Watch: Inexperienced Trans Figure Skater Performs At European Championship With Hilarious Results
A 59-year-old male Finnish farmer, Markku-Pekka Antikainen, took up figure skating at age 50, declared himself trans, and has now performed under the female name “Minna-Maaria” at the opening ceremony of the European Figure Skating Championship. Finland was proud to announce that they would be including the world’s “first trans figure skater” at the proceedings, only to discover Markku could not skate.
Previous warnings that the trans “athlete” may not be qualified for the event were present, but strangely, ignored. Markku has competed before with similar results. However, he received higher marks from judges for his routines anyway, likely due to his trans status. Take a look at this routine, in which Markku dresses up as a Gisha, stumbles about and yet still gets a 2nd place score:
Similar to the way in which children competitors are sometimes given special treatment because judges are afraid to hurt their feelings, the culture of participation trophies and special allowances for trans participants is slowly erasing competitive environments and turning athletics into a joke.
The debate over male athletes competing in female sports while claiming to be women is often more about the inherent genetic differences between the sexes and the clear advantages men have. In this case, the debate is about trans participants being given chances they don’t deserve simply because they say they are trans.
At bottom, the greater conflict is over what constitutes reality. Though Markku is a non-athlete given license to pretend he belongs in an arena with champions, other men with biological advantages are given license to pretend they are women while destroying women’s sports and dominating in every field.
One ultimately has to wonder if any of this is about social “dignity” or so-called equity? Perhaps it is actually meant to be nothing more than a mockery of human excellence and truth; an attempt to tear down all notions of merit while forcing the public to act as if they believe men can be women or that the mediocre can be extraordinary? Perhaps all of this is an exercise in forcing the populace to see something that is not really there and to participate in the big lie?
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday released recommendations on how to acquire and manage medical supplies for the treatment of exposure to radioactive materials in emergencies.
The report sets out for countries and governments how to develop and maintain a national stockpile of specific medical supplies that can lower risks and treat injuries caused by radiation.
Maria Neira, the head of the WHO’s Public Health and Environment department, emphasized the importance of having “ready supplies” of crucial drugs developed over the last decade.
“In radiation emergencies, people may be exposed to radiation at doses ranging from negligible to life-threatening. Governments need to make treatments available for those in need—fast,” Neira said in a statement.
It’s the first time the publication has been updated since 2007.
“This updated critical medicines list will be a vital preparedness and readiness tool for our partners to identify, procure, stockpile, and deliver effective countermeasures in a timely fashion to those at risk or exposed in these events,” said Dr. Mike Ryan, the executive director of WHO’s health emergencies program.
The medicines listed in the publication for a national stockpile include only those specifically used today to treat human over-exposure to radiation, according to the WHO. Other typical lists of medical supplies for stockpile would include generic supplies like personal protective equipment (PPE), trauma kits, fluids, antibiotics, and painkillers.
The WHO stated its data, prepared in annual reports, showed that many countries are still unprepared for radiation emergencies.
A worker, wearing protective suits and masks, takes notes in front of storage tanks for radioactive water at Tokyo Electric Power Co’s (TEPCO) tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, on Feb. 10, 2016. (Toru Hanai/Reuters)
Stockpile
The report focussed on which medicines should be stockpiled and how they should be stored and managed, as well as the role that different organizations play in preparing for and responding to emergencies.
The WHO noted that a collection of medical supplies commonly found in a radiation emergency stockpile include stable iodine to protect the thyroid from radioactive iodine, chelating agents such as Prussian blue to remove radioactive caesium from the body, and decorporating agents like calcium-/zinc-DTPA to treat internal contamination with transuranium radionuclides.
Additionally, there are also cytokines included to help reduce the damage to bone marrow in cases of acute radiation syndrome and other medicines to treat symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, and infections, according to the WHO.
The report discusses emerging treatments and medical countermeasures, such as studies identifying new cellular and molecular pathways and means of administrating drugs that may be exploited for novel treatments and new products for use during a radiation emergency.
An image of a small round and silver capsule containing radioactive Caesium-137 that went missing in transportation between a mine site north of Newman and the north-eastern parts of Perth between Jan. 10–16, obtained on Jan. 27, 2023. (AAP Image/Supplied by Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA)
Radiological and Nuclear Emergencies
According to the WHO, a radiological or nuclear emergency is a situation that negatively impacts human life, health, property, or the environment.
The report considers possible scenarios for radiological and nuclear emergencies, including accidents at nuclear power plants and nuclear warfare.
An accident at a nuclear power plant, medical or research facility, or accidents during the transport of radioactive materials are examples of accidental radiological and nuclear emergencies that could occur, according to the WHO.
They can involve a number of situations, such as nuclear power plant accidents such as Chernobyl and Fukushima. Situations can also involve accidental exposure to uncontrolled radiation sources, and accidentals while transporting radioactive materials.
One such incident happened in Australia recently, where a small, solid capsule measuring 8 mm by 6 mm was thought to have dropped off a truck during transportation from a mine to Perth. The capsule is radioactive and can potentially cause severe skin burns and illness. It is reported to emit a level of radiation equivalent to receiving 10 x-rays in one hour, at 2 millisieverts per hour.
Radiation emergencies may also occur in conjunction with conventional emergencies, natural disasters, military conflicts, or malicious acts involving radiation sources, the WHO noted.
Turkey Issues ‘Terror Alert’ To Its Citizens Traveling In West After Quran-Burnings
Turkey issued an alert to its citizens traveling abroad in the West on Saturday, describing “possible Islamophobic, xenophobic and racist attacks” in the United States and Europe due to increases in “anti-Islam and racist'” acts.
Turkey’s foreign ministry over the weekend issued no less than two separate travel advisories, coming in the wake of Quran-burning incidents in Sweden – which have set tensions between Ankara and Stockholm to boiling point.
The Turkish government alert instructed its citizens in the United States and European countries to “act calmly in the face of possible xenophobic and racist harassment and attacks” and to “stay away from areas where demonstrations may intensify.”
Within the last week there’s been two Quran-burning demonstrations in Sweden, the first one provocatively carried out in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, which Turkey’s President Erdogan and his top officials angrily condemned.
Erdogan went so far as to say Sweden should no longer expect to join NATO. What especially enraged Turkey was that the far-right activist who conducted the public burning of the Islamic ‘holy book’ had police protection in the face of counter demonstrations. Al Jazeera detailed the scene of the first burning as follows:
The Quran burning was carried out by Rasmus Paludan, leader of Danish far-right political party Hard Line. In April last year, Paludan’s announcement of a Quran burning “tour” during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan sparked riots across Sweden.
Surrounded by police, Paludan set fire to the holy book with a lighter following a long diatribe of almost an hour, in which he attacked Islam and immigration in Sweden. About 100 people gathered nearby for a peaceful counterdemonstration.
“If you don’t think there should be freedom of expression, you have to live somewhere else,” he said.
And days ago the same man did it again – this time under even heavier police protection:
⚡️Rasmus Paludan burned another copy of the Holy Qur’an.
According to Reuters, there’s been a spate of other Quran burnings in northern Europe: “Similar Koran-burning acts in the Netherlands and Denmark also drew strong condemnation from Ankara.” There have since been multiple large demonstrations reacting to the burnings in major cities in Turkey, and in other parts of the Middle East and north Africa.
Ankara has taken firm action, indefinitely suspending high level talks with Swedish officials which were geared toward overcoming obstacles to NATO membership. Swedish leaders themselves condemned the Quran-burnings, yet acknowledged according to Swedish laws such acts are protected free speech.
Turkish media has lately claimed that Swedish authorities shutdown an attempt to burn the Torah, setting off accusations of a double standard:
SWEDEN, SHAMELESS HYPOCRITES!
Bans on Torah burning outsides Israel’s Embassy but provides police protection for Quran burning at Turkish Emb.
Meanwhile, Politico has absurdly suggested the Quran-burning incidents were all part of a Kremlin plot to sabotage Sweden and Finland’s NATO accession. “Unfortunately, various activists in Sweden, some Kremlin linked, then decided to exploit this highly fraught situation, and by aggravating Erdoğan and Turkey, they’ve now helped turn the country’s NATO accession from virtually guaranteed to one that’s now in serious jeopardy — and other countries should learn from this mess,” a Saturday report reads.
I don’t have to tell you that your money doesn’t go as far as it once did. You see it every time that you go shopping. Our leaders flooded the system with money and pursued highly inflationary policies for years, and now we are all paying the price.
The cost of living has been rising much faster than our incomes have, and this is systematically destroying the middle class. Survey after survey has shown that a solid majority of the population is living paycheck to paycheck, and at this point most U.S. consumers are tapped out. In fact, one brand new survey just discovered that 57 percent of Americans cannot even afford to pay a $1,000 emergency expense…
According to Bankrate’s Annual Emergency Fund Report, 68% of people are worried they wouldn’t be able to cover their living expenses for just one month if they lost their primary source of income. And when push comes to shove, the majority (57%) of U.S. adults are currently unable to afford a $1,000 emergency expense.
When broken down by generation, Gen Zers (85%) and Millennials (79%) are more likely to be worried about covering an emergency expense.
These numbers are quite ominous, because they clearly demonstrate that we are completely and utterly unprepared for any sort of a major economic downturn.
And thanks to the rapidly rising cost of living, we are losing even more ground with each passing month.
Nearly three-quarters, or 72%, of middle-income families say their earnings are falling behind the cost of living, up from 68% a year ago, according to a separate report by Primerica based on a survey of households with incomes between $30,000 and $100,000. A similar share, 74%, said they are unable to save for their future, up from 66% a year ago.
We haven’t experienced anything like this in the United States in decades.
When I walked into a Walmart store the other day, I was shocked by how high the prices are now.
Isn’t Walmart supposed to be the place with “low prices every day”?
Well, the prices were certainly not “low” when I walked through the store.
And I was stunned to learn that McDonald’s is now selling one hash brown for three dollars.
I am sure that many of you can remember a time when they were 50 cents.
Sadly, those days are not coming back.
Food prices are going to continue to go up, and the CEO of Unilever recently admitted that his company has actually “been accelerating the rate of price increases that we’ve had to put into the market”…
“For the last 18 months we’ve seen extraordinary input cost pressure … it runs across petrochemical derived products, agricultural derived products, energy, transport, logistics,” he said.
“It’s been feeding through for quite some time now and we’ve been accelerating the rate of price increases that we’ve had to put into the market,” he added.
US retail sales continued their fall in December, dropping by 1.1% as inflation remained high, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
That’s the largest monthly decline since December 2021, and practically every category (except for building materials, groceries and sporting goods) saw sales drop from the prior month.
U.S. existing home sales slowed for the 11th consecutive month in December as higher mortgage rates, surging inflation and steep home prices sapped consumer demand from the housing market.
-More Americans than ever before are being forced to pay at least 30 percent of their incomes on rent…
The average US household is now considered ‘rent-burdened’ as a record-high number of people are spending more than 30 percent of their income on rent.
According to Moody’s Analytics’ latest affordability report, the national average rent-to-income (RTI) ratio reached 30 percent for the first time since the company began tracking the data more than 20 years ago.
U.S. consumers are being stretched financially like never before, and many are turning to debt to help them maintain their current lifestyles.
As a result, the savings rate has plunged to a historic low, credit card debt has surged to a record high, and the average rate of interest on credit card balances has also risen to a record high. As Zero Hedge has aptly noted, this is “nothing short of catastrophic”…
The combination of record high credit card debt and record high credit card interest is nothing short of catastrophic for both the US economy, and the strapped consumer who has no choice but to keep buying on credit while hoping next month’s bill will somehow not come. Unfortunately, it will and at some point in the very near future, this will also translate into massive loan losses for US consumer banks; that’s when Powell will finally panic.
For a long time, we have been warned that the very foolish economic policies that our leaders were implementing would have deeply tragic consequences.
And now it is starting to happen right in front of our eyes.
Sadly, the truth is that this is just the beginning.
The entire system is cracking and crumbling all around us, and there is much more pain ahead.
* * *
It is finally here! Michael’s new book entitled “End Times” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.
Suspected Israeli Drone Attack Rocks Iranian Military Site
Iran’s military is on high alert after it says an inbound drone attack was foiled on the country’s central city of Isfahan late Saturday night. The target was reportedly a military factory there, and immediate suspicion has fallen on Israel as being behind the operation.
The ministry said at least three drones were involved, with one being intercepted by anti-air systems; however, the extent of damage is unconfirmed, and no casualties were reported. But widely circulating social media footage suggests large, powerful explosions in more than one location in the country, and one instance of an oil refinery on fire.
Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, slammed the “cowardly” incident as part of broader efforts to destabilize the country and emphasized it would not change Iran’s “determination and intention regarding the peaceful nuclear progress”.
The military called the attempted attack unsuccessful: “One of [the drones] was hit by the … air defense and the other two were caught in defense traps and blew up,” as quoted in state-run IRNA. “Fortunately, this unsuccessful attack did not cause any loss of life and caused minor damage to the workshop’s roof,” it added.
Purported footage of a drone strike on an Isfahan military plant:
⚡️Reportadly drone attack on a munitions plant in Isfahani, Iran.
According to Al Jazeera, “News agencies published a video showing a flash of light at the plant, said to be an ammunitions factory, and footage of emergency vehicles and fire trucks outside the plant.”
Israeli media is pointing the finger at a Mossad operation, calling it ‘successful’ – despite Tehran’s claims to the contrary. The Jerusalem Postwrites:
Despite Iranian claims, the drone attack on Iran at Isfahan was a tremendous success, according to a mix of Western intelligence sources and foreign sources, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
There were four explosions at the site, which can even be witnessed on social media, against a facility developing advanced weapons, and the damage goes far beyond the “minor roof damage” that the Islamic Republic is claiming and which it has falsely claimed before also in other incidents in recent years.
#Israel launches special military operation inside #Iran – #AlArabiya
-A center for production of ammunition, UAVs is on fire, 5 locations.
-An oil refinery is on fire.
-A weapons manufacturing plant is on fire.
-Explosions at a military base in Hamadan & Kereja.#iranunderattackpic.twitter.com/yIWLzMoLCK
The JPost writes further, “Israel is playing the incident mum, but most Western intelligence and Iranian sources have credited the Mossad with similarly successful attacks against Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility in July 2020, a different Natanz nuclear facility in April 2021, another nuclear facility at Karaj in June 2021 and with destroying around 120 or more Iranian drones in February 2022.”
Interestingly, a number of Ukrainian officials are hailing the attack, calling it ‘revenge’ against Iran’s drone program, given the Russian military has been heavily reliant on Iran-made drones for attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Fed Gets Its Wish: Inflation Below The Funds Rate… & Final Sales Too!
Authored by Steven Blitz via TS Lombard,
Most important takeaway from Q4 GDP data is that short rates are finally above inflation and nominal growth for final sales of domestic product. “Tight” is a matter of opinion, but monetary policy is no longer “easy” and now getting “tighter” — growth and inflation decelerated through the quarter. My expectation of a mild recession beginning in Q2 appears on track. There is the swing to positive real rates, the beginnings of a mild inventory correction, and the “asset crunch” softening growth on into the current quarter (I wrote how the asset cycle changes how monetary policy works in Oct 2019). Next week’s 25 BP hike has all the earmarks of being the last hike. Cuts arrive once employment turns negative, or even just softens to 100,000/month. Getting the dollar weaker will become an unspoken objective – the trade deficit is much too big given government policy aimed at reshoring production. Recession and the inventory cycle will fix the deficit to an extent, but it is the wide policy spread between the US and its major trading partners that needs to narrow – and the turn in US growth will negatively impact the global economy.
My 3% forecast for Q4 growth came in on target. Based on the flow of growth through the quarter and how Q4 GDP growth was put together (2/3 coming from inventory and government spending), I am sticking with 1% for Q1 – will have a closer look tomorrow after Dec income data are released.
The spread between Q/Q growth in final sales of production (revenue proxy) and 90D commercial paper rates (cost of carry for inventory) is now essentially zero and very likely flips negative in the current quarter. In the cycles beginning 2002, the Fed kept money too cheap too long, ramped up rates late in the cycle, and recessions arrived after this spread turned negative – which should happen in the current quarter (Chart 1).
Real discretionary consumer spending slowed to 1.8% Q/Q SAAR in Q4, down from 3% in Q3 and well through the median 2.9% (2012-2019). Discretionary spending has also topped out relative to total spending – often a precursor to recession.
Capital spending (nonresidential) and exports are critical to sustaining growth going forward, and their contribution to growth in Q4 was nil. It is true housing has stabilized, looking at new home sales at the long-term median. Watch in the coming months to see whether sales start dropping towards 500,000. This, not the decline to date, would signal recession.
In sum, the natural slowing of the economy from 2021’s torrid pace has finally delivered to the Fed what it has been waiting for – inflation 100BP below its policy rate and spending decelerating to below trend.
The impact on employment should be in evidence sometime in the next few months.
This all sets up for a mild recession or, failing that, enough of a soft patch for the Fed to cut regardless and thereby raising inflation risk later. But one step at a time.
Anne Marimow has taken a deep dive on what I’ve called the second-most interesting court in the land. Sorry D.C. Circuit, you are fairly predictable at this point. Here is the intro:
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans has long leaned conservative. But the arrival of a half-dozen judges picked by President Donald Trump — many of them young, ambitious and outspoken — has put the court at the forefront of resistance to the Biden administration’s assertions of legal authority and to the regulatory power of federal agencies. Their rulings have at times broken with precedent and exposed rifts among the judges, illustrating Trump’s lasting legacy on the powerful set of federal courts that operate one step below the Supreme Court. Even some veteran conservatives on the court have criticized the newcomers for going too far.
Four of the six new judges have worked for Republican politicians in Texas, and some are seen as possible contenders for a future opening on the Supreme Court if a Republican is elected president. With their provocative, colloquial writing styles, the judges are elevating their profiles in far-reaching opinions and public appearances, calling out “cancel culture,” wokeness and sometimes even one another.
There is a quote from me:
Josh Blackman, a professor at South Texas College of Law in Houston and close observer of the 5th Circuit, said the Trump appointees are “not going to sit and wait for the percolation that might happen otherwise” when they disagree with past rulings.
“They are more aggressive and willing to follow the law as they see it and let the chips fall where they may,” Blackman said. “They don’t care about being invited to elite parties in Georgetown.”
From Aaron Streett:
Aaron Streett, a Houston-based lawyer who practices before the 5th Circuit and was a law clerk to Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, said the new judges are at the “leading edge of originalist and textualist ideas percolating up in law reviews and conservative public-interest law firms.”
“You’ve got really bright, creative judges who are talented writers and popularizers of these jurisprudential principles,” Streett said, adding that they are willing to take what the Supreme Court has said in the past decade and “apply those decisions to their fullest logical extent.”….
Streett, the Houston-based lawyer, said he believes that the judges are engaging in “strongly felt conversations about principles,” without vitriol between the newcomers and the veterans. “I’ve seen zero evidence of any ill will or bad blood between any of the judges.”
And from Alexa Gervasi:
Alexa Gervasi, a former 5th Circuit law clerk who directs the Georgetown Center for the Constitution at Georgetown Law, said it is no surprise that the court is issuing noteworthy rulings in so many significant cases. “The reason it seems like there’s so much fire coming from the 5th Circuit is that they are getting really divisive cases,” said Gervasi, who also has practiced before the court. “If you send controversial cases to the 5th Circuit, you’re going to get controversial opinions.” …
But the combination on the 5th Circuit of big personalities and aspirations — and the large volume of highly charged cases — makes the New Orleans bench a standout.
“Everyone wants to have their say. I don’t think that’s just posturing for the Supreme Court,” said Gervasi, noting the number of judges writing separate dissents and concurring opinions.
Read the entire piece, which I think is a balanced take.
Obama Border Chief Says Immigration Crisis ‘Much Bigger’ Now As 77 Democratic Lawmakers Slam Biden
Former Obama secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, admitted last week that the immigration crisis is ‘much bigger’ than it was when he was running things.
“Well, the job, first of all, is different than it was when I was in office seven, eight years ago,” Johnson told David Lat on the Original Jurisdiction podcast. “The current secretary was my deputy secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas. The job is different. The immigration problem is much bigger than it was.”
When asked if he had any advice for Mayorkas – who is facing calls for impeachment over the Biden administration’s mishandling (stoking of) the border crisis, Johnson said he just needs to stick to the script.
“So, sometimes, the essence of the job is repeating over and over again one simple, straightforward message that you want people to hear,” he said.
Meanwhile, on Thursday 77 Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to President Biden urging him to reverse plans to limit asylum access and eligibility on the US-Mexico border – which follows plans announced in January to significantly decrease illegal border crossings by proclaiming that illegal immigrants from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela will be returned to Mexico under Title 42 if they enter the United States illegally. The plan, under which up to 30,000 migrants from the four countries can apply for asylum protection from their home countries, also provides asylum seekers and migrants with US sponsors.
“We believe that your administration can and must continue to expand legal pathways for migrants and refugees into the United States—without further dismantling the right to seek asylum at our border. This right is a pillar of the post-war international order to which the United States has committed itself,” wrote the Democratic lawmakers in their push to encourage illegal immigration. “Instead of issuing a new asylum transit ban and expanding Title 42, we encourage your administration to stand by your commitment to restore and protect the rights of asylum seekers and refugees.”
Created as part of the Public Health Service Act under President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944, Title 42 was designed to prevent the introduction of contagious diseases in the United States.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Trump administration invoked the order to restrict entry into the United States.
In late December 2022, the Supreme Court blocked the termination of Title 42.
In its decision, the court agreed to hear arguments in February about whether a coalition of Republican-led states can challenge a lower court’s ruling that ordered the Biden administration to end Title 42, which remains in place.
The letter’s authors praised the Biden administration’s program that allows American citizens and people with legal status in the United States to sponsor migrants from the four countries. They criticized the strategy because of its reliance on policies implemented by former President Donald Trump.
Migrants from Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua weren’t previously included in Title 42, the lawmakers noted. The Biden administration should also decide to not move forward on a proposal that will prevent migrants from asylum if they’re unable to find refuge in third countries before arriving in the United States, which is a measure the Trump administration attempted to enact.
In a press conference on Jan. 26, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), flanked by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), said, “No matter how many Trump policies the Biden administration resurrects, Republicans will continue to obstruct any effort to actually reform our border processing and modernize our immigration system.
“We recognize that the United States is experiencing a difficult migration challenge at the southern border. But as elected officials, we are duty-bound to propose legal solutions, one that protects asylum seekers while also securing the safe removal of migrants who have no legal claim to stay in the United States.”
The letter to Biden wasn’t signed by Democratic leaders in the House or Senate.
“I haven’t seen the letter but we look forward to, as Democrats and as members of Congress, having a healthy discussion about how we deal with the complexity of issues connected to comprehensive immigration reform and making sure we have a safe, secure, and strong border,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said on Jan. 26.
On Jan. 24, citing that the program violates U.S. immigration law, 20 Republican-led states asked a federal judge to end the sponsorship policy for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection stated on Jan. 25 that border officials have seen an average of 115 daily encounters with illegal immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela this month. That’s 97 percent less than in early December 2022 when numbers rose to a record high of 3,367 encounters each day.
“These expanded border enforcement measures are working,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Jan. 25. “It is incomprehensible that some states who stand to benefit from these highly effective enforcement measures are seeking to block them and cause more irregular migration at our southern border.”
During an address at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington on Jan. 20, Biden said Republicans were trying to score “political points” on the border crisis and criticized them for not supporting his immigration policy proposal.
“The first bill I introduced was a comprehensive reform legislation on immigration. But because of some in the Congress, they refused to consider it. They found it a better issue to campaign on than an issue to solve,” Biden said.
“So, we have a choice. They can keep using immigration to try to score political points, or we can help solve the problem. Immigration reform used to be a bipartisan issue. And we can make it that again, in my view.”
While Biden is dealing with pushback from lawmakers in his own party, Republicans continue to fight against his border strategy.
On Jan. 24, 20 Republican-led states filed a lawsuit in a Texas-based federal court challenging the Biden administration’s recently announced program to accept 30,000 illegal immigrants per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
The lawsuit contends that the program has no legal authority and that states will suffer from the flood of illegal immigration from the four countries.
“The Biden open borders agenda has created a humanitarian crisis that is increasing crime and violence in our streets, overwhelming local communities, and worsening the opioid crisis,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a statement about the lawsuit. “This unlawful amnesty program, which will invite hundreds of thousands of aliens into the U.S. every year, will only make this immigration crisis drastically worse.”
Sen. Angus King sat across from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during an unannounced trip to that country earlier this month and debated keeping quiet.
The independent senator from Maine thought to himself, “Do I dare say this?” King, a member of both the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee, told RealClearPolitics that he didn’t want to create “an incident.” But in that delicate diplomatic moment, with so much at stake, blunt advice was needed: “I took a deep breath and said, ‘Mr. President, a scandal would really screw this thing up.’”
Under President Biden, the United States has rallied the West in support of Ukraine as that nation tries to fight off Russian invaders. Though unwavering, economic and military aid isn’t unconditional. “Misuse of money or material,” King warned, would jeopardize the lifeline to Kyiv. The message was received. According to the senator, “He got it immediately.”
Zelensky removed several senior Ukrainian officials from their posts earlier this week reportedly over allegations of corruption and as a public demonstration to the West that Kyiv won’t tolerate graft. The move comes as House Republicans promise additional oversight of how the tens of billions in economic and military aid has been used and spent.
The White House isn’t worried. They say they do take the concern seriously. They just haven’t seen any maleficence thus far, according to John Kirby, Biden’s national security spokesman who said Wednesday that neither military nor financial assistance “have fallen prey to any kind of corruption in Ukraine.”
“Correct,” Kirby replied without qualification when asked by RCP to confirm that the administration had not yet identified any previous misuse of equipment or misappropriation of funds from the United States. King was similarly impressed.
While visiting Ukraine, the senator said he saw how Zelensky’s team employs outside auditors to track both dollars-and-cents and everything else “down to the individual spare part.”
Republicans are more skeptical and already making good on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s warning before the midterms that the House wouldn’t be sending Ukraine “a blank check.” The Biden administration has already provided approximately $27.5 billion in military assistance as well as nearly $10 billion in humanitarian aid and more than $15 billion in financial support.
Rep. James Comer, the Kentucky Republican now chairing the House Oversight Committee, will soon comb through those numbers to identify “waste or misuse.”
“With any massive government spending comes the opportunity for waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. Ukraine aid is no different,” Comer told RCP before adding that Congress owes it “to the taxpayer” to “conduct oversight over the tens of billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars sent overseas.”
Taxpayer support for Ukraine remains bipartisan – for now. The last aid package passed the Senate 88-11 and the House 368-57 in May, but deep skepticism remains on the right. Comparisons of Zelensky to Winston Churchill and Ukraine to Great Britain during the Second World War grate on fiscal conservatives like Ted Galen Carpenter of the CATO institute.
“The notion that Ukraine was such an appealing democratic model in Eastern Europe that the country’s mere existence terrified Putin may be a comforting myth to U.S. politicians and pundits, but it is a myth. Ukraine is far from being a democratic capitalist model and an irresistible magnet for Russia’s groaning masses,” Carpenter wrote in the American Conservative, before noting how the former Eastern Bloc country regularly ranks toward the bottom of international corruption indexes.
Systemic corruption was an animating principle of Zelensky’s political career long before the Russian invasion when he rose from comedian to president. Mykhailo Podolyak, a close advisor to the Ukrainian leader, wrote on Twitter after the recent firings that the moves “testify to the key priorities of the state” and how “everyone should understand their responsibility.” The Biden administration echoed that message on Capitol Hill during testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Thursday.
Victoria Nuland, undersecretary of state for political affairs, told lawmakers that if anything the staffing change in Kyiv “sends a very strong signal to others who would try to rip off this war effort, and is important for the future of Ukraine.”
The White House is preparing for more of that kind of oversight from Congress in the weeks and months ahead, and while the administration reports that Ukraine earns high marks in rooting out corruption, Kirby noted that corruption remains an ever-present danger in all conflicts.
“You can’t forget that,” he said. “I mean, it’s war.” To guard against misuse, he added, the administration has redoubled its efforts via officials at the U.S. embassy there “to work with the Ukrainians on accountability.”
Ukraine’s first priority is expelling the Russians. They have already managed to blunt the advance, and the Zelensky administration welcomed news that Biden was readying to ship 31 Abrams Battle Tanks to the country, armor that’s expected to help turn the tide come spring.
King told RCP that the new hardware “will make a real difference for the Ukrainians” and said that the shipment was both “necessary” and “consistent” with previous aid packages. The United States first rushed Javelin and Stinger missile systems to the country during the early days of conflict. “The priority at the time was to stop the Russian incursion toward Kyiv,” he explained before noting how the battle has devolved into a kind of trench warfare. “Now we are in a different kind of war.”
A UK man was crushed to death by a hydraulic ‘telescopic’ Urinal designed to pop out of the ground for use.
The man, who has not been named, was performing maintenance on the pop-up urinal at Cambridge Circus outside the Palace Theatre, when the hydraulic unit trapped him below street level.
As the Daily Mail reported on Friday, ambulance crews were dispatched at 1:05 p.m. The man was freed earlier in the day but was pronounced dead soon after.
“We’re sorry to have to update that, despite the efforts of emergency services, the man who was critically injured in Cambridge Circus was pronounced dead at the scene,” a Metropolitan Police spokesman said. “His next of kin have been informed. Cordons remain in place at the location.”
“The man is thought to have sustained crush injuries while working on a telescopic urinal at the location.”
A spokesman for the London Fire Brigade said that “Firefighters were called to a person trapped on Charing Cross Road in central London,” adding “A man was trapped below street level underneath a hydraulic urinal.”
He was eventually pulled free with a winch. “He was left in the care of London Ambulance Service and was sadly pronounced dead at the scene,” the fire brigade added.
An air ambulance was seen landing in Trafalgar Square while a large number of ambulances and fire engines attended the scene.
A crane was brought to the scene in an attempt by rescuers to lift the entire device out of the ground. –Daily Mail
These types of pop-up urinals appeared in London around 20 years ago to discourage urination in the street.
