The Full Belmonte, 3/9/2022
“LONDON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the British Parliament on Tuesday via video, receiving a standing ovation. He recounted events from each of the last 13 days since Russia invaded and repeated calls for tougher sanctioning of Russia and for a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
‘We will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost,’ Zelensky said. ‘We will fight in the forests, on the shores, in the streets.’
The refrain echoed a line from a stirring speech by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during World War II.
‘The question for us now is to be or not to be,’ Zelensky said, evoking Shakespeare. ‘I can give you a definitive answer: It’s definitely to be.’
After Zelensky’s speech, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reiterated that British humanitarian aid, military support and sanctions against Russia would continue ‘until Ukraine is free.’ He did not address Zelensky’s repeated calls for a NATO-administered no-fly zone, which Western countries have rejected as a step that could escalate into a larger confrontation with Russia.” Read more at Washington Post
A charred Russian tank is seen Monday in Ukraine's Sumy region. Photo: Irina Rybakova for the press service of the Ukrainian Ground Forces via Reuters
“Vladimir Putin's plan to seize Ukraine's capital in the first two days of Russia's invasion has been a complete failure, Axios' Zachary Basu writes.
It's been thrown off course by a fierce Ukrainian resistance, poor planning and a series of profound miscalculations, top U.S. intelligence officials say.
Why it matters: An isolated and angry Putin is expected to double down on his brutality as the war in Ukraine drags on for weeks, months or even years. It could be his undoing.
Reality check: A devastating punch that levels Ukrainian cities is more likely than ever. It'll be less targeted ... more indiscriminate.
State of play: CIA Director Bill Burns testified at a House hearing yesterday that Putin ‘has no sustainable political end game in the face of what's going to continue to be fierce resistance from the Ukrainians.’
Even if Russia eventually captures Kyiv, the U.S. intelligence community doesn't see a way that a pro-Russian puppet regime can stay in power given the Ukrainian people's absolute refusal to capitulate.
Ukraine's Armed Forces say this is a downed Russian jet crashing in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sunday. Image from video released by Ukrainian Ground Forces via Reuters
The U.S. estimates between 2,000 and 4,000 Russian troops have already been killed, ‘far in excess’ of what Putin anticipated or has admitted, Burns said.
Putin was ready for sanctions, but not the speed and unity with which the Western world brought the hammer down — especially private companies. McDonald's, Starbucks and Coca-Cola all halted Russian sales yesterday.
What we're watching: Despite the setbacks, Putin is ‘unlikely to be deterred,’ Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines testified.
The people who will suffer most are Ukrainian civilians, who are already beginning to see the vicious tactics Putin adopted to achieve his military aims in Syria and Chechnya.
The upside is that what Putin ‘might be willing to accept as a victory may change over time, given the significant costs he is incurring,’ Haines predicted.” Read more at Axios
“Attempts to evacuate civilians continued on Wednesday, as both Russia and Ukraine announced routes to allow people to leave hard-hit cities. But Ukraine, after accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces of shelling the escape routes four days in a row, said it remained skeptical of the temporary cease-fire announcements — and it was not immediately clear whether Ukraine and Russia have agreed to the routes outlined by the other side.
The attempts came as Ukraine’s state-owned grid operator warned that the closed Chernobyl nuclear power plant has been disconnected from the nation’s power grid by Russian forces, potentially jeopardizing the cooling of nuclear fuel still stored at the site. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba demanded a cease-fire with Russia to allow repairs as another official called the loss of contact with the International Atomic Energy Agency an ‘extremely dangerous situation.’
Officials in Izyum, one of the cities set to be evacuated, alleged Wednesday that efforts to get civilians out of the city were compromised by shelling from Russian forces. Other evacuations appeared to be proceeding; local officials in the northeastern Sumy region, from which 5,000 people were able to evacuate a day earlier, said people were leaving in private cars and that they planned to load 22 buses with people, prioritizing pregnant women, women with children, older people and people with disabilities.
Here’s what to know
Economic pressure on Russia from companies is building. Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Starbucks on Tuesday joined the long list of corporations suspending their business in the country amid mounting public pressure.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked NATO to ‘send us the planes’ after the U.S. all but declined an offer from Poland to provide its MiG-29 fighter jets for use by Ukrainian pilots.
Some 2 million Ukrainians have already fled their countrysince the start of the invasion, according to the United Nations. Half of them are children, according to UNICEF.” Read more at Washington Post
“Congressional leaders reached a bipartisan deal early today to provide $13.6 billion to help Ukraine, as part of a $1.5 trillion measure funding the government. Party leaders hoped to whip the 2,741-page measure through the House today and the Senate (perhaps) by week’s end.” [Axios] Read more at AP
“The New York Times pulled its reporters out of Russia yesterday, the latest precaution taken by a large media company in response to the Kremlin's punitive new ‘fake news’ law, Axios' Sara Fischer reports.
Why it matters: ‘Even in the depths of the Cold War, under the Soviet dictatorship, this never happened,’ tweeted Times deputy managing editor Cliff Levy, a former Moscow bureau chief.
CNN has temporarily ceased broadcasting from Russia, but isn't shutting down its Moscow bureau, a spokesperson said.” Read more at Axios
“The first Jan. 6 criminal trial ended with convictions on all counts. A Washington, D.C., jury found Guy Reffitt of Texas guilty of helping to provoke the pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol, confronting police while armed and later threatening his children not to report him. More than 750 people face charges related to last year’s riot.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Henry ‘Enrique’ Tarrio, a longtime leader of the Proud Boys far-right group, was arrested Tuesday on charges that he conspired with followers who attacked Congress last year — a high-profile indictment unsealed the same day Jan. 6 prosecutors won their first trial conviction from a D.C. jury.
Tarrio, 38, who lives in Miami, joins Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes as the second leader of a radical group charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. Neither man is accused of entering the Capitol that day, and Tarrio wasn’t even in Washington. Their arrests show that prosecutors are moving their sprawling investigation beyond the scene of the crime toward anyone may have who directed or helped plan the violence.
Prosecutors say Tarrio conspired with other Proud Boys to obstruct an official proceeding. They also charged him with other crimes related to actions allegedly committed by followers on the day Congress gathered to certify Joe Biden’s presidential victory.” Read more at Washington Post
“The U.S. is outlawing Russian oil imports. Under a ban that President Biden announced today—which applies to new Russian crude-oil imports, certain petroleum products, liquefied natural gas and coal—companies have 45 days to wind down existing contracts. The executive order also prohibits new U.S. investment in the Russian energy sector and financing foreign companies that invest in it.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP
“President Biden heralded today's ban on Russian oil imports as a hit on ‘the main artery of Russia’s economy.’
‘We will not be part of subsidizing Putin’s war,’ Biden said after banning the imports of Russian oil, natural gas and coal.
‘The American people will deal another powerful blow to Putin's war machine.’
The big picture: Gas prices hit an all-time high today (not adjusted for inflation). Biden acknowledged that the decision ‘is not without costs here at home.’
‘I'm going to do everything I can to minimize Putin's [gas] price hikes,’ Biden said.
‘This crisis is a stark reminder that to protect our economy over the long term, we need to become energy independent,’ Biden added. ‘It should motivate us to accelerate a transition to clean energy.’
The bottom line: Russia accounts for only 3% of U.S. crude oil imports, versus 27% for Europe as of 2019, Bloomberg reports.” Read more at Axios
“The White House unsuccessfully tried to arrange calls between President Biden and the de facto leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as the U.S. was working to build international support for Ukraine and contain a surge in oil prices, said Middle East and U.S. officials.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the U.A.E.’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan both declined U.S. requests to speak to Mr. Biden in recent weeks, the officials said, as Saudi and Emirati officials have become more vocal in recent weeks in their criticism of American policy in the Gulf….
The Saudis have signaled that their relationship with Washington has deteriorated under the Biden administration, and they want more support for their intervention in Yemen’s civil war, help with their own civilian nuclear program as Iran’s moves ahead, and legal immunity for Prince Mohammed in the U.S., Saudi officials said. The crown prince faces multiple lawsuits in the U.S., including over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Several major American food and beverage companies announced Tuesday that they would suspend their operations in Russia, a step that comes after days of mounting public pressure on the corporate world to sever ties with the country over the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The group included McDonald’s, Starbucks, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, some of which had operated in Russia for decades and had faced heightened scrutiny in recent days as other companies elected to halt their business dealings there. A veritable naughty-or-nice list, compiled by a Yale University professor, generated headlines by highlighting the companies maintaining normal operations.
McDonald’s Chief Executive Chris Kempczinski said that the global fast food chain would temporarily close its 850 restaurants in the country.
‘Our values mean we cannot ignore the needless human suffering unfolding in Ukraine,’ he said.” Read more at Washington Post
“The Senate on Tuesday approved a $107 billion financial overhaul of the long-beleaguered U.S. Postal Service, providing monetary relief for the agency that leaders say will allow it to modernize and invest in efficient service.
President Biden has signaled that he plans to sign the bill, which has already cleared the House.
The Postal Service Reform Act, which passed 79-19, provides financial flexibility for the mail agency to take on improvements that have been debated for years. Republicans have traditionally criticized the Postal Service as a poster child for government waste and incompetence, even as the agency won high marks for approval and trust from the public. During the pandemic, Democrats hailed mail workers as everyday heroes, and pushed the agency as an example of the benefits of robust government services.
But the Postal Service’s role throughout the coronavirus pandemic forced lawmakers to reach a consensus on restructuring its balance sheet, with worries that the agency could not withstand another financial shock. Nearly half of all voters cast their ballots by mail during the 2020 election, and surging e-commerce demand saw postal workers hauling packages from doorstep to doorstep, allowing individuals to purchase essentials remotely and stay home during public health lockdowns.” Read more at Washington Post
“The Emmett Till Antilynching Act is expected to be on President Joe Biden's desk Wednesday, and ready to be signed into law. On Monday, the Senate unanimously passed the legislation to allow crimes to be prosecuted as a lynching if a victim is killed or injured as a result of a hate crime. The bipartisan legislation was approved by a 422-3 vote in the House on March 1. Before Monday, the House failed over 200 times to criminalize lynching on the federal level. From 1877 to 1950, about 4,400 Black people were lynched in the U.S., according to the Equal Justice Initiative . The NAACP counted about 4,700 lynchings from 1882 to 1968, and more than 70% of those killed were Black. Both organizations noted that the numbers probably were underreported.” Read more at USA Today
“President Biden will issue an executive order mobilizing the federal government to regulate digital assets and cryptocurrencies, writes Ryan Lawler of Axios Pro Fintech Deals.
Why it matters: The order is an acknowledgement that digital currency is here to stay, and a move toward legitimizing its use.
State of play: With the executive order, Biden aims to create a national policy for digital assets by unleashing multiple agencies at once.
The Treasury Department will issue recommendations for consumer and investor protections, and will produce a report on the future of money and payment systems.
The Fed is encouraged to explore a U.S. central bank digital currency.
The Financial Stability Oversight Council will identify economy-wide, systemic financial risks posed by crypto and offer up recommendations to address regulatory gaps.
The Commerce Department will chart a course to use crypto technologies to reinforce U.S. leadership in the global financial system.
What's next: The reports will come back in two to four months.
What we're watching: The order points to the need to mitigate financial and national security risks posed by the illicit use of cryptocurrencies.” Read more at Axios
Police investigate a shooting outside of East High School in Des Moines. Photo: Zach Boyden-Holmes/Des Moines Register via USA Today Network
“Six Des Moines teens are facing murder charges following a shooting yesterday that killed a 15-year-old boy and seriously injured two others, reports Axios Des Moines co-author Linh Ta.
The teens, who range in age from 14 to 17, are each charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.
Axios does not name minors who are charged in criminal cases.
Des Moines detectives learned the shots were allegedly fired by multiple people from several vehicles.
Police recovered six firearms in connection to the shooting.” Read more at Axios
“Hawaii on Tuesday became the 50th and final state to announce that it will drop its universal indoor mask mandate, as the United States attempts to move on from the once ferocious Omicron wave.
Gov. David Ige, a Democrat, said at a news briefing Tuesday afternoon that the mandate would no longer be in effect starting on March 26.” Read more at New York Times
“The F.B.I. found a ‘massive fraud scheme’ among food assistance nonprofits in the Minneapolis area.” Read more at New York Times
“A U.S. congressional committee is asking the Justice Department to investigate Amazon.com Inc. and some of its executives for what lawmakers say is potentially criminal obstruction of Congress, according to people familiar with the matter and a letter containing the request.
The letter, dated March 9 and viewed by The Wall Street Journal, was sent to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland by Democratic and Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee.
The letter accuses the Seattle-based tech giant of refusing to provide information that lawmakers sought as part of an investigation by the body’s Antitrust Subcommittee into Amazon’s competitive practices. The letter alleges that the refusal was an attempt to cover up what it calls a lie that the company told lawmakers about its treatment of outside sellers on its platform.
Amazon couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. In the past, a spokesman has denied that the company or its executives misled the committee and has said that internal policy prohibits using individual seller data to develop Amazon products. Amazon investigates any allegations that the policy might have been violated, the spokesman has said.
The Justice Department couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Former Theranos co-president Ramesh ‘Sunny’ Balwani leaves federal court on 22 April 2019 in San Jose, California. Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
“Two months after Elizabeth Holmes was found guilty of defrauding Theranos investors, her former business and romantic partner, Ramesh ‘Sunny’ Balwani, is set to begin his own trial on Wednesday.
The trial of Balwani, who served as the blood testing startup’s co-president, shares several parallels with Holmes’s. The businessman is accused of similar crimes, including wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud investors, and will appear in the same San Jose, California, courthouse where Holmes spent more than 12 weeks defending herself.
Jury selection begins on Wednesday, with opening arguments expected to start on Wednesday of next week.
Balwani’s case marks the latest chapter in a cautionary tale that has inspired films, podcasts and a television show, and prompted a reckoning with the Silicon Valley hype machine.
Both trials centered on the spectacular rise and fall of Theranos, the company Holmes founded after dropping out of Stanford at 19 years old that promised a revolutionary blood testing technology, attracting millions of dollars in investments.
But in 2015, the Wall Street Journal reported that the company fell short of this ambitious pledge, revealing that its tests were largely inaccurate and that it was running most labs on third-party machines with traditional blood drawing techniques.
A jury convicted Holmes in early January of four counts related to wire fraud against investors, and remains free on bond pending her sentencing hearing on 26 September 2022, after Balwani’s trial concludes.” Read more at The Guardian
“South Koreans are heading to the polls today to elect a new president who will take on an evolving slate of challenges facing the powerful East Asian nation. Gender inequality, sexual violence, division and political corruption have been big domestic issues for voters, while surging housing prices continue to tax Asia’s fourth-largest economy. The ever-present threat of North Korea looms large outside its borders, as do shifting politics in the Pacific. The election has boiled down to a tight two-way race between Lee Jae-myung, the standard-bearer of the ruling Democratic Party, and Yoon Suk-yeol, from the conservative main opposition People Power Party. The victor will succeed President Moon Jae-in, who is constitutionally barred from seeking reelection.” Read more at CNN
Data: UNHCR; Map: Jared Whalen and Will Chase/Axios
“Stunning stat: At the end of 2021, before the invasion of Ukraine, 1 in 29 people worldwide needed humanitarian assistance, according to the U.N.
After a pandemic, multiple food shortages, the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan — and now an exodus of Ukrainians fleeing the Russian military — global aid groups tell Axios' Stef Kight they can barely keep up.
Why it matters: ‘The world's humanitarian funding machine just doesn't have enough money to face all of the people in need this year,’ Bob Kitchen, the International Rescue Committee's director of emergencies, tells Axios.
What's happening: Aid groups are scrambling to help Ukraine, as well as the surrounding nations welcoming 2 million+ refugees — the world's fastest population movement since at least World War II, experts say.
Many of the same agencies sprang into action as refugees poured out of Afghanistan last year.
At the same time, West Africa is headed toward devastating drought and food insecurity: Over 38 million people will likely experience a severe food emergency this summer.
Separately, the Horn of Africa is facing what could be the worst food crisis in 30 years .
Conflict and other disasters continue in Yemen, Syria, Myanmar and elsewhere.
How you can help: International Rescue Committee ... Save the Children ... Mercy Corps.
In photos: Ukraine's growing humanitarian crisis” Read more at Axios
“Testing times | Hong Kong’s plan to test everyone for Covid-19 in March has been indefinitely postponed as the city prioritizes vaccinating the elderly and reducing fatalities in an outbreak that’s now the deadliest in the world. The government is still planning for mandatory testing, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said today.” Read more at Bloomberg
Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers drew a rare rebuke from fellow Republicans when the state senate voted to censure her last week following her speech at a white nationalist's conference. (Ross D. Franklin/AP)
“Midway through a white nationalist’s conference in Orlando last month, one speaker drew applause calling for gruesome violence against “traitors” after excoriating critics of the ‘honorable’ Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and proponents of the ‘bioweapon’ coronavirus vaccine.
‘We need to build more gallows,’ the speaker said, adding that such a deadly fate would ‘make an example of these traitors who’ve betrayed our country.’
The speech via video at the Feb. 25 conference organized by far-right activist Nick Fuentes, who has espoused racist and antisemitic views, wasn’t from another online agitator or fringe radio hostker who represents tens of thousands of constituents and has found a rising national profile as a face of the radicalized wing of the GOP.
Rogers’s trajectory shows the political and financial incentives of going to extremes. After losing her earliest races as a mainstream Republican, she moved farther and farther right until she beat an incumbent by campaigning as the more conservative choice. Now, after a year of fanning bogus allegations about election fraud and other false claims, she is the most successful fundraiser in the Arizona state legislature.
She raised nearly $2.5 million in 2021, outraising even statewide candidates for governor, attorney general and secretary of ions from outside Arizona as she traveled the U.S. calling for the 2020 election to be overturned and demanding audits of the vote without credible evidence of fraud.
While her support for former president Donald Trump’s election falsehoods puts her in line with many Republicans, Rogers has moved unapologetically farther to the edges of American politics: Calling for jailing and executing her political opponents, identifying herself as a member of the Oath Keepers militia group, and attending a conference organized by a group linked to QAnon, the violent anti-government ideology.
Her latest speech to Fuentes’s group earned her a rare official rebuke from Republicans, via a 24-3 Arizona Senate vote to censure her. But she made it clear she believes such blowback only strengthens her message, as she quickly decried the elites for trying to silence her and refused to apologize or back down.
Like fellow GOP provocateurs in Congress, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), Rogers’s inflammatory rhetoric has gained her widespread notice in the pro-Trump media ecosystem and on social media, making her a sought-after endorsement well beyond her rural home district around Flagstaff. Of the 20 candidates she has endorsed in this year’s midterms, only one is from Arizona.
‘She’s so great,’ said Trump, who has endorsed Rogers’s reelection, at an Arizona rally in January.” Read more at Washington Post
“Elon Musk wants to end a 2018 deal with the SEC that required his tweets to be preapproved.
In a motion filed in federal court, the Tesla chief executive’s lawyers said the oversight has become unworkable and that federal regulators have abused the settlement. Musk disputes the SEC’s claims that he defrauded investors four years ago when he tweeted that he had ‘funding secured’ to take Tesla private. The SEC declined to comment.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“The Smithsonian will return most of its Benin Bronzes, a collection of West African artworks, to Nigeria.” Read more at New York Times
“The ‘world’s most challenging shipwreck search’ for one of the greatest legends of exploration history, Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance, lost more than a century ago in the icy waters of Antarctica, has succeeded.
The wreck has been found, 3,008 metres below the surface of what Shackleton described as ‘the worst portion of the worst sea in the world’. It was discovered on Saturday, the 100th anniversary of Shackleton’s funeral, the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust said.
The Endurance22 expedition, which set off from Cape Town a month ago, had ‘reached its goal’, said Dr John Shears, the veteran geographer who led the expedition. ‘We have made polar history with the discovery of Endurance, and successfully completed the world’s most challenging shipwreck search.’
He hoped people would be inspired by ‘what human beings can achieve and the obstacles they can overcome when they work together’.
Arcing across the submerged ship’s wooden stern is its famous name, preserved by the freezing waters and the absence of wood-eating organisms.
The Endurance was found off the coast of Antarctica, approximately four miles south of the position originally recorded by its captain, Frank Worsley. It has not been seen since it was crushed by ice and sank in the Weddell Sea in November 1915.” Read more at The Guardian
“Lives Lived: The environmentalist Maggy Hurchalla tangled with developers as sprawl proliferated from Miami to West Palm Beach. She died at 81.” Read more at New York Times
“Football news: Aaron Rodgers is staying with the Green Bay Packers, and Russell Wilson is joining the Denver Broncos.” Read more at New York Times
“Tiger Woods will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of FameWednesday, where his daughter will introduce him. Over the course of his legendary career, Woods won a record-tying 82 PGA Tour titles and 15 major championships. Also being inducted into the Hall of Fame is former PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, who will be introduced by Hall of Fame member Davis Love III, and three-time U.S. Women's Open champion Susie Maxwell Berning, who will be introduced by Hall of Fame member Judy Rankin. Trailblazer Marion Hollins will also be inducted posthumously. The ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. ET at the PGA Tour's headquarters within the shadows of TPC Sawgrass in Florida, home to this week's Players Championship.” Read more at USA Today
“SAN DIEGO (AP) — A man who tried to slither past U.S. border agents in California had 52 lizards and snakes hidden in his clothing, authorities said Tuesday.
The man was driving a truck when he arrived at the San Ysidro border crossing with Mexico on Feb. 25 and was pulled out for additional inspection, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement.
Agents found 52 live reptiles tied up in small bags ‘which were concealed in the man’s jacket, pants pockets, and groin area,’ the statement said.
Nine snakes and 43 horned lizards were seized. Some of the species are considered endangered, authorities said.
‘Smugglers will try every possible way to try and get their product, or in this case live reptiles, across the border,’ said Sidney Aki, Customs and Border Protection director of field operations in San Diego. ‘In this occasion, the smuggler attempted to deceive CBP officers in order to bring these animals into the US, without taking care for the health and safety of the animals.’
The man, a 30-year-old U.S. citizen, was arrested.” Read more at AP News