What relevance might a pair of  naval disasters 40 years and two oceans apart mean for the outcome of a current war? Berkshire Eagle foreign affairs columnist answers that question in detail in the first item linked below. Next, beginnings of Associated Press and Reuters updates on the war, both linked to the news services’ other Ukraine-related stories. Then, (also in today’s Eagle) the latest of AP’s latest weekly “look at what DIDN’T happen last week” feature, three quarters of which is related, directly or indirectly, to the Ukraine war. — MCM

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When political fortunes sink with warships, by James Brooke | The Berkshire Eagle My journalism career has been bracketed by two large naval disasters: The May 2, 1982, sinking of the Argentine Navy cruiser the Belgrano and, 40 years later, the April 14 sinking of the Moskva, the flagship of the Russian Navy’s Black Sea fleet. Britain’s torpedoing of the Belgrano, one month into the Falklands War, had a major impact on the war. With the loss of 323 sailors, the sinking was a punch in the gut for Argentine public opinion. For the military, this deadly demonstration of Britain’s submarine power took the Argentine Navy out of war. After the Belgrano sank, Argentine ships never again ventured out of port. Ukraine’s successful missile attack on the Moskva, a missile cruiser twice the length of an American football field, may well have a similar impact. It could take Russia’s Navy off the chessboard for the rest of the Ukraine-Russia war. After Russia’s Army failed to take Kyiv last month, now its Navy has been humiliated in the eyes of . . . Berkshire Eagle subscribers can click HERE to read the rest of the analysis.

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Ukraine reports Russians trying to storm Mariupol plant, by David Keyton and Yesica Fisch | The Associated Press KYIV — Russian forces attacked a steel plant in the shattered Ukrainian port city of Mariupol today, Ukrainian officials said, apparently seeking to eliminate the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in the strategic city the Kremlin claims its military has otherwise seized. . . . [A]n estimated 1,000 civilians sheltered in the Azovstal plant alongside the remaining Ukrainian fighters, while Russian forces pressed their offensive elsewhere in the eastern Donbas region amid fierce Ukrainian counterattacks. . . . [Presidential advisor Oleksiy Arestovich said] Russian forces had resumed air strikes on the massive seaside plant and were trying to storm it, which would represent a reversal from an order Russian President Vladimir Putin gave two days earlier. READ MORE . . .

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Russia renews assault on Mariupol, intensifies Luhansk bombardment, Ukraine says, by Pavel Polityuk | Reuters * Luhansk governor says barrage in east intensifying * Ukraine official says Russia attacking last Mariupol defenders * UK says Russian forces have made no major gains in 24 hours | KYIV/MARIUPOL, Ukraine — Russia resumed its assault on the last Ukrainian defenders holed up in a giant steel works in Mariupol, a Ukrainian official said today, days after Moscow declared victory in the southern port city and said its forces did not need to take the factory. Russian forces were hitting the Azovstal complex with air strikes and trying to storm it, presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said, adding “the enemy is trying to strangle the final resistance of Mariupol’s defenders”. The biggest battle of the conflict has raged for weeks as Russia seeks . . . READ MORE . . .

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NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week. By The Associated Press. CLAIM: Photo of woman in a military uniform shows “Ukrainian beauty” who “blew up 52 invading Russian tanks.” THE FACTS: The woman in the photo is a military doctor, not a combat soldier, according to news reports, posts on her Facebook account and messages from her mother. A misrepresented photo of a trauma doctor in Ukraine is the latest example of false propaganda and disinformation that have overwhelmed social media in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine over the past seven weeks. The widely-shared photo showed a young woman in a camouflage jacket decorated with medals and pins, including one with a Ukrainian flag. Twitter posts touted her as a combat hero, responsible for destroying Russian military vehicles. “This Ukrainian beauty blew up 52 invading Russian tanks,” read one tweet . . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

Below begin summaries by Reuters and the Associated Press of events of and related to the war in Ukraine, both linked to other stories. For weeks now, such news items have begun now-daily entries in this blog because they contain part of the overall truth about the war — especially day-to-day events, many of the details fed to the news media by official sources in the form of news releases, some encountered directly by reporters and correspondents — and form a part of how mass perception of the war and its causes is formed by millions around the world. News stories from Reuters, AP and some other news outlets are freely accessible online because they haven’t erected paywalls; other news organizations have. For the time being, these glimpses of the war and related developments have all but taken over a blog that was started four years ago to call attention to myriad falsehoods, fostered by government and  embraced by media of all stripes across the board (including most “alternative” media), about the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001; “9/11” served as a launching pad to start a series of other wars that were and are covered in a much different way from this one. — MCM

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Russian general says Moscow aims to control all of southern Ukraine, by Pavel Polityuk | Reuters * Ukraine says comments show Russia is seeking occupation * Moscow has previously said it aims to liberate Ukrainians * EU official sees decisive couple of weeks | KYIV/MARIUPOL — Moscow wants to take full control over southern Ukraine, a Russian general said today, a statement Ukraine said gave the lie to Russia’s previous assertions that it had no territorial ambitions. Rustam Minnekayev, deputy commander of Russia’s central military district . . . READ MORE . . .

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Possible mass graves near Mariupol as Russia attacks in east, by David Keyton and Yesica Fisch | The Associated Press KYIV — Satellite photos of what appeared to be rows upon rows of freshly dug mass graves on the outskirts of Mariupol brought the horrors of the war increasingly into focus, as Russia pounded away today at Ukrainian holdouts in the city’s steel mill and other targets in a drive to seize the country’s industrial east. “Every day they drop several bombs on Azovstal,” Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to Mariupol’s mayor, said of the . . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

To start, Reuters and Associated Press reports, linked to others from the news services. Next, via Consortium News and ScheerPost, the beginning of a post by Chris Hedges; among other things, the post links to the video of a discussion on “information warfare” (promoted HERE), of which Hedges was a part, and it provides an opportunity for readers to compare his take on propaganda and disinformation with that of Sarah Morris of The Carter Center (linked HERE yesterday). Other items of news and analysis may follow. — MCM

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Putin claims victory in Mariupol despite leaving defenders holed up, by Pavel Polityuk | Reuters * ‘No need to climb into these catacombs,’ says Putin * Ukraine seeks talks on fate of defenders and civilians * Fight for Mariupol has been biggest battle of war | KYIV — President Vladimir Putin claimed victory in the biggest battle of the Ukraine war today, declaring the port of Mariupol “liberated” after nearly two months of siege, despite leaving hundreds of defenders still holed up inside a giant steel works. Ukraine said Putin’s attempt to avoid a final clash with its forces in the city . . . READ MORE . . .

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Putin claims Mariupol win but won’t storm Ukrainian holdout, by Adam Schreck | The Associated Press KYIV — Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed victory in the strategic city of Mariupol today, even as he ordered his troops not to risk more losses by storming the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in the war’s iconic battleground. Russian troops have besieged the southeastern port city since the early days of the conflict and largely reduced it to ruins. Top officials have repeatedly claimed it was about to fall, but . . . READ MORE . . .

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American Commissars, by Chris Hedges | ScheerPost.com The ruling class, made up of the traditional elites that run the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, is employing draconian forms of censorship on its right-wing and left-wing critics in a desperate effort to cling to power. . . . [N]ow they have launched a new and sophisticated McCarthyism. Character assassination. Algorithms. Shadow banning. De-platforming. Censorship is the last resort of  .  . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

Links to Associated Press and Reuters stories related to the war in Ukraine, both linked to others, are followed by links to several stories from NPR’s “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered” programs. Then, courtesy of Consortium News, the beginning of a pre-Easter reflection by Patrick Lawrence on what he sees as Americans’ active embrace of wars and other interventions for empire. — MCM

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Russia ratchets up battle for control of eastern Ukraine, by Adam Schreck | The Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine — Russia ratcheted up its battle for control of Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland today, assaulting cities and towns along a boomerang-shaped front hundreds of miles long in what both sides described as a new phase of the war. After a Russian push to overrun the capital failed, the Kremlin declared that its main goal was the capture of the mostly Russian-speaking eastern Donbas region, where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces for eight years. If successful, that offensive would give President Vladimir Putin a vital piece of Ukraine and a badly needed victory in the now 7-week-old war that he could . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukrainian volunteers recount three weeks in Russian captivity, allege beatings, by Alessandra Prentice and Sergiy Karazyy | Reuters DYMER, Ukraine — Volodymyr Khropun and Yulia Ivannikova-Katsemon say they were helping people flee villages on the front line in northern Ukraine when they were detained by Russian soldiers over two days in March. Both said they were then held with around 40 other captives on the concrete floor of a nearby factory, their hands bound. Nearly a week later they were transferred in a military truck to Belarus, and on to detention centres in Russia, they said. Khropun, an electrical engineer, and Ivannikova-Katsemon, an emergency services dispatcher, were freed with 24 others in a prisoner exchange on April 9. Standing . . .READ MORE . . .

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What are the ripple effects of sanctioning Russia’s richest and most powerful? NPR’s Leila Fadel talks to Alex Finley, a former CIA officer and novelist who’s tracking super-yachts used by oligarchs, about what sanctions against Russia mean for the country’s super-rich. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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A Ukrainian family finds solace in America but cannot escape heartbreak. Reported by Olivia Hampton | NPR WASHINGTON — Two days after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Koliubaiev family joined a small caravan with friends and drove more than 500 miles to the Hungarian border. Steps from the checkpoint, Artem Koliubaiev said goodbye to his wife and children, not sure when or if the family would reunite. Eka Koliubaieva and their two daughters are in the U.S. now, where they have found . . . Click HERE to listen and read today.

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Ukraine crisis raises question: Does food aid go equally to ‘Black and white lives’? Reported by Nurith Aizeniman | NPR The head of the World Health Organization has a stark message for the world. On the one hand, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press conference last week, the focus on the victims of Russia’s war on Ukraine is entirely justified and necessary. But on the other hand, he added, the international community is failing to give even “a fraction” of that attention to people in countries far beyond Ukraine who are grappling with ripple effects of the war that are just as devastating. Specifically, millions . . . Click HERE to listen and read today.

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As Russia launches a new offensive, what did it learn from the first one? Reported by Greg Myre | NPR WASHINGTON — When Russian leader Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, almost nothing went as planned. Ukrainian resistance was far tougher than expected. The ill-prepared Russian troops suffered heavy losses and ultimately had to retreat when. . . Click HERE to listen and read today.

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The Great Acquiescence — Glory to Ukraine. Commentary by Patrick Lawrence | Consortium News. The other day I ventured forth from my remote village to a lively market town called Great Barrington to shop for Easter lunch — spring lamb, a decent bottle of Bourgogne. Easter is much marked in my household, one of the few feasts we allow ourselves, and it is a reminder this year of a truth that could scarcely be more pertinent to our shared circumstances: After all our small and large crucifixions, there is new life to come. Great Barrington lies in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts, a fashionable little burg dense — as you can tell simply by walking around in it — with righteous liberals. No place, you remind yourself, is perfect. And there along the streets and avenues . . . READ MORE. . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

First, the beginnings of Reuters and Associated Press reports made available after 8 a.m. EDT, both linked to the news services’ other stories related to the war in Ukraine. — MCM

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Russia hits targets across Ukraine, fighters cling on in Mariupol, by Oleksandr Kozhukhar and Pavel Polityuk | Reuters * Russia says it hit targets with missiles, artillery * Authorities in Lviv say attack kills seven * Ukrainian fighters hold out in parts of Mariupol | LVIV/KYIV — Russia said today it had hit hundreds of military targets in Ukraine overnight, destroying command posts with air-launched missiles, while authorities in the western city of Lviv, which had escaped heavy bombardment, said a missile attack killed seven. The Russian defence ministry said in a statement it had destroyed 16 Ukrainian military facilities in the Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions and in the port of Mykolayiv, in the south and east of the country. It added that the Russian air force had launched strikes against 108 areas where Ukrainian forces were concentrated and Russian artillery struck 315 Ukrainian military targets overnight. READ MORE . . .

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Ukrainian officials: Russian strikes kill at least 7 in Lviv, by Yuras Karmanau | The  Associated Press LVIV — Russian missiles hit the western Ukrainian city of Lviv today, killing at least seven people, Ukrainian officials said, as Moscow’s troops stepped up strikes on infrastructure in preparation for an all-out assault on the east. Plumes of thick, black smoke rose over the city after a series of explosions shattered windows and started fires. Lviv and the rest of western Ukraine have seen only sporadic strikes during almost two months of war and have become a relative safe haven for people from parts of the country where fighting has been more intense. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, meanwhile, vowed to “fight absolutely to the end” in strategically vital Mariupol, where the last known pocket of resistance in a seven-week siege . . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

Links to Associated Press and Reuters reports from Ukraine, both in turn linked to the news services’ other related stories, are followed by links to four analyses courtesy of Popular Resistance: (1) a look at politics in Ukraine and the United States in October 2019, (2) a long-time academic on dissent in the United States, (3) what one dissident sees as an absence of U.S. diplomacy, and (4) a former Marine runs for U.S. Senate as a Green (Ukraine is not mentioned). — MCM

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Ukrainians defy deadline to surrender in Mariupol or die, by Adam Schreck and Mstyslav Chernov | The Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine — The battered port city of Mariupol appeared on the brink of falling to Russian forces today after seven weeks under siege, a development that what would give Moscow a crucial success in Ukraine following Russia’s failure to storm the capital and the loss of its Black Sea flagship. The Russian military estimated that about 2,500 Ukrainian fighters holding out at a hulking steel plant with a warren of underground passageways provided the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol. Russia gave a deadline for their surrender, saying those who put down their weapons were “guaranteed to keep their lives,” but the Ukrainians did not submit. “All those who will continue resistance will be destroyed,” Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the Russian Defense Ministry’s spokesman, said. He said intercepted communications indicated . . . READ MORE . . .

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Mariupol defenders resist Russian ultimatum, pope laments ‘Easter of War’, by Alessandra Prentice and Natalia Zinets | Reuters * Russia orders fighters in Mariupol steelworks to lay down arms * Long-distance strikes continue elsewhere around Ukraine * Ukrainian President Zelenskiy says occupiers must pay * Pope decries ‘cruel and senseless’ conflict | KYIV — Ukrainian soldiers appeared to defy a Russian ultimatum to lay down their arms today in the pulverised port of Mariupol which Moscow said its forces had almost completely seized in what would be its biggest prize of the nearly two-month war. Several hours after a 0300 GMT deadline, there was no sign of surrender by Ukrainian fighters holed up in the Azovstal steelworks overlooking the Sea of Azov. Citing radio intercepts, Russia’s defence ministry said the encircled defenders, including 400 “foreign mercenaries”, had orders to shoot any among them who wanted to give up. There was no word on that from Ukraine’s government. . . . About four million Ukrainians have fled the country, cities have been . . . READ MORE . . .

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Siding with Ukraine’s far-right, U.S. sabotaged Zelensky’s peace mandate, by Aaron Maté | Educate!  In 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky was elected president on an overwhelming mandate to make peace with Russia. As the eminent Russia studies professor Stephen F. Cohen warned that year, the U.S. chose to side with Ukraine’s far-right and fuel war. On a warm October day in 2019, Cohen and I sat down in Manhattan for what would be our last in-person interview (Cohen passed away in September 2020 at the age of 81). The House was gearing up to impeach Donald Trump for freezing weapons shipments to Ukraine while pressuring its government to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter. The Beltway media was consumed with frenzy of a presidency in peril. But Professor Cohen was concerned with what the impeachment spectacle in Washington meant for the long-running war between the U.S.-backed Ukrainian government and Russian-backed rebels in the Donbas. At that point . . . READ MORE . . .

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American dissent on Ukraine is dying in darkness, by Robert Scheer | Scheer Post When it came to the Ukraine conflict, Professor Michael J. Brenner did what he’s done his whole life: question American foreign policy. This time the backlash was vitriolic. As the death toll in Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine continues to rise, there have only been a handful of Westerners publicly questioning NATO and the West’s role in the conflict. These voices are becoming fewer and further between as a wave of feverish backlash engulfs any dissent on the subject. One of these voices belongs to Professor Michael J. Brenner. . . . From the vantage point of decades of experience and studies the intellectual regularly shared his thoughts on topics of interest through a mailing list sent to thousands of readers—that is until the response to his Ukraine analysis made him question why he bothered in the first place. In an email with the subject line “Quittin’ Time,” Brenner recently declared that, aside from having already said his piece on Ukraine, one of the main reasons he sees for giving up on expressing his opinions on the subject is that “it is manifestly obvious that our society is not capable of conducting an honest, logical, reasonably informed discourse on matters of consequence. Instead, we experience fantasy, fabrication, fatuousness and fulmination.” He goes on to decry President Joe Biden’s . . . READ MORE . . .

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How the U.S. does ‘dipomacy’, by Moon of Alabama | Educate! The U.S. doesn’t do diplomacy. Every country has its own interests. But the U.S. and its pricks in the State Department insist that its interests must have priority over all others. Any country that disagrees with that will be called out on this or that issue or will even get . . . READ MORE . . .

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The Green Marine: A different kind of ‘service candidate’ runs for Senate, by Steve Early and Suzanne Gordon | Resist! In recent years, both major parties in the U.S. have been recruiting former members of the military, the foreign service, or national security agencies to run for Congress. Almost all of these so-called “service candidates” are either conservative Republicans or corporate Democrats, who quickly become part of the bi-partisan majority on Capitol Hill which rubber-stamps ever larger Pentagon budgets and fails to get big money out of politics. Two years ago . . . READ MORE . . .

To start, links to Associated Press and Reuters reports, each linked to others concerning the war in Ukraine. Then, from National Public Radio, links to a report from this morning’s “Weekend Edition” program and this afternoon’s “All Things Considered” program. — MCM

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Russia renews strikes on Ukraine capital, hits other cities,by Adam Schreck and Mstyslav Chernov | The Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces accelerated scattered attacks on Kyiv, western Ukraine and beyond today in an explosive reminder to Ukrainians and their Western supporters that the whole country remains under threat despite Moscow’s pivot toward mounting a new offensive in the east. Stung by the loss of its Black Sea flagship and indignant over alleged Ukrainian aggression on Russian territory, Russia’s military command had warned of renewed missile strikes on Ukraine’s capital. Officials in Moscow said they were targeting military sites, a claim repeated — and refuted by witnesses — throughout 52 days of war. The toll reaches much deeper. Each day brings new discoveries of civilian victims of . . .READ MORE . . . 

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Russia says its forces clear most of Mariupol, strike Kyiv suburb, by Pavel Polityuk | Reuters * Explosions hit Kyiv in north, Lviv in west * Ukraine says situation in Mariupol ‘very difficult’ * French, Italian embassies reopen in Kyiv | KYIV/MARIUPOL, Ukraine — Russian missile strikes hit Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and other cities on today, as Moscow said its troops had cleared the urban area of Mariupol and only a small contingent of Ukrainian fighters remained inside a steelworks in the besieged southern port. Russia’s claim to have all but taken control of Mariupol, scene of the war’s heaviest fighting and worst humanitarian catastrophe, could not be independently verified. It would be . . . READ MORE . . .

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Kyiv is hit by missiles — a day after sinking a Russian war ship. Reported by Eyder Peralta | National Public Radio Missiles hit the environs of Kyiv, as Russia prepares for a renewed assault on eastern and southeastern Ukraine. Click HERE to listen and read.

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The U.S. does not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. NPR’s Michel Martin speaks with John Bellinger III, a former legal adviser for the National Security Council, about the complicated relationship the U.S. has with the International Criminal Court. Audio will be available HERE later today.

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Seth McVey Has an Update and a Request

Apple-cheeked structural engineer Seth McVey is the youngest member of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth, and wants your help in taking advantage of a matching grant aimed at reaching more engineers. If you have a minute and a half, click HERE — today or tonight — to listen to and watch him.

Today is the final day to donate to AE911Truth’s effort to give DOZENS of presentations to THOUSANDS of engineers and, as Roland Angle puts it, “start an all-out rebellion in the engineering community.”

A generous donor who believes deeply in trying to galvanize engineering profession has stepped forward with a $10,000 matching gift that ends today.

A donation of $30 or more — which will be doubled to $60 — will pay for 20 postcards promoting the organization’s presentation to be sent to engineering groups across the country, and also help cover the cost of sending dedicated AE911Truth engineers far and wide to talk with them.

“Engineers everywhere will rise up and reject the official reports — if we can reach enough of them,” Angle says.

Please give today to make that happen.

— Mark Channing Miller

To start, a plug for this morning’s two-hour Consortium News discussion on an “information war” by the U.S. government; with luck, CN can get it online soon for viewers (probably a majority) who couldn’t watch it live anyway. Then, Associated Press and Reuters reports, both linked to the news services’ other current stories related to the war. Then, links to three segments on today’s “Morning Edition” program on NPR. Finally, via CN, Ben Norton of multipolorista.com replies to an April 11 New York Times article terming a “conspiracy theory” his reporting that that former Ukraine President Victor Yanukovych’s leaving office in 2014 resulted from a violent coup d’etat sponsored by the United States. — MCM

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‘Crushing Dissent’ With George Galloway, Chris Hedges, Scott Ritter and Jill Stein. A Consortium News discussion today, which started at 10 a.m. EDT,  to “examine the information warfare being waged to enforce a single narrative about the war in Ukraine. . . . Today’s information war against individuals and media who do not adhere to the Western-government-enforced narrative on Ukraine is part of a long history in the U.S. of officially crushing dissent. With the advances of technology for both surveillance and censorship, we might be in the most chilling atmosphere yet for thought control. Will it too be brought down by its own excesses?” The event is co-hosted by Elizabeth Vos and Joe Lauria and produced by Cathy Vogan. Click HERE to tune in and read more about it.

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Russia loses warship, says attacks on Kyiv will increase, by Adam Schreck | The Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine — Russia’s Defense Ministry promised today to ramp up missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital in response to Ukraine’s alleged aggression on Russian territory, an ominous warning that followed Moscow’s stinging symbolic loss of its navy’s flagship in the Black Sea. The threat of intensified attacks on Kyiv came after Russian authorities accused Ukraine of wounding seven people and damaging about 100 residential buildings with airstrikes on Bryansk, a region bordering Ukraine. Authorities in another border region of Russia also reported Ukrainian shelling Thursday.“The number and the scale of missile attacks on objects in Kyiv will be ramped up in response to the Kyiv nationalist regime committing any terrorist attacks or diversions on the Russian territory,” Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. READ MORE . . .

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Ukrainians hang on at Mariupol steel plant, by Natalia Zinets | Reuters — Explosions rumbled and smoke rose this week from a steel making district in besieged Mariupol where dwindling Ukrainian forces are holed up as Russia tries to take full control of its biggest city yet. The Azovstal iron and steel works, one of Europe’s biggest metallurgical plants, has become an aptly apocalyptic redoubt for Ukrainian forces who are outgunned, outnumbered and surrounded seven weeks into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. . . . [T]he plant . . . covers more than 11 square kilometres (4.25 square miles), containing myriad buildings, blast furnaces and rail tracks. “The Azovstal factory is an enormous space with so many buildings that the Russians … simply can’t find [the Ukrainian forces],” said Oleh Zhdanov, a military analyst based in Kyiv. READ MORE . . .

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Russian President Vladimir Putin asserts that sanctions have failed. Reported by Steve Inskeep and Charles Maynes | National Public Radio. More than a month into sanctions against Russia for its war in Ukraine, we look at whether and how Russians are feeling the impact. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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The Pentagon can’t confirm yet how the Russian ship Moskva was destroyed. NPR’s Leila Fadel speaks to retired Adm. James Foggo about the impact on Russian dominance in the Black Sea and the war in Ukraine after Russia’s lead warship in the Black Sea sank. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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Many countries are seeing the worst inflation in decades.NPR’s Steve Inskeep speaks with correspondents Scott Horsley, Carrie Kahn and Lauren Frayer. Inflation isn’t just an American problem — it’s happening in places around the world and stretching some countries to the point of political unrest. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, to read. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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NYT Smears Journalist, Calls 2014 Ukraine Coup ‘Conspiracy Theory,’ by Ben Norton | multipolorista.com The New York Times published a ridiculous article smearing me with misleading claims, and even used an image of my face menacingly crossed out by a red line. The newspaper dismissed my factual statement that the United States sponsored a violent coup d’etatto overthrow Ukraine’s democratically-elected President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014, calling this objective truth a “conspiracy theory,” while deceptively erasing the overwhelming evidence that I presented. The Times’ hatchet job violates . . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED