Previously posted in my Facebook page.
New York Sun: “Seattle’s Police-Free Occupied ‘CHAZ’ Zone Is Now Wasteland of Abandoned Buildings, Vandalism, and Homeless Doing ‘Fentanyl Flop’.” During the Occupy movement of 2011, it’d seem the “occupation” of a certain real estate was geared at betterment of life. I offered to write a grant to turn an abandoned building into a community project. Nope. “Occupiers” simply wanted to occupy, that’s all. Hot on idealism, short on practical sense or real toil. 😒😟🤨
New York Times: “How Does Paris Stay Paris? By Pouring Billions Into Public Housing.” Public housing in the U.S. accommodates 2.1 million low-income people in 1.1. million apartments. As of a 2023 HUD report, there are approximately 582,000 Americans experiencing homelessness. Federal housing budget is $3.7 billion, but that’s excluding the budget to house thousands of migrants. Top 3 best public housing systems in the world: Singapore, Sweden, Finland. 🏠🇫🇷🏘
New York Times: “Chicago Begins Evicting Migrants From Shelters, Citing Strain on Resources.” Officials say more than 2,000 people would be evicted by the end of April. Already, U.S. homelessness reached an all-time high in 2023, making many across the country question as to what is being done to address the growing homeless crisis. As the Department of Housing and Urban Development confronts a budget shortfall. Then comes the unabated surge of migrants. 🗽🏃♀️🏃
New York Times: “Niger Orders American Troops to Leave Its Territory.” And adds: “The West African country’s military junta said the presence of U.S. forces was “illegal.” Increasingly, West Africans are questioning the motives of Western countries operating in Africa. Also days ago, Zimbabwe officials expelled U.S. election “observers,” accusing them of “promoting regime change.” Meanwhile, China stays as the largest investor in Africa in terms of total capital. 🇳🇪🇳🇪🇳🇪
New York Times: “Ohtani Makes South Korean Fans Forget Rivalry With Japan.” Baseball fans in South Korea seem to embrace Shohei. Cool! Time to heal a history of fierce rivalry. Armed animosity pervaded between these neighbors in the past. The Imjin War of 1592, Japan’s invasion in 1894, and WW2 hostilities. Silent mutual hate. Yet sports, apart from the ability to forge friendships among strangers, also usher forgiveness and healing between enemies. 🇯🇵⚾️🇰🇷
New York Times: “See-Through Baseball Pants Have Fans, and Brands, Pointing Fingers.” And adds: “A redesign of M.L.B.’s uniforms has put Fanatics and Nike at the center of a debate about performance versus quality in sportswear.” More people would crowd a stadium if uniforms are see-through. Uh huh. Cellphone cameras blazing! “See through” is an expression of team politics? Individual truth? Right? As long as it sells and it’s labeled “politically correct,” I guess. ⚾️👖⚾️
New York Times: “No Alternative for Rafah Invasion, Netanyahu Says, as Rift With U.S. Grows.” A day after agreeing to President Biden’s request to send officials to Washington to discuss Rafah, the Israeli PM said “there was no other option but to send forces into the crowded city.” A steely nerve Bibi, unperturbed and defiant? Or a Joe, unable to excise U.S.’ vaunted clout over a top ally? The world watches America more than it awaits Israel to stand down. 🇮🇱☮️🇵🇸
New York Times: “Israel Faces Tough Balancing Act on Russia and the West.” Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin aren’t really adversarial although gray areas pervade. Unlike many Western countries, Israel has refused to sanction Russia per invasion of Ukraine. Yet reports of “Moscow's reception of a Hamas delegation” less than two weeks after the Oct. 7 attack prompted concerns in Tel Aviv. But all these offer more intrigue than legitimacy. 🇮🇱☮️🇵🇸
New York Times: “From Moscow to Mumbai: Russia Pivots South for Trade.” And adds: “Once dependent on Europe for trade, Russia has been forging new routes that will allow it to skirt Western restrictions. A planned railway through Iran could be key for those ambitions.” What if BRICS focuses its trade negotiations only with partner economies? And G7 sticks with its allies? You think they’d be lesser military playbooks to influence geopolitics? Just wondering. 🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺
New York Times: “Aid groups have declared Sudan to be the site of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.” But the suffering Sudanese people have received little help. Tons and tons of food couldn’t get into Gaza as the U.S. et al negotiate with Israel to let `em pass. What’d happen to those piled up food/s? Let them rot? Why not ship them to Sudan, which faces a rapidly deepening crisis. Nearly 18 million people face acute hunger as war rages across the country. 🇸🇩🇸🇩🇸🇩
