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- Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) taking an “anti-woke” parent activist to school
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Although Vladimir Putin seems to be trying his best to recede from the spotlight (there’s a first for everything) all is not quiet on the Eastern front.
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Members of the G-7 met virtually yesterday, where they were addressed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who called for Russia to withdraw its military forces from the country in observance of Christmas. Putin doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who is moved by the spirit of the Holiday Season, but I guess it was worth a shot. Zelenskyy thanked Ukraine’s Western allies for approving new aid, which he said would help sustain Ukrainian nationals through Russian assaults in the grueling months to come. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today that the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine by the end of the year is “out of the question,” and went so far as to say that any peace deal with Kyiv is “impossible.” Well then!
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Russia seems to have no intention of relinquishing the territories it illegally annexed in the fall, and Peskov called the “three steps to achieve peace” outlined by Zelenskyy “three steps to the continuation of combat activities.” Russian forces have begun to launch a new batch of Iranian drones, according to a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Air Force. The Kremlin also announced yesterday that Putin will not hold his marathon end-of-year news conference for the first time in a decade.
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At an international donor conference today in Paris, dozens of countries and international organizations threw their support behind more than $1 billion in aid pledges to Ukraine to keep the country’s citizens fed and warm, and to restore or maintain their electricity as winter sets in. The move is a defiant response to sustained Russian bombing and attacks on critical Ukrainian infrastructure to starve them of heat and power. French President Emmanuel Macron, who hosted the conference, denounced the attacks on power plants as war crimes, adding that it was a desperate move after Russia’s “military weaknesses had been exposed to all.”
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But continued aid to Ukraine requires a well-oiled, vast international network, because Russia continues to receive supplies as well.
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A Reuters investigation found that despite Western export restrictions and manufacturer bans, at least $2.6 billion worth of computer and other technology components made their way to Russia since the war began, with at least $777 million of these products made by Western firms whose chips have been found in Russian weapons systems. Many of the goods from companies like America’s Intel Corp, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc, Texas Instruments, and Germany’s Infineon AG are transported to Russia through Turkey, a non-E.U. country that does not enforce most Western sanctions against Moscow. Most of the tech also appears to be transported by one firm: Azu International Ltd., a company that seems to have sprung up specifically to provide Russia with sensitive technology made in the West. Import/export firms like Azu International exemplify how supply channels to Russia have remained open despite Western export restrictions and manufacturer bans.
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In the United States, discussions are swirling about the kind of aid Washington will continue to provide to Ukraine. The government is poised to approve sending a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine, finally acquiescing to an urgent request from Kyiv in desperation for more robust weapons to neutralize incoming Russian missiles. The approval is likely to come later this week, as early as Thursday. On top of that, a stopgap spending bill to avoid a government shutdown (side note: will someone eliminate the debt ceiling while we’re at it?) began making its way through Congress today, with a Friday night deadline fast approaching. Ukraine could receive billions more in American aid, after President Biden asked Congress for $37 billion last month.
With the conflict showing no signs of stopping, and Putin becoming increasingly evasive, the future of the war remains unclear, but the West’s support for Ukraine is not.
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The United States government charged CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX Samuel Bankman-Fried (or as our EIC Brian Beutler said, “more like Samuel Bankman-JAILED!!!”) with a slate of financial crimes today, alleging that he intentionally deceived customers and investors to personally enrich himself while simultaneously playing a central role in the company’s precipitous collapse. Federal prosecutors said Bankman-Fried devised “a scheme and artifice to defraud” FTX customers and investors beginning in 2019, the year of the company’s founding, by illegally diverting their money to cover expenses, debts, and high-risk trades at his separate crypto hedge fund Alameda Research. At a press conference today, U.S. Attorney Damian Willaims called it “one of the biggest frauds in American history,” which also entailed making “tens of millions of dollars” in illegal campaign donations. Bankman-Fried, 30, was considered a kind of crypto wunderkind (did we learn nothing from Elizabeth Holmes?) and actually worked with policymakers who wanted to bring more oversight to the cryptocurrency industry. Cheers to a long prison sentence, Millennial Bernie Madoff!
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Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) announced today that he plans to petition the Florida State Supreme Court to convene a grand jury investigation into “any and all wrongdoing” related to COVID-19 vaccines. He offered no details on what alleged wrongdoings the panel should investigate, but said that it would be aimed at shaking loose more information about the vaccines and potentially harmful side effects. This is an alarming but not altogether surprising exclamation mark on years of right-wing disinformation about COVID-19 and the vaccines, as echoed in a recent tweet from Twitter CEO Elon Musk in which he advocated for prosecuting Dr. Fauci (hey New York Times, is it clear enough that he’s far-right yet?). Since the pandemic began, DeSantis has spoken frequently against CDC directives, including mask and vaccine mandates, and filed lawsuits to stop such measures from taking effect in Florida. In that time, he’s frequently flirted with outright anti-vaccine activists and now he’s joined their ranks outright.
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Trans youth need your support.
This is crucial. Nearly 200 anti-trans bills have been introduced in state legislatures so far this year—a record breaking number. The majority of these cruel attacks target trans youth.
State lawmakers are continuing to introduce wave after wave of these harmful measures – banning trans kids from school sports, denying access to gender-affirming medical care, and even unlawfully threatening to remove adolescents from loving homes solely for having parents who love and affirm them. Add your name to pledge your support for trans youth.
In Arkansas, our lawyers are challenging the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth. This law is openly discriminatory, unconstitutional, and outright dangerous for trans youth – we know that when trans youth don’t have access to gender-affirming medical support, their mental health suffers dramatically. The ACLU will never stop fighting against harmful attacks on trans youth – in the courts, in statehouses, and in the streets. Join our fight.
We need to ensure that trans youth across the country feel loved and supported as we combat these awful attacks on their safety and civil liberties. That’s where you can make a difference.
Show trans youth that there are far more people out there who support who they are, who want them to grow up and thrive, and who will not stop fighting for them. Add your name today to show up for trans rights with the ACLU.
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