breakfastmtn

Russian forces carried out a series of attacks overnight on Feb. 8-9, killing one person and injuring two others amid a targeted missile and drone attack on multiple Ukrainian cities.

The southern city of Odesa was subject to large-scale drone attack, which local officials reporting damage to "residential infrastructure" in the city.

. . .

Odesa City Military Administration head Serhiy Lysak said that a fire broke out at multi-story residential building, adding that a gas pipeline was damaged in the attack. Car fires were also reported in the city.

Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported that a 35-year-old man was killed, and two others, including a 19-year-old woman, were injured in the attack. A total of 21 apartments were damaged in the strike on the residential building in the Prymorskyi district of the city.

MBFC
Archive

Valeria Chomsky says Epstein had deceived them and they were ‘careless’ not to thoroughly research his background

Noam Chomsky and his wife, Valeria, made a “grave mistake” and were “careless” not to thoroughly research the background of Jeffrey Epstein, Valeria Chomsky said in a lengthy statement on Saturday, adding also that Epstein had deceived them.

The relationship between Noam Chomsky, the 97-year-old linguist and philosopher, and Epstein has been under scrutiny after documents released by the justice department shed light on their friendship. As Epstein came under scrutiny for sex trafficking allegations in 2019, he asked Chomsky for advice on how to respond. “I’ve watched the horrible way you are being treated in the press and public. It’s painful to say, but I think the best way to proceed is to ignore it,” Chomsky wrote in a message signed “Noam” that Epstein shared in email with an associate.

. . .

Some of Noam Chomsky’s communications with Epstein took place after the Miami Herald published a bombshell story in 2018 detailing how Epstein preyed on underage girls and received an unusually lenient plea deal in 2008. On Saturday, Valeria Chomsky acknowledged the couple had read that story, but said the couple wasn’t aware of the extent of Epstein’s crimes until after his second arrest in July 2019.

“We were careless in not thoroughly researching his background. This was a grave mistake, and for that lapse in judgment, I apologize on behalf of both of us. Noam shared with me, before his stroke, that he felt the same way,” she said (Chomsky suffered a massive stroke in 2023). “It was deeply disturbing for both of us to realize we had engaged with someone who presented as a helpful friend but led a hidden life of criminal, inhumane, and perverted acts.”

. . .

“Epstein had claimed to Noam that he [Epstein] was being unfairly persecuted, and Noam spoke from his own experience in political controversies with the media. Epstein created a manipulative narrative about his case, which Noam, in good faith, believed in,” she said in her statement. “It is now clear that it was all orchestrated, having as, at least, one of Epstein’s intentions to try to have someone like Noam repairing Epstein’s reputation by association.

“Noam’s criticism was never directed at the women’s movement; on the contrary, he has always supported gender equity and women’s rights. What happened was that Epstein took advantage of Noam’s public criticism towards what came to be known as ‘cancelling culture’ to present himself as a victim of it,” she added.

MBFC
Archive

The U.S. Department of State on Feb. 6 approved a potential $185 million “Foreign Military Sale” to Ukraine for spare parts and related equipment to support U.S.-supplied vehicles and weapon systems.

According to the announcement, the package includes Class IX spare parts and logistical support intended to help Ukraine maintain high operational rates for U.S.-provided equipment.

“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a partner country that is a force for political stability and economic progress in Europe,” the statement said.

MBFC
Archive

The EU imported more steel from Russia in 2025. The European Parliament now sees a unique chance to ban it.

The EU already had its work cut out to agree to impose a 50 percent tariff on steel imports by a summer deadline. Now, an attempt by lawmakers to graft a ban on Russian steel onto the measure has made things a lot more complicated.

With the four-year mark of Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine looming this month, European lawmakers have broadly backed amendments that would allow Brussels to shut out all Russian steel, choking off an important source of export revenue for the Kremlin’s war economy.

By bolting their proposal on to the measure to overhaul steel industry protections that is already in the works, MEPs hope to halt Russian steel exports where earlier attempts to sanction them failed because such a step would require the unanimous support of the 27 EU member countries.

MBFC
Archive

Founding of diplomatic outposts in Nuuk comes after US made efforts to secure control of Arctic island

Canada and France are to open diplomatic consulates in the capital of Greenland on Friday, showing support for their Nato ally Denmark and the Arctic island after US efforts to secure control of the semi-autonomous Danish territory.

Canada’s foreign minister, Anita Anand, was travelling to Nuuk to inaugurate the consulate, which officials say also could help boost cooperation on issues such as the climate crisis and Inuit rights. She was joined by Canada’s Indigenous governor general, Mary Simon.

France’s foreign ministry said Jean-Noël Poirier would take up duties as the country’s consul general, making it the first EU country to establish a consulate general in Greenland.

. . .

Anand met her Danish counterpart, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, in Denmark on Thursday and posted on social media that “as Arctic nations, Canada and the Kingdom of Denmark are working together to strengthen stability, security and cooperation across the region.”

France says the decision to open its diplomatic outpost was taken when its president, Emmanuel Macron, visited in June.

Measuring America’s slide toward democratic erosion.

The crackdown on dissent and speech in Minnesota this winter follows a pattern that is common in countries that slide from democracy to autocracy: A leader enacts a legally dubious policy. Citizens protest that policy. The government responds with intimidation and force. When people are hurt, the government blames them and lies about what happened.

The New York Times editorial board published an index in October tracking 12 categories of democratic erosion, based on historical patterns and interviews with experts. Our index places the United States on a scale of 0 to 10 for each category. Zero represents the United States before President Trump began his second term — not perfect, surely, but one of the world’s healthiest democracies. Ten represents the condition in a true autocracy, such as China, Iran or Russia.

MBFC
Archive

Edit: Adding the metrics that aren't visible in the archived copy.

• Stifling speech and dissent 4/10
• Persecuting political opponents 5/10
• Bypassing the legislature 4/10
• Defying the courts 2/10
• Declaring false emergencies 5/10
• Using the military at home 2/10
• Vilifying marginalized groups 6/10
• Controlling information 2/10
• Trying to take over universities 2/10
• Creating a cult of personality 6/10
• Using power for personal profit 7/10
• Manipulating the law to stay in power 2/10

Moldovan President Maia Sandu rejected a proposal to nominate her for the Nobel Peace Prize on Feb. 5, saying the honor belongs to Ukrainian prisoners of war and others who risk or give their lives for peace.

Sandu's remarks came on the same day Ukraine secured the return of 157 prisoners of war from Russian captivity in its first exchange with Moscow in nearly five months.

"I am grateful that people are paying attention to our country and value our courage and resilience, but many people have been nominated for this prize," Sandu told Moldovan broadcaster TV8.

"Today, I was watching Ukrainian (prisoners of war) who returned home from Russia, and these are the people who deserve the Peace Prize."

. . .

Sandu said that the true heroes are those who sacrifice their lives or put themselves in danger for peace in their own countries, adding that she hopes peace will come to the region as soon as possible.

MBFC
Archive

The country’s first female PM is the object of a personality cult revolving around everything from her outfits and snacks to her favourite pink pen

When the LDP’s conservative wing forced a leadership election to replace the embattled Ishiba in October last year, many expected his ally Shinjiro Koizumi – the young, telegenic son of a previous prime minister – to win.

Instead, Japan’s party of government for most of the past seven decades took a gamble on his ultra-conservative rival, Sanae Takaichi, installing her as the country’s first female prime minister. If opinion polls are correct, that gamble is about to pay off in ways even her strongest allies could not have imagined.

In an eventful four months, Takaichi has met Donald Trump – who this week offered an endorsement and an invitation to the White House in March – as well as Xi Jinping and South Korea’s president, Lee Jae Myung. She sparked an unresolved row with Beijing over the future of Taiwan, spooked bond markets with promises of sweeping tax cuts, and faced fresh scrutiny over her links with the disgraced Unification church.

Despite the ups and downs, she has emerged as the LDP’s most effective weapon, the object of a personality cult revolving around everything from her choice of outfits and train journey snacks to the pink pen she uses to take notes in parliament.

MBFC
Archive

Party says it will not back funding bill without reforms on – among other things – masks, ID and judicial warrants

Following the fatal shootings of American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis last month, Democrats have refused to support long-term funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unless Republicans agree to reforms on the tactics of federal agents carrying out Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

“The American people rightfully expect their elected representatives to take action to rein in ICE and ensure no more lives are lost,” the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, and his House counterpart, Hakeem Jeffries, wrote on Wednesday night in a letter issuing 10 formal demands to GOP leadership in order to avert a 13 February lapse in funding for the department, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the US Border Patrol.

Republicans, who control both chambers, have already ruled out many of the ideas Democrats have outlined, but Democrats are expected to put forward legislation to codify their proposals.

MBFC
Archive

Germany should build as many nuclear plants as possible, Fatih Birol proclaims.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s admission that Germany’s nuclear phase-out was a “serious strategic mistake” has won an emphatic endorsement from Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency. In an interview with Axel Springer Global Reporters Network, of which POLITICO is part, Birol said he was “very pleased” to hear Merz’s words. To him, the chancellor's self-critique is a signal that German energy policy may be heading in “a safer and more sensible direction.”

MBFC
Archive

A new "white list" from SpaceX is shutting off Russia's illicit access to Starlink's satellite internet across the front line.

At shortly before 3:00 a.m. Kyiv time on Feb. 5, Elon Musk retweeted a new guide from Ukraine's Digital Transformation Ministry for registering a Starlink terminal within UkraSubsequently, a series of alarmed Russian social media posts indicate that Starlink terminals were disconnecting en masse along the front.

Three Ukrainian commanders, speaking to the Kyiv Independent on the condition of anonymity, reported intercepting messages from Russian forces complaining about Starlink terminals failing in large numbers.

Serhiy "Flash" Beskrestnov, a longtime commentator on electronic warfare more recently appointed as advisor to Defense Minister Mykhaylo Fedorov, said the "enemy at the front doesn't have a problem, the enemy has a catastrophe."

MBFC
Archive

Exclusive: Luxury aircraft owned by property tycoon close to US president’s family has twice flown Palestinian men from Arizona to Tel Aviv

A Guardian investigation has established the flight was part of a secretive and politically sensitive US government operation to deport Palestinians arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

One of those deported on the January flight was Maher Awad, a 24-year-old originally from the West Bank, who had lived in the US for nearly a decade. Speaking to the Guardian in the town of Rammun, Maher shared photos of his girlfriend and newborn son in Michigan.

Awad is one of several men onboard two recent flights who have been identified by the Guardian and the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine. “I grew up in America,” he said. “America was heaven for me.”

On Monday this week, Dezer’s 16-passenger luxury jet was used a second time to transport another group of Palestinian deportees. They landed at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport and also appear to have been taken to the West Bank.

Former US officials and immigration lawyers said the flights – and Israel’s assistance in returning Palestinians to the occupied territory – marked a shift in policy driven by the Trump administration’s aggressive mass deportation campaign.

MBFC
Archive