Reader’s Links for May 17, 2022

Each day at just after midnight Eastern, a post like this one is created for contributors and readers of this site to upload news links and video links on the issues that concern this site. Most notably, Islam and its effects on Classical Civilization, and various forms of leftism from Soviet era communism, to postmodernism and all the flavours of galloping statism and totalitarianism such as Nazism and Fascism which are increasingly snuffing out the classical liberalism which created our near, miraculous civilization the West has been building since the time of Socrates.

This document was written around the time this site was created, for those who wish to understand what this site is about. And while our understanding of the world and events has grown since then, the basic ideas remain sound and true to the purpose.

So please post all links, thoughts and ideas that you feel will benefit the readers of this site to the comments under this post each day. And thank you all for your contributions.

This is the new Samizdat. We must use it while we can.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

57 Replies to “Reader’s Links for May 17, 2022”

    • Slavesquat links a DailyMail article:

      Baby drowned in three inches of bathwater when her mother fainted a day after taking Covid jab

      https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10812887/Baby-drowned-three-inches-bathwater-mother-fainted-day-taking-Covid-jab.html

      There’s this subheading:
      Can a covid jab make you faint?

      “Lots of people faint after being vaccinated for any disease, but it usually happens just after getting the jab.

      There have not been any widely reported cases of people fainting a full day later.

      Fainting after a jab is normally due to anxiety about getting vaccinated rather than the vaccine itself.

      That’s why most of the time it happens around 5–10 minutes after getting a jab… ‘
      [WHO] refers to it as ‘immunisation anxiety‘ or an ‘immunisation stress-related response’…

      “Fainting is one of the reasons Britons were told to wait at Covid vaccination clinics for 10 minutes before being allowed to leave and drive home.”
      ………………..
      Notice how folksy we get to talk down to readers from the heights of Apostoles of Science: “lots of people”.

      • Myocarditis can cause fainting when the blood flow is cut off to the brain. People with legitimate vaccines injuries are being told it is just anxiety.

      • I cannot help but wonder when I have 15 people tell me, they have Bell’s Palsy and they think it is “going around”. Who planted that seed?

    • RT- British volunteer says he was ‘manipulated’ into joining the frontline in Ukraine

      Andrew, a 35-year-old who worked as a scaffolder back home in Britain, was attached to a unit of Ukraine’s International Legion near Nikolayev when he came under a devastating Russian artillery barrage. Russian troops fired on his position, Andrew was hit in the arm with a bullet, and he surrendered.

      “I wasn’t there to fight so I surrendered,” he told RT. As for his teammates who fought, “They were killed,” he explained.

      Andrew said that he never intended to participate in, or even get close to, combat. Watching media reports about the conflict in Ukraine in March, he said he got the impression that “Ukraine was asking people for help,” and contacted the Ukrainian Embassy.

      https://www.rt.com/russia/555588-british-volunteer-captured-ukraine/

    • RT- Ukraine orders Azovstal fighters to surrender

      The units have “completed the assigned combat mission,” Kiev claims

      […]Kiev insisted that the Azov neo-Nazis and members of its regular forces had “prevented the implementation of the [alleged Russian] plan for the quick capture of [nearby] Zaporozhye, and did not allow access to the administrative border of the Donetsk and Zaporozhye regions.”

      […] Zelensky, said that work on their return will require “delicacy and time.”

      “Thanks to the actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, intelligence, as well as the negotiating group, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN, we have hope that we will be able to save the lives of our guys. I want to emphasize that Ukraine needs Ukrainian heroes alive. This is our principle. I think that every adequate person will understand these words. To bring our military back home, the work continues, and this work requires delicacy and time,” he stated.

      […]Russian sources have estimated that about 2,200 people have been trapped in the basements of the huge Azovstal complex. The site is 11 square kilometers long and its subterranean sections are designed to withstand a nuclear attack.

      https://www.rt.com/russia/555591-azovstal-captives-surrender-ukraine/

    • reuters – More than 250 Ukrainian troops surrender as Mariupol siege appears over

      […]While both sides spoke of a deal under which all Ukrainian troops would abandon the huge steelworks, important details were not yet public, including how many fighters still remained inside, and whether any form of prisoner swap had been agreed.

      Ukraine’s Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar told a briefing that Kiev would not disclose how many fighters were inside the plant until all were safe.

      The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had personally guaranteed the prisoners would be treated according to international standards.

      https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukrainian-troops-evacuate-mariupol-ceding-control-russia-2022-05-17/

      ====================================

      CNN – Ukrainian forces said they have ended their “combat mission” in the besieged city of Mariupol, in a new statement.

      […]“The ‘Mariupol’ garrison has fulfilled its combat mission,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in the statement.

      “The Supreme Military Command ordered the commanders of the units stationed at Azovstal to save the lives of their personnel,” the statement read.

      “The defenders of Mariupol are heroes of our time. They will forever be marked down in history. This includes the special ‘Azov’ unit, the 12th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, the 36th Separate Brigade of Marines, border guards, police, volunteers, the Territorial Defense of Mariupol,” the statement read.

      https://t.co/fN5qor3ooc

      ======================================================
      WaPo- Ukraine ends bloody battle for Mariupol; Azovstal fighters evacuated

      […]Moscow hasn’t yet publicly responded to the developments in Mariupol, which were described by Russian state media as an order from Ukrainian military command for its troops to “surrender.”
      Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, Anna Malyar, said 53 seriously wounded soldiers were taken to a hospital in Novoazovsk, a nearby town which is controlled by Russian-backed separatists.

      Another 211 were transported to another Russian-aligned village, Olenivka, she said. Moscow and Kyiv are brokering a prisoner swap to secure their release.

      Malyar said officials were still working to rescue the remaining soldiers, though it is unclear how many are still inside. Ukrainian authorities said last week there were nearly 1,000 holdout fighters in the plant.

      https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/05/17/azovstal-mariupol-fighters-ukraine-steelworks/

    • BBC – Mariupol: Hundreds of besieged Ukrainian soldiers evacuated

      Ukraine has confirmed that hundreds of its fighters trapped for more than two months in Mariupol’s Azovstal steelworks have been evacuated.

      […]In his video address after midnight local time on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukrainian military, intelligence and negotiating teams, as well as the Red Cross and the UN were involved in the evacuation operation.

      “Ukraine needs its heroes alive,” he said.

      However, he cautioned that the Ukrainian troops may not be freed immediately and warned that negotiations over their release will require “delicacy and time”.

      […]On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukrainian soldiers evacuated from the steel plant will be treated “in line with the relevant international laws”.

      […]In a message posted to Facebook on Monday night, Ukraine’s General Staff called the troops “heroes of our time” and said their efforts had helped Kyiv organise the defence of its southern flank.

      […]Meanwhile, the Azov regiment, a National Guard unit which once had links to the far right, appeared to confirm that its fighters had agreed in a social media post to lay down their arms.

      The group’s commander, Lt Col Denys Prokopenko said his priority was saving “as many lives of personnel as possible”.

      https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61472025

      ================================
      CTV NEWS – Mariupol fighters in Russian hands; both sides claim wins

      Hundreds of Ukrainian fighters, including wounded men carried out on stretchers, left the vast steel plant in Mariupol where they mounted a dogged last stand and turned themselves over to Russian hands,

      […]Russia on Tuesday called the operation a mass surrender. The Ukrainians avoided using that word — but said the garrison had completed its mission, and that they were working to pull out the fighters that remain.

      On Monday, more than 260 fighters left the Azovstal plant — their last redoubt in Mariupol — and were transported to two towns controlled by Moscow-backed separatists, officials on both sides said. Other fighters — their precise numbers unknown –remain inside the ruins of the fortified mill

      […]But Ukraine sought to turn the evacuation into a symbol for its side, too, highlighting the role that the Azovstal fighters played in boosting Ukrainian morale and tying up Russian forces who couldn’t be deployed elsewhere.

      […]Maliar, the Ukrainian official, heaped praise on the fighters but said it been impossible to liberate them “by military means.”

      “Mariupol’s defenders have fully accomplished all missions assigned by the commanders,” she said.

      https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/mariupol-fighters-in-russian-hands-both-sides-claim-wins-1.5906477

    • NEWSWEEK – Russia Opens Fire On Israeli Jets Over Syria—Report

      Russian forces may have opened fire at Israel’s jets in Syria, according to a report.

      The alleged attack is believed to have taken place in Syria on Friday last week, according to Israel’s Channel 13 news.

      Newsweek has not been able to independently verify whether the attack did take place and whether it was the act of Russian forces.

      The unsourced report alleges that Russia used its S-300 anti-aircraft missiles as the Israeli jets attacked targets in Northwestern Syria.

      On Friday night, at least five people were killed and seven injured in the alleged airstrike, according to Syria’s state news agency. However, other media in the country claimed that six people were killed.

      The reports indicated that the Syrian military fired off dozens of anti-aircraft missiles at the Israeli jets. As well as this, Syria’s S-300 batteries, that are operated by the Russian military and cannot fire without their approval, were also used against the jets. The reports also claimed that S-300 radar did not manage to lock onto the Israeli jets.

      Russia, a close ally of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, has forces based and operating in Syria.

      Beyond providing Syria with its air defenses, Moscow also maintains state-of-the-art S-400 air defense systems to protect its own assets in Syria, but has never turned them on Israeli plane

      Tensions between Russia and Israel have remained high since Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February.

      This was intensified after comments at the beginning of May from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as he said that Adolf Hitler may have had “Jewish blood.”

      After this, Putin offered an apology to Isreali Prime Minister Naftali Bennett according to Israeli media outlets.

      “Israel PM office says: Putin apologized to PM Bennett for Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov’s anti-semitic remarks,” tweeted Amichai Stein, a journalist with Israel’s KAN News.

      “Bennett thanked Putin for the president’s attitude toward the Jewish people and the memory of the Holocaust,” Stein said.

      However, the Kremlin denied that Putin apologized to the prime minister and issued a statement detailing the phone conversation the pair had.

      Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the leaders’ talks were “exactly as disclosed” in the statement, The Cradle reported.

      The denial could intensify already strained tensions between Russia and Israel that stemmed from Lavrov’s controversial remarks. The conflict may cause Russia to lose a key Middle East ally in Israel, which has so far taken somewhat of a mediator role in the Russia-Ukraine war by expressing support for Ukraine while refraining from publicly criticizing Moscow.

      Newsweek has contacted the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Israel’s Ministry for Defense for comment.

      https://www.newsweek.com/russia-opens-fire-israel-israeli-jets-syria-war-ukraine-1707187
      ================================================

      TIMES OF ISRAEL – In first, Russian military said to fire S-300 missiles at Israeli jets over Syria

      TV says incident came last week as IAF fighters departed area after alleged strike and they were not in danger; move could signal a significant shift in Moscow’s ties with Israel

      […]If confirmed, however, this would mark the first use of the S-300s against the IAF over Syria and would be a worrying development for Israel, which has carried out hundreds of airstrikes inside Syria in the course of the country’s civil war and since, targeting what it says are arms shipments bound for Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group and other Iranian-linked sites.

      Israel rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations and there was no confirmation of the raid or the S-300 launch from the IDF.

      The Channel 13 report said it was not immediately clear if the S-300 missile fire was a one-time event or if it was a Russian signal to Israel that it was changing its policy.

      The Masyaf area is thought to be used as a base for Iranian forces and pro-Iranian militias and has been repeatedly targeted in recent years in attacks attributed to Israel. Satellite imagery taken after the strike showed that an underground facility had been completely destroyed.

      2016. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
      Russian forces opened fire on Israeli jets with advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missiles at the end of an alleged IAF attack on targets in northwestern Syria last week, Channel 13 news reported Monday, in what could signal a significant shift in Moscow’s attitude to Israel.

      According to the unsourced report, the unprecedented incident occurred on Friday night, when the Israeli Air Force bombed several targets near the city of Masyaf in northwestern Syria.

      At least five people were killed and seven were hurt in the airstrike, Syria’s state news agency said. Other media in the country said six were killed, all crew members of a Pantsir air defense system who attempted to take down the Israeli missiles.

      The report said the Syrian military fired off dozens of anti-aircraft missiles, which have been largely ineffective at halting the hundreds of Israeli strikes on Syria in recent years.

      However, this time the S-300 batteries also opened fire as the jets were departing the area, Channel 12 said. The report noted that Syria’s S-300 batteries are operated by the Russian military and cannot be fired without their approval.

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      The report said that the S-300 radar did not manage to lock onto the Israeli jets and thus did not present a serious threat to the IAF fighter jets.

      Illustrative photo of a Russian S-300 air defense missile. (photo credit: AP/File)
      If confirmed, however, this would mark the first use of the S-300s against the IAF over Syria and would be a worrying development for Israel, which has carried out hundreds of airstrikes inside Syria in the course of the country’s civil war and since, targeting what it says are arms shipments bound for Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group and other Iranian-linked sites.

      Israel rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations and there was no confirmation of the raid or the S-300 launch from the IDF.

      The Channel 13 report said it was not immediately clear if the S-300 missile fire was a one-time event or if it was a Russian signal to Israel that it was changing its policy.

      The Masyaf area is thought to be used as a base for Iranian forces and pro-Iranian militias and has been repeatedly targeted in recent years in attacks attributed to Israel. Satellite imagery taken after the strike showed that an underground facility had been completely destroyed.

      This photo released by ImageSat International on May 15, 2022, shows sites allegedly struck by Israel in the Masyaf region of Syria. (ImageSat International)
      The report comes amid a deterioration in ties between Israel and Russia over the invasion of Ukraine. Israel has tried to walk a fine line between Moscow and Kyiv but has recently become more critical of Russia as evidence emerged of Russian atrocities and growing antisemitic rhetoric from Russian leaders.

      […]

      https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-first-russian-military-said-to-fire-s-300-missiles-at-israeli-jets-over-syria/

      • What if Russia is more afraid of Israel than Israel is of Russia?

        I’ve been wondering whether the conventional wisdom has been wrong since Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov claimed that Hitler had Jewish blood after Israel expressed its displeasure.

        The standard analysis was like this one from Newsweek:

        “While Israel and Russia would likely continue their balancing act of relations based on a range of mutual interests in the Middle East, any tensions between the two raise an uncomfortable truth for the former. Israel effectively needs Russia’s approval to conduct operations freely against Iran and its allies in Syria.”

        This is true, but Russia also has great interest in not upsetting Israel.

        The Media Line reports:

        “The main party deterring Israel from being more aggressive in Syria used to be Russia. But this might be changing….

        “Russia is no match for Israel’s air superiority,” says Zvi Magen, head of the Russia research program at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and a former Israeli intelligence officer.

        ““Russia is deterred by Israel in Syria, and its military forces are not a factor for the IAF [Israel Air Force]. If anything, there is a match in interests when it comes to Iran, against whom Russia is fighting for control in Syria….

        “First of all, it’s about access to the Middle East in general. Russia aspires to be a significant force in the region. Second, the Russian naval facility in Tartus is Russia’s entry to the Mediterranean Sea. I can’t see it risking those interests just to limit Israel’s freedom of action….”

        While the alleged Israeli attack [on Damascus on Wednesday] is a message to the Syrian government, it could also be directed toward Russia, following the Kremlin’s recent change of tone toward Israel, he says.

        “Russia became very critical of Israel lately, and it’s not completely clear why. It most likely has to do with the war in Ukraine. But this attack could be a message, making it clear that Israel will not change its policy in Syria,” Magen explains.

        [Our revered Elder notes:]
        As with the Arab world, Russian bluster needs to be analyzed from a perspective of an honor.shame mentality.

        Russia is humiliated in Ukraine, and it tries to make up for that humiliation with overly aggressive speech and lies about its accomplishments. But even while that is happening, the number of countries willing to speak to it is diminishing.

        Russia lost a lot of prestige for its military capability. Imagine if Russia would say it is changing its policy and enforcing a no-fly zone for Israel over Syria.

        If Israel defeats Russia’s anti-missile and anti-aircraft defenses in Syria, it would be an additional, significant psychological blow. And it is one that Moscow cannot afford to risk.

        https://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2022/05/what-if-russia-is-more-afraid-of-israel.html

        • In the Comments to the article above:

          • “Israel also has a large Russian Jewish ppoulation, so keeping friendly relations with Russia is also spurred by family and cultural ties.

          “This explains why Israel has refused to join the collective West in its insane sanctions war against Russia.

          “Whatever happens in Ukraine, Russia is both a military and a commodities superpower and will be even stronger.

          “Israel has watched the decline of Europe and the US and its[sic] clear the unipolar world is now coming to and end.

          In a multipolar landscape, Israel faces new challenges and will hsve to find eats [sic] to deal with what’s coming.”
          …………..

          • “Rumbles that Israel hit an airfield in Syria a couple of days ago and Russia fired off some of the S-300 missile at them. Odds are the missiles, if fired, missed.

          “Nobody is saying anything. Israel because they don’t want to rub the Russians noses in it and Russia because their hardware is crap.”

          I’ve also heard the S-300 is crap. The more advanced S-400 is better, but not great. No matter: failure hurts the arms industry, which plays a critical role in Russia’s soft power projection.

    • the sun – Ukrainian military says the defenders of Mariupol have ended their mission

    • =======================================================

      Militants of the nationalist unit “Azov” blocked at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, surrendered WITHOUT CONDITIONS — Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations Polyansky

      ======================================================

      reuters – Azovstal siege ends as hundreds of Ukrainian fighters surrender

      Dozens of Ukrainian fighters, some apparently unwounded, surrendered on Tuesday after weeks holed up in the bunkers and tunnels below Mariupol’s Azovstal steel works as the most devastating siege of Russia’s war in Ukraine drew to a close.

      […]At least seven buses carrying surrendered Ukrainian fighters left the Azovstal steel works escorted by pro-Russian armed forces on Tuesday, a Reuters witness said.

      Some of the Ukrainian fighters being transported did not appear to be wounded, the witness said. One of the Ukrainian fighters, with a prominent tattoo on his neck, was seen staring directly ahead.

      […]The regiment denies being fascist, racist or neo-Nazi, and Ukraine says it has been reformed away from its radical nationalist origins to be integrated into the National Guard. Ukraine’s military command cast all the defenders as “heroes of our time”.

      […]Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that President Vladimir Putin had guaranteed that the fighters who surrendered would be treated “in accordance with international standards”.

      ===============================
      the guardian – Fate of hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers unclear as Azovstal resistance ends

      Ukraine says there will be prisoner swap but some Russian officials have said forces could be tried or executed

      The fate of hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers who have ended weeks of resistance at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol remains unclear, after the fighters surrendered and were transferred to Russian-controlled territory.

      Ukraine’s deputy defence minister said they would be swapped in a prisoner exchange, but some Russian officials said they could be tried or even executed. MPs in Russia’s State Duma said they would propose new laws that could derail prisoner exchanges of fighters who Moscow claims are “terrorists”.

      Russia called the Azovstal operation a mass surrender, while the Ukrainian army said the soldiers defending the steel plant had “performed their combat task” and that the main goal was now to save their lives.

      “Ukraine needs Ukrainian heroes alive,” said the president, Volodymyr Zelensky, in a video address.

      For weeks, hundreds of troops have been holed up in a warren of tunnels and bunkers underneath the steelworks, as Russian forces took control of the rest of the city after turning much of it into an uninhabitable wasteland. Many of those stuck at Azovstal had serious injuries, with limited medical care and dwindling supplies.

      […]Azov has been a key part of the Russian propaganda narrative about the war in Ukraine, which was originally launched with the supposed goal of “denazification”.

      It was formed in 2014 as a volunteer militia to fight Russia-backed forces in east Ukraine and many of its original members had far-right extremist views. Since then, the unit has been integrated into the Ukrainian national guard and its commanders say it has moved away from its far-right origins.

      https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/17/fate-hundreds-ukrainian-soldiers-unclear-azovstal-resistance-ends

    • A bill being drafted in the Senate would allow U.S. courts to try war crimes cases even if neither the perpetrators nor the victims are American, in the latest response to Russia’s apparent targeting of civilians in Ukraine.

      NEW YORK TIMES – Russian Atrocities Prompt Bipartisan Push to Expand U.S. War Crimes Law

      WASHINGTON — Leading senators of both parties have struck a deal over a draft bill that would expand a 1996 war crimes law to give American courts jurisdiction over cases involving atrocities committed abroad even if neither party is a U.S. citizen, in the latest response to Russia’s apparent targeting of civilians in Ukraine.

      The idea behind the draft, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, is that if someone who committed war crimes abroad later comes to the United States and is discovered, that person could be prosecuted for those actions by the Justice Department. Killings of civilians and the discovery of mass graves in parts of Ukraine that had been occupied by Russian troops have incited an international outcry.

      Despite partisan polarization that has generally gridlocked Congress, supporters of the bill — which is chiefly sponsored by the top lawmakers on the Judiciary Committee, Senators Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, and Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois — believe the measure has a realistic chance of quickly becoming law.

      The senators are still in talks with House members about a possible companion bill and expect to file the measure later this week, committee staff members said.

      “The United States must not be a safe haven for war criminals looking to escape justice in their home country,” Mr. Grassley, the bill’s author, said in a statement to The Times. “This bill sends a strong message that people who commit war crimes are not welcome here and should be punished, regardless of where their offense was committed or who they victimized.”

      Mr. Durbin said the measure would fill “an egregious gap in our laws” to ensure that foreign war criminals in the United States could be prosecuted.

      “Perpetrators committing unspeakable war crimes, such as those unfolding before our very eyes in Ukraine, must be held to account,” he said in a statement. “We have the power and responsibility to ensure that the United States will not be used as a safe haven by the perpetrators of these heinous crimes.”

      Two former chairmen of the Judiciary Committee — Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, and Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina — are also lined up to co-sponsor the bill, committee staff members said.

      The senators are lobbying their caucuses to support the bill, hoping to pass it by unanimous consent and skip the committee review process.

      Talks on the topic are less developed in the House, however.

      Enacted by Congress in 1996, the War Crimes Act incorporates part of the international laws of war into American domestic law. The act made it a crime, prosecutable by the Justice Department, to commit a “grave breach” of the Geneva Conventions of 1949.

      Grave breaches include willful killing of civilians, torture, biological experiments and “extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly.”

      But while similar laws in other countries, like Germany, provide universal jurisdiction over such offenses, Congress in 1996 limited the reach of the United States. The law covers only instances in which an American is the perpetrator or the victim of a war crime.

      The bill introduced by Mr. Grassley and Mr. Durbin would eliminate that restriction, making the law cover any situation in which “the offender is present in the United States, regardless of the nationality of the victim or offender.” It would also eliminate any statute of limitations on war crimes, so prosecutions could be brought many years later.

      A House committee report in 1996 said that the Pentagon and the State Department had both urged Congress to enact a more universal law along the lines of Mr. Grassley and Mr. Durbin’s bill. But lawmakers decided that would be unwise, worrying that it would create foreign relations issues.

      “Domestic prosecution based on universal jurisdiction could draw the United States into conflicts in which this country has no place and where our national interests are slight,” the report said.

      The draft bill tries to address this concern by requiring the attorney general to certify in writing that such a prosecution “is in the public interest and necessary to secure substantial justice.”

      That provision, ensuring a very high-level review of any charges under the law, echoes a safeguard in other laws that could create foreign relations issues, like statutes against the murder of Americans in another country’s jurisdiction.

      The 1996 report also said that restricting the War Crimes Act to situations involving Americans would not mean that a foreign war criminal discovered in the United States would have impunity, since that person could be extradited to a foreign court with proper jurisdiction for prosecution.

      Lawmakers at the time cited the examples of the international tribunals the United Nations Security Council had recently set up for war crimes in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.

      However, a few years after the 1996 law, the United Nations shifted from establishing ad hoc tribunals for particular conflicts to creating a permanent tribunal at The Hague for prosecuting war crimes, the International Criminal Court.

      But the United States balked, with some lawmakers and officials fearing that the court might try to prosecute American soldiers. A 1999 law prohibits funding the court under any circumstances, and a 2002 law prohibits giving it nonfinancial assistance such as by lending it personnel or sharing intelligence — although there are some exceptions.

      The International Criminal Court has opened an investigation into war crimes in Ukraine, and some senators, like Mr. Graham, have expressed interest in removing those barriers. The international court, they say, appears best positioned to indict Russian generals and perhaps even President Vladimir V. Putin.

      Mr. Durbin has also expressed interest in codifying in American law other internationally banned atrocities like crimes against humanity, and allowing the victims to file civil lawsuits against foreign perpetrators in American courts.

      But while early discussions broached adding those provisions — especially the latter — to a War Crimes Act expansion, Mr. Grassley is said to have pushed to keep the bill streamlined and focus on where there appeared to be the broadest bipartisan consensus.

      https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/16/us/senate-bill-war-crimes-ukraine.html

    • CBC – Ukrainian fighters evacuated from Mariupol steel plant

      The Ukrainian military has ended its holdout in the Azovstal steel plant, the last stronghold in the strategic port city of Mariupol, confirming 264 wounded troops were evacuated.

      + comments on the YT page

    • CBC – Canadian Forces airlifting military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine

      Chris Brown takes us aboard a Royal Canadian Air Force Hercules transport plane taking heavy weapons and humanitarian aid into Ukraine.

    • CNN – Ukraine declares ‘combat mission’ over in Mariupol

      Commanders of Ukrainian units stationed in Mariupol’s massive Azovstal steelworks plant have been ordered “to save the lives of their personnel,” according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as they announced the end of their “combat mission” in the besieged southern city.

    • RT – Russia moves to withdraw from WTO, WHO

      Proposals for ending membership in the international organizations have been sent to the parliament

      Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, is planning to discuss the potential withdrawal of the country from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), according to Pyotr Tolstoy, the vice speaker of the parliament.

      “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a list of such agreements to the State Duma, and together with the Federation Council [upper house of parliament] we are planning to evaluate them and then propose to withdraw from them,” Tolstoy said on Tuesday.

      The vice speaker said that Russia had already canceled its membership in the Council of Europe, and that leaving the WTO and WHO is next.

      “Russia withdrew from the Council of Europe, now the next step is to withdraw from the WTO and the WHO, which have neglected all obligations in relation to our country,” he said.

      Tolstoy added that the government is expected to revise Russia’s international obligations and treaties that do not currently bring any benefit but directly damage the country.

      In April, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the “illegal” restrictions placed on Russian companies by Western states run counter to WTO rules, and told the government to update Russia’s strategy in the organization by June 1.

      The decision came amid the sweeping Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over its military operation in Ukraine launched in late February. Since then, Russia has been subjected to around 10,000 targeted restrictions, making it the world’s most sanctioned country.

      https://www.rt.com/business/555635-russia-wto-who-withdrawal/

    • europravda – EU ready to defend Finland and Sweden in event of Russian attack

    • europravda – Russian authorities to interrogate Ukrainian troops evacuated from Azovstal

      After months of resistance, the fighters were taken to areas under Russian control, with the Ukrainian government saying an exchange would be worked out for their return home

      + comments on the YT page

    • Bloomberg published Turkey’s demands in exchange for approval of Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO:

      – The declaration by Sweden and Finland of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and its derivatives as terrorist organizations.

      – Lifting of the arms embargo.

      – Re-entry into the F-35 fighter program.

      – Approval of a new package of purchases of F-16 fighters.

      – Lifting of sanctions from the S-400 air defense system.

      bloomberg – What Turkey Wants From Sweden and Finland in NATO Expansion Spat

      Three Turkish officials outline steps Ankara is demanding
      Erdogan has shown he’ll dig deep in geopolitical standoffs

      As Turkey threatens to block bids to join NATO by Sweden and Finland in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg spoke to three senior Turkish officials about what their government is looking to achieve with the high-stakes brinkmanship.

      The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about internal government deliberations, and all gave broadly similar assessments. Here’s a summary of what they had to say.

      Kurdish militancy

      Ankara is insisting that any new candidates for NATO membership recognize its concerns about Kurdish militias — both inside Turkey and across its borders in Syria and Iraq.

      That’s been a major source of tension within the alliance, because while all NATO members recognize the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, as a terrorist organization within Turkey, many have supported and even armed its Syrian offshoot, the YPG, in the fight against Islamic State.

      Turkey’s demanding that Sweden and Finland publicly denounce not only the PKK, but also its affiliates before being allowed to join the bloc. The Turkish officials said that designating the PKK as a terrorist organization isn’t enough: the Nordic applicants must do more to clamp down on PKK sympathizers it says are active in their countries.

      Arms exports
      Turkey also wants Sweden and Finland to put an end to arms-export restrictions they imposed on Turkey, along with several other European Union members, after its 2019 incursion into Syria to push the YPG back from the frontier, the officials said.

      While Turkey’s arms trade with the two countries is negligible and it’s not seeking any major defense purchases with them, the officials said that on principle Ankara won’t accept expanding a military alliance to countries that are blocking weapons deals. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has made the point publicly, saying the arms restrictions go “against the spirit” of an alliance.

      Past mistakes
      Turkey accepted Greece’s return to NATO in the 1980s after the two countries fought a war in 1974 over Cyprus, and is keen not to repeat what the officials say is now viewed in Ankara as a mistake.

      Athens and its Cypriot allies later emerged as key obstacles blocking Turkey’s bid for membership in the EU, rejected a UN vote on a unification plan for Cyprus, and have been engaged in constant territorial disputes with Turkey over parts of the Aegean and Mediterranean seas.

      Learning from that lesson, the officials said it would be unwise to expect Turkey to change course and accede to Swedish and Finnish membership in NATO, unless disputes are first resolved and the Nordic countries publicly commit to solidarity with Turkey against the Kurdish groups.

      Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, who is traveling to Washington, D.C. on Thursday with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, said he’s “optimistic” Turkey’s stance can be “managed through discussions,” without addressing any of Ankara’s specific demands.

      Moscow’s aggression has severely jolted the Nordic region, meaning policy makers may be willing to find a compromise.

      Other demands
      While the officials said Turkey isn’t looking to bargain over subjects beyond Finland and Sweden’s stances on the Kurdish conflict, Ankara’s gripes with NATO run deep and its wish-list is long.

      Turkey wants to be re-included in the F-35 advanced aircraft program, from which it was barred after it bought S-400 missile-defense systems from Russia. It also has an outstanding request to the US to purchase dozens of F-16s warplanes and upgrade kits for its existing fleet. Moreover, Turkey wants the US to lift sanctions over its possession of the S-400 missiles.

      Using its leverage over NATO expansion to achieve any of those aims will be challenging. But Turkey has shown it’s willing to dig deep, and even sustain damage to its economy, in recent geopolitical disputes over a detained American pastor, the Russian missile deal, or its military campaigns against the Kurds.

      Russia, elections
      The officials dismissed the idea that Turkey’s opposition to Sweden and Finland entering NATO has anything to do with its ties to Russia, or with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

      Turkey has sought a middle path over the war in Ukraine, as it seeks to balance its ties with both Moscow — critical to protecting Turkish troops deployed in Syria — and Kyiv, which Ankara has supplied with armed drones.

      They also denied that the NATO gambit is linked to domestic politics, rejecting speculation that elevating the Kurdish issue onto a global stage is meant to benefit Erdogan by consolidating support among nationalists ahead of elections scheduled for next year.

      Turkey is pursuing a foreign policy in line with its own national interests, and would agree to NATO’s expansion should the concerns it’s outlined with regard to the Nordic nations be met, the officials said.

      https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-17/what-turkey-wants-from-sweden-and-finland-in-nato-expansion-spat

    • trailer – George W. Bush Gets Punked by Russian Radio Pranksters

      Full video on May 19th

    • europravda – Ukraine needs new post-WWII-style Marshall Plan, says US Treasury chief

      Yellen spoke at the Brussels Economic Forum hosted in the Belgian capital on Tuesday, bringing together key policy-makers.

    • Aleksandr Khodakovsky Reports regarding the Azovstal Surrender in Mariupol:

      “The plan for the day is 1,000 [POWs]. Only a couple more daylight hours remain before the passages will be closed, but the plan is still far from being fulfilled?—they are emerging in groups of seven and in groups of eighty, with long intervals and without any apparent organization… who is there to organize them?

      The process may stretch longer [than expected], and, even when the last of them to emerge reports that he is the absolute last one there, only a mop-up will deliver the final verdict.

      We are, of course, expecting surprises. Just like with the Ilyich Factory surrender, they will try to destroy all their equipment, up to and including cellphones, and their weapons, hoping that we get nothing.”

      ============================

    • channel 4 UK – Zelensky orders soldiers to leave ‘scorched earth’ Mariupol

      It’s become a huge symbol of Ukraine’s resistance against Russian invasion, in the midst of a city pulverised. Ukrainian fighters held out in the tunnels deep below the Azovstal steel plant, in Mariupol, under constant bombardment.

      But they are a huge symbol for the Russians too – Ukraine’s Azov Battalion historically contained the far right elements Russia based its claims of denazification upon.

      Now hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers have been taken on buses to Russian controlled territory.

      Ukrainian hopes of a prisoner exchange are now looking uncertain. The Ukrainian soldiers were evacuated from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, almost bringing to an end the last stand against the Russians. Some fighters are still inside the plant and their departure is still to be agreed.

    • sky news UK – Ukraine War: Uncertainty surrounds fate of Ukrainian soldiers

      Ukrainian officials said the soldiers are “heroes” who changed the course of the war, after they kept Russian forces at bay for 82 days.

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  2. sky news UK – COVID- 19: What are the medical lessons learned?

    As Covid-19 spread across the world, killing millions of people, scientists were engaged in a parallel race to find ways to stop the virus in its tracks.

    Now researchers at the University of Edinburgh are building on their work in the pandemic, to change the way we treat other diseases.

    + comments on the YT page