First, links to seven reports: from from Reuters, the Kyiv Independent, the Associated Press, the Kyiv Post, the Moscow Times, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA entry for this date, so far, is HERE.) — MCM

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Kremlin, dismissing Zelenskiy’s talk of plan to end war, says Russia will keep fighting. From Reuters. MOSCOW — The Kremlin today dismissed talk by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy about a plan he has to end the war and said Russia would continue what it calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine. Zelenskiy said on Tuesday . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from the Kyiv Independent.

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A Russian missile strikes a Ukrainian city already in mourning for deaths in an earlier attack, by Illia Novikov | AP  KYIV — A Russian missile slammed into Kryvyi Rih today, local authorities said, just as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s home city was observing an official day of mourning for an attack the previous day that killed four civilians at a hotel. The latest attack . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia’s Donbas offensive rolls on against outgunned Ukrainian troops, by Stefan Korshak | Kyiv Post  Russian tanks and infantry backed by powerful artillery and air strikes captured a key settlement and gained new ground in the eastern Donbas sector on Tuesday, according to field and media reports. Ukrainian troops fighting at a 4-to-1 firepower disadvantage . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukrainian drone strike sparks another oil depot fire in Russia’s Rostov Region. From the Moscow Times. A second oil depot in southern Russia’s Rostov region was set on fire within a month following an overnight drone attack by Ukraine, local authorities said early today. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Kyiv Post.

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Ukraine has successfully tested ballistic missiles that were made in Ukraine. Reported by Michel Martin | NPR  Ukraine has been dependent on Western countries for long-range ballistic missiles in its fight against Russia’s invasion. Will producing these missiles in Ukraine make a difference in the war? Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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MAY BE CONTINUED

Links to commentary from Nader.org and Common Dreams; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.)  — MCM

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FROM AUG. 23  Phil Donahue (1935-2024) — Greatest champion of free speech for the people’s interest of the 20th century, by Ralph Nader | Nader.org  It was 1967 when the national media was covering our auto safety initiatives. A call came on the hallway phone outside my $90-a-month boarding room. “Hello . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 19  Fired by MSNBC for giving voice to Iraq war opposition, Phil Donahue was courage personified, by Jeff Cohen | Common Dreams  Phil went on any TV show right after 9/11 that would have him to urge caution and to resist the calls for vengeful, endless warfare that would pointlessly kill large numbers of civilians in other countries. READ MORE . . .

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MAY BE CONTINUED

For today, links to three reports: from the Associated Press and Reuters, and to commentary from Middle East Eye; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names and initials below. (UKRAINE and entry for this date and a MEDIA entry are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Israeli military says it has rescued a hostage abducted in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. From AP. JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said today it has rescued one of the scores of people abducted in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, which ignited the ongoing war in Gaza. The rescue . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Reuters.

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Israel-Hamas war latest: Israeli strikes across Gaza kill 18, including 8 children, Palestinians say. From AP. At least 18 Palestinians, including eight children, were killed on Monday by Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense. READ MORE . . .

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Israel is rudderless, and Washington is going down with the ship, by Taha Ozhan | Middle East Eye  Israel is caught in the liminal space of being a project and a state, juxtaposed between an apartheid regime and a democratic nation, straddling the line between a start-up country and a mature nation. It oscillates between historical prophecy and modern reality, balancing . . . READ MORE . . .

For today, links to eleven reports: from from the Associated Press, Reuters, the Moscow Times, the Kyiv Post, the Kyiv Independent, Agence France-Presse, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA entry for this date and a MEDIA entry is HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Ukraine’s army chief says his troops control nearly 500 square miles of Russia’s Kursk region. From AP. KYIV — The chief of Ukraine’s army said today that the country’s troops control nearly 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) of Russia’s Kursk region since their surprised incursion three weeks ago. READ MORE . . .

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Russian attacks on Ukraine kill five in second day of major strikes, Kyiv says, by Valentyn Ogirenko and Gleb Garanich | Reuters  KYIV — Russia launched missile and drone attacks targeting scores of Ukrainian regions and killing at least five people, officials said today, a day after Moscow’s biggest air attack of the war on its neighbour. Two people were killed when a hotel was “wiped out” . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine launches attack on Belgorod Region, pro-Kremlin sources say. From the Moscow Times.  Ukrainian forces launched an attack on border posts in the southwestern Belgorod region, Telegram channels linked to Russian security services said Tuesday, as regional officials reported an attempt “to break through the border.” READ MORE . . . Click HERE and HERE for reports from Kyiv Post and the Kyiv Independent.

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Russia says captured village near Ukraine’s key hub of Pokrovsk. From AFP. Russia’s defence ministry Tuesday said forces had captured another village in the eastern Donetsk region near the city of Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub. READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine tests its first ballistic missile, Zelensky says, by Martin Fornusek and news desk | The Kyiv Independent  Ukraine carried out a successful test of the first domestic-made ballistic missile, President Volodymyr Zelensky said today. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Kyiv Post.

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Child dies in Ukrainian UAV attack on civilian car in Zaporozhye. From Tass. MELITOPOL — A Ukrainian drone attacked a civilian family’s car heading to the town of Polologi in the Zaporozhye Region, killing a child and injuring the rest of the family members, including a second minor, Governor Yevgeny Balitsky said. READ MORE . . .

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Indian PM Modi tells Putin he supports end to Ukraine war. From AFP.  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin today that he supports a swift end to the grinding conflict in Ukraine after visiting the war-torn country last week. Modi has pursued a delicate balance between . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Tass.

For today, links to six reports: from from the Associated Press, the Moscow Times, the Kyiv Post, the Kyiv Independent, Reuters, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA entry for this date and a 9/11 TRUTH entry are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Ukraine’s president says Russian overnight attack involved over 100 missiles and about 100 drones, by Illia Novikov | AP  KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today condemned Russia’s overnight and early morning barrage on his countrY as “vile” and said it involved over 100 missiles of various types and about 100 “Shahed” drones. He said . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE, HERE and HERE for reports from the Moscow Times, Kyiv Post and the Kyiv Independent.  

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Russia says it disrupted Ukraine’s power network and arms supplies with massive strike. From Reuters. MOSCOW — Russia said today it had conducted a massive strike on Ukraine which it said had disrupted the electricity supply and the transport by rail of arms and ammunition to the front line. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Tass.

 

A link to a presentation from Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth; other information from AE911Truth is accessible by clicking on its shorter name below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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FROM AUG. 18  These people sold you the official story, by Roland Angle, chairman of AE911Truth.  Angle* gives the names, backgrounds and job descriptions of individuals who he thinks should have to answer for their actions during the official investigations of the destruction of the three skyscrapers at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. He is joined in the last 20 minutes by engineers Kamal Obeid and John Schuler. Click HERE to read an introduction, listen to Angle’s talk, and read the accompanying slides.

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*  Author of the forthcoming book Engineering the 9/11 Cover-Up: How the Explosive Demolition of the World Trade Center Was Hidden From the World, 

For today, links to seven reports, from Middle East Monitor, the Associated Press, Reuters, National Public Radio, Middle East Eye, and the Anadolu Agency; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date and a 9/11 TRUTH entry are HERE and HERE.)  — MCM

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Official: Hamas rejects new Israeli conditions in Gaza ceasefire talks. From Middle East Monitor. The Palestinian Resistance Movement, Hamas has officially rejected the new conditions set by Israel to conclude a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. On Sunday, the latest round of talks held in the Egyptian capital, Cairo faltered . . . READ MORE . . .

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Families flee after new Israeli evacuation orders in Gaza as ceasefire hopes dim, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Ramadan Abed | Reuters  CAIRO / GAZA — Israel issued new evacuation orders for Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip late on Sunday, forcing more families to flee, saying its forces intended to act against militant group Hamas and others operating in the area. READ MORE . . .

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One of Gaza’s last functioning hospitals is emptying out as Israeli forces draw near, by Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy | AP  DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — One of Gaza’s last functioning hospitals has been emptying out in recent days as Israel has ordered the evacuation of nearby areas and signaled a possible ground operation in a town that has been largely spared throughout the war, officials said today. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital . . . READ MORE . . .

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Latest round of Middle East cease-fire talks fail as fears for wider conflict grow. Reported by A Martínez and Hadeel Al-Shalchi | NPR  Israel says that early on Sunday it launched a “preemptive” strike against Hezbollah targets . Military officials say they had intelligence that the Iran-backed militants were about to attack. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM AUG. 25  Israel and Hezbollah engage in intense cross-border fighting. Reported by Hadeel Al-Shalchi and Adrian Ma | NPR  On Sunday, Israel and Hezbollah exchanged some of the heaviest cross border fighting in months. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Gaza family accuses Israel of killing Palestinian with Down syndrome during incursion, by Maha Hussaini | Middle East Eye  Ahmed Saeed Masoud al-Abadla, 29, who had Down syndrome, had been displaced for around nine months, living in a tent in Mawasi al-Qarara in Gaza’s Khan Younis along with his mother and . . . READ MORE . . .

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U.S. defense chief orders 2 carrier strike groups to remain in region amid Israel-Hezbollah tensions, by Michael Gabriel Hernandez | Anadolu Agency  WASHINGTON — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday ordered two American carrier strike groups to remain in the Middle East after Israel and Hezbollah exchanged intense cross-border fire overnight. READ MORE . . .

For today, links to eight reports: from the Associated Press, Reuters, Middle East Eye, and National Public Radio, the Anadolu Agency, and Middle East Monitor, and to commentary from Mondoweiss and Substack; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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Israel and Hezbollah trade heavy fire before pulling back, jolting a region braced for war, by Josef Federman and Abbey Sewell | AP JERUSALEM — Israel launched a wave of airstrikes across southern Lebanon early today in what it said was a preemptive strike on Hezbollah. The militant group responded that it had launched hundreds of rockets and drones to avenge the killing of one of its top commanders last month. READ MORE . . . Click HERE and HERE for reports from Reuters and Middle East Eye.

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Israel attacks southern Lebanon, Hezbollah returns fire as ceasefire talks go on. Reported by Carrie Kahn, Hadeel Al-Shalchi and Ayesha Rascoe | NPR  Israel struck targets in southern Lebanon in what they say was a pre-emptive strike. Hezbollah returned fire. The increase in cross-border exchanges happens just as ceasefire talks resume. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport reopens after brief suspension amid escalating tension with Hezbollah. From Anadolu Agency JERUSALEM — Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport reopened this morning after a brief suspension following the Israeli military’s massive air raid on southern Lebanon, which it called a “preemptive strike” against Hezbollah. READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 24  Netanyahu in dispute with Israeli negotiators over ceasefire conditions, source says. From Reuters. JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has locked horns with Israeli ceasefire negotiators over his insistence that Israel will not pull out of the so-called Philadelphi Corridor in the south of the Gaza Strip, according to a person with knowledge of the talks. READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 24  Israeli bombing leaves 100,000 displaced Palestinians in Gaza’s Deir al-Balah city with nowhere to go. From Middle East Monitor. Approximately 100,000 displaced Palestinians in the eastern part of Deir al-Balah city in Gaza have no place to seek refuge from Israeli forces’ extensive bombardment, as Israel destroyed 20 shelter centres over the last two days after issuing evacuation orders, the city municipality said on Saturday. READ MORE . . .

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As Israel blocks most medical evacuations in Gaza, a family tries to save their baby.Reported by Jane Arraf | NPR  One family in Gaza struggles to save their severely ill baby daughter amidst evacuation orders by Israel’s military. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM AUG. 23  Understanding Netanyahu’s endgame in the war on Gaza, by Qassam Muaddi and Faris Giacaman | Mondoweiss  Much has been made of the “narrow” political interests that push Benjamin Netanyahu to insist on achieving “total victory” in Gaza, which in practice means . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 24  Western media can be held legally accountable for its role In the Gaza genocide, by Craig Mokhiber | Mondoweiss / ScheerPost  The ruthlessness of the Israeli genocide machine in Palestine, and the direct complicity of the U.S., UK, and other Western governments are two key pillars in the horrors being perpetrated against the Palestinian people (and in the attacks on human rights defenders around the globe). But there is . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 24  ‘The end of days,’ by Patrick Lawrence | Substack / ScheerPost  Orit Malka Strook serves in the Netanyahu government as minister of settlements and national missions. She has a seat in the Knesset representing the National Religious Party–Religious Zionism, a political amalgam formed last year when the Religious Zionism party merged with the Jewish Home party, which was  . . . READ MORE . . .

For today, links to seven reports: from Reuters, the Associated Press, the Kyiv Post, Tass, and the Moscow Times, and to commentary from the Kyiv Independent; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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Ukraine’s Zelenskiy says he would support India hosting second summit on peace. From Reuters. KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says negotiations are ongoing with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Switzerland regarding the second summit on peace and that he has told India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he would support India hosting that summit. READ MORE . . .

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5 people die in shelling of a Russian border region while Russian fire hits a hotel with reporters. From AP. KYIV Five people died in Ukrainian shelling in Russia’s border region of Belgorod, officials said today, while Russian forces struck a hotel in eastern Ukraine, leaving one journalist missing and two others injured. Twelve other people were wounded in the Russian village of Rakitone, 38 kilometers . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE and HERE for reports from Reuters and Kyiv Post.

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Russian air defenses down eight HIMARS rockets, 41 Ukrainian drones in past day. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian air defenses downed 41 unmanned aerial vehicles and eight HIMARS rockets in the past day, the Defense Ministry said in a broader statement. READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 24  Zelenskiy touts new ‘drone missile’, calls Putin ‘sick old man’, by Tom Balmforth and Olena Harmash | Reuters  KYIV— President Volodymyr Zelenskiy touted a newly developed Ukrainian “drone missile” on Saturday that he said would take the war back to Russia and scornfully derided Russia’s Vladimir Putin as a “sick old man from Red Square”. As Ukraine marked 33 years . . . READ MORE . . .

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In battlefield Kursk Region, civilians feel forgotten By their own country. From the Moscow Times. As Kyiv’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region continues for a third week, civilians on the ground are voicing growing anger toward Ukraine, fellow Russians and their own government, which they feel has abandoned . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine’s strategic play to shift the balance while undermining Russian morale, by Dinara Khalilova | The Kyiv Independent  Ukraine’s ongoing operation in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, a bold incursion launched nearly three weeks ago that surprised Moscow and the world alike, has already . . . READ MORE . . .

Some thoughts. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Thoroughly mainstream Politico.  Hours after RFK Jr.’s announcement suspending his presidential campaign and endorsing former President Trump’s re-election bid, Politico came out today with THIS commentary cataloguing some of the “weirdest” moments of Kennedy’s last few months — and also THIS analysis. The weirdness column exemplifies what might be PORE-AAA, or the power to re-emphasize again and again, a corollary to POLO, or the power to leave out, which Patrick Lawrence has cited in one of his ScheerPost columns. There was more POLO in the Politico analysis.

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One-second story?  AP and Reuters, at any rate, demonstrated POLO in their reports on Kennedy’s announcement, regurgitating elements of their coverage of his campaign to date and not failing to include other Kennedys’ continued disappointment in their relative.

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What constitutes ‘weird’?  One reason for dismissing as weird RFK Jr.’s candidacy is that so much of what he has had to say through Children’s Health Defense, in The Real Anthony Fauci, and on the campaign trail, has been breezily ignored in the media. So it’s weird.

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Weird, the word.  An English teacher of yore forbid students to use “nice” in papers — also prohibiting “very ” — as overused and misused and hence usually meaningless. How about weird?

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What did he say?  The 50-minute address was filled with the kind of stuff that a candidate who is bowing out usually doesn’t bother to include. Because none of it was included in any of the “kiss it off” news stories, some people may want to check out the speech on C-SPAN.

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Politics and IQ.  Can general awareness — call it IQ — go up while reading a good novel? Say one by Stanley Elkin or Herman Wouk. Hundreds would apply. RFK Jr.’s speech hit me the same way. But it won’t hit anybody that way who didn’t see it, because of POLO.

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Vacation.  Insufficient notice that the renegade was suspending his campaign may have caught media managers off guard. So much of what he packed into his talk may have seemed alien to people who rely on the news media for information. So many reporters may be on summer vacation that the event was under-covered. In any case, vacation may applies to establishment reporting in any season.

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A horse of a different color.  Is RFK Jr. a maverick? A certain bleach-blond politician comes to mind. Is he a renegade? Some cousins or siblings say so. Or is he just too weird? Was JFK a maverick — at all? Was RFK?

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Zionists all?  The current president, the former president, the vice president, and the renegade candidate all appear to be true-blue Israel loyalists. Israel didn’t specifically come up in the speech on Friday, but RFK Jr. did refer to “neo-cons.”

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Betrayal, or a cabinet post?  If RFK Jr.’s latest move is allowed as suitable for Sunday morning network TV bantering, or elsewhere, will commentators talk about the risks in his gambit, or whether he would make a suitable cabinet secretary, and if so in which post — and if not why not?