Showing posts with label Russo Ukrainian War. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Russo Ukrainian War. Show all posts
Thursday, March 21, 2024
Monday, March 11, 2024
Popesplaining.
Sigh. . .
March 10, 2024
Russo Ukrainian War
Pope Francis stated in an interview with a Swiss journalist:
In Ucraina c’è chi chiede il coraggio della resa, della bandiera bianca. Ma altri dicono che così si legittimerebbe il più forte. Cosa pensa?
“È un’interpretazione. Ma credo che è più forte chi vede la situazione, chi pensa al popolo, chi ha il coraggio della bandiera bianca, di negoziare. E oggi si può negoziare con l’aiuto delle potenze internazionali. La parola negoziare è una parola coraggiosa. Quando vedi che sei sconfitto, che le cose non vanno, occorre avere il coraggio di negoziare. Hai vergogna, ma con quante morti finirà? Negoziare in tempo, cercare qualche paese che faccia da mediatore. Oggi, per esempio nella guerra in Ucraina, ci sono tanti che vogliono fare da mediatore. La Turchia, si è offerta per questo. E altri. Non abbiate vergogna di negoziare prima che la cosa sia peggiore”.
Anche lei stesso si è proposto per negoziare?
“Io sono qui, punto. Ho inviato una lettera agli ebrei di Israele, per riflettere su questa situazione. Il negoziato non è mai una resa. È il coraggio per non portare il paese al suicidio. Gli ucraini, con la storia che hanno, poveretti, gli ucraini al tempo di Stalin quanto hanno sofferto….”.
Translated:
In Ukraine there are those who ask for the courage of surrender, of the white flag. But others say that this would legitimize the strongest. What do you think?
“It's an interpretation. But I believe that those who see the situation, those who think about the people, those who have the courage to raise the white flag and to negotiate are stronger. And today it can be negotiated with the help of international powers. The word negotiate is a courageous word. When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you need to have the courage to negotiate. You are ashamed, but with how many deaths will it end? Negotiate in time, look for some country to act as a mediator. Today, for example in the war in Ukraine, there are many who want to act as mediators. Turkey offered itself for this. And other. Don't be ashamed to negotiate before things get worse.
Have you also offered to negotiate?
“I'm here, period. I sent a letter to the Jews of Israel to reflect on this situation. Negotiation is never a surrender. It is the courage not to lead the country to suicide. The Ukrainians, with the history that they have, poor things, the Ukrainians at Stalin's time, how much they suffered...”.
This has been reported, in accurately, as the Pope calling upon the Ukrainians to surrender, which isn't exactly what he said.
The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church was in the US, calling up Congress to free up support for Ukraine.
March 11, 2024
Russo Ukrainian War
The Pope's comments of yesterday have brought rebuke.
One of the odd aspects of personality is that certain people can be really bad at speaking and not be aware of it, and even enjoy public speaking, while some highly articulate people immensely dislike speaking, publically or even in general, and eschew it.
Our talents are unevenly distributed.
Pope Francis is one of the most confusing people to listen to in regard to speaking that's in the current public eye. We have others, I'd note, that far surpass him in that category, so he's not unique in that way in any fashion. The Pope, additionally, seemingly likes to speak, and so he gives interviews to reporters and says things essentially off the cuff. As he is, of course, the Pope, nearly anything he says will be reported.
More often than not, whatever he says will not only be reported, but reported badly, which compounds any confusion his statements cause. He's not free from responsibility for this, however, as by this point in time he ought to know that will happen. And not only will it happen, it will undercut his ability to convey a message.
Examples of this abound, and not just in the spoken word, but in the written one, and even just in messaging. We just went through, for example, the entire agonizing series of events caused by Fiducia Supplicans. Released just before Christmas, and not penned by the Pope but endorsed by him, it resulted in a series of nearly immediate explanations as to what it was saying and not saying. That situation has semi stabilized, but we're now seeing Bishops act on the followups and basically opt out of the option provided for, which the explanations allow for. As this was occurring Pope Francis made a comment about the African Church which was cultural in nature which even if it was correct, was culturally insensitive and may frankly shed more of a light on what the culture in the dying West holds as opposed to the culture in the remainder of the globe.
All this caused one Catholic commentator to note who many Catholics are by now simply "weary" in regard to things coming from Pope Francis. We wrote on this earlier, and I'd count myself as weary.
"We are weary".
Of course, that hasn't stopped Pope Francis from giving interviews.
Now, of course a person could simply state, why should it? Well, the answer is that it's making us all the more weary, and we have a lot to be weary about. We're weary due to trying to understand Fiducia Supplicans, we're wearing due to the vague nature of the Synod on Synodality, which is still ongoing, we're wearing from trying to grasp why Fr. James Martin, S.J., continues to seemingly get a pass while Cardinal Dolan does not, and we're weary from waiting for the Pope to do something about the German Church.
And now we have this.
To be fair, as is often the case, what Pope Francis says is often inaccurately reported, and interestingly the conservative things he says, and there are definitely a set of them, aren't reported on hardly at all. Here, Pope Francis didn't really tell the Ukrainians to surrender, which is how it is being reported.
In Ukraine there are those who ask for the courage of surrender, of the white flag. But others say that this would legitimize the strongest. What do you think?“It's an interpretation. But I believe that those who see the situation, those who think about the people, those who have the courage to raise the white flag and to negotiate are stronger. And today it can be negotiated with the help of international powers. The word negotiate is a courageous word. When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you need to have the courage to negotiate. You are ashamed, but with how many deaths will it end? Negotiate in time, look for some country to act as a mediator. Today, for example in the war in Ukraine, there are many who want to act as mediators. Turkey offered itself for this. And other. Don't be ashamed to negotiate before things get worse.Have you also offered to negotiate?“I'm here, period. I sent a letter to the Jews of Israel to reflect on this situation. Negotiation is never a surrender. It is the courage not to lead the country to suicide. The Ukrainians, with the history that they have, poor things, the Ukrainians at Stalin's time, how much they suffered...”.
I don't know what the Swiss journalist's intent was, but Pope Francis really walked into it. The journalist asked if the Ukrainians should surrender. The Pope didn't say "yes," he said that they should negotiate a peace. Lots of people have said that who support Ukraine and back-channel, where people speak their honest opinions, no serious person believes that Ukraine can achieve something like an unconditional surrender from Russia. There's going to have to be some sort of negotiation. The question is what does that look like. Finland in 1944? Russia would regard that as a defeat, and Ukraine ought to regard that as a victory.
So what he said wasn't really "Surrender", and it isn't really all that different from what many Ukrainian supporters have said. But the reporter used the term "white flag" and he picked right up on it.
Sigh.
Weary.
Friday, March 8, 2024
The 2024 State of the Union Address.
We'll note a few takeaways, and then comment below.
I didn't watch it live for various reasons. I didn't see the GOP response either, but I wish I had, given the reaction to it and the few snippets of it I've seen.
Okay, some comments.
The portion on Ukraine was excellent and drew at least a few GOP accolades from the audience.
At least one Republican Senator nodded in agreement on the border discussion.
There was an exchange with Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is an embarrassment to mammals, which he apparently got the best of.
Once again, the Democrats felt compelled to lash themselves to the bloody decks of abortion.
The speech.
The United States CapitolGood evening.Mr. Speaker. Madam Vice President. Members of Congress. My Fellow Americans.In January 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt came to this chamber to speak to the nation.He said, “I address you at a moment unprecedented in the history of the Union.”Hitler was on the march. War was raging in Europe.President Roosevelt’s purpose was to wake up the Congress and alert the American people that this was no ordinary moment.Freedom and democracy were under assault in the world.Tonight I come to the same chamber to address the nation.Now it is we who face an unprecedented moment in the history of the Union.And yes, my purpose tonight is to both wake up this Congress, and alert the American people that this is no ordinary moment either.Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault here at home as they are today.What makes our moment rare is that freedom and democracy are under attack, both at home and overseas, at the very same time.Overseas, Putin of Russia is on the march, invading Ukraine and sowing chaos throughout Europe and beyond.If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you, he will not.But Ukraine can stop Putin if we stand with Ukraine and provide the weapons it needs to defend itself. That is all Ukraine is asking. They are not asking for American soldiers.In fact, there are no American soldiers at war in Ukraine. And I am determined to keep it that way.But now assistance for Ukraine is being blocked by those who want us to walk away from our leadership in the world.It wasn’t that long ago when a Republican President, Ronald Reagan, thundered, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”Now, my predecessor, a former Republican President, tells Putin, “Do whatever the hell you want.”A former American President actually said that, bowing down to a Russian leader.It’s outrageous. It’s dangerous. It’s unacceptable.America is a founding member of NATO the military alliance of democratic nations created after World War II to prevent war and keep the peace.Today, we’ve made NATO stronger than ever.We welcomed Finland to the Alliance last year, and just this morning, Sweden officially joined NATO, and their Prime Minister is here tonight.Mr. Prime Minister, welcome to NATO, the strongest military alliance the world has ever known.I say this to Congress: we must stand up to Putin. Send me the Bipartisan National Security Bill.History is watching.If the United States walks away now, it will put Ukraine at risk.Europe at risk. The free world at risk, emboldening others who wish to do us harm.My message to President Putin is simple.We will not walk away. We will not bow down. I will not bow down.History is watching, just like history watched three years ago on January 6th.Insurrectionists stormed this very Capitol and placed a dagger at the throat of American democracy.Many of you were here on that darkest of days.We all saw with our own eyes these insurrectionists were not patriots.They had come to stop the peaceful transfer of power and to overturn the will of the people.January 6th and the lies about the 2020 election, and the plots to steal the election, posed the gravest threat to our democracy since the Civil War.But they failed. America stood strong and democracy prevailed.But we must be honest the threat remains and democracy must be defended.My predecessor and some of you here seek to bury the truth of January 6th.I will not do that.This is a moment to speak the truth and bury the lies.And here’s the simplest truth. You can’t love your country only when you win.As I’ve done ever since being elected to office, I ask you all, without regard to party, to join together and defend our democracy!Remember your oath of office to defend against all threats foreign and domestic.Respect free and fair elections! Restore trust in our institutions! And make clear –political violencehas absolutely no place in America!History is watching.And history is watching another assault on freedom.Joining us tonight is Latorya Beasley, a social worker from Birmingham, Alabama. 14 months ago tonight, she and her husband welcomed a baby girl thanks to the miracle of IVF.She scheduled treatments to have a second child, but the Alabama Supreme Court shut down IVF treatments across the state, unleashed by the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.She was told her dream would have to wait.What her family has gone through should never have happened. And unless Congress acts, it could happen again.So tonight, let’s stand up for families like hers!To my friends across the aisle, don’t keep families waiting any longer. Guarantee the right to IVF nationwide!Like most Americans, I believe Roe v. Wade got it right. And I thank Vice President Harris for being an incredible leader, defending reproductive freedom and so much more.But my predecessor came to office determinedto see Roe v. Wade overturned.He’s the reason it was overturned. In fact, he brags about it.Look at the chaos that has resulted.Joining us tonight is Kate Cox, a wife and motherfrom Dallas.When she became pregnant again, the fetus had a fatal condition.Her doctors told Kate that her own life and her ability to have children in the future were at risk if she didn’t act.Because Texas law banned abortion, Kate and her husband had to leave the state to get the care she needed.What her family has gone through should never have happened as well. But it is happening to so many others.There are state laws banning the right to choose, criminalizing doctors, and forcing survivors of rape and incest to leave their states as well to get the care they need.Many of you in this Chamber and my predecessor are promising to pass a national ban on reproductive freedom.My God, what freedoms will you take away next?In its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade the Supreme Court majority wrote, “Women are not without –electoral or political power.”No kidding.Clearly, those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no clue about the power of women in America.They found out though when reproductive freedomwas on the ballot and won in 2022, 2023, and they will find out again, in 2024.If Americans send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you, I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again!America cannot go back. I am here tonight to show the way forward. Because I know how far we’ve come.Four years ago next week, before I came to office, our country was hit by the worst pandemic and the worst economic crisis in a century.Remember the fear. Record job losses. Remember the spike in crime. And the murder rate.A raging virus that would take more than 1 million American lives and leave millions of loved ones behind.A mental health crisis of isolation and loneliness.A president, my predecessor, who failed the most basic duty. Any President owes the American people the duty to care.That is unforgivable.I came to office determined to get us through one of the toughest periods in our nation’s history.And we have. It doesn’t make the news but in thousands of cities and towns the American people are writing the greatest comeback story never told.So let’s tell that story here and now.America’s comeback is building a future of American possibilities, building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down, investing in all of America, in all Americans to make sure everyone has a fair shot and we leave no one behind!The pandemic no longer controls our lives. The vaccines that saved us from COVID are now being used to help beat cancer.Turning setback into comeback.That’s America!I inherited an economy that was on the brink. Now our economy is the envy of the world!15 million new jobs in just three years – that’s a record!Unemployment at 50-year lows.A record 16 million Americans are starting small businesses and each one is an act of hope.With historic job growth and small business growth for Black, Hispanic, and Asian-Americans.800,000 new manufacturing jobs in America and counting.More people have health insurance today than ever before.The racial wealth gap is the smallest it’s been in 20 years.Wages keep going up and inflation keeps coming down!Inflation has dropped from 9% to 3% – the lowest in the world!And trending lower.And now instead of importing foreign products and exporting American jobs, we’re exporting American products and creating American jobs – right here in America where they belong!And the American people are beginning to feel it.Consumer studies show consumer confidence is soaring.Buy American has been the law of the land since the 1930s.Past administrations including my predecessor failed to Buy American.Not any more.On my watch, federal projects like helping to build American roads bridges and highways will be made with American products built by American workers creating good-paying American jobs!Thanks to my Chips and Science Act the United States is investing more in research and development than ever before.During the pandemic a shortage of semiconductor chips drove up prices for everything from cell phones to automobiles.Well instead of having to import semiconductor chips, which America invented I might add, private companies are now investing billions of dollars to build new chip factories here in America!Creating tens of thousands of jobs many of them paying over $100,000 a year and don’t require a college degree.In fact my policies have attracted $650 Billion of private sector investments in clean energy and advanced manufacturing creating tens of thousands of jobs here in America!Thanks to our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, 46,000 new projects have been announced across your communities – modernizing our roads and bridges, ports and airports, and public transit systems.Removing poisonous lead pipes so every child can drink clean water without risk of getting brain damage.Providing affordable high speed internet for every American no matter where you live.Urban, suburban, and rural communities — in red states and blue.Record investments in tribal communities.Because of my investments, family farms are better be able to stay in the family and children and grandchildren won’t have to leave home to make a living.It’s transformative.A great comeback story is Belvidere, Illinois. Home to an auto plant for nearly 60 years.Before I came to office the plant was on its way to shutting down.Thousands of workers feared for their livelihoods. Hope was fading.Then I was elected to office and we raised Belvidere repeatedly with the auto company knowing unions make all the difference.The UAW worked like hell to keep the plant open and get those jobs back. And together, we succeeded!Instead of an auto factory shutting down an auto factory is re-opening and a new state-of-the art battery factory is being built to power those cars.Instead of a town being left behind it’s a community moving forward again!Because instead of watching auto jobs of the future go overseas 4,000 union workers with higher wages will be building that future, in Belvidere, here in America!Here tonight is UAW President, Shawn Fain, a great friend, and a great labor leader.And Dawn Simms, a third generation UAW worker in Belvidere.Shawn, I was proud to be the first President in American history to walk a picket line.And today Dawn has a job in her hometown providing stability for her family and pride and dignity.Showing once again, Wall Street didn’t build this country!The middle class built this country! And unions built the middle class!When Americans get knocked down, we get back up!We keep going!That’s America! That’s you, the American people!It’s because of you America is coming back!It’s because of you, our future is brighter!And it’s because of you that tonight we can proudly say the State of our Union is strong and getting stronger!Tonight I want to talk about the future of possibilities that we can build together.A future where the days of trickle-down economics are over and the wealthy and biggest corporations no longer get all the breaks.I grew up in a home where not a lot trickled down on my Dad’s kitchen table.That’s why I’m determined to turn things around so the middle class does well the poor have a way up and the wealthy still does well.We all do well.And there’s more to do to make sure you’re feeling the benefits of all we’re doing.Americans pay more for prescription drugs than anywhere else.It’s wrong and I’m ending it.With a law I proposed and signed and not one Republican voted for we finally beat Big Pharma!Instead of paying $400 a month for insulin seniors with diabetes only have to pay $35 a month!And now I want to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for every American who needs it!For years people have talked about it but I finally got it done and gave Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs just like the VA does for our veterans.That’s not just saving seniors money.It’s saving taxpayers money cutting the federal deficit by $160 Billion because Medicare will no longer have to pay exorbitant prices to Big Pharma.This year Medicare is negotiating lower prices for some of the costliest drugs on the market that treat everything from heart disease to arthritis.Now it’s time to go further and give Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices for 500 drugs over the next decade.That will not only save lives it will save taxpayers another $200 Billion!Starting next year that same law caps total prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare at $2,000 a year even for expensive cancer drugs that can cost $10,000, $12,000, $15,000 a year.Now I want to cap prescription drug costs at $2,000 a year for everyone!Folks Obamacare, known as the Affordable Care Act is still a very big deal.Over one hundred million of you can no longer be denied health insurance because of pre-existing conditions.But my predecessor and many in this chamber want to take that protection away by repealing the Affordable Care Act I won’t let that happen!We stopped you 50 times before and we will stop you again!In fact I am protecting it and expanding it.I enacted tax credits that save $800 per person per year reducing health care premiums for millions of working families.Those tax credits expire next year.I want to make those savings permanent!Women are more than half of our population but research on women’s health has always been underfunded.That’s why we’re launching the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, led by Jill who is doing an incredible job as First Lady.Pass my plan for $12 Billion to transform women’s health research and benefit millions of lives across America!I know the cost of housing is so important to you.If inflation keeps coming down mortgage rates will come down as well.But I’m not waiting.I want to provide an annual tax creditthat will give Americans $400 a month for the next two years as mortgage rates come down to put toward their mortgage when they buy a first home or trade up for a little more space.My Administration is also eliminating title insurance fees for federally backed mortgages.When you refinance your home this can save you $1,000 or more.For millions of renters, we’re cracking down on big landlords who break antitrust laws by price-fixing and driving up rents.I’ve cut red tape so more builders can get federal financing, which is already helping build a record 1.7 million housing units nationwide.Now pass my plan to build and renovate 2 million affordable homes and bring those rents down!To remain the strongest economy in the world we need the best education system in the world.I want to give every child a good start by providing access to pre-school for 3- and 4-year-olds.Studies show that children who go to pre-school are nearly 50% more likely to finish high school and go on to earn a 2- or 4-year degree no matter their background.I want to expand high-quality tutoring and summer learning time and see to it that every child learns to read by third grade.I’m also connecting businesses and high schools so students get hands-on experience and a path to a good-paying job whether or not they go to college.And I want to make college more affordable.Let’s continue increasing Pell Grants for working- and middle-class families and increase our record investments in HBCUs and Hispanic and Minority-serving InstitutionsI fixed student loan programs to reduce the burden of student debt for nearly 4 Million Americans including nurses firefighters and others in public service like Keenan Jones a public-school educator in Minnesota who’s here with us tonight.He’s educated hundreds of students so they can go to college now he can help his own daughter pay for college.Such relief is good for the economy because folks are now able to buy a home start a business even start a family.While we’re at it I want to give public school teachers a raise!Now let me speak to a question of fundamental fairness for all Americans.I’ve been delivering real results in a fiscally responsible way.I’ve already cut the federal deficit by over one trillion dollars.I signed a bipartisan budget deal that will cut another trillion dollars over the next decade.And now it’s my goal to cut the federal deficit $3 trillion more by making big corporations and the very wealthy finally pay their fair share.Look, I’m a capitalist.If you want to make a million bucks – great!Just pay your fair share in taxes.A fair tax code is how we invest in the things –that make a country great, health care, education, defense, and more.But here’s the deal.The last administration enacted a $2 Trillion tax cut that overwhelmingly benefits the very wealthy and the biggest corporations and exploded the federal deficit.They added more to the national debt than in any presidential term in American history.For folks at home does anybody really think the tax code is fair?Do you really think the wealthy and big corporations need another $2 trillion in tax breaks?I sure don’t. I’m going to keep fighting like hell to make it fair!Under my plan nobody earning less than $400,000 will pay an additional penny in federal taxes.Nobody. Not one penny.In fact the Child Tax Credit I passed during the pandemic cut taxes for millions of working families and cut child poverty in HALF.Restore the Child Tax Credit because no child should go hungry in this country!The way to make the tax code fair is to make big corporations and the very wealthy finally pay their share.In 2020 55 of the biggest companies in America made $40 Billion in profits and paid zero in federal income taxes.Not any more!Thanks to the law I wrote and signed big companies now have to pay a minimum of 15%.But that’s still less than working people pay in federal taxes.It’s time to raise the corporate minimum tax to at least 21% so every big corporation finally begins to pay their fair share.I also want to end the tax breaks for Big Pharma, Big Oil, private jets, and massive executive pay!End it now!There are 1,000 billionaires in America.You know what the average federal tax rate for these billionaires is? 8.2 percent!That’s far less than the vast majority of Americans pay.No billionaire should pay a lower tax rate than a teacher, a sanitation worker, a nurse!That’s why I’ve proposed a minimum tax of 25% for billionaires. Just 25%.That would raise $500 Billion over the next 10 years.Imagine what that could do for America. Imagine a future with affordable child care so millions of families can get the care they need and still go to work and help grow the economy.Imagine a future with paid leave because no one should have to choose between working and taking care of yourself or a sick family member.Imagine a future with home care and elder care so seniors and people living with disabilities can stay in their homes and family caregivers get paid what they deserve!Tonight, let’s all agree once again to stand up for seniors!Many of my Republican friends want to put Social Security on the chopping block.If anyone here tries to cut Social Security or Medicare or raise the retirement age I will stop them!Working people who built this country pay more into Social Security than millionaires and billionaires do. It’s not fair.We have two ways to go on Social Security.Republicans will cut Social Security and give more tax cuts to the wealthy.I will protect and strengthen Social Security and make the wealthy pay their fair share!Too many corporations raise their prices to pad their profits charging you more and more for less and less.That’s why we’re cracking down on corporations that engage in price gouging or deceptive pricing from food to health care to housing.In fact, snack companies think you won’t notice when they charge you just as much for the same size bagbut with fewer chips in it.Pass Senator Bob Casey’s bill to put a stop to shrinkflation!I’m also getting rid of junk fees those hidden fees added at the end of your bills without your knowledge. My administration just announced we’re cutting credit card late fees from $32 to just $8.The banks and credit card companies don’t like it.Why?I’m saving American families $20 billion a year with all of the junk fees I’m eliminating.And I’m not stopping there.My Administration has proposed rules to make cable travel utilities and online ticket sellers tell you the total price upfront so there are no surprises.It matters.And so does this.In November, my team began serious negotiations with a bipartisan group of Senators.The result was a bipartisan bill with the toughest set of border security reforms we’ve ever seenin this country.That bipartisan deal would hire 1,500 more border security agents and officers.100 more immigration judges to help tackle a backload of 2 million cases.4,300 more asylum officers and new policies so they can resolve cases in 6 months instead of 6 years.100 more high-tech drug detection machines to significantly increase the ability to screen and stop vehicles from smuggling fentanyl into America.This bill would save lives and bring order to the border.It would also give me as President new emergency authority to temporarily shut down the border when the number of migrants at the border is overwhelming.The Border Patrol Union endorsed the bill.The Chamber of Commerce endorsed the bill.I believe that given the opportunity a majority of the House and Senate would endorse it as well.But unfortunately, politics have derailed it so far.I’m told my predecessor called Republicans in Congress and demanded they block the bill. He feels it would be a political win for me and a political loser for him.It’s not about him or me.It’d be a winner for America!My Republican friends you owe it to the American people to get this bill done.We need to act.And if my predecessor is watching instead of playing politics and pressuring members of Congress to block this bill, join me in telling Congress to pass it!We can do it together. But here’s what I will not do.I will not demonize immigrants saying they “poison the blood of our country” as he said in his own words.I will not separate families.I will not ban people from America because of their faith.Unlike my predecessor, on my first day in office I introduced a comprehensive plan to fix our immigration system, secure the border, and provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and so much more.Because unlike my predecessor, I know who we areas Americans.We are the only nation in the world with a heart and soul that draws from old and new.Home to Native Americans whose ancestors have been here for thousands of years. Home to people from every place on Earth.Some came freely.Some chained by force.Some when famine struck, like my ancestral family in Ireland.Some to flee persecution.Some to chase dreams that are impossible anywhere but here in America.That’s America, where we all come from somewhere, but we are all Americans.We can fight about the border, or we can fix it. I’m ready to fix it.Send me the border bill now!A transformational moment in our history happened 59 years ago today in Selma, Alabama.Hundreds of foot soldiers for justice marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, named after a Grand Dragon of the KKK, to claim their fundamental right to vote.They were beaten bloodied and left for dead.Our late friend and former colleague John Lewis was at the march.We miss him.Joining us tonight are other marchers who were there including Betty May Fikes, known as the “Voice of Selma”.A daughter of gospel singers and preachers, she sang songs of prayer and protest on that Bloody Sunday,to help shake the nation’s conscience. Five months later, the Voting Rights Act was signed into law.But 59 years later, there are forces taking us back in time.Voter suppression. Election subversion. Unlimited dark money. Extreme gerrymandering.John Lewis was a great friend to many of us here. But if you truly want to honor him and all the heroes who marched with him, then it’s time for more than just talk.Pass and send me the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act!And stop denying another core value of America our diversity across American life.Banning books.It’s wrong!Instead of erasing history, let’s make history!I want to protect other fundamental rights!Pass the Equality Act, and my message to transgender Americans: I have your back!Pass the PRO Act for workers rights! And raise the federal minimum wage because every worker has the right to earn a decent living!We are also making history by confronting the climate crisis, not denying it.I’m taking the most significant action on climate ever in the history of the world.I am cutting our carbon emissions in half by 2030.Creating tens of thousands of clean-energy jobs, like the IBEW workers building and installing 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations.Conserving 30% of America’s lands and waters by 2030.Taking historic action on environmental justice for fence-line communities smothered by the legacy of pollution.And patterned after the Peace Corps and Ameri Corps, I’ve launched a Climate Corps to put 20,000 young people to work at the forefront of our clean energy future.I’ll triple that number this decade.All Americans deserve the freedom to be safe, and America is safer today than when I took office.The year before I took office, murders went up 30% nationwide the biggest increase in history.That was then.Now, through my American Rescue Plan, which every Republican voted against, I’ve made the largest investment in public safety ever.Last year, the murder rate saw the sharpest decrease in history, and violent crime fell to one of the lowest levels in more than 50 years.But we have more to do.Help cities and towns invest in more community police officers, more mental health workers, and more community violence intervention.Give communities the tools to crack down on gun crime, retail crime, and carjacking.Keep building public trust, as I’ve been doing by taking executive action on police reform, and calling for it to be the law of the land, directing my Cabinet to review the federal classification of marijuana, and expunging thousands of convictions for mere possession, because no one should be jailed for using or possessing marijuana!To take on crimes of domestic violence, I am ramping up federal enforcement of the Violence Against Women Act, that I proudly wrote, so we can finally end the scourge of violence against women in America!And there’s another kind of violence I want to stop.With us tonight is Jasmine, whose 9-year-old sister Jackie was murdered with 21 classmates and teachers at her elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.Soon after it happened, Jill and I went to Uvalde and spent hours with the families.We heard their message, and so should everyone in this chamber do something.I did do something by establishing the first-ever Office of Gun Violence Prevention in the White House that Vice President Harris is leading.Meanwhile, my predecessor told the NRA he’s proud he did nothing on guns when he was President.After another school shooting in Iowa he said we should just “get over it.”I say we must stop it.I’m proud we beat the NRA when I signed the most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years!Now we must beat the NRA again!I’m demanding a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines!Pass universal background checks!None of this violates the Second Amendment or vilifies responsible gun owners.As we manage challenges at home, we’re also managing crises abroad including in the Middle East.I know the last five months have been gut-wrenching for so many people, for the Israeli people, the Palestinian people, and so many here in America.This crisis began on October 7th with a massacre by the terrorist group Hamas.1,200 innocent people women and girls men and boys slaughtered, many enduring sexual violence.The deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.250 hostages taken.Here in the chamber tonight are American families whose loved ones are still being held by Hamas.I pledge to all the families that we will not rest until we bring their loved ones home.We will also work around the clock to bring home Evan and Paul, Americans being unjustly detained all around the world.Israel has a right to go after Hamas.Hamas could end this conflict today by releasing the hostages, laying down arms, and surrendering those responsible for October 7th.Israel has an added burden because Hamas hides and operates among the civilian population. But Israel also has a fundamental responsibility to protect innocent civilians in Gaza.This war has taken a greater toll on innocent civilians than all previous wars in Gaza combined.More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed.Most of whom are not Hamas.Thousands and thousands are innocent women and children.Girls and boys also orphaned.Nearly 2 million more Palestinians under bombardment or displaced.Homes destroyed, neighborhoods in rubble, cities in ruin.Families without food, water, medicine.It’s heartbreaking.We’ve been working non-stop to establish an immediate ceasefire that would last for at least six weeks.It would get the hostages home, ease the intolerable humanitarian crisis, and build toward something more enduring.The United States has been leading international efforts to get more humanitarian assistance into Gaza.Tonight, I’m directing the U.S. military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the Gaza coast that can receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters.No U.S. boots will be on the ground.This temporary pier would enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day.But Israel must also do its part.Israel must allow more aid into Gaza and ensure that humanitarian workers aren’t caught in the cross fire.To the leadership of Israel I say this.Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip.Protecting and saving innocent lives has to be a priority.As we look to the future, the only real solution is a two-state solution.I say this as a lifelong supporter of Israel and the only American president to visit Israel in wartime.There is no other path that guarantees Israel’s security and democracy.There is no other path that guarantees Palestinians can live with peace and dignity.There is no other path that guarantees peace between Israel and all of its Arab neighbors, including Saudi Arabia.Creating stability in the Middle East also means containing the threat posed by Iran.That’s why I built a coalition of more than a dozen countries to defend international shipping and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.I’ve ordered strikes to degrade Houthi capabilities and defend U.S. Forces in the region.As Commander in Chief, I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and military personnel.For years, all I’ve heard from my Republican friends and so many others is China’s on the rise and America is falling behind.They’ve got it backward.America is rising.We have the best economy in the world.Since I’ve come to office, our GDP is up.And our trade deficit with China is down to the lowest point in over a decade.We’re standing up against China’s unfair economic practices.And standing up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.I’ve revitalized our partnerships and alliances in the Pacific.I’ve made sure that the most advanced American technologies can’t be used in China’s weapons.Frankly for all his tough talk on China, it never occurred to my predecessor to do that.We want competition with China, but not conflict.And we’re in a stronger position to win the competition for the 21st Century against China or anyone else for that matter.Here at home I’ve signed over 400 bipartisan bills.But there’s more to do to pass my Unity Agenda.Strengthen penalties on fentanyl trafficking.Pass bipartisan privacy legislation to protect our children online.Harness the promise of A.I. and protect us from its peril.Ban A.I. voice impersonation and more!And keep our one truly sacred obligation, to train and equip those we send into harm’s way and care for them and their families when they come home, and when they don’t.That’s why I signed the PACT Act, one of the most significant laws ever, helping millions of veterans who were exposed to toxins and who now are battling more than 100 cancers.Many of them didn’t come home.We owe them and their families.And we owe it to ourselves to keep supporting our new health research agency called ARPA-H and remind us that we can do big things like end cancer as we know it!Let me close with this.I know I may not look like it, but I’ve been around a while.And when you get to my age certain things become clearer than ever before.I know the American story.Again and again I’ve seen the contest between competing forces in the battle for the soul of our nation.Between those who want to pull America back to the past and those who want to move America into the future.My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy.A future based on the core values that have defined America.Honesty. Decency. Dignity. Equality.To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair shot. To give hate no safe harbor.Now some other people my age see a different story.An American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution.That’s not me.I was born amid World War II when America stood for freedom in the world.I grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania and Claymont, Delaware among working people who built this country.I watched in horror as two of my heroes, Dr. King and Bobby Kennedy, were assassinated and their legacies inspired me to pursue a career in service.A public defender, county councilman, elected United States Senator at 29, then Vice President, to our first Black President, now President, with our first woman Vice President.In my career I’ve been told I’m too young and I’m too old.Whether young or old, I’ve always known what endures.Our North Star.The very idea of America, that we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives.We’ve never fully lived up to that idea, but we’ve never walked away from it either.And I won’t walk away from it now.My fellow Americans the issue facing our nation isn’t how old we are it’s how old our ideas are?Hate, anger, revenge, retribution are among the oldest of ideas.But you can’t lead America with ancient ideas that only take us back.To lead America, the land of possibilities, you need a vision for the future of what America can and should be.Tonight you’ve heard mine.I see a future where we defend democracy not diminish it.I see a future where we restore the right to choose and protect other freedoms not take them away.I see a future where the middle class finally has a fair shot and the wealthy finally have to pay their fair share in taxes.I see a future where we save the planet from the climate crisis and our country from gun violence.Above all, I see a future for all Americans!I see a country for all Americans!And I will always be a president for all Americans!Because I believe in America!I believe in you the American people.You’re the reason I’ve never been more optimistic about our future!So let’s build that future together!Let’s remember who we are!We are the United States of America.There is nothing beyond our capacity when we act together!May God bless you all.May God protect our troops.
Apparently the Republican reply (I didn't watch any of this life) was rather over the top and is being widely panned. This from a Twitter comment:
I don’t mean to be overly harsh toward the lady, but putting aside the content for a moment, Sen. Britt’s (YOB 1982) manner of delivery last night pretty well encapsulates everything that Gen X (YOB here 1973) finds nauseating about Millennials….
Sunday, March 3, 2024
Wars and Rumors of War, 2024. Part 3. The Putin's Cheerleaders Edition.
February 13, 2024
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
Matthew, Chapter 24.
If your position is being cheered by Vladimir Putin, it’s time to reconsider your position.
Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney, whom I did not care much for as a Presidential candidate, has gone on to be an absolute hero in the Senate. It's tragic that he's leaving this year.
Equally tragic is that the once pro defense Republican Party has not only retreated into isolationism, it's gone into America First isolationism, last seen advanced by the likes of the Bund and Lindbergh just prior to World War Two.
February 15, 2024
Russo Ukrainian War
The Ukrainians sank the Caesar Kunikov amphibious ship near Alupka with naval drones.
North Korea v. South Korea
North Korea announced that it will take a more aggressive approach to disputed waters near its border with South Korea.
Myanmar
Myanmar announced it will begin to commence its citizens, male and female, to fill a 60,000 man shortage.
February 17, 2024
Russo Ukrainian War
Avdiivka has fallen to the Russians after months of fighting.
Severe ammunition shortages are becoming a factor in Ukraine, something that has set in since Republicans following Putin Fan Boy Donald Trump's views have held up aid.
Germany and France both signed bilateral security agreements with Ukraine on February 16.
Putin was bragging up the T-90
M'eh
And now the Russian Navy.
2011 Navalny designed poster about Putin's United Russia party, declaring it to be a "party of crooks and thieves".
Alexei Navalny became the latest Putin opponent in Russia, or outside of it, to die under mysterious circumstances. The 47-year-old politician reportedly collapsed in a penal colony, where he was serving a sentence for "extremism". Trump mouthpiece Lord Haw Haw Carlson excused the death in an interview.
February 18, 2024
Russo Ukrainian War.
A series of rising reactions to the failure of the US to provide ongoing aid to Ukraine is resulting in ramping pressure on the weak Leader of the House, Mike Johnson.
Johnson came into office declaring himself on a mission from God (literally) but so far he's pretty much been a puppet of Trump's, the strings being his extraordinarily weak position, one that is now even weaker as Santos was predictably replaced with a Democrat. Between the refusal to act on the border due to Trump and Ukraine, there's frankly a pretty good chance, in my view, that the Democrats might flip the House in the fall.
At any rate, we'd first note that Congress went on vacation without acting. President Zelenskyy commented that dictators did not go on vacation.
President Biden urged Congress to act.
Vice President Harris pledged US support.
National Review has an editorial aimed at Johnson urging he get off his duff and do something.
A bill in the House provides 47.7 billion for Ukraine, $10.4 billion for Israel, with has strong House report for some interesting reasons, $4.9 billion for the Indo Pacific, including Taiwan and $2.4 billion for supporting U.S. Central Command operations, including funding to offset efforts to deter Houthi
militant attacks in the Red Sea.
Matt Gaetz stated: ". . . I think that is a lot more significant to my constituents than which dude gets to run Crimea"
Presumably one of those things is getting conscripted when Poland and the Baltic States are invaded, which may well be coming, and fighting the first real toe to toe, peer to peer war, since World War Two.
About 400 Russians have been arrested for attending Navalny memorials.
Mexican Border Crisis
Democrats are also exploiting the GOP's Trump ordered failure to act on the border by exploiting the topic, which is now becoming an asset for them.
February 19, 2024
Hamas Israeli War
Israel set a deadline for the start of Ramadan in which it will invade Rafah if its hostages are not freed.
That would be March 10.
While seemingly missed, this may be a change in position towards a negotiated resolution of the conflict, as prior to this Israel has essentially taken the position that it will not be restrained, no matter what.
Papua New Guinea Tribal Warfare
53 people were killed in intertribal warfare on Papua.
February 20, 2024
Russo Ukrainian War
I don’t like this reality. Vladimir Putin is an evil war criminal.Vladimir Putin will not lose this war.
Mike Johnson last week. Lindbergh said the same thing about Hitler.
Defecting Russian helicopter pilot Maxim Kuzminov was murdered in Spain.
Donald Trump posted that somehow the death of a Russian opposition leader who was put in a gulag by his Trump's buddy Putin, was sort of about him.
February 21, 2024
Hamas Israeli War
The US vetoed a cease fire resolution in the UN.
February 22, 2024
Trump in a Fox News interview stated, regarding nuclear war, the following:
I worry about their safety too. These people, everyone in this room is in great danger. We have a nuclear weapon that if you hit New York, South Carolina is gone
FWIW, and Trump is receiving criticism on this, the yield of a nuclear weapon is sufficient by a long measure to destroy South Carolina from a strike in New York. Prevailing wind patters, also, would not carry the fallout there.
Anyhow, I'm noting this here as a recent item on NPR's Politics discussed Trump's fear of nuclear war, which apparently is very pronounced.
I don't give Trump credit for deep thought s on very much. The Internet has allowed a lot of those in the shallow end of the pool to have voice as if they know what they're talking about, and frankly I'd include Trump in those in the shallow end of the pool. But apparently nuclear war is one thing he actually thinks about and has opinions on, and he's afraid of it.
That doesn't really surprise me too much.
Trump came of age in in the 1960s which was at a time that the fear of nuclear war was quite pronounced. It remained that way in the 1970s, and by the early 1980s I recall being forced to read A Republic Of Grass. which urged that we surrender to the Soviet Union, essentially, right then and there rather than face the prospect of nuclear war, which lefties were certain Ronald Reagan was going to get us into. I recall some on the right saying "there are worse things than death" in response to such things, which is harsh, but true.
But if your values end at yourself, maybe there aren't.
Russo Ukrainian War
Prominent Russian milblogger Andrei Morozov committed suicide after refusing Russian military command orders to delete his reports on high Russian casualty rates around Avdiivka.
Iranian sources told Reuters that the country provided hundreds of short-range ballistic missiles to Russia in early January.
That certainly helps Russia, but it also shows that industrially its a shadow of the former USSR.
Putin gave a car to the North Korean Communist Monarch.
February 23, 224
Houthi's
The Houthis on sent shippers and insurers a formal notice of a ban on vessels they deem linked to Israel, the U.S. and UK from sailing in waters bordering Yemen. They also declared they are going to use submarine weapons.
Russo Ukrainian War
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Ukraine has a right to use its Western-supplied weapons to defend itself against Russia, up to and including targeting sites within Russia.
February 24, 2024
Armenia is suspending its membership in Russia's Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
February 25, 2024
Houthi's
The US and UK struck 18 Houthi targets yesterday.
Cont:
Russo Ukrainian War
In a speech marking the two-year point in the war, President Zylenskyy indicated 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have lost their lives so far, which is actually about half of what I previously saw estimated some time ago.
Two separate measures are being introduced to provide aid to Ukraine that go around Mike Johnson, who has proven to be a Trump flunkie.
King Charles praised President Zylenskyy for his countrymen exhibiting something that Johnson is not, that being courage.
Nigeria
Fifteen Catholics were murdered at Sunday Mass.
February 26, 2024
Hamas v. Israel
The PM of Israel made it clear that it is Israel's intent to enter Rafah no matter what. A ceasefire will merely delay that.
Russo Ukrainian War
Two separate discharge petitions to bring funding for Ukraine are being introduced into the House on different bills, one being the bill that has already passed the Senate. There seems to be optimism that one of them, that being the unique House bill in particular, will pass in this end run around politically castrated Trump eunuch, Mike Johnson.
ISW reports that there were more Russians casualties taking Avdiivka, 47,000, than in the entire Soviet Afghan War.
February 29, 2024
Russo Ukrainian War
Russia has taken Stepove, seven miles northwest of Avdiivka. Ukrainian have pulled back from Stepove and the neighboring village of Sieverne.
Maybe the Russians will put up a monument to Mike Johnson there.
March 1, 2024
Russo Ukrainian War
A Ukrainian missile strike killed 19 troops, injured 12 and Colonel Roman Kozhukhov, a respected commander in the occupied Donetsk in Ukraine. They were at a medal ceremony.
Donald Trump's Minister of Propaganda, Tucker "Lord Haw Haw" Carlson, stated that Donald Trump's object of affection, Vlad Putin, was stating something "dumb" when he justified the assault on Ukraine on the object of denazification.
China v. Taiwan
The PRC Coast Guard patrolled prohibited and restricted waters around Taiwan-controlled Kinmen.
Mexican Border Crisis
Both President Biden and would be president Trump were on the Mexican border yesterday.
March 2, 2024
Hamas v. Israel
The United States is going to air drop humanitarian relief into Gaza.
Russo Ukrainian War
Transnistria, breakaway sliver of Moldova, which itself is a Cyrillic using region of Romania that's a separate country as the Russians oppose Moldova uniting with Romania, asked Russia for "protection" from Moldova.
March 3, 2024
Houthis v. the West
A fertilizer ship hit days ago by the Houthis has sunk.
Russo Ukrainian War
For unknown reasons, North Korean munitions shipments to Russia appear to have stopped.
Related Threads:
Last Prior Edition:
Monday, February 26, 2024
Monday, February 19, 2024
Blog Mirror: Joe Biden Could Send Millions Of Artillery Shells To Ukraine, For Free, Tomorrow. And It’s Perfectly Legal.
An excellent idea:
Joe Biden Could Send Millions Of Artillery Shells To Ukraine, For Free, Tomorrow. And It’s Perfectly Legal.
And not just artillery shells, but M60 tanks as well.
Saturday, February 10, 2024
Cliffnotes of the Zeitgeist, 57th Edition. Tucker Carlson.
The Russian online community noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not offer any new information in his interview with American media personality Tucker Carlson and simply repeated longstanding Kremlin talking points about Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine for American audiences.
Last prior edition:
Cliffnotes of the Zeitgeist, 56th Edition. Timing
Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Wars and Rumors of War, 2024. Part I. New Year, last year's wars.
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
Matthew, Chapter 24.
Only the dead have seen the end of the war.
George Santayana
January 1, 2024
Russo Ukrainian War
This major war is now in its third calendar year.
Hamas Israeli War
The Prime Minister of Israel has stated that this campaign will carry on for many months.
An Israeli airstrike killed 35 in Gaza.
The U.S. Navy sunk three Houthi boats attempting to attack a merchant vessel.
Venezuela v Guyana border dispute.
Venezuela is conducting a joint arms exercise in response to the Royal Navy dispatching a ship to Guyana.
January 2, 2024
Russo Ukrainian War
A change in Norwegian law allows Norwegian arms manufacturers to sell arms directly to Ukraine.
How much of a defense industry Norway has, of course, is another matter.
January 3, 2024
Hamas Israeli War
An Israeli airstrike sent Saleh Arouri to the next world, where he will have to make an account for his actions. An Islamic radical his entire life, he was the founder of Hamas' military wing.
He went to his end in Beirut.
From ISW:
Israeli forces are transitioning to the third phase of their operations in the northern Gaza Strip, which will very likely enable Hamas to reconstitute itself militarily. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that it withdrew five brigades from the northern Gaza Strip on December 31. This reduction in forces is part of what the IDF has described as its third phase in the strip, which also involves ending major combat operations, releasing reservists, transitioning to “targeted raids,” and establishing a security buffer zone within the Gaza Strip.
January 4, 2024
US/Mexico Border Crisis
The Justice Department has sued Texas on over a new law that would allow Texas police to arrest illegal immigrants on the basis of their illegality.
My prediction is that this suit will likely fail.
Hamas Israeli War
Hezbollah leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel that launching a full-scale war on Lebanon Islamist targets would be "very costly," and that the assassination of a senior Hamas leader in Beirut would not go unpunished.
Sort of in the D'uh category.
Cont:
Islamic State v. Iran
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for a bombing attack that killed 84 people in Kerman, Iran. The attack occured during a memorial procession for Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani. The Sunni group regards Shiites, which most Iranians are, with Iran being a Shiite theocracy, as apostates.
January 5, 2024
Russo Ukrainian War
Putin signed a decree signed speeding up citizenship for foreigners enlisting in the Russian army.
Somalian Civil War
From ISW:
Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with the de facto independent Somaliland Republic, a breakaway region of Somalia, to lease a naval port that will give it Red Sea access in exchange for formally recognizing Somaliland.
January 7, 2024
The Korean Conflict
North Korea issued one of its threatening proclamations through Communist princess Kim Yo Jong.
These are moronic, as without China, and North Korea cannot really depend on China, South Korea would be eliminated as an entity in the event of war.
South Korea may soon not be able to fill its conscript levies due to a declining population.
Russo Ukrainian War
Japan's foreign minister visited Ukraine.
Russia seems to have resumed its strategy of attempting localized offensives that degrade its own forces.
The Ukrainians have been conducting a drone offensive against targets in Crimea.
January 9, 2024
Russo Ukrainian War
News reports hold that Russia has deployed 35,000 men of the Russian National Guard, some equipped with World War Two vintage rifles, to occupied regions of Ukraine as security forces.
January 10, 2024
Hamas Israeli War
Anthony Blinken has indicated the US rejects the concept of resettling the Gazan Levantines from that area even though, of course, its an untenable ghetto.
Iran v. The West
Iranian backed Houthis launched 50 drones at shipping today, all of which were shot down by the U.S. Navy and Royal Navy.
Iran is using the current Hamas Israeli War as a pretext to try to advance its interest in the region.
January 11, 2024
Hamas Israeli War
The US and UK hit targets with missiles inside of Yemen, from which Houthi drone strikes have been coming. A Houthi spokesman actually complained about it.
January 12, 2024
Russo Ukrainian War
The State of Texas, using the Texas National Guard, has seized Shelby Park in Eagle Pass in order to prevent Federal authorities from processing migrants.
January 13, 2024
Hamas Israeli War.
The US struck Houthi targets again yesterday.
Turkey v. Kurds
Turkish air raids struck Kurdish militant targets in Metina, Hakurk, Gara and Qandil in northern Iraq. This was in retaliation for a Kurdish attack on a Turkish base in Iraq.
January 16, 2024
Iran v Everyone
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards launched missile attacks in Syria and in Iraq’s Kurdistan region yesterday.
Korean Conflict
The North Korean Communist Clown state announced it is no longer pursuing reconciliation with South Korea, which actually dovetails nicely with general younger South Korean desires.
There's speculation on why this was announced, but in reality, any reunion between the countries at this point makes the ongoing Communist monarchy in North Korean irrelevant in every fashion so quickly, it isn't funny.
January 17, 2024
Hamas Israeli War/Iran v Everyone
The US is placing the Houthi's back on the terrorist list.
Iran v. Everyone
Iran conducted missile strikes on a Sunni militia site in Pakistan.
January 18, 2024
Hamas Israeli War/Iran v Everyone
The US conducted a fourth round of strikes on the Houthis.
Pakistan v. Baloch militants.
Pakistan conducted strikes inside Iran against Baloch militants.
January 20, 2024
Russo Ukrainian War
The Estonian state will not extend the residence permit of the head of the Estonian Orthodox Church (Russian Orthodox Church in Estonia) of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Yevgeniy, whose civil name is Valeri Reshetnikov, because his activities are a security threat to Estonia
Estonian government.
Cont:
The Middle East
Somebody (probably Israel) hit Iranian Revolutionary Guard figures inside of Syria. In turn, US sites in Iraq were hit.by Iranian backed militia's.
Iran is the common thread here.
January 21, 2024
Hamas Israeli War
Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a two state solution for Gaza.
This is widely seen as a terrible thing to have done, but frankly, Gaza isn't viable as an isolated political unit and always has depended on economic support from the outside to get by. Geographically, it should be part of Israel or Egypt, and that's a simple economic and topographic fact. It shouldn't be part of another state.
For that matter, a Palestinian state makes little to no sense. It would be minute.
Those are the rough, real facts to deal with. Levantines that live within the borders of what had been pre-1948 Palestine either have to live within Israel, realistically, or be relocated in some instances to an Arab state that could host them, none of which are willing to do it.
Russo Ukrainian War
President Zylenskyy expressed concerns about remarks made by Donald Trump regarding securing peace.
Concern is warranted given Trump's admiration for dictators and his increasingly erratic if not demented behavior.
January 22, 2024
China v. Taiwan
Recent statements by GOP candidate Donald Trump have risen concerns that his commitment to Taiwan, which has been a GOP hallmark, is low.
FWIW, Trump raised Taiwanese semiconductor production as something the US should have done something about, seemingly failing to grasp that if it falls to China, we're in a world of semiconductor hurt.
On one of the weekend shows, it was recently revealed that Trump has a gigantic exaggerated fear of nuclear war. He also clearly has a thing for strongmen.
January 23, 2024
Hamas Israeli War
Numerous nations are lining up against Israel and demanding a Palestinian state be part of a peace package, even though such a state, if within the boundaries of the former Palestinian mandate, would not be economically viable.
Saudi Arabia, with a large landmass and a labor deficit, has stated it will not normalize relations with Israel unless a Palestinian state is created.
British and American forces hit Houthi ones again.
Russo Ukrainian War
Ukraine conducted successful drone strikes against targets in Leningrad and Tula oblasts.
Boarder Crisis
The U.S. Supreme Court allowed Federal agents to remove razor wire on the Texas/Mexico border, but it is merely a ruling on a temporary injunction, so the actual ruling, in terms of the issues, means next to nothing whatsoever.
January 24, 2024
Russo Ukrainian War
Due to political infighting, the US is out of funding for Ukraine and the pipeline is therefore shut.
January 25, 2024
Hamas Israeli War
Israel proposed a two-month pause in fighting in exchange for Hamas releasing over several phases the remaining hostages held in the Gaza Strip. The first phase would have Hamas return women, men over 60 years old, and hostages in critical medical condition. Israeli media reported that the "next phases" would include the release of female IDF soldiers, civilian males under the age of 60, Israeli male soldiers, and the bodies of hostages. An anonymous Israeli official told an Israeli journalist that the proposal includes redeploying the IDF out of main population centers in the Gaza Strip to allow Palestinian civilians to return to these areas. The official added that this proposal does not include the release of all 6,000 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons.
This would be a major concession from Israel, but it doesn't seem to have generated much news.
Russo Ukrainian War
A Russian Il-76 military transporting Ukrainian POWs for an exchange crashed in Yablonovo, Belgorod Oblast. The Russians have accused Ukraine of shooting it down.
Patriarch Krill urged the Russian government to extend the draft deferment for fathers, now set at fathers with four children, down to father's with three, out of concern for the declining Russian population.
Slovakia, whose current government is close to Putin, pleadged support for the integrity of Ukraine's internationally recognized borders.
Middle East
Houthi's attempted to attack U.S. Navy escorts with ballistic missiles unsuccessfully.
US/Mexico Border
An attempt in Congress to get a bill passed to address the border is stalled with Donald Trump now entering the picture, opposing it, something that is hard not to be quite skeptical about.
This will messs up aid to Ukraine as well.
January 27, 2024
Russo Ukrainian War
US/Mexico Border
Also:
Governor Gordon Supports Texas’ Right to Secure its Border
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Gordon has issued a statement in support of border security Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Texas’ constitutional right to defend and protect itself in the face of the crisis at the southern border.
“I remain committed to a secure border, and to supporting states struggling with the ongoing security crisis along our southern border. That’s why Wyoming has offered resources and committed them to this effort, most recently responding to Governor Greg Abbott's Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) request for law enforcement officers. I recognize the importance of secure borders and the vulnerabilities that a lack of resolve to securing those borders has brought to our country.
Secure borders prevent criminals and deadly drugs like fentanyl from entering our country and making their way to Wyoming. Wyoming stands in solidarity with Governor Abbott and the State of Texas in utilizing every tool and strategy to secure the border and protect American citizens. We are all border states now.”
Governor Gordon was also one of 25 Governors who signed a joint statement in support of Texas Governor Abbott and Texas’ constitutional right to self-defense.
Related to this, Denver Colorado reports it has an illegal/refugee populaton of 40,000.
Middle East
The Houthi's hit and set on faire an oil tanker.
China v The West
China’s intelligence agency has warned the Chinese to beware of “exotic beauties” who they fear are opserating as honey traps.
Intersingly, honey traps were a favorite Communist tactic for gathering intelligence.
Hamas Israeli War
Numerous Western countries have suspended contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, after it was learned that twelve of its members particpated in the Hamas attacks on Israel.
January 28, 2024
Picking up where we left off yesterday:
Hamas Israeli War
Numerous Western countries have suspended contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, after it was learned that twelve of its members particpated in the Hamas attacks on Israel.
The agency's head warns that UNRWA is collapsing given that nine countries have withdrawn from it and famine looms.
This is a tragedy, but it also tells us something about the UN and th total lack of viability of the Palestinian Authority's territorial regions, although of course a war is on.
Clearly, something needs to be done. That something, requires new oversight, and some hard decisions that nobody wants to make.
January 29, 2024
The Middle East
Three American troops were killed and more injured by an Iranian backed militia drone strike on a US base in Jordan. The base is near the border with Jordan.
I was unaware we had any bases in Jordan.
January 31, 2024
Russo Ukrainian War
The Russians have launched an offensive in the Kharkiv-Luhansk Oblast
Last Prior Edition:
Wars and Rumors of War, 2023, Part XII. γλυκύ δ᾽ἀπείρῳ πόλεμος. πεπειραμένων δέ τις ταρβεῖ προσιόντα νιν καρδία περισσῶς.
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