Tag Archives: emergency

Russia Is Paying a Price for Vladimir Putin’s Napoleon Complex

by FRXJaneen858603 Posted on November 25, 2015

Mother Jones

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Russia says its pilot received no warning before Turkey shot down one of its fighters on Tuesday. Turkey says it gave plenty of warning. Here’s the New York Times today:

A United States military spokesman, Col. Steven Warren, confirmed on Tuesday that Turkish pilots had warned the Russian pilot 10 times, but that the Russian jet ignored the warnings….At the emergency NATO meeting, Turkish officials played recordings of the warnings Turkish F-16 pilots had issued to the Russian aircraft. The Russian pilots did not reply.

The fact that the US says this doesn’t automatically make it true. On the other hand, I wouldn’t believe Vladimir Putin without checking for myself if he told me the sky was blue. So while it’s entirely likely that both sides have been testing each other for the past couple of weeks, my best guess at this point is that Russia has flown over the Hatay peninsula repeatedly and been warned about it, but continued doing it anyway. This kind of provocation is pretty common in Putin’s Russia. This time, though, he did it to a country headed by a guy much like himself, and he paid the price for it.

So what happens now? “We’re not going to war against Turkey,” the Russian foreign minister said today, but Russia will probably announce some kind of symbolic reprisal soon. And that will be that. Putin is discovering to his sorrow that Syria is not quite the same as Crimea or South Ossetia. It’s all great when you can show off your shiny new cruise missiles on the nightly news, but this isn’t a war that will be over in a few weeks because there’s nobody to fight back. It’s a never-ending quagmire, and there’s not really much in it for Russia.

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Russia Is Paying a Price for Vladimir Putin’s Napoleon Complex

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Chris Christie Is Sitting on a Bill to Seize Guns From Domestic Abusers

by BradySawers Posted on July 14, 2015

Mother Jones

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For the past three weeks, a bill to crack down on gun possession by domestic abusers has been languishing on Chris Christie’s desk. The bipartisan bill would give New Jersey courts and police greater authority to enforce current state gun laws against suspected and convicted abusers, but so far Christie has refused to say whether he will sign or veto it.

Christie’s silence coincides with what political observers see as his shift toward more permissive gun laws as he revs up his campaign for the GOP presidential nomination.

It also comes at a time when New Jersey lawmakers are scrambling to strengthen legal protections for victims of domestic violence, spurred by the June 3 murder of Carol Bowne in Berlin Township by her ex-boyfriend, a convicted felon. On June 25, the New Jersey legislature passed A-4218, the bill now awaiting action from Christie. Democrats had introduced the measure in February, but it sat in committee; after Bowne’s death, it advanced speedily.

A spokesman for Christie’s office said it does not discuss pending legislation until the governor’s office has given the bill “a thorough review.” If Christie does nothing for 45 days, the legislation will become law when the General Assembly reconvenes.

At the time of her death, Bowne was trying to obtain a gun permit for her self-defense. Christie responded to the murder by creating a commission to determine if any state firearms laws “infringe on New Jerseyans’ constitutional rights” and require modification. His announcement came on the night of June 29, just hours before he kicked off his campaign for president.

State Senator Gabriela Mosquero (D), one of the bill’s sponsors, says it is not unusual for a bill to sit for several weeks.* But Christie’s swift creation of the committee, via executive order, has caused her and other Democrats to suspect that Christie is concerned about pressure from gun rights groups.

“He quickly released his executive order as a way of showing he is serious about victims of domestic violence,” Mosquero says, adding that her inquiries to Christie’s office have been met with radio silence. “He could have signed our bill the same day. I’m not sure what he’s waiting for.”

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Chris Christie Is Sitting on a Bill to Seize Guns From Domestic Abusers

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Here’s Why Greece Is Having Such a Hard Time Getting European Agreement to Europe’s Own Proposal

by AthenaTurriff8 Posted on July 11, 2015

Mother Jones

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The Greek austerity proposal has been approved by parliament, and since it’s essentially identical to the European demands of two weeks ago, everything should now be hunky dory, right? The Europeans will accept the Greek capitulation and move on.

Um, no. Emergency talks in Brussels are being held around the clock this weekend, and there are still a couple of big sticking points.

First: The new proposal is much bigger than the previous one. Back in June, Greece was asking for about €7 billion in loans that would cover its needs for a few months. Now it’s asking for €53 billion over three years, and European experts think even that number is too optimistic. Greece will really need about €74 billion—plus additional funds to recapitalize Greek banks, which have basically disbursed all their cash over the past couple of weeks. This raises several concerns:

The European proposal in June was meant to set conditions for releasing the final €7 billion in loans in Greece’s second round of bailouts. But the new Greek proposal essentially wants to use these same conditions as the basis for a third round of bailouts that would be bigger and longer-lasting. European finance ministers are skeptical, with many suggesting that the June proposal was never meant to cover a whole new round of bailouts. Something tougher is now required.
The fact that Greece estimates its needs at €53 billion and European technocrats estimate it at €74 suggests to many Europeans that Greece still can’t get its finances straight. This does little to boost confidence in the Syriza government.

Second: No one trusts Greece even slightly. The Europeans have never trusted the Greeks to implement the deals they agree to, and they still don’t. “What guarantees can Greece give they are actually going to implement what they propose?” Austrian finance minister Hans Jorg Schelling asked bluntly, echoing similar questions from the Dutch finance minister and others. Even Greek allies like France need to be convinced of Greek goodwill. “Confidence has been ruined by every Greek government over many years which have sometimes made promises without making good on them at all,” said French finance minister Michel Sapin.

After the events of the past two weeks, the issue of trust is even worse. Dutch state secretary Eric Wiebes notes that the commitment of the Greek government is a key concern. “That has been the weak point because, after all, we are discussing a proposal from the Greek government that was fiercely rejected a week ago.” And to make things worse, although the Greek parliament approved the latest proposal, it caused a serious schism in the Syriza party, with many members voting against it. “The parliamentary majority of the government now in Athens is being eroded,” Irish finance minister Michael Noonan said, “and they may not have the capacity to implement the measures they have agreed as time goes by.”

Things have now degraded to such a dire point that German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble has even floated the idea of a “temporary” five-year Greek exit from the euro. This is so batty that almost everyone else at today’s talks—including some of Greece’s strongest skeptics—thinks it’s both ridiculous and probably illegal too. But even though it’s not likely to be taken seriously, it does indicate just how frosty the Germans are toward any new bailout deal with Greece. It also gives ammunition to Greek critics who have maintained for weeks that Germany’s real goal is to kick Greece out of the euro.

So there you have it. The June proposal from the Europeans may have been OK two weeks ago, but it’s now past its sell-by date. Getting European buy-in to a new, third bailout for Greece continues to be a very delicate and knotty problem. Stay tuned.

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Here’s Why Greece Is Having Such a Hard Time Getting European Agreement to Europe’s Own Proposal

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"Violence Is Not the Answer": Baltimore Icon Ray Lewis Calls For Peace

by InesSochaak Posted on April 28, 2015

Mother Jones

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Athletes and celebrities have taken to social media to call for an end to the Baltimore riots that flared overnight after the funeral of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died in police custody having suffered a spinal cord injury.

Ray Lewis, who played for the Baltimore Ravens for 17 years before retiring in 2013, posted this fiery speech to residents on Facebook on Tuesday, asking for peace: “Young kids, you gotta understand something. Get off the streets. Violence is not the answer. Violence has never been the answer.” (Ray Lewis was charged with murder in 2000 after a brawl in Atlanta, but those charges were later dropped.)

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I’ve got a message for the rioters in Baltimore. #BaltimoreRiots

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Ray Lewis on Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Professional basketball player and Baltimore native Carmelo Anthony delivered this message to his hometown.

We all want Justice. And our city will get the answers we are looking for. My deepest sympathy goes out to the GRAY Family. To see my city in a State of Emergency is just shocking. We need to protect our city, not destroy it. What happens when we get the answers that we want, and the media attention is not there anymore? We go back to being the same ol Baltimore City again. If not yourself, then Think about the youth. How this will impact them. Let’s build our city up not tear it down. Although, we want justice, let’s look at the real issues at hand. For example, When was the last school built in Baltimore? That’s just one example. I know my community is fed up. I’m all about fighting for what we believe in. The anger, the resentment, the neglect that our community feels right now, will not change over night. Continue, fighting for what you believe in. But remember, it takes no time to destroy something. But, it can take forever to build it back up. Peace7. #Thisonehitshome #BeMore #LetsNotFallForTheTrap “Please Understand What State Of Emergency Mean”(Destroy and Conquer) #StayMe7o

A photo posted by @carmeloanthony on Apr 27, 2015 at 8:16pm PDT

Washington Wizards forward Paul Pierce also denounced violence, recalling the Los Angeles riots after the 1992 beating of Rodney King by police, which he witnessed as a teenager in Inglewood, California:

Comedian Cedric The Entertainer, who was born in Jefferson City, Missouri, linked the upheaval to what happened in Ferguson (near his hometown), after the death of Michael Brown, a young unarmed black man shot and killed by white police officer Darren Wilson.

At least 15 police officers were injured in Monday’s riots. On Tuesday morning, about 2,500 residents responded, sweeping debris throughout the city left in the wake of buildings destroyed by fires and looted businesses.

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"Violence Is Not the Answer": Baltimore Icon Ray Lewis Calls For Peace

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Republican Judges Set to Rule on Republican Objection to New EPA Regs

by LavadaZPHbc Posted on April 16, 2015

Mother Jones

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Things that make you go “hmmm”:

Environmental attorneys say they are confident the court will reject the emergency appeal.

Nevertheless Thursday’s hearing, before three Republican-appointed judges, marks the first of what promises to be a series of legal hurdles for climate-change rules.

The subject is Obama’s new rules mandating greenhouse gas reductions from power plants, which energy industry attorneys say is “double regulation” since the EPA already regulates other stuff at power plants. No, that doesn’t make much sense to me either. Still, the two bolded phrases above might have been believeable together a few decades ago, but not so much now. If it’s a Republican panel, I think there’s at least a decent chance that we’ll get a Republican ruling, regardless of whether it makes any legal sense.

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Republican Judges Set to Rule on Republican Objection to New EPA Regs

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Here’s Why Congressional Approval for War Is So Important

by DwightPILbeb Posted on September 11, 2014

Mother Jones

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In my previous post, I complained that I wasn’t sure what would prevent further escalation in Iraq “aside from Obama’s personal convictions.” A friend emails to ask just what I’d like to see. In the end, aren’t the president’s personal convictions all that prevent any military operation from escalating?

It’s a fair point, and I’m glad he brought it up. The answer, I think, lies in congressional approval for military action, and this is one of the reasons I think it’s so important. If Obama is truly serious about not sending combat troops into ISIS-held areas in Iraq, then let’s get a congressional resolution that puts that in writing. Let’s get an authorization for war that spells out a geographical area; puts a limit on US troop deployments; and specifically defines what those troops can do.

Would this be airtight? Of course not. Presidents can always find a way to stretch things, and Congress can always decide to authorize more troops. But nothing is airtight—nor should it be. It’s always possible that events on the ground really will justify stronger action someday. However, what it does do is simple: It forces the president to explicitly request an escalation and it forces Congress to explicitly authorize his request. At the very least, that prevents a slow, stealthy escalation that flies under the radar of public opinion.

Presidents don’t like having their actions constrained. No one does. But in most walks of life that deal with power and the use of force, we understand that constraint is important. Surely, then, there’s nowhere it’s more important than in matters of war and peace. And that’s once of the reasons that congressional authorization for war is so essential.

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Here’s Why Congressional Approval for War Is So Important

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Obama’s Iraq Speech: Light on Substance, and Maybe That’s a Good Thing

by SharronMargarot Posted on September 11, 2014

Mother Jones

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Well, that was pretty anticlimactic. Here is President Obama’s shiny new plan for defeating ISIS:

  1. More airstrikes, including strikes in Syria.
  2. A few hundred advisors to work with Iraqi troops. They will provide training, equipment, and intelligence.
  3. Counterterrorism to prevent ISIS attacks.
  4. Humanitarian aid.

We are, presumably, already engaged in #3 and #4. We’re partially engaged in #1. Basically, then Obama is proposing to (a) expand the air war and (b) provide more aid to the Iraqi army. That’s really not an awful lot—which is fine with me.

Will this work? Airstrikes by themselves are obviously limited in what they can accomplish. They can frustrate ISIS plans in specific areas, but they can’t do a lot more than that. As we’ve known all along, real success depends on the Iraqi military. Unfortunately, given the fact that we spent years training Iraqi forces and ended up with an army that cut and run at the first sight of ISIS forces, I have my doubts that further training will really do that much good. But if it doesn’t, there’s little we can do anyway. So it’s probably our only option.

The big question, of course, is whether our assistance will stay limited. If the Iraqi military fails, as it may, will we start pouring in more troops? Obama was clear on this: “We will not get dragged into another ground war in Iraq.” Still, sometimes events run away with things, and I’m not sure what’s going to prevent a slow accretion of more and more US forces aside from Obama’s personal convictions. This is a thinner reed than I’d like even if I believe that he’s entirely sincere in his desire to avoid escalation. We’ll just have to wait and see.

In any case, that’s really all we got tonight. I’d like to write something longer and more insightful, but there just weren’t enough specifics in the speech to justify that. The last third of the speech was mostly platitudes about partners, chairing a UN meeting, America is great, God bless the troops, etc. There wasn’t an awful lot there.

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Obama’s Iraq Speech: Light on Substance, and Maybe That’s a Good Thing

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Images Rule Our World

by OXQRickplcblqyy Posted on September 10, 2014

Mother Jones

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One of the most famous anecdotes from the Reagan years comes from Lesley Stahl, then a reporter for the CBS Evening News. After airing a long, critical piece during the 1984 campaign, she got a cheerful call from Dick Darman at the White House. “We really loved it,” he said. “Five minutes of free media.” Dan Schill tells the rest of the story:

Stahl asked, “Why are you so happy? Didn’t you hear what I said?” Giving the punch line of the parable, Darman said to Stahl, “You guys in Televisionland haven’t figured it out, have you? When the pictures are powerful and emotional, they override if not completely drown out the sound. I mean it, Lesley. Nobody heard you.”

Stahl said she examined her piece again, this time with the sound off, and found that the Reagan official was right—her story had accepted the Reagan frame and was practically an unpaid political commercial—a brilliant montage of Reagan surrounded with flags, children, balloons, and cheering supporters.

Asked if this experience changed the way she produces her stories, Stahl said, “Not really. I’m still trapped, because my pieces are written to the pictures we have.”

I was reminded of this story once again yesterday when TMZ released elevator video of Ray Rice slugging his then fiancée and knocking her unconscious. It was a brutal attack and reaction was swift and uncompromising. Rice was released by the Baltimore Ravens, the NFL suspended him indefinitely, and his sponsors began abandoning him almost immediately.

And yet, that video told us nothing. We already knew what had happened. Based on previous video, we knew that Rice had punched Janay Palmer hard enough to knock her out. We just didn’t have it on tape.

And it’s not only the NFL that reacted differently after the new video was released. Even the folks who criticized the league’s anemic response back in February are now far more outraged. The video affected everyone’s reaction.

Why? Is it the visceral effect of images? Does it have something to do with an instinct to avoid drawing the most damning conclusions until an image makes it impossible to evade the truth any longer? Or is it all a charade, and lots of people are just pretending to be more outraged because they know it’s now expected of them?

I don’t know. But the internet is now the domain of LOLcats, BuzzFeed listicles, and charts of the day—the latter for those of us who like images but also like to believe we’re too smart to be manipulated by them. The fastest growing social media sites are Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, and others like it. Blogs are often so stuffed with YouTube videos that you can refill your coffee cup while you wait for them to load. Millions of formerly peaceable people—people who already knew perfectly well that ISIS was a barbarous bunch of thugs—suddenly want to go to war because we now have pictures of that barbarism. Images rule everywhere. It’s not just Lesley Stahl who’s trapped in Lesley Stahl’s world anymore. We all are.

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Images Rule Our World

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Multivitamins: Almost Worthless, But Maybe Not Quite

by XMGTrinajvm Posted on September 8, 2014

Mother Jones

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From Emily Oster:

Many medical studies show positive health effects from higher vitamin levels. The only problem? These studies often can’t tease out the effect of the vitamins from the effect of other factors, such as generally healthy living. Studies that attempt to do this typically show no impact from vitamin use — or only a very tiny one on a small subset of people. The truth is that for most people, vitamin supplementation is simply a waste of time.

Every once in a while I vaguely decide that maybe I’d feel better if I took vitamins. So I buy a bottle of multivitamins and take them for a while. What usually happens next is that I come across yet another in the long parade of news pieces and blog posts reminding me that vitamin supplements are useless. And then I stop again.

I am, needless to say, not talking about specific vitamin supplements recommended by my doctor for a specific condition. I’m talking about the routine use of vitamin supplements. And Oster is right: study after study shows that they’re all but worthless.

And yet! There’s also this from a study released a couple of years ago:

Men who took a daily multivitamin had a statistically significant lower rate of cancer than those who took the placebo (17.0 versus 18.3 events per 1000 person-years). Although mortality was lower as well, it wasn’t statistically significant (4.9 versus 5.6 events per 1000 person-year).

This was an extremely large study, well done, with amazing follow-up. You can’t dismiss it easily.

That’s Aaron Carroll, not generally someone who succumbs to faddish nonsense. The study in question isn’t perfect, but as he says, it’s pretty good. And it suggests that, in fact, multivitamins help reduce the incidence of cancer in men, especially those with a baseline history of cancer. And they’re cheap. So if you happen to be male, maybe multivitamins are worth it after all.

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Multivitamins: Almost Worthless, But Maybe Not Quite

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Friday Cat Blogging – 5 September 2014

by Sonya9741pkhl Posted on September 5, 2014

Mother Jones

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I have sad news today. Domino’s thyroid finally got the better of her, and she’s been a pretty sick kitty for the past month or two. About six weeks ago she gave up on dry food, so we switched to wet food. That helped, but she gradually ate less and less of it. A couple of weeks ago she stopped eating entirely no matter what we tried. She’d lap up microscopic amounts of gravy or tuna juice a couple of times a day, but that was it. She just wouldn’t eat anymore.

By last week she was very thin, and her energy level was pretty low. She slept most of the time in her favorite hidey-hole, and came out only a few times a day for five or ten minutes at a time. By the start of this week she’d gotten a bit unsteady on her feet, and it was obvious the end was near. I talked to our vet earlier this week, and yesterday we took Domino in and had her put to sleep. I hated doing it, but I’m certain it was the right thing to do. She didn’t show it, but she must have been in a fair amount of pain, which was only going to get worse over time.

To the very end, she was sweet and sociable, which made it even harder. She lost her meow several weeks ago, but she never lost her purr or her love of tummy rubs. She was a good cat. She’ll be missed.

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Friday Cat Blogging – 5 September 2014

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