Volunteers of Project Due Diligence of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth beg to differ with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) reports on how the Twin Towers and Building 7 at the World Trade Center collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001. The news release linked below gives an idea of what the volunteers have been up to around the country for the last several years, and how engineers have responded. — MCM

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Jef Bishop delivers WTC 7 evidence at Florida Engineering conference. From AE911Truth. On July 28, engineer and Project Due Diligence volunteer, Jef Bishop, gave a special presentation on World Trade Center Building 7, a 47-story skyscraper not struck by any airplane, to 30 attendees of the Florida Engineering Society and the American Council of Engineering at their 2023 annual conference in Marco Island, Florida. Click HERE to read about it and see Bishop’s presentation including Q&A that followed.

First, links to reports from Agence France-Presse, Reuters, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Then, a link to an op-ed article in this weekend’s Berkshire Eagle by its foreign affairs writer, who lived and worked as a journalist in Russia and then Ukraine for a combined 14 years, and links to two articles he mentions. (NOTE: Visitors are encouraged to scroll down for Klare, 8-19-23, Ukraine, 8-19-23, and other previous entries.) — MCM

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UN condemns ‘heinous’ Russian attack on Chernihiv city centre: statement. From AFP.   A Russian missile strike on Ukraine’s northern city of Chernihiv killed seven people including a 6-year-old girl and wounded 148, the regional governor said today, in what the UN denounced as a “heinous” attack. The strike came during the Orthodox holiday of the Transfiguration of the Lord on Saturday, as . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia says Ukrainian drones attack three regions. From Reuters. MOSCOW — Russia said Ukrainian drones had struck three separate regions today, injuring five people and forcing two of Moscow’s airports to briefly divert flights. Russia’s Kursk and Rostov regions, both of which border Ukraine, reported drone strikes while Russia’s defence ministry said it had jammed a Ukrainian drone in the Moscow region, forcing . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia ‘thwarts’ Ukraine drone attack on Moscow region. From AFP. Russia said it had thwarted Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow and its region today, the second such incident in two days as Kyiv presses ahead with a counteroffensive. Both sides have reported regular drone incursions during the conflict, with strikes on Russian territory becoming increasingly regular. READ MORE . . .

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Rostov Region comes under attack of kamikaze drones; they are all downed – governor. From Tass. MOSCOW — An attempted terrorist attack with the use of kamikaze drones was averted in Russia’s southern the Rostov Region, Vasily Golubev, the region’s governor, said today. According to . . .  READ MORE . . .

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Russia’s resistance works in the shadows, by James Brooke | The Berkshire Eagle  In the week after Russia’s parliament voted to raise the military draft age from 27 years to 30, Molotov cocktails were thrown at 28 draft boards across Russia. As in wartime France, Russia today has its own resistance. Whether providing intelligence for Ukrainian drone attacks or . . . READ MORE . . .

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Putin’s age of chaos: The dangers of Russian disorder, by Tatiana Stanovaya | Foreign Affairs  After Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian elites acted as if the war had not really changed anything on the home front. Even as . . . READ MORE . . .

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Wait and see: How ordinary Russians are adapting to the new reality, by Andrei Kolesnikov | Carnegie Endowment for Internatonal Peace During the Nazi occupation of Paris, most of the city’s residents neither supported nor opposed the Germans. They were attentistes: waiting it out. As the American historian and essayist Louis Menand wrote . . . READ MORE . . .

Linked below, from Tom Dispatch and recommended by Popular Resistance, is commentary by the author of All Hell Breaking Loose: The Pentagon’s Perspective on Climate Change (2019).* It is introduced by Tom Engelhardt. (Today’s previous entry is HERE.) — MCM

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Collapse 2.0: What a 2005 bestseller tells us about climate change and human survival, by Michael Klare | Tom Dispatch /  Popular Resistance  In his 2005 bestseller Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, geographer Jared Diamond focused on past civilizations that confronted severe climate shocks, either adapting and surviving or failing to adapt and disintegrating. Among those were the Puebloan culture of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, the ancient Mayan civilization of Mesoamerica, and the Viking settlers of Greenland. Such societies, having achieved great success, imploded when . . . READ MORE . . .

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* Click HERE for bio of the author including list of his previous books and articles.

First, links to reports from Reuters, the Associated Press, Tass, Agence France-Presse, and the Greanville Post; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Then, via The Nation, a link to commentary from Tom Dispatch. (NOTES: Thanks to Eisenhower Media Network for recommendations on two articles. Scroll up or click HERE for a later entry.) — MCM

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Troop deaths, injuries in Ukraine war nearing 500,000 — NYT citing U,S. officials. From Reuters. The number of Ukrainian and Russian troops killed or wounded since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022 is nearing 500,000, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing unnamed U.S. officials. The newspaper reported that Russia’s military casualties are approaching 300,000, including as many as 120,000 deaths, Ukrainian deaths were close to 70,000, with 100,000 to 120,000 wounded . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russian missile attack kills 7 in northern Ukrainian city as Zelenskyy visits NATO candidate Sweden. From AP. KYIV — A missile attack in the center of the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihviv killed seven people and wounded scores of others today, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Sweden. A 6-year-old girl was among the dead, while the wounded included 12 children, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. READ MORE . . .

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Ukrainian army shells DPR 44 times. From Tass. DONETSK — Ukraine’s armed forces bombarded the Donetsk People’s Republic 44 times during 24 hours firing 150 shells, with six people killed and another 11 wounded, the DPR’s mission at the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of Issues Related to Ukrainian War Crimes (JCCC) said today. “During the past 24 hours . . . READ MORE . . .

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Moscow says thwarted Ukrainian drone attack on airfield in northwestern Russia. From AFP. Russia on Saturday said it had thwarted a Ukrainian drone attack on a military airfield in the Novgorod region, an area between Moscow and Saint Petersburg not previously targeted. “Today at about 10 a.m. Moscow time . . . READ MORE . . .

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YouTube deletes Scott Ritter’s channel. From the Greanville Post. Google-owned video hosting giant YouTube has deleted Scott Ritter’s YouTube channel, “due to multiple or severe violations of YouTube’s policy prohibiting hate speech.” The veteran former U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer, UN weapons inspector, geopolitical observer and Sputnik contributor Scott Ritter has provided incisive . . . READ MORE . . .

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The American military Is truly exceptional — at spending money, by Robert Astore | Tom Dispatch / The Nation In his message to the troops prior to the July Fourth weekend, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin offered high praise indeed. “We have the greatest fighting force in human history,” he tweeted, connecting that claim to the U.S. having patriots of all colors, creeds, and backgrounds “who bravely volunteer to defend our country and our values.” As a . . . READ MORE . . .

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For this evening, reports from National Public Radio, Reuters, and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (NOTE: Scroll down or click HERE for today’s previous entry.) — MCM

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High stakes elections lie ahead in Guatemala, Ecuador and Argentina. Reported by Carrie Kahn and Eyder Peralta | NPR  Latin American democracies face tests this weekend with elections in Guatemala and Ecuador — and as a far-right candidate starts getting traction for a run for Argentina’s presidency this fall. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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How Mexican narcos use remittances to wire U.S. drug profits home, by Diego Ore | Reuters  An army of civilians recruited by the Sinaloa Cartel and other drug syndicates across Mexico help move illicit drug profits earned in the United States south of the border. The criminal scheme essentially piggybacks on the vast legal network of money-transfer firms that help migrant laborers send money home to their families. Remittances to Mexico hit a record $58.5 billion last year, according to . . . READ MORE . . .

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City empties as thousands flee huge wildfire closing in on capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories, by Tammy Webber and Jim Morris | AP  VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Residents heeded warnings to evacuate the capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories as a massive wildfire burned toward the city of 20,000, while firefighters today battled a growing fire that set homes ablaze in a city in British Columbia. Thousands of people in Yellowknife drove hundreds of kilometers (miles) to safety with authorities guiding motorists through fire zones, or . . . READ MORE . . .

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Powerful Hurricane Hilary heads for Mexico’s Baja. Rare tropical storm watch issued for California, by Mark Stevenson and Julie Watson | AP  MEXICO CITY — Hurricane Hilary churned off Mexico’s Pacific coast today as a powerful Category 4 storm threatening to unleash torrential rains on the mudslide-prone border city of Tijuana before heading into Southern California as the first tropical storm there in 84 years. Forecasters warned . . . READ MORE . . .

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Hurricane Hillary will likely be a powerful tropical storm by the time it hits Baja California. Reported by Erik Anderson | NPR  Hurricane Hilary continues her march toward Baja California, and people on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border are getting ready for projected heavy rains and flooding. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

For today, links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, Tass, the Kyiv Post, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (NOTE: Scroll up or click HERE for a later entry today in this blog.) — MCM

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Ukraine will get F-16 fighter jets from the Dutch and Danes after the U.S. agrees to allow transfers, by Mike Corder, Samoa Kullab and Jan M. Olsen | AP  THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The United States has given its approval for the Netherlands and Denmark to deliver F-16s to Ukraine, officials in Washington and Europe said today, in a major gain for Kyiv even though the fighter jets won’t have an impact any time soon in the . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukrainian drone damages building in Moscow disrupting air traffic, Russia says. From Reuters. MOSCOW — A Ukrainian drone smashed into a building in central Moscow today after Russian air defences shot it down, disrupting air traffic at all the civilian airports of the Russian capital, Russian officials said. A Reuters witness described hearing “a powerful explosion”. Reuters images showed . . . READ MORE . . .

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Moscow urges Ukrainian troops to turn arms against Kiev junta or capitulate – diplomat. From Tass. MOSCOW — Moscow is urging Ukrainian soldiers to turn their weapons against the Kiev regime or surrender to Russian forces, according to a commentary on the Ukrainian crisis by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. “We strongly advise the Ukrainian soldiers, who, we are certain, realize the whole criminal essence of the gangster-like junta that has taken over their country, to turn their weapons against it, or . . . READ MORE . . .

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‘Moscow City attacked because it is Putin’s symbol of prosperity,’ by Maryna Shashkova | The Kyiv Post  Ukraine is deliberately targeting drones at Moscow City as it is the symbol of the prosperity “Putin’s regime” has allegedly brought to Russia, a Kyiv official says. With its glittering collection of skyscrapers on the Presnenskaya Embankment of the Moskva River, Moscow City is home to various offices, leisure complexes and Russian government ministry . . . READ MORE . . .

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With a simple question, Ukrainians probe mental health at a time of war. Reported by Greg Myre | NPR  KYIV — How are you? In Ukraine, this question is much more than a casual conversation starter. It’s an invitation to express how you’re coping with the war. Ukraine can calculate the agony of war in many ways: lives lost, homes destroyed, families turned into refugees. Yet there’s also . . . Click HERE to listen and read.

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Rural voters shaping the GOP presidential turn against U.S. aid to Ukraine. Reported by Brian Mann | NPR  A growing number of conservative Americans — especially those in rural communities — say it’s time for military and financial aid to Ukraine to end. U.S. support for the country totals more than $100 billion so far and is a lifeline for the embattled country after Russia’s brutal invasion last year.. . . Click HERE to listen and read.

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For today, links to reports from National Public Radio, the Associated Press, and Reuters; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (Click HERE and HERE or scroll further down for today’s earlier entries in this blog.) — MCM

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The runoff presidential election in Guatemala will be held this weekend. Reported by Michel Martin and Eyder Peralta | NPR Guatemalans vote in an election that could determine whether the country addresses long-running impunity for its elites or continues its descent into corruption and violence. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Nicaraguan government seizes highly regarded university from Jesuits. From AP. MEXICO CITY — Nicaragua’s government has confiscated a prestigious Jesuit-run university alleging it was a “center of terrorism,” the college said Wednesday in announcing the latest in a series of actions by authorities against the Catholic Church and opposition figures. The University of Central America in Nicaragua, which was a hub for 2018 protests . . . READ MORE . . .

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Nicaragua judge orders seizure of top Jesuit-run university, by Ismael Lopez | Reuters  A Nicaraguan judge has ordered the confiscation of all assets belonging to a prestigious Jesuit-run university, the college announced, as the government’s crackdown on Catholic clergy and church-affiliated institutions intensifies. In a letter dated Tuesday and addressed to the university community, the . . . READ MORE . . .

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Patrick Hamilton, ex-AP and Reuters photographer who covered Central American wars, dies at 74, by Susana Hayward | AP  SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Patrick Hamilton, a combat veteran of the Vietnam War who covered civil wars in Central America as a photojournalist for The Associated Press and later worked at Reuters covering the first Gulf War in Iraq, has died after a long struggle with cancer. He died at age 74 Sunday at home in San Antonio. Hamilton’s experience in Vietnam served him well in Central America during the 1980s and then . . . READ MORE . . .

A link to a report from the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (Scroll up or down or click HERE and HERE for today’s other entries in this blog.) — MCM

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Plea negotiations could mean no 9/11 defendants face the death penalty, the U.S. tells families, by Ellen Knickmeyer and Jennifer Peltz | AP  WASHINGTON — The suspected architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and his fellow defendants may never face the death penalty under plea agreements now under consideration to bring an end to their more than decadelong prosecution, the Pentagon and FBI have advised families of some of the thousands killed. The notice, made in a letter that was sent to several of the families and obtained by The Associated . . . READ MORE . . .

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First, links to reports from Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Tass, the Kyiv Post, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Finally for today, a link to commentary from the Kyiv Post. (Scroll up or click HERE and HERE for today’s later entries in this blog.) — MCM

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Ukraine claims gains on southeastern front, fighting rages in east. From Reuters. KYIV — The Ukrainian military today claimed more success in its counter-offensive against Russian forces on the southeastern front, a day after announcing the liberation of a village that had served as a Russian strongpoint. The military said . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine will need arms from West ‘until we have won’: Kuleba. From AFP. Ukraine will need a steady supply of Western arms and ammunition until its military has routed Russian forces from all occupied Ukrainian territory, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told AFP this week. “The . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia’s missile strike wipes out Ukrainian army’s ammo train in Dnepropetrovsk area. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian forces delivered a missile strike that destroyed a Ukrainian military train with ammunition in the Dnepropetrovsk Region over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov said today in a briefing. READ MORE . . .

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Two Russian ‘Alligator’ Ka-52 helicopters downed near Robotyne, by Julia Struck and Chris York | The Kyiv Post  Ukraine’s Armed Forces scored two significant successes this morning, taking out two of Russia’s “Alligator” Ka-52 helicopter gunships. Soldiers from the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade reported the downing of one in the vicinity of Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia region, the aftermath of which was captured on video. Elsewhere, Mykola Oleshchuk, the commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, reported . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia is trying to recover from currency dip by hiking interest rates. Reported.by Charles Maynes | NPR  Russia has increased interest rates to try to stabilize the country’s currency. But it doesn’t mean it’s running out of money to pay for the war in Ukraine. Click HERE to listen and read.

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Corruption in Afghanistan offers lessons for billions going to Ukraine. Article by Tom Bowman and reporting for radio by Steve Inskeep | NPR  WASHINGTON — Just last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired all two dozen regional military recruiters. Investigators found they were coming up with bogus documents to show a potential recruit was unfit for military duty. The price? $10,00 each. A few days later, the New York Times reported . . . Click HERE to listen and read.

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Why can’t we be honest about Kremlin propaganda? by Pete Shmigel | The Kyiv Post  Nearly 18 months into Russia’s war against Ukraine and, against all objective evidence about Russian war crimes, Kremlin tropes are still getting traction with legitimate Western media. A recent opinion editorial (op-ed) published in The Australian, Australia’s national newspaper of record owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Ltd, serves as a classic example of . . . READ MORE . . .

First, links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, Tass, the Kyiv Post, Agence France-Presse, and the Kyiv Independent; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. — MCM

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Russia hits Ukrainian grain depots again as a foreign ship tries out Kyiv’s new Black Sea corridor, by Hanna Arhirova and Susie Blann | AP  KYIV — Russia pounded grain terminals in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region today, local officials said, hitting storage facilities and ports along the Danube River that Kyiv has increasingly used for grain transport to Europe after Moscow broke off a key wartime export deal through the Black Sea. At the same time, a loaded container ship stuck at the port of Odesa since Russia’s full-scale invasion more than 17 months ago set sail and . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine retakes southeast village of Urozhaine from Russian forces. From Reuters. KYIV — Ukrainian forces have recaptured the village of Urozhaine from Russian troops in the southeast and dug in on its outskirts, Kyiv’s deputy defence minister said today. The village in Donetsk region is part of a cluster of small rural . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine’s military loses several hundred troops in Urozhainoye, says DPR official. From Tass. DONETSK — The Ukrainian military lost several hundred troops “in slightly more than two days” in the village of Urozhainoye turned into a pocket of enemy destruction by heavy gunfire, Yan Gagin, adviser to the acting Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) head, said today. “Urozhainoye has become . . . READ MORE . . .

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‘Urozhaine officially liberated,’ by Pete Shmigel | The Kyiv Post SNAPSHOT: Urozhaine recaptured. Grinding Ukrainian gains at Robotyne (western Zaporizhzhia region, southern front) and Dibrova (Luhansk region, northern front). Elite air-assault unit deployed in south. Reports of pontoons across the Dnipro. ANALYSIS: The 2,000-person 82nd Air Assault Brigade, which is stacked with Marder and Stryker fighting vehicles and Challenger 2 tanks . . . READ MORE . . .

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Three drones downed in central Russia’s Kaluga region. From AFP. Russia’s Defense Ministry said today it shot down three Ukrainian drones in the central Kaluga region a few hundred kilometers southwest of Moscow, the latest in a surge of air attacks deep inside Russia. Ukraine launched the attack at 5 a.m. using “three unmanned aerial vehicles against buildings in . . . READ MORE . . .

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One killed by Ukrainian shelling in Russian border region: governor. From AFP. Ukrainian shelling today killed one and injured four people in Russia’s border region of Belgorod, the governor said, targeting a region that has been hit by repeated Ukrainian strikes. “The village of Gorkovsky in the Graivoron district came under fire from . . . READ MORE . . .

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Governor: Russian strikes against Kherson Oblast injure 5, by Martin Fornusek | The Kyiv Independent Russian strikes against Kherson and two other settlements in Kherson Oblast today injured five residents. Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported. The attacks targeted . . . READ MORE . . .

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