Tracker

Ukraine updates: Fighting has moved from the Airport at Kyiv to the suburbs of that city. A Ukrainian lieutenant detonated a bomb at a bridge to stop the Russian advance, completing his mission but dying. A Ukrainian fighter pilot has 6 confirmed Russian aircraft kills. Tanks flying the Russian flags are in downtown Kyiv. Ukrainians are preparing Molotov cocktails. Sweden and Romania are sending weapons. A Ukrainian garrison on the coast was ordered to surrender by a Russian warship and told them to f*ck themselves. All 13 were killed in the subsequent shelling. A Russian tank column was wiped out en route to Kyiv. BBC estimates some 200 Ukrainian military dead and 600 Russian dead.

China will side with Russia when it suits them to do so, but they have no emotional investment in propping Russia up. I suspect that they are watching the response to Russia's invasion and occupation of Ukraine as a precursor of what would happen if they do that to Taiwan.

NEW YORK (AP) — Filmmaker and actor Sean Penn is in Ukraine to continue work on a documentary about the ongoing Russian assault. The Office of the President wrote in a Facebook post Thursday that Penn attended press briefings, met with Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk and spoke to journalists and military personnel about the Russian invasion. “Sean Penn demonstrates the courage that many others, especially western politicians lack,” the president’s office wrote on Facebook. “The director specially came to Kiev to record all the events that are currently happening in Ukraine and to tell the world the truth about Russia’s invasion of our country.” He was also there in late November to work on the project, which is being produced by VICE Studios. Photographs at the time showed him visiting the frontlines of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near the Donetsk region. The Oscar-winner has been involved in numerous international humanitarian and anti-war efforts over the years and founded the non-profit disaster relief organization CORE in response to the 2010 earthquakes in Haiti, chronicled in the documentary “Citizen Penn.”

BBC is reprting that Russian soldiers have been given a list of Ukrainian leaders to be captured or killed.

Unfortunately, the Russians are used to brutal, authoritarian rule as very few have ever experienced anything else, so most are fatalistic about goverments.

Ms. Kellerman had been very active in the animal rights movement for decades.

The fate of Ukraine is likely to be decided tomorrow. Russians seized the airport near Kyiyv earlier today, but where out or captured by Ukrainian forces. The Russian plan is to retake the airport at all costs so they can bring in their massive troop transport airpanes to take the Ukrainian capital, as they believe this will collapse all resistance.

The distorted "freedom" of the truck convoys: “A huge number of Americans want a dictatorship" The Republican-fascists and other "conservatives" have convinced themselves and their followers that freedom is the same thing as license. Real freedom involves a sense of responsibility to others, obligation to the common good and respect for reason and the truth. Moreover, as historian Timothy Snyder presciently warned in 2017, "to abandon facts is to abandon freedom" and "post-truth is pre-fascism." License is a belief that one can act without consequences — and that any attempts to limit that dangerous behavior and its negative impact on others is some type of "tyranny" or "dictatorship" or "oppression." This crude and debased version of "freedom" as embraced by fascists and other members of today's right wing and "conservative" movement also emphasizes the importance of force and the ability of the powerful to force their will on the less powerful with impunity. Here social dominance behavior is taken as ultimate proof of the merits of one's freedom claims instead of as evidence of how anti-social and other anti-human behavior undermines and ultimately destroys the types of bonds, relationships and mutual respect for human rights and human dignity that are foundational for real freedom in a healthy polity. Liberals, progressives, Democrats, "traditional" conservatives and others who believe in the liberal democratic tradition are committed to abstract principles and ideals. The Republican-fascists and other members of the global neofascist movement are goal-oriented nihilists and pragmatists who live in the realm of the here and now and where might ultimately makes everything right. This is the focal point where the battle for the future of American and Western democracy is being fought. To this point, the Republican-fascists and the global right are winning. Their opponents are crying about "principles" and "the rules" and "the norms" while being bowled over. In all, the Republican-fascists and other elements of the global right are involved in a revolutionary program of destruction where the language and rhetoric of "freedom" is being used to undermine and eventually destroy and then replace pluralistic multiracial democracy with white minority apartheid rule.

according to Donald Trump, it is all because of him losing the rigged election.

A prefrontal lobotomy is mandatory for CPC members of parliament before they take their seats.

'Convoy' protesting COVID mandates in Lansing MI leads to embarrassing outcome A convoy of right-wing protesters pushing back against COVID-19 mitigation mandates while supporting election fraud falsehoods recently suffered an embarrassing turnout, according to Detroit Metro Times. On Sunday, February 20, a group of protesters met up for an event dubbed the “Lansing Freedom Convoy.” They’d called for “‘all our good men’ to park their cars in downtown Lansing and demand ‘honest elections,’ ‘a voter-run audit and canvass’ and for police to ‘arrest and charge all criminals in government, media and medicine.’” While the event was expected to draw a substantial number of right-wing supporters, Detroit Metro Times reports that only 10 people showed up for the event. The latest disappointment follows the group's demonstration earlier this month at the Ambassador Bridge and other infrastructure crossings. The highly-publicized protest was also supported by dozens of Republican lawmakers and a number of Republican gubernatorial candidates, including former Detroit Police Chief James Craig. The demonstration threatened to impact Super Bowl weekend.

D.C. Truck Convoy Organizer’s Plan Sputters Like a Busted Engine At first, ardently MAGA trucker Bob Bolus vowed that his makeshift “freedom convoy” making a beeline from Scranton, Pennsylvania to D.C. this week would “choke” the nation’s capital like a boa constrictor in protest of vaccine mandates. But on Wednesday, when his overhyped convoy turned out to be a piddly procession of one, Bolus backtracked, telling The Daily Beast that his plans have changed and he will not attempt to interfere with traffic. “We’re not putting a chokehold on D.C. today,” the Pennsylvania-based trucker told The Daily Beast by phone shortly after noon, before quickly getting his hopes up again about one day disrupting Beltway traffic: “Not to say that it wouldn’t happen in the very near future. It’s just going to be an idea of what’s to come.” This particular wing of the convoy movement was originally slated to arrive in the D.C. metro area around noon, with the hopes of causing a gridlock blockade like the Canadian anti-vaccine mandate trucker demonstration that caused chaos in Ottawa until it was dispersed by police. Earlier this week, the Pentagon approved the use of nearly 700 National Guard personnel to assist local authorities with the possibility of multiple convoys blocking up the D.C. area. But now, as Bolus confessed to The Daily Beast, his tiny convoy will just “peacefully” sit in Beltway traffic and not attempt to cause any such backup. “We’re going to go with the flow. Today we’re going to go with the flow of traffic,” a defeated Bolus told the Beast. “If they go at two miles an hour, we will be at two miles an hour.” D.C. Truck Convoy Organizer Bob Bolus’ Plan Sputters Like a Busted Engine (thedailybeast.com)

Found mostly in their bars.

Trump may have been unwittingly comparing Putin to himself.

You did not have the right to have an attorney present during any questioning.

COVID "long-haulers" may have finally found relief in inexpensive, over-the-counter drugs. Small studies suggest over-the-counter antihistamines can relieve long COVID symptoms Two women have recovered from post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), a condition more commonly known as long COVID — and researchers believe that inexpensive, over-the-counter antihistamines were the reason. The news comes from a report published this month in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners which describes the recovery of two middle-aged women who, by chance, found that antihistamines greatly improved their daily functions after suffering from long Covid. The research will be welcomed by sufferers of long COVID, of which there are many. Up to 10 percent of those who contract COVID-19 have long-term symptoms long after the virus has cleared their body, according to University of Alabama researchers. The United States population has had a cumulative 78 million cases of COVID-19, meaning around 8 million Americans have long Covid symptoms long after the virus has cleared their system. Long Covid sufferers experience all kinds of different symptoms, though the most common include brain fog, psychiatric disorders, loss of taste and smell, fatigue and lack of energy. Long Covid appears to affect children and adults in equal measure. In this latest study, both women who recovered from long Covid took over-the-counter antihistamines for different reasons aside from their COVID-19 symptoms. The first woman had an allergy to dairy which was triggered by eating cheese. Prior to her January 2020 COVID-19 infection, she was healthy and active; after, she could no longer tolerate exercise, had prolonged chest pain, headaches, brain fog, fatigue, and a rash. The morning after she took an antihistamine for her dairy allergy, she noticed considerable relief in her fatigue and ability to concentrate. But in the next 72 hours, when she wasn't taking an antihistamine, her fatigue and brain fog returned. The woman self-administered diphenhydramine and observed an improvement in symptoms once again. Over the next six months, she noticed many of her other symptoms — like the rashes — were improving as well. Now, she reports she's back to 90 percent of her pre-infection functioning ability, including exercising 1 to 2 hours 5 to 6 times a week. The second woman, who was similarly active and healthy prior to COVID-19, likely contracted COVID-19 from her child who was unwell with COVID-19 symptoms. While a PCR test came back negative at first for COVID-19, she was clinically diagnosed when she developed chills, shortness of breath, chest pain , and a fever. At first, her symptoms persisted for three months. During the course of this time, she also suffered from Covid toe, abdominal pain, and rashes. Nearly 13 months after the onset of the infection, she substituted her usual allergy medication with diphenhydramine. The next morning, she also noticed a significant relief in her fatigue and brain fog. Since then, she has been taking 25 milligrams of diphenhydramine at night and 180 milligrams of fexofenadine in the morning and is back to exercising and feeling better. Both fexofenadine and diphenhydramine are common over-the-counter anti-histamine drugs.

Disagree. Most Russians do not winter abroad or buy expensive toys, or even much foreign consumer goods as they are too poor. The oligarchs have lost hundreds of millions in devaluation.

I checked just now and the Ruble is down 14%.

Don't know if this is the best place to put this, if you want to get past a paywall: put " HTTPS://12FT.10/" before your URL and you're in.

Russian oligarcs need Europe and North America to silo their money away and actually travel to those places to enjoy it. Russian currency fluctuates wildly, and any armed conflict or threat of same will depress the ruble's value. The Russian economy is heavily dependent on petroleum/gas exports, mostly to Europe, and if the western nations (Europe, really) get their act together and build that pipleline from the Caucaus to Europe, the Russian economy and ruble will crater. Putin's actions ought to spur that on.

Not to mention national free healthcare, workers' compensation, portable pensions, subsidized daycare for qualifying parents, environmental standards, workplace safety regulations, food and drug standards, etc etc. This is too easy.

I was one of those who were at the Legislature protesting the implementation of the War Measures Act bcause I saw no justification for such a draconian move. In retrospect, the protests were valid and the mayor of Calgary used it as an excuse for police there to round up and detain for days without charge everyone who was seen as a "hippie".

The CPC is condoning the protesters by word and silence, the BQ is mostly on the government side but quiet, the CPP is cheerleading the jackholes, and the NDP is somewhat reluctantly supporting the govermment. To me, it looks like the message the CPC is taking out of all this is that if you shout inflamatory crap, even if its all BS, loud enough, you can raise your profile to look like a political option. I trust the vast majority of Candians to see through all this and remember it next election. In other good news: Ottawa convoy protest organizer Tamara Lich denied bail Freedom Convoy organizer Tamara Lich appears in front of a judge for a bail hearing on Feb. 19, 2022, which was put over to Tuesday. Lich, from Medicine Hat, Alta., was charged last Thursday with counselling to commit mischief in connection with the Ottawa protests. (Lauren Foster-MacLeod/CBC) Tamara Lich, a major organizer of the so-called Freedom Convoy, was denied bail Tuesday morning in Ottawa. Lich, the Alberta woman behind a now-halted GoFundMe campaign that raised over $10 million to support the protest in Ottawa, was arrested and charged Thursday with counselling to commit mischief. Before her arrest, she told journalists she wasn't concerned about being arrested, didn't think the protest was illegal and also said her bank account was frozen. On Tuesday, the judge said she was not convinced Lich would go home, stay there and stop her alleged counselling. "This community has already been impacted enough by some of the criminal activity and blockades you took part in and even led," said Ontario Superior Court Justice Julie Bourgeois. "You have had plenty of opportunity to remove yourself and even others from this criminal activity but obstinately chose not to and persistently counselled others not to either. "In Canada, every citizen can certainly disagree with and protest against government decisions but it needs to be done in a democratic fashion in abidance with the laws that have been established democratically."

This all goes back a few years to the Ammon Bundy who, along with other like-minded idiots defied federal law by taking his cattle to graze on park lands. Due to a weak federal response, they occupied park buildings and garnered support from Fox News, and the GOP and showed that if you do something illegal while screaming loudly that your rights are being violated is a good way to get your way. Meanwhile, in the USA: ‘Twisted’ Conservatives Feel Trudeau Is More Evil Than Putin If you want to understand someone’s values or worldview, take a look at who (and what) provokes outrage and who (and what) evokes sympathy. The cognitive dissonance inherent in much of the American right can make such an examination problematic. That’s because some of the most prominent voices on the right today view Vladimir Putin as a misunderstood victim. Meanwhile, they cast Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as an authoritarian strongman. Consider the message of right-wing commentator Candace Owens, who recently tweeted: “STOP talking about Russia. Send American troops to Canada to deal with the tyrannical reign of Justin Trudeau Castro. He has fundamentally declared himself dictator and is waging war on innocent Canadian protesters and those who have supported them financially.” Dictator? (Hardly.) Innocent protesters? (This only makes sense if you also believe the Jan. 6 rioters were harmless tourists.) Or consider Fox News host Tucker Carlson, my friend (though we disagree profoundly on politics) and former boss. Carlson isn’t outraged over what is happening to Ukraine, but found time last week to bash “strongman” Trudeau as “the dictator of Canada,” while saying that “Canada canceled democracy…” There’s also Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who says Trudeau has gone “full dictator.” And J.D. Vance (celebrated author and Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Ohio) who recently declared that he “doesn’t really care what happens to Ukraine.” American Conservatives are Wrong to Rip Into Justin Trudeau While Giving Vladimir Putin a Free Pass (thedailybeast.com)

FYI: Putin has formally recognized the occupied two areas of Ukraine as part of Russia, and now this is his pretext to send in uniformed military to solidify possession. The reality is that these areas have been occupied by un-uniformed Russian troops for months under the guise of these being "separatists". The only question what kind of response (if any) the rest of the world will give. The partition of Ukraine and occupation of these parts was always Putin's endgame. He expects that there will be a lot of hand-wringing but the rest of the world will be relieved enough that all-out war has been avaoided that they will do essentially token protests.