Russia: Regime will not display military equipment at Victory Day parade due to Ukraine threat

Source: France 24 [French state media]

“Russia’s traditional parade marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II will take place next week without tanks, missiles and other military equipment, the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement. It will be the first time in nearly two decades – and in Russia’s 4-year-old war in Ukraine – that no military equipment will rumble through Moscow’s Red Square on May 9, the day Russia celebrates its most important secular holiday. The Kremlin has used it to showcase its military might and global clout, and it is a source of patriotic pride. … The ministry cited the ‘current operational situation’ as a reason for excluding military equipment, as well as cadets, from this year’s parade on the 81st anniversary of the victory. Ukraine has launched drone attacks deep inside Russia to counter Moscow’s more than 4-year-old invasion.” (04/29/26)

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20260429-russia-will-not-display-military-equipment-at-victory-day-parade-due-to-ukraine-threat

Thomas L. Knapp

Government Shouldn’t Be Important Enough To Fight Over

Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille

“Government shouldn’t be important enough to motivate people to kill others to gain control. Moreover, people willing to engage in violence to seize the means of governance have no business exercising political power. These are points we should be drumming home after the latest in a series of assassination attempts against President Donald Trump and other administration officials at a time of surging political violence in the United States.” (04/29/26)

https://reason.com/2026/04/29/government-shouldnt-be-important-enough-to-fight-over/

Thomas L. Knapp

North Korea: Kim praises troops who “self-blasted” to avoid capture by Ukraine

Source: BBC News [UK State Media]

“Kim Jong Un has praised North Korean soldiers who killed themselves by detonating their grenades while fighting for Russia against Ukraine, confirming a long-suspected battlefield policy. In a speech this week, the North Korean leader said those who ‘unhesitatingly opted for self-blasting, suicide attack, in order to defend the great honour’ were ‘heroes.’ South Korea estimates at least 15,000 North Koreans have been sent to help Russia recapture parts of western Kursk, and more than 6,000 have been killed so far. Neither Pyongyang nor Moscow have confirmed the numbers. Intelligence agencies and defectors have said the soldiers were under Pyongyang’s orders to kill themselves rather than be taken prisoner by Ukraine.” (04/29/26)

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cddp7pzqdvjo

Steve Trinward

Congress Must End FISA Section 702

Source: Antiwar.com
by Jordan Liz

“Section 702 was added to FISA in 2008 with a provision that requires Congress to periodically reauthorize it. The measure allows national security agencies like the NSA, FBI and CIA to collect and monitor – without a warrant – any electronic communications sent to and from non-US persons ‘reasonably believed to be located’ outside the US. Notably, Americans who send messages to people abroad may likewise have their data surveilled. Law enforcement agencies have consistently abused this loophole to spy on US citizens in clear violation of their Fourth Amendment rights.” (04/29/26)

https://original.antiwar.com/jordan_liz/2026/04/28/congress-must-end-fisa-section-702/

Thomas L. Knapp

Understanding the Link Between Capitalism [sic] and War

Source: Common Dreams
by Klaus Moegling

“Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels taught us that capitalism is a system primarily characterized by private control over the means of production. In other words: Factories and banks are privately owned. Business decisions are guided by whether they generate surplus value that can be appropriated as profit by the owners. Workers become a commodity, one that must, however, market itself and generate exchange value. In this context, the state’s primary role is to safeguard these relations of production and balance the interests of the various factions of capital. In doing so, the construction of neoliberal ideologies sought to minimize state benefits for the poorer strata of society, destroy the protective mechanisms of poorer societies, and simultaneously transfer state resources to capitalist oligarchies. Those who demanded the elimination of subsidies were, in fact, the very ones who benefited from them.” (04/29/26)

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/capitalism-and-war

Steve Trinward

Former Fauci adviser indicted, accused of concealing Covid research communications

Source: Syracuse.com

“A former senior adviser to Dr. Anthony Fauci was indicted on federal charges alleging he conspired to hide his communications related to COVID-19 research as the pandemic raged across the country, the Justice Department said Tuesday. Dr. David Morens, 78, is accused of using his private email account to intentionally circumvent public records laws while employed at the National Institutes of Health. The Justice Department alleges that he concealed or destroyed records of discussions related to COVID-19 research grants, including an effort to revive a controversial coronavirus grant.” (04/29/26)

https://www.syracuse.com/us-news/2026/04/former-fauci-adviser-indicted-accused-of-concealing-covid-research-communications.html

Thomas L. Knapp