Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

There’s always a light at the end of the frog.

FFS people, this was a good thing. take the win.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

In my day, never was longer.

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

The choice is between normal and crazy.

If you are in line to indict donald trump, stay in line.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

“Cheese and Kraken paired together for the appetizer trial.”

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

I wonder if trump will be tried as an adult.

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / War for Ukraine Day 605: Another Day, Another Russian War Crime – This Time in Kherson & Kharkiv

War for Ukraine Day 605: Another Day, Another Russian War Crime – This Time in Kherson & Kharkiv

by | 36 Comments

This post is in: , , , , , ,

Art by NEIVANMADE of a Ukrainian painted black and outlined in blood red kneeling in grief with hands covering the face surrounded by the bodies of Ukrainians killed by Russians on a grey background. "Russia Is Committing Genocide Right Now" is across the top center of the image.

(Image by NEIVANMADE)

Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.

Our warriors have made this week very significant for Ukraine – address by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

21 October 2023 – 19:43

I wish good health to all Ukrainians, both men and women!

Our active international work doesn’t stop for a single day. Today, I spoke with President Erdoğan of Türkiye, and this marks the ninth international conversation this week. I have already talked to the President of Finland, the Prime Minister of Canada, the President of South Africa, the Prime Minister of Norway, as well as the President of France, the UN Secretary-General, the President of the United States, the Chancellor of Germany. The main goal in all these discussions is to protect lives and people, peaceful people, and prevent destabilization from spreading to other regions of the world, not let our work in consolidating the global majority for international law go to waste. I am grateful to all the leaders for their support and understanding that it’s time for maximum joint efforts.

With President Erdoğan, we discussed the situation in our Black Sea region, aggression against Ukraine, aggression against global security, and the situation in the Middle East. It is very important to protect peaceful people, it is very important to prevent the escalation of new large-scale humanitarian crises, and important to work together to quickly restore the full force of international law.

We are actively preparing for a new Peace Formula meeting, which is scheduled for next week and will take place in Malta. Significant world powers will be represented, and the list of participants is growing practically every day. We expect over 50 participants. Today, President Erdoğan confirmed that Türkiye will participate in the meeting. We are also getting ready for a new summit of our Crimea Platform, at the parliamentary level. The number of participants is substantial. The summit will be held in the Czech Republic. I am grateful to everyone around the world who has joined and is ready to work with us at the parliamentary diplomacy level for the sake of security and peace throughout Europe, without any exceptions for any parts of our continent.

A very significant step by President Biden this week – I am sincerely grateful for it. A new package of long-lasting and reliable support for Ukraine has been prepared – defense and economic – for our protection of people and freedom. I am thankful for this initiative by President Biden, and I believe that not only Ukrainians but all nations, all free nations in Europe, are expecting the preservation of American unity with our defense. American leadership is needed for the world, and I am grateful to both parties in Congress who understand this and support, in particular, our people’s struggle for independence.

And, of course, our warriors. Thank you to each and every one who is currently fighting, in combat positions, and at their posts! Avdiyivka direction, Maryinka. Bahmut direction. Kupiansk, Lyman directions. Our Zaporizhia. Our Kherson region. On the frontlines and deep within the occupied territory, our warriors have made this week very significant for Ukraine. Now, I want to express my gratitude to all our defense and security forces – absolutely all of you! Every unit, every warrior, every commander who has achieved the necessary combat results for our state during this week. Glory to you, warriors! Glory to our entire nation!

I thank everyone around the world who is helping!

Glory to Ukraine!

From Kristina Berdynskykh’s reporting at The Dial: (emphasis mine)

The grave of Andrii Pilshchykov, the 30-year-old Ukrainian pilot known by his call sign, “Juice,” is located on the Dnipro hills, in a park in the center of Kyiv. Beneath the wooden cross marked with his portrait there are wreaths, flowers, the flag of the Air Force of Ukraine, and a knit toy in the shape a small gray plane, with white yarn labeling it as an F-16. Juice had spent the last year of his life trying to secure a fleet of F-16s, fourth-generation American fighter jets, for Ukraine. He did not live to see his efforts bear fruit: He died on August 25, when two Ukrainian L-39 aircrafts crashed during a training exercise in the Zhytomyr region, killing Juice and two other pilots.

Juice’s mother, Lilia, cleans up the autumn leaves that fall over his grave almost every day. He was her only son. He once told her that his work to modernize the Ukrainian Air Force would also accelerate the army’s break with its Soviet past. He was fascinated by American aviation, his mother says, and styled his hair and clothing to imitate the look of American pilots. During training exercises held in Ukraine in 2018, Juice met American pilots from California, and a year later went to study aviation techniques at an airbase in the U.S. After the full-scale war began, he was in daily contact with American airmen. Every passing day made it painfully clear that Russia held an undeniable advantage in the air.

His death triggered an outpouring of condolences within Ukraine and far beyond its borders. Juice had become well-known as one of the faces of Ukraine’s campaign to pressure the U.S. and Europe to provide the country with modern air defense systems and fighter jets. Because of his knowledge of English and familiarity with American pilots, Juice was chosen, along with four other pilots, to speak to foreign journalists about why Ukraine needed advanced air weaponry and to underscore the urgency of the problem. The F-16, he told them, would allow Ukrainian forces to augment their air defense systems, to deploy more advanced missiles, and to minimize pilot casualties. For security reasons, the pilots only used their call signs in media interviews and hid their faces whenever they appeared on camera. In June 2022, Juice and a pilot who goes by “Moonfish” flew to Washington, D.C. to meet with members of the U.S. Congress. There, they met Senator Mark Kelly, himself a former pilot and astronaut, who immediately understood what they needed, Moonfish said. When Kelly visited in Kyiv in September, he bowed his head at Juice’s grave.

Today, only three of the five pilots who took part in the campaign to secure modern air weaponry for Ukraine are still alive.Over the past several months, Denmark and The Netherlands have promised to send F-16s to Ukraine, but the first planes are not likely to be delivered before spring 2024. In the meantime, the war continues: Ukraine is rushing to train its pilots to fly the fighter jets, to build domestic capacity to service them, and to increase its own weapons production capabilities. Russia is fortifying its defenses and recently announced plans to up defense spending by about 70 percent. In this context, the F-16 has taken on a symbolic meaning in Ukraine, where both civilians and soldiers hope that its arrival will speed up the military offensive and allow them to finally reclaim much of their occupied lands.

Ukraine has an urgent need for new planes: After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia wasted no time producing new fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft, as well as new missiles, while Ukraine was left with a fleet of old combat aircraft in need of repair and modernization. Some of them were repaired, some were sold, and those that were unusable were disposed of, said Yurii Ihnat, spokesperson of the Air Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The newest aircraft currently in service in the Ukrainian Air Force is the Su-27 fighter jet, manufactured in 1991. Most Ukrainian Air Force planes were constructed in the 1970s, and they primarily rely upon the MIG-29 fighter, built in the 1980s. None of these aircraft were designed to shoot down the modern cruise missiles and Iranian drones currently pillorying Ukrainian cities.Nor does Ukraine have enough spare parts to adequately service aircraft repairs. Before the full-scale invasion began, the Ukrainian Air Force had already planned to replace all Soviet equipment with Western-manufactured equipment by 2035. Now, that process has been dramatically accelerated.

“Bdzholyar,” or Beekeeper, is the lieutenant colonel of Ukraine’s 40th tactical aviation brigade. He has been flying the Soviet MIG-29 for almost two decades, and has been fighting against Russian forces since 2014. On the very first day of the full-scale invasion, Bdzholyar flew on a combat mission in the skies around Kyiv. His commander and several colleagues were killed in action, their planes falling out of the clouds. The Russian Army claimed to have completely destroyed Ukraine’s air defenses. Bdzholyar said that the Russians were so sure of their victory that they sent helicopters, bombers and attack aircraft towards Kyiv without backup support from fighter aircraft, making the unprotected Russian planes easy targets for Ukrainians. The Ukrainian pilots who defended the capital from them began to be called Pryvydy Kyyeva, or the Ghosts of Kyiv, the protective forces shielding the capital and its residents. “The Russians said that we were completely destroyed, but we flew and shot them down, hence the legend of the Ghosts,” Bdzholyar said. He estimates that every Ukrainian aircraft went up against four to five Russian ones, and sometimes against as many as twelve.

Now, Bdzholyar is waiting for the arrival of F-16s, a fighter jet with a powerful radar system that allows pilots to detect and hit targets at long distances. The jet carries air-to-air missiles with an active homing warhead, which means that F-16 pilots do not need to enter what is called the “missile engagement zone” of mortal danger, which Ukrainians currently have to do when they fly MIG-29s. “All pilots in such cases are like kamikazes,” Bdzholyar said. He is now studying English so he can begin training to fly an F-16. “In auto racing, there is Formula 1 and there is Formula 2,” he told me. “The F-16 plane is like a Formula 1 car.”

Zelenskyy first publicly asked for western fighter jets during a visit to the UK on February 8, 2023, and later raised the issue of the F-16 at bilateral meetings with the leaders of the European countries who have the planes, as well as with U.S. leadership. “Of course, we wanted the decision on the aircraft to be made as early as possible,” said Andrii Sybiha, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine. They were keenly aware that only a U.S. decision could ensure that the planes would arrive.

At the same time, civil society leaders confronted western diplomats about the issue whenever they could. Hanna Hopko, head of the National Interest Advocacy Network (ANTS), brought a suitcase of F-16 t-shirts to the Munich Security Conference in February, where they were distributed to attendees. “We were later told that we had overdone it a bit,” she said.

And at the Aspen Security Forum in July, the Nobel-Prize winning activist Oleksandra Matviichuk confronted Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s National Security Advisor, about when Ukrainians would begin training to fly the planes. She told Sullivan the story of 26-year-old Vladyslav Saveliev, the pilot of an old Soviet MiG-29 fighter jet who was killed in action on June 2 while on a combat mission in Donbas. “I told him that, for us, time is measured in deaths,” she said.

Much, much more at the link!

Avdiivka:

“Texas”, of the Presidential Brigade, 2nd Mech. Battalion, one of the defenders of Avdiivka, spoke about the first days of the offensive, and explained the human wave tactics that Russians deployed in an attempt to break through in the early days of the operation and beyond.

Source: https://youtu.be/jQbNcwIaDaE

Here’s the full video:

Russians are digging tunnels in Avdiivka to get closer to the Ukrainian positions, says the spokesman of the 110th Brigade Anton Kotsukon’:

“They are digging tunnels closer to our positions, firstly, for the purpose of camouflage, and, secondly, to emerge somewhere closer to our positions unexpectedly”

He also noted that Ukrainians spotted the use of remote-controlled robotic transport vehicles by the Russians that can carry a decent load.

Kotsukon’ added that Russians are not abandoning hopes to take Avdiivka.

This material was published on Unian on 21 October: https://unian.ua/war/bilya-avdijivki-okupanti-zastosovuyut-taktiku-krotiv-chim-ce-nebezpechno-12431718.html

Here’s more details from Unian:

Near the Avdiivka constant battles continue, the enemy resorted to new tactics to surround the city.

About it reported spokesman for the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade, which reflects enemy attacks under Avdiivka Anton Kotsukon. He noted that the enemy’s resources under Avdiivka are sufficient and very fierce battles continue – every day they throw all new forces – armored vehicles, aviation, artillery and personnel at the city’s assaults.

“Every day they go on assaults in order to cut the routes to Avdiivka or at least take them under fire control, followed by the full surroundings of the city,” Kotsukon said.

According to him, there are intense attacks, there are very fierce battles.

“Our defenders are simply holding positions in inhumane conditions – without exaggeration they are titans who hold positions under the flurry of fire and inflict very significant losses on the enemy,” said a spokesman for the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade.

Kotsukon notes that it is very important for the Russians to surround and take Avdiivka, so they have concentrated enormous forces and means there – at least three personnel brigades, which are supported by Storm Z units”.

The spokesman said that in the Avdiiv direction the enemy uses a new tactic – digging tunnels.

“That is, they dig tunnels closer to our positions, firstly, for the purpose of disguise, and, secondly, to pull out somewhere closer to our positions unexpectedly,” Kotsukon said .

He also noted that Ukrainian spies recorded the use of robotic vehicles with remote control by Russians.

“These are pretty big cars that can take on normal weight,” he said.

The war in Ukraine is a situation near Avdiyivka
According to UNIAN, Russian troops have lost several thousand soldiers after the intensification of the offensive in the Avdiivka area on October 10. Ukrainian fighters successfully repulsed all attempts to storm the Russians.

Military columnist Denis Popovich noted that Russia needs a victory against the background of their false statements that the ZSU offensive in the south has failed. And for a slight expansion of the gray area in the area of Avdiivka, Russians pay an incomparable price, said the expert. At the same time he said that there were their tactical promotions in the area of Krasnovka, but it was paid to enemies a very high price – several thousand dead.

Some of you may be wondering why Avdiivka is so important. There are two different reasons. The first is that it is the gateway to Donetsk. So if Russia can take it from Ukraine and occupy it, then they will have extended their lines forward in a significant way. Especially as the Russians have been trying to do so since 2014. Which brings us to the second reason it is very important: the Ukrainians have been able to hold Avdiivka for nine years against every Russian attempt to take it. So it has strategic importance for Ukraine as a symbol of their resilience and effective resistance against Russia’s genocidal invasion and re-invasion.

Klishchiyivka:

Verbove:

Luhansk:

And here’s some more on infantry fighting vehicles (IFV):

IFVs play an important role in modern warfare due to their high mobility and survivability in the war zone, also helping to save lives of soldiers.

Marder 1A3 is one of the best IFVs in service with our defense forces. Look at the comparison of German-made Marder vs Soviet BMP-2, mainly used by the russian army.

We thank our German partners for strengthening #UArmy.

📹: @United24media

And here’s something for Omnes and the Red Legs:

Here’s the full video:

And its description:

Premiered Oct 20, 2023 #UkrainianWitness

“Ukrainian Witness” went to the Zaporizhzhya frontline to talk to the soldiers of the 47th Brigade – artillerymen, sappers, infantrymen and aerial reconnaissance men. Zaporizhzhia frontline is one of the most difficult in the counteroffensive. Our fighters not only told us why, but also showed us their own archives of assaults on Russian positions. – Why are the military annoyed by questions about the speed of the counteroffensive? – What is the difference between the battles in the Zaporizhzhia sector and in Donbas? – How long will it take to completely clear Zaporizhzhia region of mines? – How do they cope with losses? – What do the guys from the 47th Brigade think should be the end of this war?

🔔 Subscribe to the channel to see the whole story as it is:  / ukrainianwitness  

Supported by Nova Ukraine (https://novaukraine.org)

I think that the Ukrainians can breathe a sigh of relief that Shaun King can’t find them on a map:

Here is the full, translated statement from the Raanan family in response to Shaun King’s bizarre claim that he played a part in getting Judith and Natalie Raanan released by Hamas:

“Today we came across bizarre posts on the Instagram page of one Shaun King, who turns out to have millions of followers, who claims that our relative Natalie Raanan supports the anti-Israeli messages he uploads to his page.

First and foremost, we make it clear that he is lying! Our family does not and did not have anything to do with him, neither directly nor indirectly. Not to him and not to anything he claims to represent.

Natalie told us that this morning it was the first time in her life that she came across Shaun King’s name and his posts, after she finally got a phone call after two horrific weeks in captivity in Gaza, and was looking for what was written about her while she was away.

Shaun King is trying to catch a ride on the great exposure that her kidnapping received all over the world and in the US in particular, and the most ridiculous thing is that Natalie and her mother Judith are very active in Rabbi Hecht’s Jewish community in Chicago and in the Chabad house, and if Shaun King knew them or their family he would know that.

We ask not to be quick on the keyboard and share things without checking them in depth. Mainly not to believe people who speak for others. The damage that the sharing of these lies does is so huge, and the effort of our family and all the families of the abductees should be focused on bringing them home, and not fighting the lies that are being spread like wildfire.

We’re not done, we’ve just started. We have 2 more murdered in the family and 8 more family members still kidnapped, and there are over 200 more families in our situation. Now we need the support of all the people of Israel and all the countries of the world to bring everyone home as soon as possible!”

*שון קינג ותאוריית הקונספירציה על החטופות* מיד אפרט את השתלשלות הדברים ומה אנחנו *כן* יודעים, אבל קודם חשוב להבהיר: המשפחה של נטלי ויהודית רענן מוסרת שאין להן מושג מי זה שון קינג וגילו לראשונה על קיומו אחרי שחרורן וקריאת הפוסטים. ועכשיו לפרטים:
מאז שחרור החטופות מתפשטת ברשת תאוריית קונספירציה לגביי זהותן של החטופות, משהו שחשוב להפריך כבר עכשיו.
האקטיביסט והכותב שון קינג, שיש לו מליוני עוקבים ומזוהה מאוד עם התמיכה בפלסטינים וכל הזמן מעלה פוסטים אנטי ישראלים מובהקים, העלה פוסט בעשרה באוקטובר, ממש כמה ימים אחרי פרוץ המלחמה עם תמונה של נטלי רענן. הוא כותב שם שמקורביה ביקשו שהוא יבקש לשחררה, שהיא אזרחית אמריקנית ואף תומכת שלו – שוב, זה רק הוא טוען כן? שהיא הפגינה נגד המשטרה ודיברה נגד אי צדק בישראל. אנשים שיתפו את הפוסט הזה, האמינו לו ככה כמו שהוא (אפילו שהוא אנטי ישראלי מובהק, אבל פה כן בוחרים להאמין לו) כהוכחה לזה שיש כאן איזשהי יד מכוונת שדווקא הן שוחררו. נחזור שוב: המשפחה אומרת באופן ברור שאין להן מושג מי זה והן שמעו עליו ועל הפוסט לראשונה אחרי ששוחררו. אבל זה לא משנה: אושיות רשת ממשיכות לשתף את זה ללא כל ביסוס, מעלות ״תהיות״ עד כדי שאנשים כבר קבעו שהן תומכות חמאס(!!!)
למה אנשים מאמינים למי שהוא שונא ישראל מובהק? אנחנו נלחמים ברשתות נגד האנשים האלה ואז מאמינים לכל מילה שהם אומרים?
ברור שזה מקרה הזוי ומעורר שאלות אבל קחו בחשבון שהמקרה של נטלי ויהודית רענן סוקר בהרחבה בארה״ב. אזרחיות אמריקניות שמתגוררות בשיקגו ונחטפו בביקור בארץ זה דבר שיש לו תפוצה רחבה באמריקה, ודווקא הקריאה לשחררן יכולה לצייר את מי שיוצא נגד ישראל כ״אנושי״. זה פשוט הזוי שנשים ששוחררו מהשבי צריכות להתמודד עם מתקפה כזו. אנשים איבדו את זה. הדיסאינפורמציה הזו וזריעת הספקות והחששות זה חלק מהדרך שבה האויבים שלנו נלחמים בנו. בדיוק את זה הם רוצים! אל תתנו לזה יד

*Sean King and the conspiracy theory about the kidnappings* I will immediately detail the sequence of events and what we *do* know, but first it is important to clarify: the family of Natalie and Yehudit Ra’anan says they have no idea who Sean King is and they first found out about his existence after their release and reading the posts. And now for the details:
Since the release of the abductions, a conspiracy theory about the identity of the abductions has been spreading online, something that is important to refute right now.
The activist and writer Shaun King, who has millions of followers and is strongly identified with the support for the Palestinians and constantly puts up clear anti-Israel posts, put up a post on October 10th, just a few days after the outbreak of the war, with a picture of Natalie Ra’anan. He writes there that her relatives asked him to ask for her release, that she is an American citizen and even a supporter of his – again, that’s just him claiming yes? that she demonstrated against the police and spoke against injustice in Israel. People shared this post, believing it as it is (even though it is distinctly anti-Israel, but here they do choose to believe it) as proof that there is some kind of intentional hand here that they were actually released. Let’s go back again: the family clearly says they have no idea who this is and they heard about him and the post for the first time after they were released. But it doesn’t matter: network stations continue to share this without any substantiation, raising “doubts” to the point that people have already determined that they support Hamas (!!!)
Why do people believe someone who is a clear hater of Israel? We fight the networks against these people and then believe every word they say?
Obviously, this is a bizarre case and raises questions, but keep in mind that the case of Nathalie and Yehudit Ra’anan is widely reviewed in the US. American citizens who live in Chicago and were kidnapped while visiting Israel is something that has a wide distribution in America, and precisely the call for their release can paint those who go against Israel as “humane”. It is simply ridiculous that women who have been released from captivity have to face such an attack. People have lost it. This disinformation and the sowing of doubts and fears is part of the way our enemies fight us. That’s exactly what they want! Don’t give it a hand

ABL is a very smart woman:

You here that lads? He’s also working on a ceasefire!

 

I’m honestly not a huge fan of the Israeli government and its policies and actions under Bibi, but the Israelis and the Palestinians have done nothing to deserve this! He’s is like all ten plagues rolled into one with PayPal and GoFundMe accounts. You want to really punish Bibi, Ben-Gvir, Smotrich, the other extremists in the Israeli cabinet and the Hamas leadership? Lock them all in a room with King and let him negotiate a ceasefire with them. I know what you’re going to say, that violates at least three Geneva Conventions dealing with crimes against humanity, well life is not fair.

That’s enough ridicule of the grifter formerly known as Jeffrey.

Your daily Patron.

There is a new slideshow at Patron’s official TikTok. Those don’t embed here, so click through if you want to see it.

Open thread!

ETA at 12:21 AM: I have removed the material that commenter Trucmat seems to think is problematic.

Reader Interactions

36Comments

  1. 1.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Shaun King is quite the piece of work. I would hazard to guess that Elno is a huge fan.

  6. 6.

    Ksmiami

    We need to just give everything we can to Ukraine- Biden can just allocate all old equipment for “repurposing “ – and send Russia to hell. Putin shouldn’t be allowed to live.

  7. 7.

    Trucmat

    I googled “Shaun King racial controversy bigoted” and found a Vox article that goes into detail about why Shaun King identifies as bi-racial. Wasn’t aware of it but the epithets in the Ukraine post made me wonder. He says his mom had an affair with a black man.

    @AdamDo you have contradictory info that makes you comfortable echoing Milo Yiannopolous, Breitbart, and other right-wingers who launched the attack on his racial identity? After the deft and sensitive way you’ve handled Israeli and Palestinian identities I was pretty .. wtf!? .. to see that attack line against King.​ETA: I agree that King is just making shit up in this controversy over hostages.​​
    ​
    ​

  8. 8.

    Lyrebird

    @Omnes Omnibus: ​

    Thanks Omnes, for this excellent link (she is so right! and so right on!) and for generally standing up for human decency across a lot of crises.

    And thank you Adam, for this as usual info-packed and thoughtful update, and for specifically linking the Black Knight – I couldn’t remember his name other than “I Smoked ___” and lost track of him post-Twitter takeover. I’d heard Talcum X but not the others… Martin Luther Keyboard is awesome.

  10. 10.

    Bill Arnold

    “I told him[Jake Sullivan] that, for us, time is measured in deaths,” she said.

    Just quoting to see it again.

  13. 13.

    Sebastian

    Thank you, Adam.

    I was wondering about something and hoping you can add some color to it:

    With the destruction of helicopter airfields and KA-52 attack helicopters, which were a huge pain in the ass to Ukrainian armor, do you believe we will see a change in tactics on the front? How much does ATACMS forcing KA-52s airbases to be further away affect the operational efficiency, if at all?

  15. 15.

    Trucmat

    @Adam L Silverman: ​
     

    I think given Shaun King has so many past controversies on which his character can be impugned that you chose poorly when deciding to use his complexion as an avenue of attack. You shot down his claim to be involved in hostage release very effectively but the list of epithets was a bad idea for I think pretty obvious reasons.

  16. 16.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Trucmat: The list of epithets was written/posted by a Black man. That’s who I’m quoting. And one of the controversies, that is ongong and not past, is continuing to claim that he’s biracial without being able to provide any actual proof for that assertion. I quoted a Black man who was calling him out on that assertion and controversy. I’m still not sure what the issue is here. But if it makes you feel better, then I’m going to do this the easy way. This is my last post here at Balloon Juice. I am going to remove the material you find offensive. And we’re done.

    How’s that? Happy? Good! I’m going to bed.

  20. 20.

    Eolirin

    @Adam L Silverman: To be clear I was not trying to suggest he was correct, just that was the only thing I could make sense out of. I was initially puzzled too, but I wasn’t even aware there was a controversy about his ethnicity.

  21. 21.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Eolirin: I did not think you were piling on. The controversy is that despite both his parents being white, and there being verifiable documentation for that, he claims to be biracial and has adopted Black mannerism and persona. When he was called on this his response was “my mom told me she had an affair with a Black man.” This may be true. It may be false. But many African Americans, like the person whose tweet I included, do not believe his claims. Especially because he uses the claim as part of his grifts, which many have determined is itself another grift.

  23. 23.

    HumboldtBlue

    We need a late night thread, Arizona State is exposing Washington.

    There’s a dude named Skattaboo having a monster game for ASU.

    Holy hell! Washington with the 89-yard interception return for TD!!!

  24. 24.

    TS

    @Adam L Silverman:

    I am lost for words by the end of this comment. I rarely post on your threads – I feel I don’t know enough to add anything of much use, but I read & learn from them most every day.

    They are so incredibly informative.

    thank you

    TS

  25. 25.

    LesGS

    @Adam L Silverman: “This is my last post here at Balloon Juice.”

    Wait. What? I have never commented on one of your Ukraine posts (I don’t know enough to add anything meaningful), but I read them carefully every night. I’m sure most Jackals do. I deeply, sincerely hope I’m misunderstanding this sentence…

  26. 26.

    wjca

    @Adam L Silverman: This is my last post here at Balloon Juice. I am going to remove the material you find offensive.

    I am assuming, not to mention really, really hoping, that this is the sarcasm it appears to be.

  28. 28.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Adam L Silverman: Adam,  first,  like many others here (and  like people on other blogs where your posts get linked), I really value your expertise and the immense work that goes into these posts.  And the ongoing multiyear seminar in …. well, the New Cold War (turning hot, bit-by-bit) that we’ve all been attending, and you’ve been teaching.  You’ve educated me, just like you’ve educated a ton of other people.

    As for Shaun King, what you wrote, is what I thought was common knowledge at this point.  I read it the same place you did — on “Black Twitter”, back in the day.  Like: years ago.

  29. 29.

    prostratedragon

    There are entire families of black people who have had no clearly white members for generations, but are barely tan in complexion. They can have some trouble being accepted by some black people who do not know their family histories. Shaun King looks like a member of such a family. Additionally, though Morehouse College has never imposed a racial test, four years around those guys would likely have exposed him more definitively than it has; at the least, evidence must be ambiguous.

    He also is clearly a grifter.

  30. 30.

    tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat)

    Adam, like so many others have said, thank you for your continuous posts. I do not comment much as I often feel out of my depth, but I learn each time I visit. Now, with the conflict in Israel, I cling to your posts to provide some sanity and context to what gets reported by the media. I completely understand if you need to take a break, but please know that your work is valued by myself and so many others. I imagine you were an excellent and popular university professor.

  31. 31.

    Princess

    I’m just sick at the thought that Trucmat’s pissy little comment (hello, Black people are allowed to question King’s identity as a Black man) may have driven Adam off for good. Does Trucmat do anything here other than troll?

  32. 32.

    Trucmat

    That’s no win for me. I have read every post since inception. Please accept my permanent withdrawal in lieu of your own. I’m gone.

  33. 33.

    Another Scott

    @Trucmat: Wrong answer, IMHO.

    I think we all need to take half a step back, take a deep breath, and remember that writing and commenting on a blog is always fraught.  We can’t convey nuance, we can’t hear nuance, and we don’t know what the writer and readers are going through at that moment.

    Nobody should leave.  Everyone should remember the humanity of others in the conversation.

    I hope Adam, and everyone else, sticks around.

    My $0.02.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  34. 34.

    Andrya

    @Adam L Silverman:   Please, please, reassure us Silverman jackals that the statement that you are going to leave was sarcasm, not seriously meant.  Your work here is much too important to give up on now.

    For the next year and a half, it will be critically important that American friends of Ukraine keep the pressure on our government to keep aid to Ukraine flowing.  And mostly I’m talking about pressure on Democrats not to sign away Ukraine’s future in some legislative compromise.  It’s extremely important that the people who bring this pressure be well informed.  And you are a critical part of that- I share your posts with every politically active person I know, and they share with others.  I’m sure that is true of many other jackals.

    Even though I should MYOB I have been concerned about what this effort is doing to your workload.  If that is a factor, would you consider continuing with 2 or 3 posts per week, with just the most important stuff?

    And if “this is my last post” was sarcasm, it would be really kind to reassure us that your posts are not going away…

  35. 35.

    Paul in KY

    @Adam L Silverman: OK, of course, if you think it is time to stop. Must spend alot of time creating your very informative posts. Please, though, don’t let some nimrod named ‘Trucmat’ be the jerk that ran you off.

  36. 36.

    Will

    This is why I rarely read the comment sections. Sad if asshat comments just ended the best way to stay informed on the war.

Comments are closed.