Paul Whelan ‘greatly disappointed’ Biden administration has not done more to free him
Dylan Stableford, Senior Writer – December 8, 2022
Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan has been jailed in Russia since 2018 on espionage charges. (Sofia Sandurskaya, Moscow News Agency photo via AP, File)
Detained American Paul Whelan says he is happy that the Biden administration was able to secure WNBA player Brittney Griner’s release from Russia in a prisoner swap but is “greatly disappointed” that it hasn’t been able to secure his.
“I am greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release, especially as the four-year anniversary of my arrest is coming up,” Whelan said in a phone interview with CNN from the penal colony where he is being held in a remote part of Russia. “I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here.”
Whelan said he “was led to believe that things were moving in the right direction, and that the governments were negotiating and that something would happen fairly soon.”
The Biden administration announced Thursday that Griner was freed in exchange for Viktor Bout, a convicted arms dealer who had been serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States.
Brittney Griner was released from Russian custody on Thursday in a prisoner exchange with convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout. (Rick Scuteri/AP File)
Whelan’s brother, David, said Thursday that the Biden administration “made the right decision” in agreeing to the prisoner swap that freed Griner.
“I am so glad that Brittney Griner is on her way home,” David Whelan said in a lengthy statement. “As the family member of a Russian hostage, I can literally only imagine the joy she will have, being reunited with her loved ones, and in time for the holidays.
“There is no greater success than for a wrongful detainee to be freed and for them to go home,” David Whelan continued. “The Biden Administration made the right decision to bring Ms. Griner home, and to make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn’t going to happen.”
Earlier this year, the White House reportedly offered to exchange Bout as part of a potential deal to secure the release of Griner and Whelan.
Griner was detained in Moscow on drug-related charges in February and later sentenced to nine years in prison. Paul Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive and former U.S. Marine, has been jailed in Russia since 2018 on espionage charges.
David Whelan said that U.S. officials let the family know in advance that Paul would not be part of the Griner-Bout swap.
President Biden announced Griner’s release on Thursday morning, saying the WNBA player is in “good spirits.” (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“That early warning meant that our family has been able to mentally prepare for what is now a public disappointment for us,” David Whelan said. “And a catastrophe for Paul.”
Griner is the second American to be released in a prisoner swap with Russia this year. Trevor Reed, a 30-year-old U.S. Marine veteran, was released in a prisoner swap with Moscow in April.
“We did not forget about Brittney, and we have not forgotten about Paul,” Biden said. “This was not a choice of which American to bring home.”
“We brought home Trevor Reed when we had a chance earlier this year,” the president continued. “Sadly, for illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s. And while we have not yet succeeded in securing Paul’s release, we are not giving up.”
Nearly half of COVID patients worldwide still have symptoms after 4 months, according to a giant new study
Erin Prater – December 7, 2022
Almost half of COVID survivors globally—both children and adults—have lingering symptoms four months later, according to a landmark new study.
Researchers at the University of Leicester in England performed an analysis of nearly 200 studies of prior COVID patients, involving nearly 750,000 people in all. The patients—some of whom were hospitalized and some of whom weren’t—lived across the globe.
More than 45% of study participants had at least one lingering symptom four months out from their initial infection. A quarter of the patients reported fatigue, and a similar number said they felt pain or discomfort. Meanwhile, sleep issues, breathlessness, and problems participating in normal daily activities were reported in just under a quarter of patients, according to the study.
Often, no clinical abnormalities could be found to explain such symptoms. But some signs were reported in many patients who had been hospitalized with COVID, including changes in lung structure and function. An abnormal CT scan and/or X-rays were found in nearly half of previously hospitalized patients, in addition to a decreased capacity to diffuse carbon monoxide in nearly a third of patients.
“Changes in pulmonary function are similar to those observed following other viral infections including SARS and MERS,” the authors wrote.
When nonhospitalized COVID survivors were singled out, more than a third of them had lingering symptoms at four months, the study found.
“The reasons as to why so many patients are experiencing long COVID remains unknown,” the authors wrote, adding that possible causes include organ damage, inflammation, altered immune systems, and psychological effects.
While some studies have found a higher rate of long COVID in females, the study out of Leicester didn’t find that any particular age group or gender experienced higher rates of the disabling condition. Researchers weren’t able to reliably assess any potential association with race, as only a quarter of studies examined provided participants’ race or ethnicity.
Nearly 20% of American adults who’ve had COVID—an estimated 50 million—report having long COVID symptoms, according to data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau this summer.
Long COVID is roughly defined as symptoms that persist or appear long after the initial infection is gone, but a consensus definition has not yet been broadly accepted. Many experts contend that long COVID is best defined as a chronic-fatigue-syndrome–like condition that develops after COVID illness, similar to other post-viral syndromes that can occur after infection with herpes, Lyme disease, and even Ebola. Other post-COVID complications, like organ damage and post–intensive-care syndrome, should not be defined as long COVID, they say.
Short man syndrome really is a thing, scientists say
Joe Pinkstone – December 7, 2022
Russian president Vladimir Putin is reported to be 5 foot 7 inches tall – AP
Short man syndrome is a real thing and the hot tempers of small men may actually be evolutionarily hard-wired into them to make up for their lack of inches, scientists believe.
Polish researchers investigating the so-called Napoleon complex — where vertically challenged men are angrier and more confrontational than their lengthier peers — found the myth was grounded in truth.
Short men have often sought power, from the reportedly 5’ 2” Napoleon through to the UK’s current diminutive Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who stands just 5’ 5” tall.
Emmanuel Macron, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy are all world leaders who are reported to be 5 foot 7 inches tall, significantly below the average height for a man in the modern world.
Scientists investigating short man syndrome surveyed 367 people and looked for evidence of psychopathy, narcissism and Machiavellianism which make up the Dark Triad personality traits and are associated with more confrontational behaviour.
Link between rowdy behavior and height only seen in men
Data revealed that shorter men are more likely to behave in an antagonistic manner towards others.
The researchers theorise that when a person is not physically formidable and does not have an intimidating presence then they have to impose themselves in other ways.
This, they say, has led to men employing this tactic to “acquire resources and impress romantic partners”, in what modern pop culture calls the “short king” phenomenon.
“Shorter women,” the scientists add, “can use deception to appear more desirable or to gain protection and resources”.
But in the study, published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, the link between rowdy behaviour and height was only seen for men, and not for women.
‘They may become psychologically formidable instead’
Lead author Monika Kozłowska, from the University of Wrocław in Poland, said: “When people cannot be physically formidable, they may become psychologically formidable instead.
“Appearing more powerful may in turn make other people perceive them as taller than they really are.”
The team looked at the impact of actual height and of how a person felt about their height and found that both played a role.
They believe shorter people are not only angry that they are short, but are evolutionarily wired to be angry to compensate for being disadvantaged by being small.
“Our study provides the first assessment (we know of) of how the Dark Triad traits relate to height and height attitudes,” the scientists write.
“We showed that not only are people high on the Dark Triad traits less satisfied with their height, but this may be because they are actually shorter.
“This leads us to believe that the behavioral syndromes of the Dark Triad traits may be part of a suite of psychological systems designed by natural selection to better enable those of shorter stature a way to still compete in life’s great challenges.”
Brains of older people with higher levels of the nutrient function better, say nutritionists.
The main natural source is sunlight but wrinkly skin is less efficient at converting it, meaning older individuals are more likely to be deficient.
Corresponding author Dr Sarah Booth said: “This research reinforces the importance of studying how food and nutrients create resilience to protect the ageing brain against diseases such as Alzheimer’s and other related dementias.”
The number of cases worldwide will triple to more than 150 million by 2050. And with no cure in sight, there is an increasing focus on preventive measures such as lifestyle.
Dr Booth and colleagues examined post mortem samples of brain tissue from 209 participants in the Rush Memory and Ageing Project that began in 1997.
It is the first analysis of its kind, comparing vitamin D levels in adults who suffered from varying rates of cognitive decline.
Lead author Professor Kyla Shea said: “Many studies have implicated dietary or nutritional factors in cognitive performance or function in older adults, including many studies of vitamin D, but all of them are based on either dietary intakes or blood measures of vitamin D.
“We wanted to know if vitamin D is even present in the brain, and if it is, how those concentrations are linked to cognitive decline.”
The team at Tufts University in Massachusetts found more vitamin D in all four regions looked at correlated with better mental skills.
Two areas are associated with changes linked to Alzheimer’s, one with dementias due to to blood flow and the other without any associations with brain or vascular diseases.
Participants’ cognitive function was assessed at the outset and as they aged – with irregularities in their brain tissue identified after death.
No connection was found between vitamin D levels and any of the physiological markers associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
These included rogue amyloid beta proteins that gather in plaques, Lewy body disease or chronic or microscopic strokes.
This means it is still unclear exactly how vitamin D might affect brain function.
Prof Shea said: “Dementia is multifactorial, and lots of the pathological mechanisms underlying it have not been well characterised.
“Vitamin D could be related to outcomes that we didn’t look at yet, but plan to study in the future.”
Vitamin D is also known to vary between racial and ethnic populations, and most of the participants in the original cohort were white
The researchers are planning followup studies using a more diverse group of subjects to look at other brain changes associated with cognitive decline.
They hope their work leads to a better understanding of the role vitamin D may play in staving off dementia.
Experts caution people not to use large doses of vitamin D supplements as a preventive measure.
The recommended dose of vitamin D is 600 IU (international units) for under 70s and 800 for those older.
Excessive amounts can cause harm, and have been linked to the risk of falling.
Prof Shea said: “We now know that vitamin D is present in reasonable amounts in human brains, and it seems to be correlated with less decline in cognitive function.
“But we need to do more research to identify the neuropathology that vitamin D is linked to in the brain before we start designing future interventions.”
The study was published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia.
Harnessing the brain’s immune cells to stave off Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases
Kristine Zengeler, University of Virginia – December 7, 2022
Many neurodegenerative diseases, or conditions that result from the loss of function or death of brain cells, remain largely untreatable. Most available treatments target just one of the multiple processes that can lead to neurodegeneration, which may not be effective in completely addressing disease symptoms or progress, if at all.
But what if researchers harnessed the brain’s inherent capabilities to cleanse and heal itself? My colleagues and I in the Lukens Lab at the University of Virginia believe that the brain’s own immune system may hold the key to neurodegenerative disease treatment. In our research, we found a protein that could possibly be leveraged to help the brain’s immune cells, or microglia, stave off Alzheimer’s disease.
Challenges in treating neurodegeneration
No available treatments for neurodegenerative diseases stop ongoing neurodegeneration while also helping affected areas in the body heal and recuperate.
In terms of failed treatments, Alzheimer’s disease is perhaps the most infamous of neurodegenerative diseases. Affecting more than 1 in 9 U.S. adults 65 and older, Alzheimer’s results from brain atrophy with the death of neurons and loss of the connections between them. These casualties contribute to memory and cognitive decline. Billions of dollars have been funneled into researching treatments for Alzheimer’s, but nearly every drug tested to date has failed in clinical trials.
Another common neurodegenerative disease in need of improved treatment options is multiple sclerosis. This autoimmune condition is caused by immune cells attacking the protective cover on neurons, known as myelin. Degrading myelin leads to communication difficulties between neurons and their connections with the rest of the body. Current treatments suppress the immune system and can have potentially debilitating side effects. Many of these treatment options fail to address the toxic effects of the myelin debris that accumulate in the nervous system, which can kill cells.
A new frontier in treating neurodegeneration
Microglia are immune cells masquerading as brain cells. In mice, microglia originate in the yolk sac of an embryo and then infiltrate the brain early in development. The origins and migration of microglia in people are still under study.
Microglia play important roles in healthy brain function. Like other immune cells, microglia respond rapidly to pathogens and damage. They help to clear injuries and mend afflicted tissue, and can also take an active role in fighting pathogens. Microglia can also regulate brain inflammation, a normal part of the immune response that can cause swelling and damage if left unchecked.
Microglia also support the health of other brain cells. For instance, they can release molecules that promote resilience, such as the protein BDNF, which is known to be beneficial for neuron survival and function.
But the keystone feature of microglia are their astounding janitorial skills. Of all brain cell types, microglia possess an exquisite ability to clean up gunk in the brain, including the damaged myelin in multiple sclerosis, pieces of dead cells and amyloid beta, a toxic protein that is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s. They accomplish this by consuming and breaking down debris in their environment, effectively eating up the garbage surrounding them and their neighboring cells.
Given the many essential roles microglia serve to maintain brain function, these cells may possess the capacity to address multiple arms of neurodegeneration-related dysfunction. Moreover, as lifelong residents of the brain, microglia are already educated in the best practices of brain protection. These factors put microglia in the perfect position for researchers to leverage their inherent abilities to protect against neurodegeneration.
New data in both animal models and human patients points to a previously underappreciated role microglia also play in the development of neurodegenerative disease. Many genetic risk factors for diseases like Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis are strongly linked to abnormal microglia function. These findings support an accumulating number of animal studies suggesting that disruptions to microglial function may contribute to neurologic disease onset and severity.
This raises the next logical question: How can researchers harness microglia to protect the nervous system against neurodegeneration?
Engaging the magic of microglia
In our lab’s recent study, we keyed in on a crucial protein called SYK that microglia use to manipulate their response to neurodegeneration.
Our collaborators found that microglia dial up the activity of SYK when they encounter debris in their environment, such as amyloid beta in Alzheimer’s or myelin debris in multiple sclerosis. When we inhibited SYK function in microglia, we found that twice as much amyloid beta accumulated in Alzheimer’s mouse models and six times as much myelin debris in multiple sclerosis mouse models.
Blocking SYK function in the microglia of Alzheimer’s mouse models also worsened neuronal health, indicated by increasing levels of toxic neuronal proteins and a surge in the number of dying neurons. This correlated with hastened cognitive decline, as the mice failed to learn a spatial memory test. Similarly, impairing SYK in multiple sclerosis mouse models exacerbated motor dysfunction and hindered myelin repair. These findings indicate that microglia use SYK to protect the brain from neurodegeneration.
But how does SYK protect the nervous system against damage and degeneration? We found that microglia use SYK to migrate toward debris in the brain. It also helps microglia remove and destroy this debris by stimulating other proteins involved in cleanup processes. These jobs support the idea that SYK helps microglia protect the brain by charging them to remove toxic materials.
Finally, we wanted to figure out if we could leverage SYK to create “super microglia” that could help clean up debris before it makes neurodegeneration worse. When we gave mice a drug that boosted SYK function, we found that Alzheimer’s mouse models had lower levels of plaque accumulation in their brains one week after receiving the drug. This finding points to the potential of increasing microglia activity to treat Alzheimer’s disease.
Future studies will be necessary to see whether creating a super microglia cleanup crew to treat neurodegenerative diseases is beneficial in people. But our results suggest that microglia already play a key role in preventing neurodegenerative diseases by helping to remove toxic waste in the nervous system and promoting the healing of damaged areas.
It’s possible to have too much of a good thing, though. Excessive inflammation driven by microglia could make neurologic disease worse. We believe that equipping microglia with the proper instructions to carry out their beneficial functions without causing further damage could one day help treat and prevent neurodegenerative disease.
Listen to The Conversation’s podcast series Uncharted Brain: Decoding Dementia to find out more about the latest research unlocking clues to the ongoing mystery of how dementia works in the brain. Find all episodes via The Anthill podcast.
Volodymyr Zelensky and ‘the spirit of Ukraine’ named Time’s 2022 ‘Person of the Year’
Rebecca Corey, Writer and Reporter – December 7, 2022
Illustration of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by Neil Jamieson on the cover of Time magazine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and “the spirit of Ukraine” have been named Time’s 2022 “Person of the Year,” the magazine announced Wednesday.
The 44-year-old leader became a symbol of Ukrainian resiliency and resistance in the weeks and months after Russia began bombing the former Soviet country, on Feb. 24
“This year’s choice was the most clear-cut in memory. Whether the battle for Ukraine fills one with hope or with fear, the world marched to Volodymyr Zelensky’s beat in 2022,” Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal wrote.
“For proving that courage can be as contagious as fear, for stirring people and nations to come together in defense of freedom, for reminding the world of the fragility of democracy — and of peace, Volodymyr Zelensky and the spirit of Ukraine are Time’s 2022 Person of the Year.”
Zelensky speaks to the U.S. Congress by video to plead for support as his country is besieged by Russian forces in March 2022. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo/Pool)
Contenders for this year’s Person of the Year included several people or entities who have made waves in U.S. politics this year, including outgoing Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney, the U.S. Supreme Court, which overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision this summer, and possible 2024 presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Zelensky became a household name in 2022 following a meteoric rise from comedian to president in 2019 to global icon in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine early this year. With his regularly broadcast messages to everyone from global leaders to regular people — from videos on Twitter to a remote appearance at the Grammys — Zelensky defied Western expectations, holding Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv from Russian forces and inspiring earnest interest in a country that, as Felsenthal says, some people “might not be able to find on a map.”
Time’s cover story by Simon Shuster, who spent nine months reporting on Zelensky and the invasion while being granted “unparalleled access” to the presidential compound, features an exclusive interview with Zelensky on his private train en route to the newly liberated city of Kherson. During the interview, Zelensky described how the only way to defeat Russia is to convince the rest of the free world to pull Ukraine in the other direction toward sovereignty.
“I don’t want to weigh who has more tanks and armies. … We are dealing with a powerful state that is pathologically unwilling to let Ukraine go,” Zelensky said. “They see the democracy and freedom of Ukraine as a question of their own survival.”
Zelensky visits service members at a hospital on the Day of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Kharkiv on Tuesday. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
Reflecting on his time covering Zelensky, Shuster described how Russia’s invasion and the weight of Zelensky’s new role as a defender of democracy has changed the president.
“In April, less than two months into the invasion, Zelensky told me he had aged and changed ‘from all this wisdom that I never wanted,’” Shuster said. “Now, half a year later, the transformation was starker. Aides who once saw him as a lightweight now praise his toughness. Slights that might once have upset him now elicit no more than a shrug. Some of his allies miss the old Zelensky, the practical joker with the boyish smile. But they realize he needs to be different now, much harder and deaf to distractions, or else his country might not survive.”
Previous Time Persons of the Year include Elon Musk in 2021, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in 2020 and Donald Trump in 2016. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is currently leading the country’s military assault against Ukraine, was named Time Person of the Year in 2007.
Ukrainian Nobel Peace Prize winner calls for war crimes tribunal for Putin and Russian military leaders
Michael Isikoff, Chief Investigative Correspondent – December 7, 2022
WASHINGTON — A Ukrainian human rights activist set to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo next week says in a new interview that world leaders must create a special international tribunal to place Russian President Vladimir Putin and large numbers of his military on trial for war crimes.
“We cannot wait. We must establish an international tribunal now,” said Oleksandra Matviichuk, the chief of the Kyiv-based Center for Civil Liberties, which will be honored with the peace prize for its work documenting 27,000 war crimes and other atrocities committed by Russian troops since Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February.
Ukrainian human rights lawyer Oleksandra Matviichuk. (Roselle Chen/Reuters)
Speaking to Yahoo News during a brief trip to Washington, Matviichuk said the current system of trying world leaders through the International Criminal Court in the Hague is simply inadequate to deal with the magnitude of Russian offenses. She called instead for a specially created tribunal akin to the Nuremberg trials for Nazi leaders after World War II.
“I’ve asked myself, ‘For whom did we document all these crimes? Who will provide justice for the hundreds of thousands of victims?’ Because we speak not only about Putin and the rest of senior political leadership and high military command, we speak about all the Russians who committed these crimes by their own hands. … We don’t need revenge. We need justice.”
As for the Russian leader himself, “Yes, it’s a question of how to physically arrest Vladimir Putin,” she said. “But look to history. There are a lot of successful and very convincing examples, when people who see themselves as untouchable suddenly appeared in court and when the whole regime — which thinks that they will [last] for ages — collapsed.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin and damaged power lines in Ukraine. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Matviichuk came to Washington this week to receive a “trailblazer” award — along with several other Ukrainian women, including the country’s first lady, Olena Zelenska — from Hillary Clinton at Georgetown University. At the same time, the war in Ukraine is once again heating up, with Ukrainian drones hitting a Russian airfield 300 miles inside that country’s borders and the Russians responding with a new series of devastating cruise missile strikes.
What follows is an edited transcript of the interview with Matviichuk.
Michael Isikoff: You live in Kyiv. You’ve posted some dramatic photos on your Twitter handle, showing young children hovering by candlelight at night, trying to do schoolwork. Give us a sense of what it’s like to be living in Kyiv right now under these Russian missile attacks.
Oleksandra Matviichuk: It’s rather cold. I have no heat. Ukrainians now are not able to plan even for several hours because you never know when the light will disappear, and the internet connection as well. When you have no light, you can’t plan when you go to shop, or when you go to the postal office, or when you will meet with your partners to discuss some work, because you have no idea when the air alarm will start.
The Russians are attacking the electric grid to cut off power for citizens. How worried are you about just getting through what could be a harsh winter?
It will be a difficult winter. But I’m thinking how the civilized world will have to respond to this. Because now we’re reaching a point at which the Russians publicly discussed on Russian TV how to better liquidate the whole civilian infrastructure in Ukraine and freeze millions of Ukrainians during the winter. I will remind you that each hit on a civilian object is a war crime. And now Russia discussed publicly how they will do these war crimes better. So they really think they can do whatever they want. And this is dangerous, not only for Ukrainians. Such behavior, it’s dangerous for the whole world.
What message do you have for the West right now?
For decades, Russia systematically violated their own human rights obligations. But the civilized world continued to do business as usual with Russia. They closed their eyes while Russia liquidated their own civil society. They closed their eyes while Russia, for decades, committed war crimes in Chechnya, in Moldova, in Georgia, in Mali, in Syria, in other countries of the world. And all this hell, which we now face in Ukraine, is a result of total impunity, which Russia enjoyed for decades.
I assume this is the message you are going to convey when you accept the Nobel Prize next week?
I will mention the importance of human rights for peace in the world for sure. But there is also the second part, because there is an illusion to think that Putin will stop if he obtains something. Putin will stop only when he will be stopped. And this means that we have to oppose and to resist Putin jointly. Because if we will not be able to stop Putin in Ukraine, he will go further.
One message you have is that Ukraine needs more weapons from the West. And you have said that consistently: “We really need weapons. We need fighter planes. We need air defense systems in order to protect Ukrainian skies.” Do you have a specific checklist of the weapons that you want the United States and other NATO countries to provide to Ukraine that they are not providing right now?
I’m not a military expert, and this is not my field of expertise. But I know that Ukraine still is not getting the weapons which we need. I have one example that I mentioned during the award ceremony at Georgetown University. I have a friend in Andriana Susak. She’s a courageous woman. She had stopped her commercial career in 2014 and joined Ukrainian armed forces when the war started. When the large-scale invasion started, she left her 6-year-old son and continued to fight for his peaceful future. And she was among those Ukrainian defenders who liberated people, who took part in the battle for her son. She informed me about Russian atrocities and the needs of the Ukrainian army in order to stop them. She asked for armored vehicles, because she witnessed a lot of accidents when the Ukrainian military used civilian cars, because they have no armored vehicles. And they were exploded on mines.
Several days ago her car was exploded. And now doctors are fighting for the life of my friend Andriana Susak. So this is not a theoretical discussion. It’s a real discussion. We need military support in order to save the lives of Ukrainians, of defenders.
You are going to receive the Nobel Peace Prize next week. Some might say it’s a bit odd for a Nobel Peace Prize winner to be talking about trying to obtain more weapons of war. That does seem a contradiction on its face.
I can understand this. It’s a really weird situation. And I’m angry that I’m in a situation where I have no legal instrument to stop Russian atrocities. Like when the whole U.N. system can do nothing with it. It’s not OK that a human rights lawyer says that only weapons can save the life of people in the occupied territories. It’s a very dangerous world to live in. But for the current moment, it’s true. We need not only to investigate crimes and to bring perpetrators to justice. We need to prevent new crimes to emerge.
Is there no hope for diplomacy?
Putin sees civilized dialogue as a sign of weakness. This is a very important point. But the problem is that this war is supported by the majority of Russians, because Putin governs Russia not only with repression and censorship, but with a special social contract between the Kremlin elite and Russian people. And this social contract is based on so-called Russian glory. And unfortunately, a majority of Russian people see their glory in restoring the Russian Empire. This means that Russian people will tolerate war criminals in power. But they will not tolerate loser criminals.
With Russian troops digging trenches to prepare for an expected winter standoff, it would be easy to conclude that fighting will slow in Ukraine until after the ground thaws in the spring.
But evidence from the Ukrainian battlefields point to a different trajectory.
As a career U.S. special forces officer who conducted field research on the 2008 and 2014 wars in Georgia and Ukraine, it is my view that this war has demonstrated that only one side, the Ukrainians, can execute effective combat maneuvers. I believe that the Ukrainians will attempt to launch a large-scale counteroffensive in late winter when the ground is still frozen.
Winter’s impact on war
Historically, the pace of fighting does slow in the winter.
Weapons and other equipment can freeze up in extreme cold, and it’s much more difficult to shoot a weapon while wearing thick gloves.
Shorter days are a factor. Despite technological advances, most of the fighting during this war has occurred during the day.
But this winter may be different for the Ukrainian military.
First, Ukrainian winters are not nearly as cold and snowy as many believe.
Donetsk, for example, has an average temperature of nearly 25 degrees Fahrenheit (-4 degrees Celsius) in January and February.
Its snowiest month, January, averages only 4.9 inches of snow, or .12 meters. Both January and February average just as many rainy days as snowy days – roughly two days of each.
A brief history of Russian attack
Since the invasion began in February 2022, Russia made most of its gains in the first month of the war when it seized Kherson, surrounded Mariupol, and was on the doorsteps of Kyiv and Kharkiv.
But Russia soon gave up on Kyiv and withdrew all its forces from the north.
During this time, Ukraine built up its combat power with new weaponry from the West and planned a large counteroffensive, which it initiated on Aug. 28, 2022.
In the first week of the counteroffensive, Ukraine liberated more territory than Russia had captured in the previous five months.
The success of the counteroffensive showed that Ukraine’s military was superior to Russia’s in every category with the exception of size. It had better doctrine, leaders, strategy, culture and will – and it had just proved that it could effectively fight battles with a combination of artillery, tanks, soldiers and air attacks.
By Sept. 12, 2022, Ukraine had liberated much of Kharkiv Oblast as Russian troops routinely fled from their positions.
After liberating the entirety of Kharkiv Oblast in early October 2022, Ukraine turned its attention to Kherson in the south. This was a different fight, and in some ways Ukraine’s military followed Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu’s axiom of “winning without fighting.”
The Ukrainians were able to conquer much of the territory without using many troops on the ground.
Russia’s best forces have been decimated throughout the conflict, and it is now increasingly relying on untrained conscripts.
Likewise, Russia is exhausting much of its weaponry as international sanctions against them are limiting Russia’s wartime production. Aside from Iran, few nations are providing military aid to Russia.
Russia’s military is now less trained, has lower morale, and has significantly fewer weapons and less ammunition than it had at the beginning of the current war.
As a result, Russia lacks the ability to conduct large-scale attacks, and it is left with little option but to continue what it has been doing: conducting missile strikes against targets that are either defenseless or offer little strategic value.
Limiting Russia’s options further, these strikes have been less effective as the war has progressed.
Winter should not affect these types of combat operations.
But snow will have an impact on Russia’s already stressed and underperforming logistical system, and the cold will further lower – if that is possible – the already low morale of Russia’s poorly outfitted and undertrained soldiers.
What to expect from Ukraine
As the smaller military, Ukraine cannot afford to take heavy losses.
Thus far, it has used a strategy of defending territory when it could, retreating when it should to preserve combat power, and attacking when the opportunities have presented themselves.
An important question must be asked. Why did it take six months for Ukraine to launch its counteroffensive?
One reason is that Ukraine had to wait several months for promised Western aid to arrive at its bases. In my view, a significant factor is the lengthy amount of time it takes to plan large counteroffensives and to position supplies, equipment and forces.
The fact that Ukraine conducted the counterattacks in succession suggests that Ukraine lacks the combat power to conduct two large-scale counterattacks at the same time.
Ukraine is going to need time to regroup, refit and plan for its next large-scale operation.
Thus, it seems reasonable that Ukraine will have to wait at least 30 to 45 days – maybe more – before it is ready to execute its next counteroffensive, which would be in the heart of winter.
While conducting an attack in winter may be difficult, off-road movement in the spring could become impossible, as the Russians discovered during their initial invasion in muddy and wet terrain.
It seems reasonable to conclude that Ukraine may wish to initiate its next counteroffensive while the ground is still frozen – and Russian troop morale is at its lowest point since the invasion.
It was close, but not too close. At night’s end, Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, bested opponent Herschel Walker, the Republican, by a margin of almost 3%.
Warnock adds to the Democrats’ majority in the Senate, 51 seats to 49. That will help the party in some ways, although faced with a Republican House majority and the filibuster, real legislative progress over the next two years will be difficult.
No. America’s deep breath wasn’t based on blue versus red politics, but on a firm understanding that Walker should never have been anywhere near a U.S. Senate seat. He may have been the worst major party Senate candidate in modern history.
The former football star repeatedly demonstrated a lack of understanding of the basics of American constitutional government, committing gaffe after gaffe that revealed his utter lack of preparation for public office.
Not even the most Walker-friendly Georgians could have believed that a U.S. Senate seat was the highest and best use of Walker’s abilities. Yet he still earned more than 1.7 million votes, an astonishing number. How did that happen?
Part of the answer may be Walker’s celebrity — college football is a pretty big part of many Georgians’ lives. The more disturbing answer is the hundreds of thousands of Georgians who apparently cared more about the R next to Walker’s name than his character, experience or preparation for the job.
He may be a disaster, those voters seemed to be saying, but he’s our disaster.
The nation’s founders would be aghast. They believed character was immensely more important than party, which they resisted and feared. They believed in a government of wise men (and, of course, it was only men at the time).
That idea has been turned on its head. Donald Trump is the worst example of partisanship overwhelming character and personal integrity, but Walker — endorsed by Trump — was in the running for the same trophy.
Of course, Walker lost. And Trump, for all his bluster, has never won a popular vote. We can take some comfort in that.
Perhaps Tuesday’s results offer a reassuring sign that a majority of voters, albeit a slim majority, still believe that quality trumps party — whether it’s in Kansas, where Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly won a second term in a state dominated by Republicans, or in Deep South Georgia, where many Republicans crossed party lines to vote for Warnock, the Democrat.
Certainly, Republicans around the country should engage in rethinking its approach to these races, and others. That’s true in purely political terms: Republicans are losing voters in suburban places (see, for example, Johnson County, Kansas) precisely because residents have grown tired of Trumpesque bluster, or Walker-like incompetence.
It’s also true morally. Republicans had to have known of Walker’s problems, yet they nominated him anyway. It was deeply cynical, and dangerous. This nation has serious problems, and Walker was never a serious candidate.
Congratulations to Sen. Warnock, whose election night promise to serve all Georgians was eloquent and welcome. The nation could use more people like him, and if Republicans push more people like Herschel Walker, the nation will get them.
Which Billionaire Owns The Most Land In The U.S.? Hint, It’s Not Bill Gates
AJ Fabino – December 7, 2022
Earlier this year, in May, claims were made that Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates owned the majority of America’s farmland.
While that is false, with the billionaire amassing nearly 270,000 acres of farmland across the country, compared to 900 million total farm acres, a different billionaire privately owns 2.2 million acres, making him the largest landowner in the U.S.
John Malone, the former CEO of Tele-Communications Inc., which AT&T Inc. purchased for more than $50 billion in 1999, has a variety of ranching and real estate businesses, primarily in Maine, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming.
Worth $9.6 billion, Malone, a media veteran, said he purchased the land because “they are not making it anymore.” He also owns three hotels in Dublin, Ireland, and a fourth in Limerick.
The current Liberty Media Corp chairman made the decision to put his billions of dollars in wealth into land after spending a summer working on a family farm in Pennsylvania.
Bell Ranch in New Mexico, a 290,100-acre plain dotted with mesas, rimrock canyons, meadows, and a distinctive bell-shaped mountain, was one of his first significant acquisitions. In addition, Florida’s Bridlewood Farms is a noteworthy asset.
He now holds the title of the largest landlord in the US, surpassing Ted Turner, with a total of 2.2 million acres of crops, ranch property, and woodland.
Malone noted in a CNBC interview that preservation was his primary motivation for purchasing land, and he intends to purchase more. He said that his properties serve as a reliable source of income and a solid hedge against inflation.
“The conservation of lands is important,” the billionaire said. “That was a virus that I got from Ted Turner.”
He continued, “the forestry part of it in the Northeast is a pretty good business, with very low return on capital, but very stable and leverageable,” Malone said. “And we think it will provide good inflation protection in the long run. That’s basically the motivation there. It just seemed like a good thing to do.”
