Farmer Protests, Mayorkas Impeached, & Green(er)land
February 14, 2024
Hello, readers – happy Wednesday! Today, we’ll be talking about foreign aid, Russia and Estonia, farmer protests (in India this time), another Red Sea attack, Mayorkas’ impeachment, LNG exports, and Greenland getting…well, greener.
Here’s some good news: Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen backtracked his previous decision and announced that the state will accept roughly $18 million in federal funding to help feed hungry children over the summer break. Also, researchers found that men who were prescribed Viagra and similar medications were 18% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease years later than those who weren’t prescribed the drugs.
“Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” – Theodore Roosevelt
A Cosmetic Compromise In Congress
A deeply fractured U.S. Congress is attempting to push through a multi-billion dollar foreign aid package. The spending bill, which will provide $95 billion in foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, passed the Senate with bipartisan support (70-29) but is likely to face the mother of all speed bumps in the Republican-held House.
The bill comes in the wake of a very interesting political debacle, with GOP lawmakers refusing to pass a bipartisan border bill that took months of negotiations to build. The border bill blockage came about when presidential candidate Donald Trump called on his party not to pass a border compromise because he planned to use the border crisis against President Biden on the campaign trail.
“We haven’t equipped the brave people of Ukraine, Israel or Taiwan with lethal capabilities in order to win philanthropic accolades,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. “We’re not urgently strengthening defenses in the Indo-Pacific because it feels good. We don’t wield American strength frivolously. We do it because it is in our own interest. We equip our friends to face our shared adversaries so we’re less likely to have to spend American lives to defeat them.” Now it’s up to his GOP coworkers in the House to support his vision.
Everyone’s Getting Up In Arms
According to Estonia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, based on the Kremlin’s plan to double its forces on the country’s western border with Europe – which also touches NATO members Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia – Russia appears to be preparing for a conflict with the West within the next decade.
While Moscow is likely to be tied up in Ukraine in the short term, said Kaupo Rosin, the service chief, Europe should still rearm itself in anticipation of an attack. “If we are not prepared, the likelihood [of a military Russian attack] would be much higher than without any preparation,” he concluded.
The same day that Estonia released the intelligence assessment, Moscow placed multiple officials from Baltic states on its wanted list. The targeted leaders include Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, former Latvian Interior Minister Marija Golubeva, and Lithuanian Culture Minister Simonas Kairys. Russia has put Ukrainian officials on its wanted list during its invasion of Ukraine, but in an interview with Tucker Carlson last week, Vladimir Putin claimed that the Kremlin has “no interest in Poland, Latvia, or anywhere else.”
Gonna Take My Protest To The New Delhi Roads
- The farmers of the world are united – in marching. After European farmers began protesting against what they saw as overregulation by the E.U. earlier this month, Indian farmers also took to the streets this week, calling for their government to guarantee crop prices.
- The protests are a continuation of demonstrations that began in 2021, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi passed a set of agricultural laws farmers said would hurt their bottom lines. Farmers marched until the legislation was repealed, and also secured concessions from the government including guaranteed crop prices and agricultural loan waivers.
- Now, farmers are marching and driving their tractors to New Delhi, claiming that Modi’s promises have not been fulfilled. The demonstrations come at a crucial time for Modi’s government, which is looking to secure a third term during general elections this spring. In India, much like the U.S., farmers are heavily romanticized by political leaders – especially a populist like Modi.
Rockets Return To The Red Sea
- Like an Indian farmer marching back to New Delhi to protest a severe lack of government support, conflict is returning to the Red Sea after a relatively quiet period last week. On Monday, Houthi forces in Yemen carried out their first strike in the area in six days, hitting a Greek-owned, Marshall Islands-flagged cargo vessel carrying grain into Iran. The Houthis claimed (contrary to naval records) that the ship was an American vessel.
- U.S. Central Command says “The ship reports being seaworthy with minor damage and no injuries to the crew.” The long wait between Houthi strikes likely reflects the lasting damage from U.S. attacks on Houthi targets – America lobbed missiles at Houthi targets from Wednesday to Saturday last week, hitting multiple targets per day. For now, though, most Western ships are avoiding the Red Sea, and some ships passing through the area carry identification showing that their crews are Muslim-only.
Additional World News
- Labour suspends second parliamentary candidate over Israel comments (Guardian)
- For rights activist in Greece, same-sex marriage recognition follows decades of struggle (NBC)
- Thailand made pot legal two years ago. That could change soon (AP)
- DR Congo protests: Police fire tear gas to disperse anti-Western demonstrations in Kinshasa (BBC)
- Australia to ban doxxing after pro-Palestinian activists publish information about hundreds of Jews (AP)
- The head of UN’s nuclear watchdog warns Iran is ‘not entirely transparent’ on its atomic program (AP)
Mayorkas Makes History (For The Wrong Reasons)
- The House of Representatives (again) voted 214 to 213 last night to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Three Republicans sided with Democrats to try to prevent the historic impeachment – Mayorkas is the first in 150 years and only the second-ever Cabinet member to be impeached.
- House Majority Leader Steve Scalise returned to D.C. this week to help push the vote over the threshold – he was absent during last week’s failed vote. There is almost no chance that Mayorkas’ impeachment will be upheld by the Democrat-controlled Senate, but in this current climate, we never say never.
Taking A Good, LNG Look At The Environment
- President Biden paused approvals of exports of pending and future liquefied natural gas projects to big markets in Asia and Europe late last month to allow his team time to review the environmental and economic impacts. 35 officials from the Trump and Bush administrations are now urging Congress to reverse the Biden administration’s pause.
- LNG exports to Europe rose after Russia invaded Ukraine, and they are expected to double by the end of the decade. “It is imperative that we reverse this action and continue to advance our economic, energy, and geopolitical interests while leading on environmental progress,” the former officials said in the letter. Environmental activists are worried that the LNG plants are often located near vulnerable communities, polluting the air.
Additional USA Reads
- Shooter at Joel Osteen church bought weapon legally despite history of mental illness (Guardian)
- Winter storm hits Northeast, causing difficult driving, closed schools and canceled flights (AP)
- Trump endorses daughter-in-law for RNC role as he tightens grip on party (Guardian)
- New Haley ad blasts Trump as ‘just more chaos’ (Politico)
- Harvard wins dismissal of families’ lawsuits over morgue scandal (Reuters)
- First on CNN: House GOP in discussions with Biden special counsel Robert Hur for testimony (CNN)
- Katie Porter opens door to presidential age limits during Senate debate (Politico)
“Going Green” Does Not Mean “Melt Faster”
- Despite the island’s name, the last thing that climate experts want to see is a green-covered Greenland. Unfortunately for them (and the rest of humanity), the autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark is greener year after year as the climate continues to warm.
- According to a study published on Tuesday, Greenland has lost an ice-covered area 36 times the size of New York City over the past decade, exposing new wetlands and rock formations where there once was frozen ground. By using satellite imagery, researchers were able to determine that the island has lost over 28,707 square kilometers of ice-covered land since the 1980s, setting off a climate-change-related chain reaction.
- As the ice melts, the uncovered ground is able to absorb more heat and energy from the sun, heating the earth and raising the ground temperature. The warming cycle can also melt the permafrost, a layer of ice found beneath the surface. The melted permafrost can release greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, making global warming even worse. “These changes are critical, particularly for the indigenous populations whose traditional subsistence hunting practices rely on the stability of these delicate ecosystems,” said the study’s lead author. “Moreover, the loss of ice mass in Greenland is a substantial contributor to global sea level rise, a trend that poses significant challenges both now and in the future.”
Additional Reads
- Plane lands safely after door falls off midflight (ABC)
- Video shows moment mountain lion confronts family pet (CNN)
- A prescription for housing? (Vox)
- Hiker discovers rare 2,800-year-old amulet in Israel (CBS)
- Climate change and loss of sea ice putting polar bears at risk of starvation, collar cameras show (ABC)
- Flight attendants don’t earn their hourly pay until aircraft doors close. Here’s why (NPR)
- The US government makes a $42 million bet on open cell networks (The Verge)