news

lmao lmao.

Reminder that Texas is a separate grid, which is deregulated and financialized, according to neoliberal ideals of efficiency.

Based.

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Kozak was referring to budget cuts that city council members proposed in April, which would cut Denver's public safety budget by $8.4 million — about 1.9% of the police force's funds.

Oh no a small crumb of the budget is gone! With only 434 MILLION dollars instead of 442 million dollars what nefarious crimes will go unsolved by Denver County?

He said in a post on social media the cuts restricted the ability of cops to enforce traffic laws such as expired plates and safety equipment violations.

Well let's see how Denver clapped back at this slight!

Denver Police also took issue with the Laramie County sheriff's message.

Hell yeah!

"A primary advantage for working for Denver Police versus the Laramie County Sheriff's Office is that the top pay for the officer rank is $24,575 more annually than the top pay for a LCSO deputy sheriff, and the pay gap increases at higher ranks," Denver Police said in a statement. "And being a much larger department, Denver Police officers have significantly greater opportunities to promote."

I fucking hate it here, and still simultaneously believe Colorado is the best fucking state. The reason so many Feds are out here is the next time a Miners war breaks out in the Rockies, will be an insurgency that will never be broken, as nuking Colorado means nuking Americas water.

WASHINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will push fellow G7 finance officials next week to agree to a plan to bring forward the interest earnings on frozen Russian assets to provide more money to Ukraine quickly, a senior U.S. Treasury official said on Friday.

The official told reporters ahead of Yellen's May 21-25 trip to Frankfurt, Germany, and the Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Stresa, Italy, that the G7 is "making progress" toward consensus on a plan to harness some $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets frozen since Moscow's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The G7 finance ministers have been tasked with recommending a plan for G7 leaders to adopt at a summit in June in southern Italy. The G7 industrial democracies are the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Canada.

Yellen had previously pushed for full confiscation of the largely euro-denominated assets, but officials in Europe, concerned about risks to the euro and problematic legal precedents, have balked, opting instead for a more conservative plan to put the earnings -- estimated at around $3.5 billion per year -- into a fund for Ukraine.

Since then, the U.S. has proposed a plan to pull forward the interest on the assets to back a bond or a loan that would provide Ukraine perhaps $50 billion in the near term as it battles increasing Russian military pressure in its east and north.

The plan comes with some controversy, because it would require Western powers to hold the assets for around 20 years, said Josh Lipsky, senior director of the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center.

"It's a big mountain to climb, and the U.S. is going to push this strongly at the G7," Lipsky said. "If it doesn't happen now, I'm not sure that it will in the near future."

The reaction from G7 finance ministries so far has been cautious. Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Friday that any proposals to use the frozen Russian assets must comply with international law.

The French Economics and Finance Ministry said in a statement: "France supports and shares the fact that more resources are needed for Ukraine. We have taken note of the U.S. proposal and we will work together technically at the G7 level and at the European level to determine the best option."

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/gaza-exposes-some-arab-nations--ties-to-the-west--sayyed-al

"The enemies are mobilizing according to a well-laid schedule intended to target our Islamic Ummah," Yemeni Ansar Allah movement leader Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said on Saturday. In a statement on the anniversary of the "Shout Against the Oppressors" yearly event, Sayyed al-Houthi said that the Western conspiracy, disguised as "fighting terrorism", sought to occupy Muslim nations and control their people. "A few of our nations' sons are trying to present our enemies as friends to ally ourselves with. A few of our nations' sons, governments, and regimes, are asking for the United States' protection, and in turn, they offer everything to it," he explained.

He underlined that the fear of the US has become a state that is controlling some of the leaders, officials, and elites, and has spilled to affect the masses. He noted that in certain Arab countries, pro-Palestine protests have been met with oppression. Al-Houthi ascertained that "the enemy wants to shackle these nations to prevent them from taking a stand, and the governments' stances cripple the masses." He further affirmed that the active attack of regimes against their people who champion the Palestinian cause shows the reality of the kind of relation tying these regimes to the US and its nonchalance regarding the Ummah's issues.

On Yemeni solidarity, Sayyed al-Houthi noted that a plot existed to subdue the Yemeni people, lock them in a state of surrender, and keep the stage open for the Americans. On Friday, Al-Houthi stressed that the responsibility for taking additional practical steps against the occupation lies with the Arab and Islamic countries and that they should not be sidelined. He explained that these countries have political, diplomatic, and economic options regarding the aggression on Rafah. "If the Arab regimes do not dare to adopt any position, let their peoples take action."

He underlined that the Islamic and Arab worlds needed to be at such a level of deterrence that they are able to defend themselves from danger, stressing that only the undertaking of serious steps could benefit them as the Israeli occupation does not care about the calls of the international community to stop its aggression and it does not care about the magnitude of the crimes it is committing. The Islamic and Arab worlds need to move consciously and break free from the state of inertia that has affected many of their peoples, the Yemeni leader stressed.

These and other measures announced Friday marked Beijing's latest efforts to address issues in the massive real estate sector.

The People's Bank of China will provide 300 billion yuan ($42.25 billion) to financial institutions to lend to local state-owned enterprises (SOEs) so they can buy unsold apartments that have already been built.

Also Friday, the PBOC removed a floor on mortgage interest rates, and lowered the minimum down payment ratio for first- and second-time home buyers.

BEIJING — Chinese authorities on Friday pledged new support for state-owned enterprises to enable them to buy unsold apartments, in an effort that could help developers get more funding to finish construction on pre-sold properties.

These and other measures announced Friday marked Beijing's latest efforts to address issues in the massive real estate sector.

"I think it is encouraging that the policy is taking a turn of direction trying to support the housing market," said Zhu Ning, a professor of finance at Tsinghua University and author of the book "China's Guaranteed Bubble."

People's Bank of China Deputy Governor Tao Ling told reporters at a briefing Friday the central bank would provide 300 billion yuan ($42.25 billion) to financial institutions to lend to local state-owned enterprises (SOEs) so they can buy unsold apartments that have already been built.

The central bank expects the support to release 500 billion yuan in financing for such purchases, which the SOEs could turn into affordable housing.

The real estate companies can then use funds earned from those sales to complete construction on other apartments, the central bank said.

As for unfinished, pre-sold properties, the National Financial Regulatory Administration Deputy Director Xiao Yuanqi told reporters that commercial banks have provided 935 billion yuan in loans to finish construction on whitelisted projects since the program was released in January.

"The government's purchase of housing inventory can inject more liquidity to developers, who could then have more resources for housing delivery," Larry Hu, chief economist at Macquarie, told CNBC. "Finally the government stepped in as the buyer of the last resort."

"At this stage, it's mainly SOEs and local governments to implement the policies, but their resources may be too limited to move the needle at the macro level," he said. "Later on, we might see more efforts from the central government."

Developers "that must go bankrupt should go bankrupt, while those that need to be restructured should be restructured," Dong Jianguo, deputy head of the ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, told reporters in Mandarin, translated by CNBC. He said homebuyers' interests and rights should be prioritized, and those that violate the law should be punished.

MTG is like the perfect wrestling heel for congress.

The Arab League has called for a United Nations peacekeeping force in the occupied Palestinian territory at a summit dominated by Israel’s continuing deadly assault of the Gaza Strip.

The meeting of Arab heads of state and government convened in Bahrain on Tuesday more than seven months into Israel’s offensive in Gaza that has convulsed the wider region.

The “Manama Declaration” issued by the 22-member bloc called for “international protection and peacekeeping forces of the United Nations in the occupied Palestinian territories” until a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict is implemented.

It called for an immediate end to fighting in the Gaza Strip and blamed Israeli “obstruction” for failed negotiations for a ceasefire.

“We stress the need to stop the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip immediately, withdraw the Israeli occupation forces from all areas of the Strip [and] lift the siege imposed on it,” the statement said.

The statement blamed Israel for the war continuing.

“We strongly condemn Israel’s obstruction of cease-fire efforts in the Gaza Strip and its continued military escalation by expanding its aggression against the Palestinian city of Rafah, despite international warnings of the disastrous humanitarian consequences,” it said.

They did the trope.

https://www.npr.org/2024/01/12/1224449631/mississippi-jail-graves-investigation

https://archive.is/p7EIz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7fgB0m_y2I

TERF Island

Bonus: I found a Guardian article praising this pile of garbage as a very modern Tory 🤢

"Outside agitators" accusations only go one way

Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch, Michigan’s largest egg producer, says it will lay off hundreds of employees in Ionia County as it deals with an outbreak of bird flu.

In a notice filed with the state on Wednesday, Herbruck’s said it plans to lay off an estimated 400 employees at five of its farms — three in Saranac and two in Lake Odessa. The move will affect hourly and salaried employees as well as contractors.

The company cited the impact of an outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or bird flu, on its operations as the reason for the layoffs.

“The company’s hen population in some of its Ionia county farms have been unexpectedly impacted by avian influenza, which is highly contagious to hens and deadly to hem,” Herbruck’s wrote in the notice.

In a statement released to News 8, CEO Greg Herbruck said work is “not available” at the affected facilities. He went on to say the layoffs are expected to be “temporary” and that the company plans to rehire many workers as it recovers from the effects of the outbreak.

“In the face of ongoing efforts to address the detection of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza alongside state and federal regulators, Herbruck’s has reached the difficult decision to conduct layoffs at the affected facilities where work is not available. We expect this to largely be temporary, as we plan to rehire many positions as we work to repopulate our facilities and continue egg production as safely and quickly as possible. We understand this is a stressful situation for our team members, and we are working with our state partners to provide them with resources, answer questions and assist in their individual family situations.”

The virus was detected last month at Herbruck’s near Saranac. The poultry ranch responded with measures aimed at stopping the spread of the virus, among them stopping the flow of birds in and out of the facility.

On Wednesday, Saranac-area neighbors told News 8 they have seen a lot of activity around Herbruck’s in recent weeks, describing “lots of traffic” and workers in hazmat suits, as well as noting it has been “very smelly.”

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Director Tim Boring said when HPAI is detected, there are procedures and policies that must be followed, including “preemptive depopulation of flocks.” He said composting of the birds can cause a smell

MDARD says there have been avian flu detections in poultry flocks in Newaygo and Ionia counties. Bird flu can cause flu-like symptoms in poultry like lack of energy, appetite and coordination. It can also cause swelling, coughing and reduced egg production. It is very contagious among birds and can be spread through contact with infected poultry, equipment and on the clothing and shoes of caretakers.

The state has said the public health risk remains low and no birds or bird products infected with bird flu will enter the commercial food chain.

linky

cross-posted from: https://thelemmy.club/post/12524826

cross-posted from: https://thelemmy.club/post/12524824

cross-posted from: https://thelemmy.club/post/12524817

As Victoria Nuland steps down, she gets "real" about a world on fire.