Above photo: Ultra-nationalist activists march towards Independence Square to commemorate ‘Maidan heroes’ in Kyiv on April 29, 2014. AFP. An important aspect of debate on conflicts relates to identifying offensive and defensive forces as this has important implications for ethical aspects and the moral strength commanded by contending sides. In the Ukraine conflict there are many complexities, but perhaps such identification can become becomes easier if we follow Prof. Richard Falk in seeing the Ukraine war in terms of not one but three wars—Russia vs. Ukraine, USA vs. Russia and Western Ukraine vs. Eastern Ukraine. If Russia vs. Ukraine war is seen […]
offensive
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Ukraine has been locked in a conflict with Russian-backed separatists since 2014, and last week Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of building up troops on his country’s border, near territories controlled by Moscow-backed separatists. Ukrainian officials are worried that Russia plans to invade their country, so locals have taken to online memes that often go viral to relieve the stress and suppress the activity of Russian propaganda on the Internet. Among the memes circulating on the Ukrainian segment of social media, there is now a piece of funny news about the deploying of U.S. Air Force B-2 stealth bombers to […]
Afghans flee to Lashkar Gah, Helmand’s provincial capital, during fighting between Taliban and Afghan security forces on Monday. Local authorities estimate that some 35,000 people have been displaced into Lashkar Gah since a Taliban offensive began in Helmand. AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption AFP via Getty Images Afghans flee to Lashkar Gah, Helmand’s provincial capital, during fighting between Taliban and Afghan security forces on Monday. Local authorities estimate that some 35,000 people have been displaced into Lashkar Gah since a Taliban offensive began in Helmand. AFP via Getty Images As the Taliban launched an offensive over the weekend […]
Episodes of three popular Adult Swim series—Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Boondocks, and The Shivering Truth—have been removed from streaming due to current “sensitivities,” The Daily Beast has learned exclusively. Eagle-eyed Redditors first noted the absence of Aqua Teen Hunger Force’s Season 6 episode “Shake Like Me” from the series’ page on HBO Max in June. In the 2009 episode, titled in homage to John Howard Griffin’s seminal race text Black Like Me, a Black man irradiated by toxic waste bites Shake, turning him “stereotypically” Black in manner and appearance. Also missing from the service was an infamous, incomplete Season 5 […]
On Sunday, an escalation unfolded along the contact line of Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-majority autonomy that proclaimed independence from what then was the Soviet Azerbaijan Republic in 1991. Baku said that it launched a “counteroffensive”, while the de facto state accused it of attacking civilians in Stepanakert. American reality TV celebrity Kim Kardashian West, spouse of US rapper, Kanye West, on Sunday called on Azerbaijan to stop “all offensive uses of force” against the Armenian people in the wake military clashes between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The US media personality, who is of Armenian descent, also called on Washington […]
By Isabel Ivanescu with Andrew Greco Key Takeaway: Turkey may have agreed to cede control of territory in southern Idlib to pro-Assad forces in a meeting with Russia on September 16. If the reports of a deal are true, a pro-Assad offensive is likely imminent. Turkish-backed opposition forces and al Qaeda linked elements may fight back against advancing Russian-backed regime forces even without Turkish support. Turkey is most likely to cede the territory south of the M4 highway, a zone in which Turkey had already agreed to allow Russian patrols in March but retained forces, including artillery units, that precluded a full regime […]
The UK’s Natural History Museum is reviewing options for its Charles Darwin exhibits, including possible removal, after an internal review ordered amid Black Lives Matter protests found that they could be deemed “offensive.” The museum’s directors are scrutinizing collections that may be considered “problematic,” which could lead to removal or lesser remedies, such as renaming, The Telegraph reported citing internal documents. Artifacts from the father of evolutionary theory are among the suspects because Darwin’s voyage to Galapagos Island on the HMS Beagle was one of the UK’s “colonialist scientific expeditions.” “In light of Black Lives Matter and the recent anti-racist demonstrations around […]
From Middle East Monitor Palestinian-Jordanian cartoonist, Emad Hajjaj, was arrested in Jordan three days ago after publishing a caricature insulting Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed. The CEO of the Centre for Defending Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ), Nidal Mansour, said that Hajjaj was arrested in connection with a case published under the Cybercrime Law. The cartoon which was published on his Al-Araby Al-Jadeed news site depicts Bin Zayed being spat on by a dove of peace displaying the flag of Israel. t Palestinian-Jordanian cartoonist, Emad Hajjaj Hajjaj’s cartoon comes after a peace deal was announced between the UAE […]
Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden will launch a massive, multimillion-dollar paid media blitz intended to help him win the pre-November messaging push against President Donald Trump. The investment, $280 million in combined television and digital ad spending across 15 states, comes “on the heels of some immense growth for the campaign,” campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon told reporters during a briefing call on Tuesday evening, citing a “very strong reservation” and “one that is on offense.” The breakdown includes $220 million for television and $60 million for digital advertisements. “Most of the advertising has the vice president speaking,” said chief strategist […]
In the week leading up to his announcement of a “surge” of hundreds of FBI, Justice Department, and Homeland Security personnel to Chicago, Donald Trump wanted a bigger, more public, more violent fight on the streets of the Windy City. According to three people familiar with the president’s private remarks, Trump previously envisioned an ostentatious, camera-ready show of force. He wanted to go after what he saw as violent gang leaders, flush them out of hiding in ways that would have them “shaking in their boots” like they never had before, and have alleged perpetrators marched out in front of the […]
A public college in Arizona has been forced to backtrack on plans to censor a professor’s quiz content on ‘Islamic terrorism’ which had “offended” students, after a legal warning was sent by an academic freedom organization. The uproar began when Professor Nicholas Damask, who chairs the political science department at Scottsdale Community College (SCC) and teaches a module called ‘Islamic Terrorism’, included questions on a quiz about how terrorism is justified by some in the Islamic faith – and about where in Islamic doctrine and law they take these justifications from. The quiz prompted a complaint from one student, who felt […]
…from TASS, Moscow [ Editor’s Note: This is an old story but I am publishing it because it was a front and center topic at the Eighth Moscow Conference on International Security conference held on April 23-25. It seems to have not gotten much coverage in the West despite defense ministers from 35 countries attending, and a 1000 experts from a 100 countries participating. Western media has a steady stream of diversion issues on the table at any given point to give cover to mass media not covering a conference like this. Russian General Viktor Poznikhir did not have to be […]