Poet, writer, translator, professor, and former director of the International Writing Program. My views ≠ The University of Iowa.
Iowa City/Santa Fe
Joined April 2011
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On the Road to Lviv, my book-length poetic meditation on Adam Zagajewski, cultural diplomacy, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, is now available @arrowsmithpress.
Christopher Merrill retweeted
Trump swaggered into Georgia right before the midterms, breathlessly announcing a huge new Audi factory, a massive win for the state he claimed. Here's the receipt: Audi had absolutely no such announcement, no plans to build a plant in Georgia, and no knowledge of this supposed commitment. This wasn't just campaign exaggeration; it was a bald-faced fabrication, invented out of thin air just days before an election, banking on voters not checking if a major international corporation actually agreed to a multi-billion dollar investment during a political rally. It perfectly illustrates how quickly reality gets benched for a headline grab, promising prosperity that only exists in a speech bubble, all while the people who supposedly value "truth" never question the actual facts. thehill.com/homenews/state-w…
Christopher Merrill retweeted
This past week alone, Russia has launched around 1,600 guided aerial bombs, 48 missiles of various types, including ballistic missiles, and nearly 2,300 attack drones against Ukraine. Unfortunately, almost every day, these brutal strikes leave people killed and injured. In the evening, Russian strikes on the Dnipro region killed four people. My condolences to their families and loved ones. Another 22 people were injured, including an 11-year-old girl. In Vinnytsia, a Russian drone struck a high-rise apartment building. Six people were injured. In Kharkiv, the Russians first struck a home improvement hypermarket and then carried out a cynical double-tap strike on the emergency services that arrived at the scene. First responders were injured. There were also strikes overnight on a thermal power plant, substations, coal mines, grain storage facilities, shopping malls, and a postal logistics hub. Damage has been reported in nine regions.
This is how Russia responds to diplomacy and deisolation. And it is very important that support for those who protect lives not diminish alongside the negotiation process. We need to unblock the deliveries of Patriot interceptors already approved by European countries. We need to continue supporting Ukrainian combat aviation to defend against jet-powered “shaheds.” Every such defense package, especially ahead of winter, helps save lives. I thank all partners who provide this kind of support.
Christopher Merrill retweeted
The Russia smell of this Alaska fossil fuel deal was so bad that even former Exxon people bailed from the company. The smell of Russia permeates the corrupt Trump administration. ft.com/content/e9cfbfbb-e65a…
Christopher Merrill retweeted
Elon Musk claims that Ukraine allegedly violated Starlink's terms of use and used the system on combat drones.
As someone who was inside the process at the Ministry of Defense, I can say with certainty that this is not true.
In February of this year, whitelists were introduced. Stationary terminals could be registered by both military personnel and civilians.
But for any satellite terminal to work while on the move, it had to be added to a special list and connected to the military Starshield system. Otherwise, no satellite communication terminals in Ukraine would work.
In other words, using civilian Starlink for drone missions was technically impossible. All drone missions that required satellite communication could only be carried out using Starshield.
We are very grateful to the United States and SpaceX for access to critically important satellite communications. Ukraine did not violate the terms of use.
Christopher Merrill retweeted
This is important. @elonmusk wasn't stopping war or pacifying the front line when he disabled speed on Starshield; he was disabling Ukrainian air defence.
His random decision led to the deaths of innocent Ukrainian citizens.
I hope there's a class action in heaven somewhere
Christopher Merrill retweeted
Nancy Pelosi made 200 stock trades in her entire 40-year political career.
Donald Trump made 28,700 stock trades in just 1.5 years as president.
MAGA likes to scream about Pelosi's stock trades but not a word about Trump using the presidency to enrich himself.
@grok verify
Christopher Merrill retweeted
21-year-old twin sisters Taraneh & Romina Rahimi are suffering the full force of the Iranian regime: Romina sentenced to 25 years, Taraneh to death, after protesting their govt. The cousin who helped raise them tells me of torture behind bars.
Christopher Merrill retweeted
This is the kind of deal the Democrats need to investigate immediately if they take Congress. An oil deal in Alaska which actually might be a gift to the Russians with Trump involvement. ft.com/content/e9cfbfbb-e65a…
Christopher Merrill retweeted
The @GOP must be thrilled that 11 days before elections, we learn that the Trump family secretly orchestrated a deal to allow Russians to drill Alaska in exchange for a $25 billion "investment" funneled through their proxies.
Christopher Merrill retweeted
US energy company execs have resigned in disgust as the Trump family is caught secretly expediting the funneling of $25 billion from a sanctioned Russian energy giant in exchange for allowing Russians to obtain a natural gas project in Alaska.
According to investigations by The New York Times and Financial Times, Russia's Novatek allegedly concealed its financial involvement in the American project through a UAE-linked intermediary.
Gentry Beach, a longtime Trump ally and close friend of Donald Trump Jr., signed an agreement with Novatek to pursue natural gas development in Alaska. Reuters documented the arrangement in February.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin discussed this cooperation on the Alaska energy project with Trump's representatives, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, during negotiations involving Russia and Ukraine.
The controversy deepened when Polar Train LNG's CEO, Joel Riddle, raised concerns about concealed Russian financing and possible sanctions violations. He departed in September, followed by other senior executives.
The Financial Times also described discussions about a potential arrangement under which Novatek would provide technology for the Alaska project in exchange for sanctions relief benefiting its Arctic LNG 2 development in Siberia.
According to The New York Times, Riddle and two other departing executives warned the Trump administration about the Russian financing and urged officials to investigate.
The White House maintains that the project was mentioned only briefly and that no detailed discussions took place. There is no established evidence that Kushner or Witkoff knew about the allegedly concealed financing. Polar Train LNG denies wrongdoing.
The central question is how a sanctioned Russian energy company became involved in a major American energy venture while Putin was discussing potential economic cooperation with Trump's representatives and a longtime Trump family associate was pursuing a separate agreement with the same Russian company.
Selling Alaska to the Russians or selling Ukraine to the Russians - to the Trump family it's all the same.
ft.com/content/e9cfbfbb-e65a…
Christopher Merrill retweeted
A psychopathic mass murdering dictator is killing innocent people for no good reason and they are just trying to defend themselves and not get tortured raped and murdered. And they need our help. And we ought to help them. That’s what’s actually going on.
Christopher Merrill retweeted
The fact that Trump will remove tariffs to help Republicans win elections, but he won’t remove tariffs to help Americans afford necessities, tells you exactly what his priorities are.
BREAKING:
The United States is expected to remove 50% tariffs on some Canadian products in a bid to help Maine Senator Susan Collins and other Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections.
Full Story: on.wsj.com/4i6fCyU
Christopher Merrill retweeted
Rubio says the Russian invasion of Ukraine is "only about Donbas, about one region of Ukraine." Well, the occupied parts of the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Sumy regions would like a word. Crimea also still exists.
Constantly bombed Odesa and Kyiv would like to know why they are being targeted if the war is only about Donbas. Kryvyi Rih asks why Russia is murdering kids in its shopping malls if the war is about Donbas. Lutsk is also confused. Dnipro is targeted constantly. The liberated parts of the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions would like to point out that mass graves of Ukrainians killed by Russian troops didn't appear by magic.
It's called a full-scale invasion for a reason!
And by the way, Donbas isn't even just "one region", it consists of at least two.
Christopher Merrill retweeted
The speed limits on Starlink and Starshield are still there. The speed has not been restored. And the delivery of interceptors to protect us against Russian ballistic missiles is still delayed. We’re waiting for interceptors that were already agreed on. But they are still not coming. This is a real problem, because the Russians attack us almost every single day.
All of this is happening while we continue our quite successful operations on the front. We keep defending positions. Things have become harder – partly because of the Starlink and Starshield policies and speed limits. But our frontline is still holding and I am proud of how strong our people are.
From an address at the Hudson Institute. (2/3)
Christopher Merrill retweeted
Yes, I spoke out about the voting machine I cast my vote on the first day of early voting in Tennessee.
Yes, the button kept flipping up to the wrong candidate three times.
Yes, I called on a very nice poll worker who stood there until it worked on the third try.
Christopher Merrill retweeted
Trump has made more stock trades in his second term than all 535 members of Congress combined.
Christopher Merrill retweeted
What is the Trump administration position? Did it order the restrictions or not? Has it since relaxed the restrictions or not? If it did order the restrictions, is it intended to force Ukraine to the negotiating table? Keep in mind, the restrictions impair interceptor drones intended to take down incoming Russian attack drones.
Starshield/Starlink speed restrictions remain in place. Every day matters for Ukraine, because every Ukrainian life matters. Our people are waiting for positive news, hoping that the restrictions will be lifted and our defenders will have the capabilities they need to protect lives.
Unfortunately, as of today, nothing has changed. We continue to wait.
Christopher Merrill retweeted
The November 3rd elections are now a referendum on Trump’s decision to join the Axis of Evil with Russia, where the United States is the junior partner.
American voters get to decide: vote Republican if they want to take orders from Putin; vote Democrat if they don’t.
Christopher Merrill retweeted
“I didn’t believe there would be a full-scale invasion,” - @Zelenskyy
Other key statements by the Presidentin the interview:
- Biden called me and said that Kyiv was surrounded, but they could evacuate me and my family. I told him: “I need ammunition, not a ride.”
- Someone took a wrong turn - I don’t know what Trump is talking about. It doesn’t matter. Look at all the armored vehicles they lost near Kyiv and Hostomel. Hundreds upon hundreds of armored vehicles burned. ruZZian armored vehicles were driving through the streets of Kyiv, and people were burning them all. And it’s not about some general being an idiot.
- Ukraine is the heir to Kyivan Rus’, a great state that was well known in Europe. #ruZZia wasn’t even close to existing back then. ruZZsia emerged only after Ukraine already existed. But putin ignores all of this and starts his version of history with the 1917 Revolution.
- What is ruZZa’s problem? If Ukraine becomes part of Europe, ruZZia will collapse. It will fall apart. There are many different peoples, religions, and entirely different nations within ruZZia.
- When the full-scale invasion began, mobilization was announced. People volunteered, and our army grew from 200,000 to 800,000 troops. Russian forces operating across various parts of Ukraine numbered around 700,000. The ruZZians brought parade uniforms with them, planning to hold a victory parade on Independence Square in Kyiv just three days after capturing the city.
- Bucha was the worst day of my life. I had never seen so many bodies scattered along a street. Everything changed after that. I never wanted to kill anyone, but after Bucha, I wanted to find those people who are not human and kill them. Pure revenge.
- Trump decided to blame me, rather than putin, for this problem (the rise in diesel fuel prices). That is an outright lie.
- putin will only be carried out of the Kremlin feet first.