Leaving behind bodies and piles of rubble where no one can live

For a few days now the news has mentioned a 40 mile Russian convoy supposedly heading to Kyiv, Ukraine but halted about 20 miles from the city. News reports the next day said the convoy is still halted. The next day too. These reports said little about why the convoy was just sitting there. So I did an online search. I found stories on CNN and Yahoo! News which I think came from Business Insider. Both included aerial photos of the convoy and short explanations. Both articles say the convoy has stalled because of “staunch Ukrainian resistance, mechanical breakdown, and congestion.” But that just brings up more questions. What sort of resistance? Traffic congestion of what kind? Perhaps Ukrainian trucks or tanks blocking the way? Business Insider also mentioned hunger, no fuel, and low morale as additional problems. I had lunch with my friend and debate partner (no debating today) who reads different websites than I do. He said the hunger was because the Russian generals (or Putin) thought Kyiv would crumble quickly so provided the convoy with only three days of food. Some bits from the Ukraine Updates on Daily Kos: Mark Sumner’s report from mid morning yesterday included: Military bases are great for spreading disease, including COVID. How many Russian soldiers are fighting while having COVID symptoms or are dealing with long COVID, which includes brain fog?

As has been seen in Kharkiv and in suburbs around Kyiv, Russian forces in Mariupol are resorting to the same tactics used in Chechnya, Georgia, and Syria — the purposeful destruction of civilian areas to crush resistance and create mass causalities. And the voices speaking from inside the maelstrom are heartbreaking.

Sumner included a video tweeted by Jackie Singh of a Ukrainian family (or maybe town) creating crates of Molotov cocktails. In an early afternoon post Sumner wrote that Russia is planning an extensive disinformation campaign. That includes a video of president Zelenskyy giving a surrender statement – except it is a deep fake. The video is constructed on computer with generated images of Zelenskyy and manipulations of recordings of his voice. No need of the actual human. In a post from late yesterday afternoon Kos of Kos discussed the vote in the UN General Assembly on a resolution to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Kos wrote:

Prior to the invasion, Russia demanded to negotiate directly with the United States. Why? Because it couldn’t fathom that Europe could have its own ideas and interests in play. In Russia’s eyes, European nations are just vassals of the United States, with Washington moving the chess pieces based on its whims.

Putin, as tyrant, is a supremacist, a person at the top of the social hierarchy. He looks at everything through the supremacist viewpoint. That includes believing the leader of his largest foe is just as supremacist. That was certainly true of the nasty guy, but isn’t of Biden. Putin the supremacist sees the lands and people around him are (or supposed be) a part of his sphere of influence. He is higher than any of their national leaders. Their land and people are his to do as he wishes. While America projects power it is used to build coalitions and honor treaties (though there are exceptions – see Iraq). That’s outside a supremacist’s understanding. Back to that resolution. 141 countries voted to condemn Russia, 35 abstained, and 5 (including Russia) voted no. Those other four – Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, and Syria – all have horrible human rights records. Russia counts several countries in Central Asia and Central and South America as part of a Collective Security Treaty Organization. What unites the CSTO countries in the West is a hatred for the US. And all of these countries abstained, as did China, India, and Iran. Those voting against Russian included Cuba. The whole world order is being rearranged. In a late evening update Hunter of Kos wrote:

As Ukrainians huddle in subway stations and food in the country becomes more scarce, the Russian economy remains largely shuttered as world sanctions enforce unprecedented monetary isolation of the nation. Today saw the first reported seizure of a Russian oligarch-owned megayacht as nations look to seize the assets of Vladimir Putin's top kleptocratic allies. Today also saw confirmation that hundreds of the promised anti-tank and anti-air weapons pledged to Ukraine have already arrived inside the country. It is now increasingly clear that Russia cannot meet its original goal of swiftly subduing Ukraine. It can, however, commit atrocities against the country's civilian population as Putin-backed retribution for Russia's military humiliation.

In this morning’s update Kos included a photo of burned apartment buildings and wrote:

Apartment buildings in the suburbs of Kyiv. By now, the world should be well past the idea that Russia is doing anything less than what it did in Chechnya, Georgia, or Syria — the systematic reduction of civilian centers, leaving behind bodies and piles of rubble where no one can live. The U.N. is warning that the number of refugees from Ukraine will soon number in the millions, and it’s not hard to see why. Ukraine has a population greater than that of California, and Russia is purposely turning it into a slag heap. This is the kind of strategy armies adopt that aren’t capable of winning battles against opposing military units.

Sumner noted the Ukrainian Air Force attacked that 40 mile convoy. No damage report yet. Sumner also mentioned another propaganda tactic Russia is apparently using. Some of their soldiers are being forced to sign papers saying they were “dismissed retroactively” – meaning Russian soldiers were never in Ukraine. The invaders, according to the claim, were private citizens. In a post that got lost in my browser tabs, Joan McCarter of Kos discussed some of the protests within Russia early in the invasion. In addition to the thousands of people who have been jailed for protesting there are 150 senior officials from across the cities and provinces who have stated their opposition to the war. They were elected by the people and the people did not give Putin a mandate to invade. Government officials openly criticizing Putin is quite remarkable in Russia. The invasion reactivated the Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers. They were formed in the last years of the Soviet Union to protest the conscription of their sons into the abusive Soviet military. And they’re back protesting sons being coerced into the military. That leads to a question: How effective will a military be if its personnel are performing under duress? The NPR program Marketplace ended today with host Kai Ryssdal talking about a report from a Ukrainian official. If a citizen comes into possession of a Russian tank we will see it as a service done for the motherland and no tax needs to be paid. In a post from last Monday Charles Jay of Kos wrote that many Russians won’t see Zelenskyy as the enemy because he kept them laughing for years. Jay includes a few videos of his career in entertainment. He was much better at the Ukraine version of Dancing With The Stars than several prominent American conservatives. Jay includes the first episode of A Servant of the People in which Zelenskyy plays a high school history teacher who rants against government corruption and uses that to run for president. After that show concluded Zelenskyy formed a political party named Servant of the People and ran for president. And is turning out to be an excellent wartime leader. Time for something completely different. RockyMtnHigh of the Kos community wrote that on March 1, 1872 President Ulysses S. Grant signed the law that established Yellowstone as the first National Park. It is now 150 years old. This post includes a bit of history of how Yellowstone became a park (though part of the history might be good storytelling rather than fact).

The national park idea is quintessentially American, our gift to the world. Since Yellowstone’s establishment, 62 other lands of varied shapes, sizes and resources have followed it in becoming National Parks within the United States – and hundreds of others worldwide. On this anniversary, it is worth celebrating the uniquely beautiful lands, waters and wildlife of Yellowstone and commemorating those whose foresight protected it for us and for the generations yet to come.

RockyMtnHigh has visited Yellowstone many times, so in a separate post included many pictures of the park. I’ve been to Yellowstone on two trips. The first was in 1968 with my parents, siblings, and a couple cousins. I’m sure we hit all the major sites. My one enduring memory was with all of us driving through the park in the family van. I was in the front passenger seat. We spotting a young bear by the side of the road. Cars ahead of us would stop beside the bear and it would look in at the passengers hoping for a treat. My dad pulled up to the bear and it stood on its hind legs and looked in at me. I looked back. Young lad that I was thought this was really cool. After a few moments the bear dropped down and Dad drove on. Mom said, “Is your window open?” It was. The second trip was in 1999. I decided for my vacation from the corporate world I would visit the Tetons, Yellowstone, and then work my way up to Glacier National Park. Mom was quite concerned because I was going by myself and intended to sleep in a tent (though there were several nights where I rented a cabin or a motel room). This was June and many nights were cold (I did Glacier last to make sure the road through the park was cleared of snow). I had a wonderful time. I did some hiking in each park (though probably no more than an hour from my car) and saw the major sites and a few minor ones. Though lunch was PB&J I went to a park restaurant for supper. Perhaps I should go back – and visit several other parks in the west – while I still can.