Another Republican President, Another Recession.

[hanimmal]

https://apnews.com/article/floods-wildfires-emergency-management-federal-agency-climate-and-environment-6a65f67826b35af48dd589dc5df6d22f

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is making more than $1 billion available to states to address flooding and extreme heat exacerbated by climate change.

Vice President Kamala Harris is set to announce the grant programs Monday at an event in Miami with the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other officials. The competitive grants will help communities across the nation prepare for and respond to climate-related disasters.

“We know that the impacts of the climate crisis are here, and that we must invest in building resilience to protect our communities, infrastructure and economy,″ the White House said in a statement.

The announcement comes as the death toll from massive flooding in Kentucky continued to climb on Sunday amid a renewed threat of more heavy rains. In the West, wildfires in California and Montana exploded in size amid windy, hot conditions, encroaching on neighborhoods and forcing evacuation orders.

Multiple Western states continued heat advisories amid a prolonged drought that has dried reservoirs and threatened communities across the region.

Harris will visit the National Hurricane Center for a briefing by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and FEMA. She also will visit Florida International University, where she is expected to address extreme weather events across the country, including the flooding in Kentucky and Missouri and the wildfires in California.

President Joe Biden announced last month that the administration will spend $2.3 billion to help communities cope with soaring temperatures through programs administered by FEMA, the Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies. The move doubles spending on the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, or BRIC, program, which supports states, local communities, tribes and territories on projects to reduce climate-related hazards and prepare for natural disasters such as floods and wildfires.

“Communities across our nation are experiencing first-hand the devastating impacts of the climate change and the related extreme weather events that follow — more energized hurricanes with deadlier storm surges, increased flooding and a wildfire season that’s become a year-long threat,” FEMA head Deanne Criswell said.

The funding to be announced Monday will “help to ensure that our most vulnerable communities are not left behind, with hundreds of millions of dollars ultimately going directly to the communities that need it most,″ Criswell said.

A total of $1 billion will be made available through the BRIC program, with another $160 million to be offered for flood mitigation assistance, officials said.

Jacksonville, Florida, was among cities that received money under the BRIC program last year. The city was awarded $23 million for flood mitigation and stormwater infrastructure. Jacksonville, the largest city in Florida, sits in a humid, subtropical region along the St. Johns River and Atlantic Ocean, making it vulnerable to flooding when stormwater basins reach capacity. The city experiences frequent flooding and is at risk for increased major storms.

The South Florida Water Management District in Miami-Dade County received $50 million for flood mitigation and pump station repairs. Real estate development along the city’s fast-growing waterfront has created a high-risk flood zone for communities in the city and put pressure on existing systems, making repairs to existing structures an urgent need, officials said.

The Biden administration has launched a series of actions intended to reduce heat-related illness and protect public health, including a proposed workplace heat standard.

 

[Lucky Luke]

Biden is prez, cannot keep blaming trump for 4 years.

"While the fear of an upcoming recession looms over many Americans, there is still time to adjust. “It’s extremely unusual and frankly bizarre that we have forecast this recession,” Sahm said, “but it could also be for families to prepare like they never had.” Economic experts suggest people set some money aside if possible. Savings will give them a cushion they may rely on down the line and decreasing their spending could also help to reduce inflation. "

What Is a Recession and Is the U.S. in One in 2022?

A recession has traditionally been defined as two back-to-back quarters of declining gross domestic product

time.com

and that could effect me.

Australia's biggest economic threat isn't homegrown. It's a recession originating in the United States

Australia has escaped a global recession twice in the past 50 years. Now, amid ominous talk about yet another US-led global recession, is there a chance we could escape a third? asks Peter Martin.

www.abc.net.au

 

[hanimmal]

Biden is prez, cannot keep blaming trump for 4 years.

Huh?

I know it is a popular myth that the right wing is pushing that we should ignore history and facts, but I don't agree with that at all. People need to understand what is at stake, and every time that there is a Republican president, the world's economy suffers. It is not just about Trump's shit decisions that sunk us into a recession, it is really about at least the last 50 years of Republican decisions that have screwed the middle class and our environment so that their mega rich daddies don't have to pay taxes when they give them their money.

"While the fear of an upcoming recession looms over many Americans, there is still time to adjust. “It’s extremely unusual and frankly bizarre that we have forecast this recession,” Sahm said, “but it could also be for families to prepare like they never had.” Economic experts suggest people set some money aside if possible. Savings will give them a cushion they may rely on down the line and decreasing their spending could also help to reduce inflation. "

What Is a Recession and Is the U.S. in One in 2022?

A recession has traditionally been defined as two back-to-back quarters of declining gross domestic product

time.com

and that could effect me.

Australia's biggest economic threat isn't homegrown. It's a recession originating in the United States

Australia has escaped a global recession twice in the past 50 years. Now, amid ominous talk about yet another US-led global recession, is there a chance we could escape a third? asks Peter Martin.

www.abc.net.au

"Fear" is one of those things that can actually push a nation into a recession.

Between the massive number of job openings, and American savings, consumption is still increasing, so really there is no reason to fear a recession outside of inflationary pressures, which is on the oil producers which have been fleecing us all due to a stupid 'negotiation' Trump and other world dictators did back in 2020, Putin's bullshit slaughtering of innocent people in his war with Ukraine, and China's fuckery with the supply chain.

 

[cannabineer]

Biden is prez, cannot keep blaming trump for 4 years.

"While the fear of an upcoming recession looms over many Americans, there is still time to adjust. “It’s extremely unusual and frankly bizarre that we have forecast this recession,” Sahm said, “but it could also be for families to prepare like they never had.” Economic experts suggest people set some money aside if possible. Savings will give them a cushion they may rely on down the line and decreasing their spending could also help to reduce inflation. "

What Is a Recession and Is the U.S. in One in 2022?

A recession has traditionally been defined as two back-to-back quarters of declining gross domestic product

time.com

and that could effect me.

Australia's biggest economic threat isn't homegrown. It's a recession originating in the United States

Australia has escaped a global recession twice in the past 50 years. Now, amid ominous talk about yet another US-led global recession, is there a chance we could escape a third? asks Peter Martin.

www.abc.net.au

What the current trolls are trying to shout over is one simple fact: that man’s policy spite grenades are still going off.

It is not the incumbent’s fault, and while the President may not have the oratory power Mr. Obama possessed, I invite you to google “biden accomplishments”.
It is instructive which news agency says what.

 

[hanimmal]

https://apnews.com/article/homelessness-government-and-politics-7c9af6b30572273bd1549b4382a6ff2a

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Housing and Urban Development is providing $2.8 billion in fresh funding for homeless services organizations across the country.

The funding, announced Monday, will be allocated via competitive bids through HUD’s Continuum of Care Program, the largest source of federal grant support to housing and services programs for people experiencing homelessness.

HUD funds approximately 7,000 homeless services projects annually through the program. Applications for the new round of funding are due to HUD by Sept. 29.

A HUD statement announcing the funding said that existing Continuum of Care participants can “renew existing projects, apply for new projects and to reallocate resources from lower performing projects to better serve people experiencing homelessness.”

The announcement specifies that the new funding will prioritize services for homeless youth and for “survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.”

Other priorities in the funding include an emphasis on racial equity and anti-discrimination polices for LGTBQ+ individuals. Access to the Continuum of Care funding will also be expanded to welcome applicants from Native American tribes and internal tribal housing support programs.

HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said in a statement that the new funding “will help more Americans experiencing homelessness move into homes and access critical supportive services like health care, education, and job training.”

Fudge added that the Biden administration seeks to “prioritize equity in homelessness efforts and the humane treatment of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, and the funding announced today will help communities do just that.”

 

[hanimmal]

https://apnews.com/article/floods-storms-kentucky-weather-emergency-management-6971f52cd2cc0cc79da8553dbc5d38f4

HINDMAN, Ky. (AP) — Damage to critical infrastructure and the arrival of more heavy rains hampered efforts Sunday to help Kentucky residents hit by recent massive flooding, Gov. Andy Beshear said.

As residents in Appalachia tried to slowly piece their lives back together, flash flood warnings were issued for at least eight eastern Kentucky counties. The National Weather Service said radar indicated up to 4 inches (10.2 centimeters) of rain fell Sunday in some areas, with more rain possible.

Beshear said the death toll climbed to 28 on Sunday from last week’s storms, a number he expected to rise significantly and that it could take weeks to find all the victims.

Thirty-seven people were unaccounted for as search and rescue operations continued early Sunday, according to a daily briefing from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. A dozen shelters were open for flood victims in Kentucky with 388 occupants.

Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the U.S. National Guard Bureau, told The Associated Press about 400 people have been rescued by National Guard helicopter. He estimated that the guard had rescued close to 20 by boat from hard-to-access areas.

At a news conference in Knott County, Beshear praised the fast arrival of FEMA trailers but noted the numerous challenges.

“We have dozens of bridges that are out — making it hard to get to people, making it hard to supply people with water,” he said. “We have entire water systems down that we are working hard to get up.”

Beshear said it will remain difficult, even a week from now, to “have a solid number on those accounted for. It’s communications issues — it’s also not necessarily, in some of these areas, having a firm number of how many people were living there in the first place.”

The governor also talked about the selflessness he’s seen among Kentucky residents suffering from the floods.

“Many people that have lost everything but they’re not even getting goods for themselves, they’re getting them for other people in their neighborhoods, making sure that their neighbors are OK,” Beshear said.

Among the stories of survival that continue to emerge, a 17-year-old girl whose home in Whitesburg was flooded Thursday put her dog in a plastic container and swam 70 yards to safety on a neighbor’s roof. Chloe Adams waited hours until daylight before a relative in a kayak arrived and moved them to safety, first taking her dog, Sandy, and then the teenager.

“My daughter is safe and whole tonight,” her father, Terry Adams, said in a Facebook post. “We lost everything today … everything except what matters most.”

On an overcast morning in downtown Hindman, about 200 miles (322 kilometers) southeast of Louisville, a crew cleared debris piled along storefronts. Nearby, a vehicle was perched upside down in Troublesome Creek, now back within its debris-littered banks.

Workers toiled nonstop through mud-caked sidewalks and roads.

“We’re going to be here unless there’s a deluge,” said Tom Jackson, who is among the workers.

Jackson was with a crew from Corbin, Kentucky, where he’s the city’s recycling director, about a two-hour drive from Hindman.

His crew worked all day Saturday, and the mud and debris were so thick that they managed to clear one-eighth of a mile of roadway. The water rushing off the hillsides had so much force that it bent road signs.

“I’ve never seen water like this,” Jackson said.

Attendance was down for the Sunday morning service at Hindman’s First Baptist Church. Parishioners who rarely miss a service were instead back home tending to cleanup duties caused by floodwaters and mud.

The Rev. Mike Caudill said his church has pitched in to help the reeling community, serving meals and setting up tents for people to pick up cleaning and personal hygiene supplies.

Totes filled with clothes and photos were stacked on retired teacher Teresa Perry Reynolds’ front porch, along with furniture too badly damaged to salvage.

“There are memories there,” she said of the family photos she and her husband were able to gather.

Her husband’s wallet, lost as they escaped the fast-rising water Thursday to go to a neighbor’s house, was later found.

“All I know is I’m homeless and I’ve got people taking care of me,” she said.

Parts of eastern Kentucky received between 8 and 10 1/2 inches (20-27 centimeters) over 48 hours. About 13,000 utility customers in Kentucky remained without power Sunday, poweroutage.us reported.

President Joe Biden declared a federal disaster to direct relief money to more than a dozen Kentucky counties.

Last week’s flooding extended to West Virginia, where Gov. Jim Justice declared a state of emergency for six southern counties, and to Virginia, where Gov. Glenn Youngkin also made an emergency declaration that enabled officials to mobilize resources across the flooded southwest portion of the state.

 

[Roger A. Shrubber]

https://apnews.com/article/floods-storms-kentucky-weather-emergency-management-6971f52cd2cc0cc79da8553dbc5d38f4View attachment 5173307
View attachment 5173318

that sure seems like some shitty leadership to me...but, if you want some top class obstructing done, turkey neck mitch is your man, no one can obstruct like him...

 

[Lucky Luke]

What the current trolls are trying to shout over is one simple fact: that man’s policy spite grenades are still going off.

It is not the incumbent’s fault, and while the President may not have the oratory power Mr. Obama possessed, I invite you to google “biden accomplishments”.
It is instructive which news agency says what.

Biden's biggest accomplishments and failures in his first year as president

As Biden enters his second year in the White House, he faces declining approval numbers over his handling of the pandemic and the economy.

www.businessinsider.com

Accomplishment
Vaccinations
But only roughly 63% of the US population is fully vaccinated. More than 526 million doses have been administered.
While a significant portion of the population remains unvaccinated — and the US continues to trail much of the world in terms of vaccination rates

Infrastructure bill:
Didn't that get wound way, way back?

Unemployment:
Unemployment is low, like it is nearly everywhere but labor-participation rate (61.9%). There is not a strong labor-force participation recovery yet.

Failures:
Build back better is dead in the water.

Inflation.

Terrible retreat in Afghanistan

Proxy war with Russia.

Vaccination rate lags

EPA is less restrictive

Women lost Constitutional rights.


=Avg Prez. he wont go down as the worst prez in history but he will be remembered as pretty avg. The man who got rid of trump will be his greatest achievement and that's not a bad legacy- provided he doesn't lose to trump this go around of course.

 

[cannabineer]

Biden's biggest accomplishments and failures in his first year as president

As Biden enters his second year in the White House, he faces declining approval numbers over his handling of the pandemic and the economy.

www.businessinsider.com

Accomplishment
Vaccinations
But only roughly 63% of the US population is fully vaccinated. More than 526 million doses have been administered.
While a significant portion of the population remains unvaccinated — and the US continues to trail much of the world in terms of vaccination rates

Infrastructure bill:
Didn't that get wound way, way back?

Unemployment:
Unemployment is low, like it is nearly everywhere but labor-participation rate (61.9%). There is not a strong labor-force participation recovery yet.

Failures:
Build back better is dead in the water.

Inflation.

Terrible retreat in Afghanistan

Proxy war with Russia.

Vaccination rate lags

Women lost Constitutional rights.


=Avg Prez. he wont go down as the worst prez in history but he will be remembered as pretty avg. The man who got rid of trump will be his greatest achievement and that's not a bad legacy- provided he doesn't lose to trump this go around of course.

How possibly is “how many people accepting the shot or not” in any ways Biden’s or even gov’t’s fault?

Keep in mind that we do not compel people to vote either … not like some daft cunts I could mention.

 

[hanimmal]

Biden's biggest accomplishments and failures in his first year as president

As Biden enters his second year in the White House, he faces declining approval numbers over his handling of the pandemic and the economy.

www.businessinsider.com

Accomplishment
Vaccinations
But only roughly 63% of the US population is fully vaccinated. More than 526 million doses have been administered.
While a significant portion of the population remains unvaccinated — and the US continues to trail much of the world in terms of vaccination rates

Infrastructure bill:
Didn't that get wound way, way back?

Unemployment:
Unemployment is low, like it is nearly everywhere but labor-participation rate (61.9%). There is not a strong labor-force participation recovery yet.

Failures:
Build back better is dead in the water.

Inflation.

Terrible retreat in Afghanistan

Proxy war with Russia.

Vaccination rate lags

Women lost Constitutional rights.


=Avg Prez. he wont go down as the worst prez in history but he will be remembered as pretty avg. The man who got rid of trump will be his greatest achievement and that's not a bad legacy- provided he doesn't lose to trump this go around of course.

Do you even really think about what you are writing before you do it? For real, they might sound like good zingers but really it is all a bunch of bullshit.

You act like the vaccine rollout was somehow Biden's fault that for the year leading up to it that people were being brainwashed into thinking every stupid as shit thing they could convince themselves of by reading the lies that are spread by death cult trolls like in that other thread.

The infrastructure bill is what? Are you drunk? Just watch some of DeSantis running around acting like he is Santa Claus bringing checks to everyone to know you are full of shit with that one.

You try to play down the super low unemployment rate by saying labor participation is down, but it has steadily been decreasing for decades.

And that is all of Biden's wins? You forget about the CHIPS legislation that just passed to bring manufacturing them here to America?

lol at the Afghanistan bit that Trump left us high and dry when he withdrew troops down to what was it 2500 after negotiating with the Taliban while cutting out the Afghan government. Outside of the terrorist attack killing all those citizens and 13 American troops, it was a big success in carrying out the largest evacuation in American history.

And it was a war that Russia started by attacking our ally. Supplying them with the means to defend themselves from the slaughter that Putin is conducting on the innocent citizens is not a loss for Biden.

Vaccine rate lags, but it is not due to not being available. Biden can't force people to get vaccinated, no matter what trolls pretend.

And women lost constitutional rights in Republican states because of Republican appointed radicalized judges. Not anything Biden could do about that either.

But it is ok, I don't expect foreign people trolling us to actually know anything about what is going on in our nation, it is easier to just parrot what dick head propagandists tell them to think.

 

[Fogdog]

Biden's biggest accomplishments and failures in his first year as president

As Biden enters his second year in the White House, he faces declining approval numbers over his handling of the pandemic and the economy.

www.businessinsider.com

Accomplishment
Vaccinations
But only roughly 63% of the US population is fully vaccinated. More than 526 million doses have been administered.
While a significant portion of the population remains unvaccinated — and the US continues to trail much of the world in terms of vaccination rates

Infrastructure bill:
Didn't that get wound way, way back?

Unemployment:
Unemployment is low, like it is nearly everywhere but labor-participation rate (61.9%). There is not a strong labor-force participation recovery yet.

Failures:
Build back better is dead in the water.

Inflation.

Terrible retreat in Afghanistan

Proxy war with Russia.

Vaccination rate lags

EPA is less restrictive

Women lost Constitutional rights.


=Avg Prez. he wont go down as the worst prez in history but he will be remembered as pretty avg. The man who got rid of trump will be his greatest achievement and that's not a bad legacy- provided he doesn't lose to trump this go around of course.

yes, its true that you don't know much about the US. It's OK and understandable, given that you say you are Australian. I don't know much about Australia and it's OK.

I keep forgetting, because he simply isn't important to me. Who is Australia's PM these days? Are they any good?

 

[Lucky Luke]

yes, its true that you don't know much about the US. It's OK and understandable, given that you say you are Australian. I don't know much about Australia and it's OK.

I keep forgetting, because he simply isn't important to me. Who is Australia's PM these days? Are they any good?

I just googled like I was asked to. Are you saying that the article is incorrect? Is www.businessinsider spewing propaganda and none of it is true? Seems to be true. Or is it all true and you don't like the truth?

You can google it any time you like. And of cause he isn't important to you. He isn't that important to me. We vote for a party not a prez if you recall.

He seems to be doing very well so far. Early days though. He already got the min wage increase through before parliament even sat. Released the Nadesalingam family. Be interesting if he can greatly improve the old peoples homes but mandating a qualified nurse must be always on site is a good start. Scraping the cashless welfare card is also great news. Parliamentary enquiry into the Reserve bank is also good news. Dental part of medicare would be lovely but not sure if we can afford that (its Free for kids atm). Uluru statement. Removal of the Fringe Benefits Tax on electric and low emissions cars (makes them cheaper). 10 days Domestic violence leave payment. Whistle blower reforms to protect whistleblowers. Tackling problem gambling by making wagering organisations give easy to understand activity statements to users. Committed to legislating its target of hitting net zero emissions by 2050. Albo takes lots of questions and answers them which is refreshing in a politician. Nice having a Treasurer like Chalmers to, who actually tells it like it is. Albo has also been in Indonesia and Europe chasing trade deals as well as the Pacific islands mending broken relationships. Albo and Biden are friends i think so that's good. Lets hope he and Xi get on well and can work together.

But for a gov thats only been in power a couple months and parliaments only just sat Labor has gotten a lot done and have a lot of reforms in the pipeline
Next 12 months will be tough for a lot but the future looks very bright, especially if the US avoids recession. That's if it isn't already in one as some are reporting then in that case as long as Biden gets it out of recession very damn fast and avoids the one predicted for 2023-2024.

"Anthony Albanese has recorded the highest satisfaction results for an incoming-Australian prime minister with more than half the public "satisfied" with the Labor leader so far.
The first Newspoll since the May 21 Federal Election showed Mr Albanese's satisfaction ratings sitting at 61 per cent after the first couple of months in the top job.
It is the highest survey results for a Prime Minister in a post-election Newspoll since the question was asked back in 1985 under the Hawke government"

Parliament seems to be a better working place. Its also a nice Left leaning Parliament.

 

[Lucky Luke]

How possibly is “how many people accepting the shot or not” in any ways Biden’s or even gov’t’s fault?

Keep in mind that we do not compel people to vote either … not like some daft cunts I could mention.

Buck must stop at the top shouldn't it?
Ask yourself why other countries have a much higher vax rate. Is that because of a better gov and leader do you think or just blind luck?

I know you don't. Its a major downfall isn't it? Strange how in America some people's votes are worth more than others. If you had compulsory voting you wouldn't have the Republicans ever win a federal election. Perhap you could just give everybody's vote the same weight and have everyone vote. 3/4 of America's problems solved straight away. But yep..compulsory voting is so damn daft and evil...

 

[cannabineer]

Buck must stop at the top shouldn't it?
Ask yourself why other countries have a much higher vax rate. Is that because of a better gov and leader … ?

The US is not far from a state of civil war. I don’t know how good a job the press are doing to send the point home that one political party has taken the entire governing process hostage.

We have a leader of good quality and qualities. He wants to get stuff done, in definite contrast to his forerunner. But the other party is able to block legislative progress, and they are willing to do so to the nation’s obvious detriment.

I would imagine that would put Predident Biden’s apparent inaction into better perspective.

 

[Lucky Luke]

The US is not far from a state of civil war. I don’t know how good a job the press are doing to send the point home that one political party has taken the entire governing process hostage.

We have a leader of good quality and qualities. He wants to get stuff done, in definite contrast to his forerunner. But the other party is able to block legislative progress, and they are willing to do so to the nation’s obvious detriment.

I would imagine that would put Predident Biden’s apparent inaction into better perspective.

I think having states being able to leave the Union might solve the civil war issue. Sure not an easy thing to negotiate but might save lots of lives. Does the union need Far right states? Don't they just drain the coffers of the profitable Blue states?

Its Democrats in general. Democrats don't legislate.
Republicans get in and get stuff legislated. Country goes to the right
Democrats get in and don't legislate anything really and country doesn't go to the left- just stays stagnant or in the case of Bidens presidency goes further to the right.
Republicans get back in and legislate stuff and country goes further to the right than it was last time they were in power.
Rinse and repeat.

End result America constantly drifts to the right.

 

[hanimmal]

I think having states being able to leave the Union might solve the civil war issue. Sure not an easy thing to negotiate but might save lots of lives. Does the union need Far right states? Don't they just drain the coffers of the profitable Blue states?

Its Democrats in general. Democrats don't legislate.
Republicans get in and get stuff legislated. Country goes to the right
Democrats get in and don't legislate anything really and country doesn't go to the left- just stays stagnant or in the case of Bidens presidency goes further to the right.
Republicans get back in and legislate stuff and country goes further to the right than it was last time they were in power.
Rinse and repeat.

End result America constantly drifts to the right.

Again showing your naiveness about American politics.

The Republicans don't legislate, that is the entire trick to getting the needs met to the Wealthy White Heterosexual Male Only agenda that they pander to, for them to win, nothing getting done is better for them. And they have enough money to waste in the courts suing everything that the Democrats pass to try to dismantle their work constantly.

So at the end of the day you are ass backwards when it comes to American politics, which is consistent with what your previous posts about us.

 

[cannabineer]

I think having states being able to leave the Union might solve the civil war issue. Sure not an easy thing to negotiate but might save lots of lives. Does the union need Far right states? Don't they just drain the coffers of the profitable Blue states?

Its Democrats in general. Democrats don't legislate.
Republicans get in and get stuff legislated. Country goes to the right
Democrats get in and don't legislate anything really and country doesn't go to the left- just stays stagnant or in the case of Bidens presidency goes further to the right.
Republicans get back in and legislate stuff and country goes further to the right than it was last time they were in power.
Rinse and repeat.

End result America constantly drifts to the right.

Secession is not an option.

 

[hanimmal]

Secession is not an option.

Saw this earlier.

https://www.union-bulletin.com/news/national/did-russia-provide-funding-and-support-for-booster-of-california-secession-movement/article_24ae2ea4-a44e-500a-a91c-8ab60fbf78ee.html

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In February 2018, as organizers of the so-called “CalExit” campaign to have California secede from the union and form its own country, a Russian national named Aleksandr Ionov sent electronic messages to a secession supporter, court documents say. Ionov offered funding for a protest that would have supporters make their way into then-Gov. Jerry Brown’s office.

Ionov and the organizer traded proposed designs for posters for the event, and eventually wrote that he sent $500 to the organizer, who on Valentine’s Day led a demonstration at the state Capitol “in support of California’s secession from the United States,” court papers say.

Afterward, Ionov corresponded in Russian with a member of the Russian Federal Security Service, or FSB, boasting that the FSB officer had asked for “turmoil” in the United States. “There you go,” Ionov wrote, court papers say.

The effort was part of a “years-long foreign malign influence campaign that used various U.S. political groups to sow discord, spread pro-Russian propaganda, and interfere in elections within the United States,” the Justice Department said in an announcement Friday during which authorities in Tampa, Fla., revealed Ionov had been indicted there on charges of targeting political groups in Florida, Georgia and California “to further Russian interests.”

Court documents identify the organizer in California only as “unidentified co-conspirator 6,” an American who had lived in Russia and California and was the founder and president of an unnamed group seeking to have California secede from the union.

That individual appears to be Louis J. Marinelli, the one-time founder of CalExit and the Yes California political action committee who subsequently gave up on his quest and now lives in Arkansas.

In a lengthy statement posted online over the weekend, Marinelli acknowledges that he first met Ionov in 2016 but says he never helped the Russian government.

Marinelli wrote that he is “not and never was an illegal agent of the Russian government tasked with sowing discord in the United States.”

“The discord in America is thriving well without Russia’s help,” he wrote. “Furthermore, I never received funding from the Russian government or Mr. Ionov to engage in political activities, spread pro-Russian propaganda, or interfere in elections within the United States.”

Instead, he wrote that he knew Ionov in Russia and used his office space in Moscow.

“In December of 2016, Mr. Ionov allowed me to use his office in Moscow to put on an exhibit of California history and civil rights and to invite the media to a presentation in this office,” Marinelli wrote. “This exhibit included topics that are taboo and even illegal in Russia.

“For example, an exhibit on Harvey Milk and the struggle for LGBT rights is not something one would expect to come across in the middle of Moscow, a city where gay pride parades are illegal and one could be arrested for disseminating ‘gay propaganda’ under a 2013 law signed by Vladimir Putin.”

He added that he later spoke to Ionov about his plans to stage an effort to have California break free from the United States.

“In January 2018, I informed Mr. Ionov in the course of our normal ongoing dialogue between friends that I was returning to California from Russia to file a new ballot initiative for a California independence referendum and to hold a rally at the State Capitol in Sacramento on Valentine’s Day that year,” Marinelli wrote. “The leadership team at Yes California specifically chose this date because divorces skyrocket around this time in the United States and we were just preparing to launch our ‘National Divorce’ theme with a broken heart graphic detailing California on one side and the other 49 states on the other.

“Mr. Ionov offered financial assistance which amounted to a few hundred dollars. However, this was a free event taking place on public property with a permit from the California State Police. Meanwhile, the organization’s president, Marcus Ruiz Evans, put together the money for the ballot initiative filing fee. In fact, the only expenses we had were getting to Sacramento and printing posters with our broken heart graphic. Mr. Evans paid for our trip to Sacramento and the posters were paid for by donations solicited through our extensive mailing list.

“Regardless of what Mr. Ionov may have believed and reported to his superiors, the money he offered was not used for political purposes but simply to supplement my modest salary as an English teacher that month in a provincial Russian city.”

Marinelli added that Ionov never had control over political efforts in California.

“This is particularly evident by the fact that, to his disappointment, we never stormed the governor’s office as he suggested we do that day in Sacramento,” Marinelli wrote. “The following year, in August of 2019, when Mr. Ionov insistently tried to give me large sums of money to hire street artists to paint 3-5 murals containing various political messages on buildings across California, I stalled until his September 3 deadline, never took the money, and the murals were never painted.

“Likewise in September that year, Mr. Ionov wanted us to organize flash mobs in California, which we also did not do.”

Marinelli wrote that he had reached out to the FBI’s tip line in the case “to provide my information should they be looking to contact me,” and that he had abandoned the independence movement for California “because it had been taken over by a cabal of leftist lunatics infected with the woke mind virus ...”

The secession effort was hindered, in part, by Marinelli’s residence in Russia, which organizers said in 2017 had led some supporters to back out because of ears of being accused of being involved in something Russia was pushing.

Yes California also posted a video on Twitter denying any ties to Russia, noting that court papers do not identify the group by name and playing video from the Valentine’s Day 2018 rally to show it was a small, peaceful event that did not gain entry to the governor’s office.

 

[hanimmal]

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-china-japan-asia-73cf4e715f7295c782d6e73b3705640f

TOKYO (AP) — The United States is working with Japan and other likeminded countries to counter China’s efforts to use its economic might to force political change around the world, the U.S. ambassador to Japan said Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press.

Rahm Emanuel, who was previously mayor of Chicago and chief of staff for President Barack Obama, is pushing what he calls “commercial diplomacy,” the idea that the United States and Japan will be more eager to do business with each other and with similar secure and stable countries amid worries caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and Chinese economic coercion.

“From intellectual property theft to coercion to debt dependency that China creates, the idea that they could actually honestly say, ‘We don’t coerce,’ and then you have not one, not two, not three – many worldwide examples where they use their economic market access to force a political change in a country ... I think everybody’s woken up to that,” Emanuel said in the interview at his residence in the heart of downtown Tokyo.

Emanuel, who arrived in Japan in January, laid out a number of examples of Chinese coercion, including with Japan, which saw Chinese shipments of rare earth metals blocked over a territorial dispute; South Korea, which suffered Chinese business boycotts when it installed a U.S. missile defense system; Australia; and countries in Europe and Southeast Asia.

China’s growing economic importance and spending abroad have rattled those countries, which worry that Beijing is increasing its strategic and political influence in their traditional spheres of influence.

China has become one of the biggest lenders to developing countries through its “Belt and Road Initiative” to expand trade by building ports, railways and other infrastructure across Asia, Africa and the Middle East to Europe. This has prompted accusations Beijing is using debt to gain political leverage, but Chinese officials deny that.

China has been more assertive about pressing other governments to embrace Chinese-led initiatives including a trade group, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

Emanuel said that finding ways for Japan and the United States to stand up to Chinese economic coercion was one of the first issues he raised with Japan’s foreign minister.

Japan has expressed deep worry about increased Chinese activities in regional seas, including near a Japanese-controlled island claimed by Beijing, and has pushed for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

Emanuel praised Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s pledge of a “significant increase” in both the country’s defense budget and its military capabilities.

Kishida’s attempts to revise Japan’s national security strategy and basic defense guidelines are a legacy of his hawkish mentor, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated in July.

Kishida has also said he is open to the development of possible preemptive strike capabilities, which opponents say would go far beyond Japan’s war-renouncing constitution, which restricts the use of force to self-defense. Kishida also has proposed significantly increasing Japan’s defense budget — possibly doubling to 2% of GDP, a NATO standard — over the next five years.

“Much to the prime minister’s credit, he looked around the corner and realized what was happening in this region and the world — Japan needed to step up in ways it hadn’t in the past,” Emanuel said.

Emanuel also mentioned economic opportunities for Japan and the United States in electric vehicle batteries, energy, new research and technology in small modular nuclear reactors, aviation technology and semiconductors.

The business leaders whom he has met with as ambassador to Japan would have evaluated a capital expenditure decision in the past purely by considering cost, logistics and efficiency, he said, but they are now willing to pay more to avoid sanctions and instability.

“That is a major change in thinking,” he said.

For “the last 20 or 30 years, cost and efficiency were the driving factors. They drove public policy, and they drove corporate decisions. Today cost and efficiency are being replaced, supplanted by stability and sustainability,” Emanuel said.

 

[Lucky Luke]

Secession is not an option.

Then the two other options are making everyone's votes equal and/or making voting compulsory. Otherwise the drift to the right will continue.