A must-read from Politico: “A first-ever oral history of how top U.S. and Western officials saw the warning signs of a European land war, their frantic attempts to stop it — and the moment Putin actually crossed the border.”
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The looming Republican dispute over Ukraine
Recently elected Republicans are ready to fire up the base with anger over billions spent to protect allies overseas.
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Translated excerpts of intercepted phone calls by Russian soldiers shed light on failure of Putin’s plans
“In phone calls to friends and relatives at home, Russian soldiers gave damning insider accounts of battlefield failures and civilian executions, excoriating their leaders just weeks into the campaign to take Kyiv.,” The New York Times reports.
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Battle for Donbas will be decisive, former British commander says
“Donbas could put the Russians back on a successful footing or bring them to what is essentially a defeat,” says General Sir Richard Barrons, the former commander of the UK’s Joint Forces Command.
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Watch President Joe Biden’s speech in Warsaw responding to Putin’s war of aggression in Ukraine
Watch President Biden deliver remarks on the united efforts of the free world to support the people of Ukraine, hold Russia accountable for its brutal war, and defend a future that is rooted in democratic principles.
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Fitch downgrades Russia’s credit rating amid Ukraine crisis, says default is ‘imminent’
“They can’t get their hands on money or securities or goods or services. They are outcast and they will over the shorter term freeze to death,” financial services veteran George Ball said in comments to The Washington Post.
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“Financial nuclear bomb” falling on Russia as a consequence of Putin’s aggression, ex-Russian central bank governor says
“The war came and the money ran out — the money ran out sooner than the war ended,” said Sergei Aleksashenko.
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Putin is making NATO stronger, whether he starts a war in Ukraine or not
“The Russian leader may have thought NATO was in disarray and the U.S. in retreat, but we’ve already seen it’s quite the opposite,” David Rothkopf writes in a piece for The Daily Beast.
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In Russia, the pandemic is beating Putin
“A deadly virus can’t be ignored, jailed, exiled or co-opted — nor can it be locked down without great economic cost. That puts President Vladimir Putin of Russia in a bind. The pandemic, perhaps his hardiest foe to date, has starkly revealed the limits of his power,” writes Alexey Kovalev, the investigations editor at Meduza, an independent Russian news outlet.
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Biden, allies frustrated with media’s hawkish coverage of Afghanistan withdrawal
“After years of ignoring Afghanistan, many close to the Biden White House — and the president himself — feel some major outlets are adopting a pro-war stance,” Huffington Post’s Daniel Marans writes.
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Global approval of the United States has rebounded under Biden, survey finds
“The United States’ favorability rating grew at least 23 percentage points from last year in France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, and a majority of respondents in all four view the country positively,” The Washington Post reported, summarizing findings from a new survey by Pew Research.
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Gaza conflict stokes “identity crisis” for young American Jews
“A new generation is confronting the region’s longstanding conflict in a very different context, with very different pressures, from their parents’ and grandparents’ generations,” The New York Times reports.
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“I feel sorry for Americans”: A baffled world watches the U.S.
The New York Times reports on the concern and consternation many people feel around the world as the 2020 presidential election enters its final weeks.
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As neocon John Bolton tries to instigate a conflict with Iran, a reminder that MADtv saw this move coming back in 2007
As neocon John Bolton tries to instigate a conflict with Iran, here’s a reminder that MADtv saw this move coming back in 2007. Watch and laugh… if you can.
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Cambodians who fled to Seattle ‘shocked’ as details emerge of Republican Doug Ericksen’s $500K deal with regime
Donald Trump booster and Tim Eyman pal Doug Ericksen has teamed up with disgraced former State Representative Jay Rodne to promote the interests of Cambodia’s authoritarian Hun Sen regime in the United States. The pair have a deal with the regime worth half a million dollars.
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As Gaza fighting intensifies, Israelis and Palestinians bury their dead
“As much as they loathe one another, they are also codependent: Hamas uses its defiance of Israel to portray itself as the true voice of Palestinian resistance, and Israel’s right-wing government exploits Gaza’s unruliness to argue that it lacks a partner for peace talks.”
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Tiny, wealthy Qatar goes its own way, and pays for it
“Qatar’s citizens, today numbering 300,000, have become very rich, very fast. Their average income of $125,000 is the highest in the world, over twice that of the United States or Saudi Arabia. The state cocoons them with free land, cushy jobs and American universities. Gleaming supercars and limousines cruise along Doha’s palm-lined corniche. Poor Qataris are hard to find.”
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Businessman paints a terrifying and complex picture of Vladimir Putin’s Russia
Required reading from NPR.
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Mexico: We will not pay for Trump border wall
Mexico’s political leaders have wisely chosen defiance instead of capitulation. In a nationally televised address, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto declared that his country does not believe in walls and will not finance the border barrier that Trump has vowed to build. If the last few days have taught us anything, it’s that by uniting together against Donald’s bigotry, we can stop neofascism in its tracks.
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Benjamin Netanyahu is dragging Israel into the abyss, Haaretz says
Netanyahu doesn’t want anyone interfering as he destroys diplomatic relations with the countries, some friendly to Israel, that “dared” to vote for the resolution declaring
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Canadians want Prime Minister Trudeau to stand up to Trump, poll finds
“Most Canadians want Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to stand up to Donald Trump as a champion of progressive values and the international order, even if it strains Canada-U.S. relations, according to a new poll from Nanos Research Group,” The Globe and Mail reports.
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