Europe All Like: We Love You Joe Biden Who Is Not Trump, You're Our Only Hope!
Yes, this is another Ukraine War update.
President Joe Biden was in Brussels, Belgium yesterday to meet with America's European allies, and got a very warm welcome from European Council President Charles Michel, who said Biden's presence and participation in the meeting "is a very strong signal" of unity among the allies:
"We are very pleased, dear President, dear Joe, to welcome you again in Brussels,” European Council president Charles Michel of Belgium told President Joe Biden today. “Your presence here and your participation in this European Council meeting is a very strong signal.”
Translation: "Oh Joe Biden, lover of us, nice savior man who is not Trump, oh thank fucking GOD that you are here!" [Heather Cox Richardson]
Doing The Unity Two-Step
This week that unity has resulted in concrete action, as we noted yesterday: new, expanded sanctions on Russian individuals and entities, plus billions in military and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine. The leaders also announced they would cooperate to reduce reliance on Russian fossil fuels — on both sides of the Atlantic — and to prevent food shortages across Europe, especially since Ukraine had until a month ago been one of the continent's top producers of grains.
On top of that, the leaders announced a joint US-European effort to strengthen democracy, both in Ukraine and in nearby states that are threatened by Russian and internal anti-democratic pressures. That means money to counter disinformation, shore up press freedom and human rights, and keep human rights activists safe, among other things. That's pretty important as Russia is shutting down much of what passed for civil society there.
Biden said the "single most important thing that we have to do in the West is be united," and that Vladimir Putin's top goal is to
demonstrate that democracies cannot function in the 21st century — because things are moving so rapidly, they require consensus, and it’s too difficult to get consensus — and autocracies are going to rule.
That's why Putin has so long sought to undermine or even break up NATO, said Biden, because he'd "rather face 30 independent countries than 30 united countries with the United States of America." It's all very inspiring, as Richardson notes, and it sure would be nifty if we Americans could manage a bit of unity here at home, instead of say, Russian propaganda being repeated nearly verbatim by the likes of Tucker Carlson and Tulsi Gabbard?
Or if the wife of a Supreme Court justice weren't trading insane lies about the 2020 election with Donald Trump's chief of staff?
Or if the former president weren't pursuing an offensively bogus lawsuit against his 2016 opponent and everyone who voted for her (we think) to either regain the presidency or, let's get real, bring in more donations?
Or this guy, cosplaying as Baghdad Bob?
When endless US and \u201cWestern\u201d commentators claim Russia\u2019s war hasn\u2019t gone \u201caccording to plan,\u201d they never seem to clarify how they miraculously obtained a copy of this \u201cplan.\u201d Can they please post the PDF?— Michael Tracey (@Michael Tracey) 1648211530
In any case, it sure looks to us like our allies aren't, as the former president always said, "laughing at us," but genuinely working together for a serious purpose. How embarrassing! [Letters From an American]
How Presidents Oughta Act, Per Fox News
Still, you have to admit, Biden's visits with European leaders this week won't produce any video nearly as exciting as that time Donald Trump literally shoved the prime minister of Montenegro aside so he could be at the front of a photo op.
That's what national greatness is all about, according to Fox News turdmonkey Jesse Watters, who complained Biden wasn't any fun at all.
"Compare [Biden] with how Trump worked the room at the NATO summit in 2017.
"Remember, he pushed the president of Montenegro out of the way so he could be up front and center on stage, leading? Everybody knew there he was in charge. Not Joe Biden.
"International unity" is all well and good, but how will those useless little countries know you're the alpha if you don't shove them aside whenever possible? [Crooks & Liars]
Ukraine Sank Russia's Battle Landing Ship!
Ukraine claimed yesterday that it had sunk a Russian landing ship that was docked in the occupied port of Berdyansk. Initially, the Ukrainian military claimed the ship that was destroyed was the Orsk, which had been featured on Russian TV news reports. In a statement Friday, the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that in fact a different landing ship, the Saratov, had been destroyed, and that two others, the Caesar Kunikov and Novocherkassk, had been damaged. [BBC / Yahoo News]
Here's video from Canada's Globe and Mail; you can see one ship fully engulfed in flames and explosions as two others pull away from the dock.
Ukraine Using Facial Recognition Tech To Identify Dead Russians. Ew?
Forbes cybersecurity reporter Thomas Brewster reports on a new front in the information war in Ukraine: To counter Russian domestic messaging that the invasion of Ukraine is a limited "special operation" with minimal casualties, Ukraine is using facial recognition software to identify dead Russian soldiers and contact their families and friends in Russia.
On Wednesday, deputy prime minister and head of the Digital Transformation Ministry in Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov, confirmed on his Telegram profile that surveillance technology was being used in this way, a matter of weeks after Clearview AI, the New York-based facial recognition provider, started offering its services to Ukraine for those same purposes.
Brewster points out that Ukrainians should have "a good chance of getting some matches" with Clearview, since CEO Hoan Ton-That said in a Reuters interview that the company had a dataset of some 10 billion faces from the internet, including two billion from Vkontakte, the Russian equivalent of Facebook.
Facial recognition software worries US and European privacy advocates, civil libertarians, and human rights groups, because it often makes mistakes, especially when the faces being searched aren't white males. (China, unencumbered by petty concerns like "rights," has gone fucking nuts with integrating facial recognition AI with its huge network of public surveillance cameras, with scary implications for Chinese ethnic minorities.)
Says Brewster, such concerns may be less of an issue in Ukraine's plans for identifying dead Russian invaders, since dead people have significantly fewer privacy rights, like none at all. Still, Albert Fox Cahn, founder of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, said the use of the software could be a "human rights catastrophe in the making" since Russia might use photos and IDs sent by Ukraine to crack down on refugees. The identification errors common in facial recognition tech could also lead to Ukraine falsely telling Russian civilians a family member had died in Ukraine.
We understand the impulse to fight misinformation, but we aren't sure we can get behind this, since our smartphone keeps telling us it's a ducking stoop pet idea. [Forbes / Human Rights Watch / Reuters]
Finland Bogarts ALL The Yachts, Just In Case
Thanks to a lot of creative paperwork and shell corporations, it can be really difficult to tell who a luxury super-yacht belongs to, so to help enforce sanctions against Russian oligarchs, Finland this week prohibited 21 yachts from leaving winter storage, Business Insider reports:
The customs department began telling winter storage facilities of the decision last week, according to Helsingin Sanomat, which first reported the news.
"They're not boats an ordinary citizen would have, but they're not 150 meters long either," Sami Rakshit, head of the enforcement department, told Bloomberg.
"We don't assume that all the detained yachts fall under sanctions, but that is what we are trying to determine now," he added.
Mikko Pellikka, CEO of Yachtcare Finland, told Helsingin Sanomat his company had four yachts in storage at the Port of Loviisa.
"It's hard to interpret whether the boats are Russian because they are registered around the globe," he said. "We can't say who ultimately owns the boat. Official papers do not necessarily read the names of the persons."
We have to say that while we're generally not fans of abuses of police power, dubious search and seizure, and asset forfeitures, we aren't getting too worked up over Finland's actions. Anyone who owns a mega-yacht is probably a questionable character who's up to something no good anyway, right? [Jalopnik / Insider]
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State Department Warns Ukraine Crisis Could Continue Beyond US Attention Span
Your Ukraine War update.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been going on for a month, and as Ukrainian cities keep getting hammered by Russian attacks, President Joe Biden is in Europe for a series of emergency meetings with US allies to discuss imposing more sanctions on Russia and providing military aid to Ukraine. Biden will announce new US sanctions on "more than 400 Russians and Russian entities, including the Duma and more than 300 of its members, along with more than 40 defense companies," according to one of those "senior administration officials" we always hear from. [NBC News]
In addition, the White House announced today the US will welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, with an emphasis on helping the most vulnerable, NBC News reports:
The administration will allow their entry through a range of pathways, including the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, nonimmigrant and immigrant visas, and other means. There will also be a focus on welcoming Ukrainians who have family members in the U.S. Additional details are expected to be unveiled in the coming weeks.
The administration believes most Ukrainians displaced by the war will choose to remain in Europe so they can more readily return home when it's over, depending on the outcome. The UN estimates that out of a population of 43 million, 3.6 million people have fled Ukraine for other countries, and another 6.5 million Ukrainians displaced from their homes are taking refuge elsewhere inside Ukraine. [NBC News / BBC]
NATO Estimates 7,000 To 15,000 Russian Troops Dead. So It Goes.
The Wall Street Journal reports NATO estimates as many as 40,000 Russian soldiers have been killed, injured, or captured in the first month of the invasion. All told, Russia may have lost as much as a 10 percent of its equipment and a fifth of its combat forces, including between 7,000 and 15,000 troops killed. The Journal notes that the NATO estimate is higher than US estimates of Russian casualties, although the "senior US defense official" who commented on the NATO figures didn't provide an alternative number.
The heavy losses, a NATO official said, have impaired the pace of Russia's invasion effort, and, as the Journal puts it,
would underscore how much Russia’s attack on Ukraine that began Feb. 24 has become bogged down after what defense analysts have said have been a series of operational missteps. Ukrainian defensive operations have emerged as far-tougher and enduring than was expected.
The Journal also reports that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said yesterday that talks with the Ukrainian government had been difficult because the Ukrainian government keeps changing its position, which we assume must mean that Russia doesn't like Ukraine's insistence that Russia can't just take over the entire country and kill its leaders. That's us, doing "Kremlinology." Lavrov also
accused the West of looking to keep Russia engaged in hostilities for as long as possible by continuing to pump weapons into Ukraine. The U.S. and others have shipped arms and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine to help Kyiv fight off the Russian attack, allowing the defenders exact a heavy toll on the invading military.
Mmm hmm, and to underline the point that maybe Russia is a bit concerned about the impact being made by all those arms, the Journal notes that the last time the Kremlin released any figures on war — err, special military operation — casualties in Ukraine was on March 2, when it said 498 troops had died. Also too:
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday the Russian Defense Ministry will provide additional information on Russian losses “when they see fit…The operation is developing and being carried out strictly in accordance with the plans and tasks.”
Pretty bizarre to see Russia replaying Pee Wee Herman's "I meant to do that!" as part of its war propaganda. [WSJ]
Asked For Proof Of War Crimes, US Says Turn On Your TV
The US government has formally accused Russia of committing war crimes in Ukraine, which actually matters in terms of moving toward international justice. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement yesterday,
Today, I can announce that, based on information currently available, the U.S. government assesses that members of Russia’s forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine. [...]
We’ve seen numerous credible reports of indiscriminate attacks and attacks deliberately targeting civilians, as well as other atrocities. Russia’s forces have destroyed apartment buildings, schools, hospitals, critical infrastructure, civilian vehicles, shopping centers, and ambulances, leaving thousands of innocent civilians killed or wounded.
Blinken said the US will share the evidence with allies and with international institutions that do the work of investigating alleged crimes against humanity.
Neither the US nor Russia formally signed on to the treaty that created the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. The US Senate never voted to ratify the treaty late in the Clinton administration, because Republicans feared evil UN intrusions on American sovereignty, and George W. Bush formally withdrew the US from the treaty. Human Rights Watch notes that "US relations with the court have been complicated but often positive." Yes, that really does depend on who's president, too.
Still the Associated Press notes,
The U.S. could still assist a prosecution before the court, which earlier opened an investigation into atrocities committed in Ukraine, by helping to gather evidence against Russian forces in Ukraine, using some of the vast abilities it has deployed to track and monitor what has been happening in the conflict.
The U.S. could also provide support and backing to a commission of inquiry established by the U.N. Human Rights Council.
Countries like Spain and Germany have laws recognizing universal jurisdiction in war crimes, so it's possible that Russian soldiers or officials might be prosecuted there or in other countries with similar legal codes. Those people would have to be arrested in order for that to happen, though. And if an American were a victim of war crimes in Ukraine, it's also possible the US would prosecute.
Democratic Reps. Ted Lieu and Rep. Eric Swalwell have written to Merrick Garland urging that the US Justice Department investigate possible war crimes in the deaths of American journalist Brent Renaud and Idaho resident Jimmy Hill, who was killed in a Russian attack while waiting in a bread line. Hill had travelled to Ukraine to care for his partner, Ukrainian citizen Irina Teslenko, who was hospitalized in Chernihiv for treatment of multiple sclerosis. The Justice Department hasn't yet responded to the letter from Lieu and Swalwell. [AP / KTVB-TV]
We would also like to take this opportunity to urge top Russian officials and members of the military to remember that Germany and Spain are very attractive vacation destinations, especially their many international airports and INTERPOL offices.
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Biden Does Brussels: A Press Conference!
Live on WonkTV!
In case you haven't heard, President Joe Biden has been in Brussels meeting with NATO allies about Russia's illegal war against Ukraine. This afternoon, which is evening in Brussels, he's doing a press conference. Pretty sure we're going to hear about some new sanctions.
And you're watchin' it!
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Was Ukraine Born In 1989 Or Did Obama Invent It? Candace Owens And Marjorie Taylor Greene Debate History!
Who wins? Putin.
Marjorie Taylor Greene and Candace Owens know Kremlin conspiracy theories totally real history facts about Russia and Ukraine. But who knows Kremlin conspiracy theories totally real history facts about Russia and Ukraine better? That is what we are here to find out.
Who will win the grand prize of one billion Russian rubles ($1.14 USD)?
First up, we have Candace Owens, last seen here telling everyone that what's ACTUALLY going on in Ukraine is literally whatever Vladimir Putin says it is, and that this is all America's fault, citing Putin's February speech at the UN Security Council.
Today she's here to tell us she's been nosing around the "history" books in Putin's study and learned that "Ukraine" wasn't even a thing before 1989. Wait, where have we heard that? Was it when Putin started aiming his missiles at Ukrainian babies while explaining that Ukraine was a "fiction"? Perhaps.
CANDACE OWENS: Wow, "genocidal colonization" is interesting. Again, going back to my point about people being stupid, you know – he's not trying to commit a genocide of the Ukrainians. That obviously makes no sense because there's very – there is no difference, ethnically, between Ukrainians and Russians, obviously. Ukraine wasn't a thing until 1989. Ukraine was created by the Russians. It was, you know, they speak Russian. So, it's absolutely ridiculous. And, again, this entire episode has been exposing to you how ignorant people are about the goals of Vladimir Putin. He has goals. The goal is not just to get rid of Ukrainians. That makes entirely no sense. It would not be helpful for him.
Candace Owens knows what would be helpful to Putin. It's all the words she makes money to say every day, that is what is helpful to Putin.
"Ukraine wasn't a thing until 1989," she says. This fuckin' piece of shit human.
Ukraine is actually a far, far older society than Russia, with its own history, and just like all the former Soviet satellite states, it has its own national identity that's decidedly not the same as Russia's. Kyiv was founded a good 700 years before Moscow was. Many Ukrainians started clamoring for independence around the time the Russian empire fell in 1917. A new country called the Ukrainian People's Republic formed, but it only lasted three years. (Had the same flag, though.) The new Soviet Union that formed in its place included Ukraine as a distinct entity. And after the Soviet Union fell, when Candace Owens graced the world with her presence as a baby, Ukraine became a straight-up independent nation.
You want to read the actual history of Ukraine? Timothy Snyder, historian and expert on global authoritarianism, wrote it out in detail just before Putin's invasion began. To dig in even deeper, check out this fascinating article that delves into how this is, in one very significant way, a religious war over who controls Orthodox Christianity and what kind of a religious force it will become going into the future.
Spoiler: None of those actual history articles say "Ukraine wasn't a thing until 1989."
Also yeah, there are Russian-speaking areas in the east of Ukraine, but the rest of the country speaks a language called "Ukrainian," which really truly is a whole different language.
Stupid asshole.
Our next contestant is equally deranged, and her name is GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Here is what she thinks is the history of Ukraine:
Marge Greene issues a statement tonight against help for Ukraine. Says both sides are at fault, the Ukraine govt only exists because of Obama, and Biden, Pelosi and Romney have financial interests in the country.pic.twitter.com/9Ra8VWpKsT— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1647474839
Try to get past the chyron that says "Marjorie Taylor Greene addresses the nation" (LOLOL).
Anyway, in this video, Greene says "a potential war with Russia" won't be just like Eye-Rack or Afghanistan. Pulling out her proverbial globe, she explains that "this is an eight-year-long smoldering conflict in which peace agreements have been routinely violated by both sides." You see? Both sides do it!
Of course, we are not sure what "peace agreement" Ukraine has violated, by MTG's sage assessment, since these eight years started when Russia invaded the sovereign nation of Ukraine and started stealing land and murdering people. Oh no, Marge! Did Ukraine "violate" one of its "stop hitting me" agreements? (Sidenote: Remember how we spent the entire Trump administration talking about how "Ukraine peace plan" was always a codeword for proposals from Russia-colluding Trump people to lift sanctions off Putin, in order that the king's desires may be fulfilled? Remember how those discussions were always kind of esoteric? Not anymore!)
Citing no sources, MTG lies and says Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and Mitt Romney have "direct financial interests" in Ukraine. Reaching into her pants for a dingleberry to read like a fortune cookie, she recites that Ukraine is a "country which government only exists because of the Obama State Department helped overthrow the previous regime."
Yes, that is how MTG put her words together there — "a country which government only exists because of the Obama State Department helped overthrow the previous regime." So she definitely loses points for diction and English language proficiency against Owens, who is much better at saying words.
Of course, that's also a Kremlin conspiracy theory about the government of Ukraine and what happened with the Euromaidan protests in 2013 and 2014. Indeed, part of why Putin attacked the 2016 election specifically to hurt Hillary Clinton, aside from his personal animosity against her, was because in his diseased brain he blamed America for orchestrating the 2013 popular uprising and overthrow of Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian stooge then running Ukraine (yes, with Paul Manafort's help), after Yanukovych pulled out of an agreement to bring the country closer to the European Union and replaced it with a shitty deal with Russia.
After all, Ukraine couldn't possibly want to join up with the EU and tell Russia to get bent, could it? Must have been the US State Department's doing! Current events suggest otherwise.
After that, Putin was so mad he invaded and stole Crimea in early 2014.
That is what MTG is serving us on a platter. And to be clear, this is why she doesn't want us to get carried away helping Ukraine. Because in her broken brain, the current government is just something Obama's State Department cooked up.
So who wins this foreign policy debate? We are not sure, the points are still being tallied and both contestants are still unconscious from all the stepping on rakes.
Oh wait, late breaking news, the winner is Vladimir Putin.
When this is all over, can we send these numbnuts to The Hague too?
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