For today, links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters. Agence France-Presse, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE and ASSANGE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Israeli troops withdraw from Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest, after 2-week raid, by Wafaa Shurafa, Samy Magdy and Tia Goldenberg | AP  DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel’s military withdrew from Gaza’s largest hospital early today after a two-week raid, in which it said it killed some 200 militants and detained hundreds more. Palestinian residents said the troops left behind several bodies and a vast swath of destruction. The . . . READ MORE . . .

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Israeli troops exit Gaza’s Shifa Hospital, leaving rubble and bodies, by Dan Williams and Nidal Al-Mughrabi | Reuters  JERUSALEM / CAIRO —Israeli forces left Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City today after a two-week operation, leaving a wasteland of destroyed buildings and Palestinian bodies scattered in the dirt. Hundreds . . . READ MORE . . .

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Israeli army says 600 soldiers killed since Oct. 7. From AFP. The Israeli military today announced the death of a soldier in fighting in the Gaza Strip, bringing the total number of troops killed since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel to 600. READ MORE . . .

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International Court of Justice orders Israel to allow more aid into Gaza. Reported by Jane Arraf and A Matínez | NPR  The International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to make sure than more aid is allowed into Gaza. The court says famine isn’t just imminent, but has already set in, which Israel denies. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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What role, if any, should Arab states play in the future administration of Gaza? Reported by Michel Martin | NPR  As ceasefire negotiations resume in Cairo, we ask Middle East expert Aaron David Miller whether Arab states could play a larger role in future administration of Gaza? More importantly, should they? Click HERE to listen and, later, read.  

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FROM MARCH 29  How much of your tax dollars is going to Israel and Ukraine. Reported by Sarah Gonzalez, Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi, Jess Jiang and Sam Yellowhorse Kesler | NPR  There’s been a lot of disagreement in Congress and in the country about whether the U.S. should continue to financially support the war in Ukraine and Gaza. In this episode of Planet Money . . . Click HERE to read brief intro and to listen.

For today, links to reports from Reuters, the Kyiv Independent, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (GAZA entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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Russia stages major airstrike on Ukraine; one missile enters Polish airspace, by Pavel Polityuk and Gleb Garanich | Reuters   KYIV — Russia struck critical infrastructure in Ukraine’s western region of Lviv with missiles early today, Kyiv said, in a major airstrike that saw one Russian cruise missile briefly fly into Polish airspace according to Warsaw. Moscow launched . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine confirms striking 2 large Russian landing ships in occupied Crimea. From the Kyiv Independent. Ukraine struck two Russian Ropucha-class landing ships, “Yamal” and “Azov,” in occupied Crimea late Saturday,  Ukraine’s Armed Forces confirmed today. The attack. . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukrainian forces lost up to 360 troops in Avdeyevka area over past day. From Tass. MOSCOW — The Ukrainian armed forces lost up to 360 military personnel, two tanks, and fivE armored combat vehicles in the Avdeyevka direction per day, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. READ MORE . . .

 

To begin, links to Associated Press and Reuters reports related to the war in Ukraine; click on the news agencies’ names below for links to their other stories. Next, via Consortium News and Global Research, links to commentary that emphasizes diplomacy to avoid or end wars. Finally, links to three reports from National Public Radio. — MCM

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Russia-Ukraine war impact draws focus of G7 finance leaders, by Fatima Hussein and Frank Jordans |The Associated Press KOENIGSWINTER, Germany — Finance ministers for the Group of Seven leading economies will work today to deal with the immediate effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic, overtaking their more ambitious plans to reform the global economy. A refugee crisis, high inflation, food insecurity exacerbated by the war and climate change, and the ramifications of a multiyear pandemic are just a few issues drawing leaders’ attention.  German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, the meeting’s host, said he’s hopeful the world’s leading democracies can agree on further funding for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia. Lindner [said] Ukraine will likely need “a number of double-digit billion euros” over the coming . . . READ MORE . . .

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AP Exclusive: Captive medic’s bodycam shows firsthand horror of Mariupol, by Vasilisa Stepanenko and Lori Hinnant | AP KHARKIV, Ukraine — A celebrated Ukrainian medic recorded her time in Mariupol on a data card no bigger than a thumbnail, smuggled out to the world in a tampon. Now she is in Russian hands, at a time when Mariupol itself is on the verge of falling. Yuliia Paievska is known in Ukraine as Taira, a moniker from the nickname she chose in the World of Warcraft video game. Using a body camera, she recorded 256 gigabytes of her team’s frantic efforts . . . READ MORE . . .

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Italy’s Draghi urges Ukraine ceasefire, skirts issue of arms shipments, by Gavin Jones and Angelo Amante | Reuters ROME — Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi called today for an urgent ceasefire in Ukraine to enable a negotiated end to the war and said Italy would continue supporting Kyiv, without ruling out the supply of weapons. Draghi, who has taken a hard line against Russia since its Feb. 24 invasion of its neighbour, said it was important to maintain pressure through economic sanctions “because we have to bring Moscow to the negotiating table. . . . A ceasefire must be achieved as soon as . . . READ MORE . . .

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New ‘disinformation’ board on hold, by Nomaan Merchant and Amanda Seitz | AP WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday paused a new and controversial board’s work on disinformation and accepted the resignation of its leader, capping weeks of concerns about impinging on free speech rights and frenzied conspiracy theories about the board itself. Former Disinformation Governance Board director Nina Jankowicz told The Associated Press hours after resigning . . . READ MORE . . .

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Turkey, NATO & Peace in Ukraine, by Craig Murray | Consortium News I am in Turkey because, if there is to be movement in ending the war in Ukraine, it will happen here. President Recep Erdogan’s firm stance on a potential veto of Swedish and Finnish NATO membership is framed in public only in relation to perceived support by those countries for Kurdish resistance groups. But of course, it goes much deeper. Erdogan understands . . . READ MORE . . .

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Death by a Thousand Cuts: Where Is the West’s Ukraine Strategy? by Pepe Escobar | Global Research While we are all familiar with Sun Tzu, the Chinese general, military strategist and philosopher who penned the incomparable Art of War, less known is the Strategikon, the Byzantium equivalent on warfare. Sixth century Byzantium really needed a manual, threatened as it was from the east, successively by Sassanid Persia, Arabs and Turks, and from the north, by waves of steppe invaders, Huns, Avars, Bulgars, semi-nomadic Turkic Pechenegs and Magyars. Byzantium could not prevail . . . READ MORE . . .

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Courtroom drama: Ukrainian widow confronts Russian who shot her husband. Reported by Greg Myre, Julian Hayda and Leila Fadel | National Public Radio. KYIV, Ukraine — In an emotional scene in a Kyiv courtroom, a Ukrainian widow today spoke directly to the Russian soldier who’s pleaded guilty to killing her husband. The widow, Kateryna Shelipova, broke down in tears on the witness stand. But she was allowed . . . Click HERE to read more and listen.

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Why does Turkey object to Finland and Sweden joining NATO? Reported by Peter Kenyon | NPR Sweden and Finland officially applied to join NATO, but Turkey’s president may oppose their acceptance into the military alliance. There is an international push to resolve Turkey’s objections. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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Mariupol has fallen to Russia. Here’s what that means for Ukraine. Reported by Becky Sullivan and Laurel Wamsley | NPR The Ukrainian city of Mariupol is now in Russian hands, after more than two months of bitter fighting and constant Russian shelling that destroyed massive swaths of the city and killed thousands of civilians, according to local . . . Click HERE to read and listen.

 

Please find below and read Elizabeth Woodworth’s review of an essay by Michael David Morrissey entitled “War Madness.” Her review substitutes for what has become a daily selection of links to news service reports and commentary relating to the war in Ukraine. As with those, each link in her review and in Morrissey’s essay is worth exploring. Click on the titles to get to the originals. — MCM

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Ukraine: Avoiding Armageddon Is Simplicity Itself: Review of a Particularly Important Essay

Review by Elizabeth Woodworth

“War Madness,” by Michael David Morrissey (May, 2022)

Both Michael David Morrissey, the author of this insightful essay, and I lived through the Vietnam “war” (which was never declared as war by the U.S. Congress).

We remember the intense anti-Vietnam War movement (1964-1973), with its mass demonstrations, sit-ins, teach-ins, draft dodgers, and desertions and mutinies within the U.S. armed forces.

There was no Internet at that time. 

But at least there was still a functioning media, which helped to end the war by publishing the Pentagon Papers in 1971.

Today, says Morrissey, Congress and the one-voice media are united in their drumbeat that “Putin, a.k.a ‘Hitler,’ launched an unprovoked aggressive war against plucky, freedom-loving Ukraine because he wants to recreate the Soviet Union and must be stopped by all means necessary.”

Accordingly, the U.S. and its obedient NATO allies are waging a proxy war against Russia — even to the extent of risking nuclear war.

For the general public, Morrissey writes, few alternative voices exist:

RussiaToday.com and SputnikNews.com and official Russian government websites (with transcripts of speeches and press conferences of government officials, in English!) have been banned in the US and in Europe. . . . Those who stray from the accepted doctrine . . . are being excluded not only from the MSM but also from social media such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and even PayPal with no explanation, much less justification.

There is no antiwar movement [now], just a few dissident voices on the internet that, with almost no exceptions (like Tucker Carlson), are banned from the major newspaper and television outlets. Unless you seek them out, you will not hear from people like John Mearsheimer, Stephen Cohen (RIP), Noam Chomsky, Michael Hudson, Ray McGovern, Scott Ritter, Max Blumenthal, Aaron Maté, Pepe Escobar, Jimmy Dore, Chris Hedges, Caitlin Johnstone, Dan Kovalik, Tulsi Gabbard, Rand Paul, Richard Medhurst, Eva Bartlett or websites like ConsortiumNews.com, TruthOut.org, AntiWar.com, OpEdNews.com, TheGrayZone.com, MintPressNews.com, Telesurtv.net, Multipolarista.com, OrinocoTribune.com, MoonofAlabama.org, TheSaker.is, et al.

As they are banned from Facebook and Twitter and YouTube, they migrate to new, smaller outlets like Substack.com, Telegram.org, and Rumble.com.

What, then, is the most important thing we are missing?

If these ethical voices were heard through a traditionally balanced fourth estate, the relatively young post-Vietnam and post-9/11 public would learn about

“the neo-Nazis in the Ukraine government and military, the eight years of Ukrainian terrorism against the Russian-speaking people of the Donbass resulting in 14 thousand deaths since 2014, the failure of the Ukrainians to implement the 2015 Minsk 2 agreement, the 32 years of NATO eastward expansion despite Russian protests and warnings, and now, bringing all this to a head, the continuing refusal of the US/NATO and Ukraine to commit themselves to excluding Ukraine from NATO.”

Yet we hear nothing of the context of Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine.

Of over-riding importance is that in 1990, an international agreement between Germany and its four occupying powers during WWII (France, Soviet Union, UK, and U.S.) allowed for the reunification of Germany if NATO would not expand “one inch eastward.”

Nonetheless, Germany — the primary beneficiary of this agreement — has stood by and watched since 1990 as 14 countries, mostly to its east, joined NATO – including five on Russia’s borders.

On April 1, 2022, Morrissey notes, the Wall Street Journal reported, at the end of a long article, that German chancellor Olaf Scholz  “made one last push for a settlement between Moscow and Kyiv. He told Mr. Zelensky in Munich on Feb. 19 that Ukraine should renounce its NATO aspirations and declare neutrality as part of a wider European security deal between the West and Russia. The pact would be signed by Mr. Putin and Mr. Biden, who would jointly guarantee Ukraine’s security.”

However, Ukraine’s President Zelensky, saying that Putin could not be trusted to uphold such an agreement, had rejected it.

Morrissey interprets:

This “shows Scholz knew exactly what was needed to prevent the war. If the same proposal had been made to Zelensky by Joe Biden, it would not have been rejected. Ukraine would not have been able to fight the Russians effectively, and would not have wanted to, without American support.

However, lacking backbone, Chancellor Scholz did not allow the rejection to be reported in the German press for 40 days, until after it appeared in the WSJ.

Regarding Scholz’s “one last push,” Morrissey writes that in fact

This proposal had never been made, either to Zelensky or to the Russians, and if it had been – by the US – there would have been no invasion and no war, and everyone would have been happy except the fools and warmongers  in Washington who think the war will weaken Russia and bring about regime-change in Moscow – as well as fill the coffers of the arms industry.

A solution was there for the taking, given a little courage:

If Scholz had had the guts to announce to the world that he had made this offer to Zelensky instead of keeping it secret, Zelensky would not have been able to reject it out of hand and the US would have been forced to choose between supporting its NATO ally or supporting Zelensky…

If Scholz had accompanied his proposal by declaring formally that Germany, for one, would never allow Ukraine into NATO, that in itself might well have been enough for Russia to call off the invasion.

The astonishing simplicity of a solution the U.S. and its puppet Zelensky clearly do not welcome

Morrissey concludes:

All it would have taken, and all it would take now, is a simple No.

No to Ukraine ever joining NATO, no to nuclear weapons in Ukraine, and no to Ukraine’s refusal to implement the Minsk 2 agreement, and as Scholz quite reasonably proposed, a declaration of neutrality “as part of a wider European security deal between the West and Russia.”

I fail to see how any rational person can fail to see the common sense and utter simplicity of this, as an alternative to war.

Why is this simple solution so important?

As Oliver Stone has recently written, the failure to talk has brought us to the brink of Armageddon once again:

This disconnect between us and Russia is the most dangerous element in the world right now. By rejecting any such information under the catch-all, guilt-denying, feel-good misnomer of “Russian disinformation,” are we not allowing ourselves to be misled once again, as we were in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, etc., etc.?

Remember that, in the depths of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, it was the desperate last-minute attempts of John and Robert Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev, and Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin to talk that prevented a possible nuclear apocalypse.

This is exactly what President Vladimir Putin has been waiting for.

To start, links to several reports from National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition.”* Then, links to two reports from the Associated Press and Reuters, both linked to others related to the war. Next, from The Guardian, the beginning of a portrait of Vladimir Putin. — MCM

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It’s been a wild few days for Twitter and Elon Musk. Where do things stand now? NPR’s A Martinez talks to Dan Ives, tech analyst with Wedbush Securities, about Elon Musk’s actions with Twitter and what it means for the company, the business of social media and investments. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, to read. (Somewhere in the segment, Ives says, “I don’t think anybody thought, in a million years, that Musk would become a corporate raider.” Well, Elizabeth Woodworth did, HERE.)

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Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer says he had tough talks with Putin. Reported by Esme Nicholson | NPR Chancellor Nehammer says he held “very direct, open and tough” talks on Monday in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin — and told him the war in Ukraine needs to end. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, to read.

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Many elderly residents in Kyiv stayed behind during Russia’s attacks. Reported by Elissa Nadworny | NPR Many residents of the Ukrainian capital couldn’t leave — even during the worst days of Russia’s bombardment. An old Soviet-style apartment building reveals who stayed behind and why. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, to read.

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President Biden held a virtual summit with India’s prime minister on Russia. Reported by A Martinez and Lauren Frayer | NPR Will the virtual summit between President Biden and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi push the country to condemn the war on Ukraine? We examine India’s relationship with Russia. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, to read.

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‘It’s not the End’: Children who survived Bucha’s horror, by Cara Anna | The Associated Press BUCHA, Ukraine — The coffin was made from pieces of a closet. In a darkened basement under a building shaking from the bombardment of war, there were few other options. Six-year-old Vlad watched as his mother was carried out of the shelter last month and to the yard of a nearby home. The burial was hurried and devastating. Now Russian forces have withdrawn from Bucha after a monthlong occupation, and Vlad’s father, Ivan Drahun, dropped to his knees at the foot of the grave. He reached out and touched the dirt near his wife Maryna’s feet. “Hi, how are you?” he said during the visit last week. “I miss you so much. You left so soon. You didn’t even say goodbye.” The boy also visits the grave, placing on it a juice box and two cans of baked beans. Amid the stress of war, his mother barely ate. The family still doesn’t . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine checking reports of Russian use of chemical weapons, by Maria Starkova | Reuters * Ukraine and allies check reports of chemical weapons use * Battle for Mariupol reaches decisive stage * Russian troops mass for eastern offensive * U.N. official cites growing reports of rape LVIV, Ukraine, April 12 — Russian President Vladimir Putin today defended the war in Ukraine as a “noble” mission that would achieve its goals as his troops massed for a new offensive amid allegations of rape, brutality against civilians and possible use of chemical weapons. Ukrainian officials urged civilians to flee eastern areas ahead of the anticipated offensive, while the battle for the southern port city of Mariupol was reaching a decisive phase, with Ukrainian marines holed up in the Azovstal industrial district. Should the Russians seize Azovstal, they would be in full control of . . . READ MORE . . .

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Understanding Vladimir Putin, the man who fooled the world, by Gideon Rachman | The Guardian Vladimir Putin was annoyed – or maybe just bored. The Russian leader had been patiently fielding questions from a small group of international journalists in the restaurant of a modest hotel in Davos. Then one of the queries seemed to irritate him. He stared back at the questioner, an American, and said slowly, through an interpreter: “I’ll answer that question in a minute. But first let me ask you about the extraordinary ring you have on your finger.” All heads in the room swivelled. “Why is the stone so large?” Putin continued. . . . It was a masterclass in distraction and bullying. The year was 2009, and Putin . . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

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* Note: Apparently NPR makes transcripts of  its “Morning Edition” reports available on its website the day after the audio versions are broadcast so listeners who want to can also read any of them. Particularly useful for people learning English.

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought the world closer together, somewhat in the same way the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, did. Below are a few headlines translated from Le Monde and El País, national newspapers in France and Spain. The idea is to supplement reports readers might already be listening to, watching or reading, to provide other perspectives.

El País

Spain decides to extend for 15 more days the state of alert in the coronavirus crisis: The prime minister has communicated it to the autonomous communities and will request Congressional authorization

(España decide prorrogar 15 días más el estado de alarma por la crisis del coronavirus: El presidente del Gobierno se lo ha comunicado a las comunidades aútonomas y solicitará la autorización del Congreso)

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Bolivia postpones the May presidential elections: All political parties, except [former president] Evo Morales’s MAS, which leads in polls, support the suspension

(Bolivia aplaza las elecciones de mayo: Todos los partidos, salvo el MAS de Evo Morales, que encabeza las encuestas, apoyan la suspension)

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‘There are things that have been done right [in Mexico], but that doesn’t mean everything will turn out well’: World Health Organization leaders praise sound judgment in a country with serious economic problems like Mexico

(“Hay cosas que se están haciendo correctamente, pero eso no significa que todo va a salir bien”: Los responsables de la OMS alaban la prudencia en un país con graves problemas económicos como México)

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The embrace that is keeping Colombia in suspense: A mayor with coronavirus had close contact with President Ivan Duque and with hundreds of local mayors

(El abrazo que tuvo en vilo a Colombia: Un alcalde con coronavirus tuvo contacto estrecho con el presidente Iván Duque y con centenares de alcaldes locales.)

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Spain already has more than 1,700 deaths and 28,500 cases: Germany to decide today whether to confine its citizens

(España suma ya más de 1.700 muertes y 28.500 contagios: Alemania decide hoy si ordena el confinamiento a sus ciudadanos)

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Latest word on Covid-19: Italy adds 651 deaths as its death toll climbs to 5,476 | Spain’s government decides to extend for 15 more days the state of alert | Spain records 1,753 deaths and 28,572 cases | Twelve percent of the infacdted are health workers, 3,475 are workers | Distribution of 640,000 test kits begins; 8,000 are for the Madrid region | Germany prohibits gatherings of more than two persons, but is not ordering its citizens confined | Angela Merkel is in preventive quarentine

(Las últimas noticias del coronavirus Covid-19, en directo | Italia suma otros 651 muertos y la cifra de fallecidos sube a 5.476: El Gobierno decide prorrogar 15 días el estado de alarma | España registra 1.753 muertes y 28.572 contagios | El 12% de los contagios son sanitarios, 3.475 trabajadores | Comienza el reparto de las 640.000 test kits, 8.000 son para la Comunidad de Madrid | Alemania prohíbe las reuniones de más de dos personas, pero no confina a sus ciudadanos | Angela Merkel está en cuarentena preventiva)

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Le Monde

According to the latest toll, 674 people have died in [French] hospitals of Covid-19 since the epidemic began in France, 112 of them since Saturday evening; a total of 16,018 cases have been confirmed by tests; some 7,240 persons are hospitalized and 1,746 are in intensive care.

(Selon le dernier bilan, 674 personnes sont mortes du Covid-19 en milieu hospitalier depuis le début de l’épidémie en France, don’t 112 depuis Samedi 21 mars au soir, 16 018 cas au total ont été confirmés par des test, don’t 7 240 personnes hospitalisées et 1 746 en reanimation.)

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[French] Parliament votes to establish a ‘health state of emergency’: The text gives a legal framework to special provisions that have begun to be put into effect since March 16

(Ce que contient la loi instaurant un « état d’urgence sanitaire » votée par le Parlement: Ce texte donne un cadre légal aux dispositions d’exception qui ont commencé à être mises en œuvre depuis le 16 mars.)

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Coronavirus epidemic in the world – Italy and Spain are the European countries most affected: Elections postponed, border posts deserted, people shut in, curfews in effect; the Covid-19 epidemic, whose toll rose to 13,000 on Sunday, paralyzes a good part of the planet

(Epidémie due au coronavirus dans le monde – l’Italie et l’Espagne sont les pays d’Europe les plus touchés : Elections reportées, postes-frontières désertés, personnes confines, couvre-feux déployés : l’épidémie de Covid-19, dont le bilan s’élevait à 13 000 morts Dimanche, paralyse une grande partie de la planète.)