

   

Ukraine arrests army officer accused of spying for Russia. From AFP.  Ukrainian authorities today announced the arrest of an army lieutenant colonel accused of leaking classified information about military operations to Russia. READ MORE . . .

   

Ukraine repels Russian attempt to enter Kupiansk, military says. From the Kyiv Independent. Ukrainian forces successfully repelled Russian attempts to break into the city of Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukrinfrom reported on Nov. 14, citing the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces. Click HERE for article and map.

   

FROM NOV. 14  Trump picks ‘favorite of the Russians’ Tulsi Gabbard for Intel chief, by Stash Luczkiw | Kyiv Post  U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he intends to appoint Tulsi Gabbard, former congresswoman from Hawaii, as the U.S. national director of intelligence. Gabbard has long accused . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE and HERE for related article of commentary from Consortium News via ScheerPost.

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Blinken, atrocious in a dangerous worldby Binoy Kampmark | Middle East Monitor  It is hard to credit one of the least impressive secretaries of state the United States has ever produced with any merit other than . . . READ MORE . . .

 

Gaza, 11-14-24

For today, links to three reports: from the Associated Press, National Public Radio, and Reuters; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date and an ELECTION entry and a MEDIA entry are HERE, HERE and HERE.) — MCM

   

FROM NOV. 13  Why is only limited aid getting to Palestinians inside Gaza? by Julia Frankel, Jack Jeffrey and Samy Magdy | AP  JERUSALEM — The United States decided not to punish Israel over the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip after giving it an ultimatum to increase aid entering the territory. But the flow of food, medicine and other supplies to Palestinians is still at nearly its lowest level of the entire . . . READ MORE . . .

   

Israel fails to meet U.S. demands on aid to Gaza. How are aid agencies coping? Reported by Leila Fadel | NPR  The U.S. says that Israel will not face consequences for failing to meet U.S. demands to provide more aid to avoid mass starvation in Gaza. What are aid organizations doing to cope? Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

   

Palestinians say north Gaza destruction is widespread as rights group warns some may never return, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi | Reuters  CAIRO — Palestinians displaced from northern Gaza said Israeli forces had inflicted widespread destruction on their home districts in their latest six-week-old offensive and a rights group raised concerns Israel might put some areas permanently off-limits. READ MORE . . .

 

Ukraine, 11-14-24

For today, links to reports from the Associated Press and Reuters; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA entry for this date and an ELECTION entry and a MEDIA entry are HERE, HERE and HERE.) — MCM

   

FROM NOV. 13  U.S. says it intends to shore up support for Ukraine until Trump takes office. From AP. BRUSSELS — President Joe Biden intends to bolster U.S. military support to Ukraine in the final months of his administration, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday, after Russia launched a sophisticated missile and drone attack on Kyiv. READ MORE . . .

   

Russia open to any Ukraine peace talks if Trump starts them, envoy says. | Reuters GENEVA — Russia is open to negotiations on an end to the Ukraine war if initiated by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, but any talks need to be based on the realities of Russian advances, Moscow’s ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva told reporters today READ MORE . . .

Election, 11-14-24

A link to commentary from the Washington Post; other articles are accessible by clicking on its name below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for today and a MEDIA entry are HERE, HERE and HERE.) — MCM

   

FROM NOV. 13  World’s richest man is about to receive free public education, by George Will | The Washington Post  Elon Musk’s reward for services rendered to Trump’s campaign will be leadership of a commission to slice . . . READ MORE . . .