Palestine Open Thread 2025-088

News & views related to the war in Palestine ...

Ukraine Open Thread 2025-087

News & views related to the war in Ukraine ...

Open (Neither Ukraine Nor Palestine) Thread 2025-086

News & views not related to the wars in Ukraine and Palestine ...

Setback For U.S. 'Ceasefire' Deal In Ukraine

Secretary of State Marko Rubio, presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, several foreign ministers from Europe and the Ukrainian President Zelenski were supposed to meet in London today.

The Trump administration had planned this to be a final meeting over a ceasefire in Ukraine. A U.S. proposal for the ceasefire were to be discussed and accepted.

But Zelenski bailed out and the proposed meeting fell apart. According to the Independent Zelenski had feared to be "ambushed":

Actor turned statesman Volodymyr Zelensky may have only ever played a soldier, but as a war time leader he knows an ambush when he sees one.

Having been trapped in the Oval Office and eviscerated by Donald Trump and JD Vance, he has avoided an enfilade from a crack team of American diplomats in the London kill zone by not turning up at all.

Tipped off that his intended target was not going to wander into his sights, the US team leader, secretary of state Marco Rubio, called off the operation altogether and stayed in Washington along with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s envoy to Vladimir Putin.

Keith Kellog, Trump’s envoy to Ukraine, who was already in London, has been left to observe peering through the privet while foreign secretary David Lammy squires the Ukrainian foreign minister for much downgraded “talks”.

At least the British hosts were not saddled with what could have been an historic mess in which Zelensky was presented with a US-Russian ultimatum and then painted as a rejectionist war monger when he said “nemaye” (no).

Other media are vague about the reasons to downgrade the talks. There is generally no common line in the media reporting of the issue. Axios claims that Ukraine rejected to negotiate a longer term ceasefire and instead only offered a shorter term:

A U.S. official involved in the discussions said Rubio and Witkoff worked together "to develop a framework to get us closer to reaching an end to the war."

• However, the official said that over the last 24 hours there had been indications from the Ukrainians that they wanted to discuss a 30-day ceasefire during Wednesday's meetings in London rather than Trump's peace plan framework.
• "The decision was made for the secretary to not travel to London. Instead, the U.S. delegation will continue to engage in conversations with U.K. and Ukrainian counterparts," the official said.

The U.S. ceasefire plan includes several points which either the Ukrainians, the Europeans or the Russians were certain to reject.

The Telegraph seems to have the most complete list of its points:

Cont. reading: Setback For U.S. 'Ceasefire' Deal In Ukraine

Phase 1: Impose Tariffs - Phase 2: ? - Phase 3: Profit

The underpants gnomes (vid) had a great plan:

1. Steal underpants, 2. ..., 3. Profit

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The Trump administration seems to think likewise:

1. Impose tariffs, 2. ..., 3. Profit

There was already some struggle while implementing phase 1.

Phase 2 seems to create even more serious problems:

Cont. reading: Phase 1: Impose Tariffs - Phase 2: ? - Phase 3: Profit

RIP Pope Francis

He was a remarkable man:

The Popes Easter message yesterday:

"I think of the people of Gaza and its Christian community in particular, where the terrible conflict continues to cause death and destruction and create a dramatic and deplorable humanitarian situation"

BREAKING: Pope Francis has passed away at the age of 88.

Just one day before his death, he called for an immediate ceasefire in #Gaza, describing the situation as “dramatic & deplorable,” & urged the world to deliver aid & peace to the Palestinian people.

Pope Francis has just passed away.

He was the only global leader to condemn both NATO’s proxy war in Ukraine as well as the genocide in Gaza carried out by Israel with Western backing. (Pope Francis Says NATO Started War in Ukraine by ‘Barking at Putin’s Door’)

May he rest in peace.

Palestine Open Thread 2025-085

News & views related to the war in Palestine ...

Ukraine Open Thread 2025-084

News & views related to the war in Ukraine ...

The MoA Week In Review - OT 2025-083

Last week's posts on Moon of Alabama:

• Apr 14 - Palm Sunday Attacks On Sumy And Al-Ahli
  Related:
  - Zionism, the Human Parasitoid - Scott Ritter
  - After Nonviolence - The end of peaceful resistance in Palestine - Ben Ehrenreich / Harpers
  - “Poisoning ‘the Holy Land.’” - The Zionists’ environmental terrorism. - Floutist

• Apr 15 - Ukraine Confirms Sumy Strike Target - Russian Build Up For Summer Campaign
• Apr 16 - Growth Of Ukraine's Azov Units Follow Path Of Waffen-SS
• Apr 19 - Ukraine - Easter Ceasefire, Trump Bailing Out
  Related:
  - Kraken begins recruitment of foreigners - Military Land
  - As Ukraine-Russia talks founder, Trump’s attention wanders - Washington Post
  - The best thing that Trump can do now is to walk away from the Russia-Ukraine war - Gilbert Doctorow
  - Trump Administration Bolsters Putin With Hint of Abandoning Ukraine Talks (anti-Trump agitprop) - NY Times
  - Diana Panchenko: How Zelensky Dismantled Ukraine's Democracy (video) - Glenn Diesen

• Apr 18 - Survival Or Looting? What Trump's Revolution Is Really About
  Related:
  - Beyond Tariffs: What the U.S. Can Learn from China's Industrial Playbook - RAND
  - Trump Makes Presumed Empty but Loud Threat to Fire Fed Chair Powell - Naked Capitalism
  - A “Trump Deal”? Juggling War, ‘Easy War’ and Negotiation - Alastair Crooke / Conflicts Forum

• Apr 20 - Have A Bright Easter (Walk)

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Other issues:

Cont. reading: The MoA Week In Review - OT 2025-083

Have A Bright Easter (Walk)

Easter echoes the eons old human festivity to celebrate the arrival of spring. The dark and cold days of winter are gone. The bright time of fertility has come.

Today's fertility symbols of Easter, the egg and the hare, relate to the old Germanic fertility goddess Eostre (Ostara). Another related goddess is Ishtar, a Mesopotamian representation of love, who stepped down into the underworld of death but was revived. The Christian resurrection of Jesus is probably a transformation of this older tale.

When the Christian message spread from its eastern Mediterranean origin its incorporation of old local gods and fables helped to convert the multi-theistic societies to the new monotheistic believe. The gods of the pre-Christian religions were not completely discarded but their tales were transformed to support the message the Christian preachers were spreading.

It is finally spring, the darkness has vanished and this is my favored holiday.

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Please join me, Johann van Goethe and Dr. Faust on our traditional Easter Walk:

Look from this height whereon we find us
Back to the town we have left behind us,

Where from the dark and narrow door
Forth a motley multitude pour.

They sun themselves gladly and all are gay,
They celebrate Christ's resurrection to-day.

For have not they themselves arisen?
From smoky huts and hovels and stables,
From labor's bonds and traffic's prison,
From the confinement of roofs and gables,
From many a cramping street and alley,
From churches full of the old world's night,
All have come out to the day's broad light.
...
How it hums o'er the fields and clangs from the steeple!
This is the real heaven of the people,
Both great and little are merry and gay,
I am a man, too, I can be, to-day.