WFP in partnership with Seven Circles publish a first-of-its kind cookbook to empower women in Egypt

CAIRO – The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) and Seven Circles “Empowering through” have launched the ‘Empowering Women through Cooking’ (EWC) cookbook in Egypt.

EWC Egypt – produced through Seven Circles’ Empowering Through initiative – features the recipes of 54 women from a variety of nationalities, religious and socio-economic backgrounds, who are currently living in the country.

Recipes are accompanied by stories of empowerment, insights on pursuing one’s ambition, becoming an entrepreneur and real-life examples of women changing communities today.

“This cookbook creatively presents the unifying power of food by providing a unique space where everyday people, communities, individuals and entities have come together to share their voice and message of empowerment. WFP’s strategic partnership with Seven Circles, that works to inspire, educate and empower women through innovative collaborations, emphasizes the importance of empowering women by providing access to opportunities and education, not only to achieve food security, but development that is truly inclusive and sustainable,” said Praveen Agrawal, WFP Representative and Country Director in Egypt. 

In a joint statement, Seven Circles co-founder Dina Saoudi and Abdul Majeed Shoman Jr said: “We are grateful to our partners, contributors and are thrilled to shed light on stories of Egypt’s inspirational women with the world.”

The cookbook confirms that civil society, the public sector, the private sector, academia, and development agencies can (and must) work together to empower women.

Contributors to the Egypt cookbook include the Semiramis Intercontinental Cairo Hotel, Monappetit Culinary Academy, Beyti, Stardust and Zest Production House and it is co-published by Jabal Amman Publishers and Dar El Shorouk publishing house.

In Egypt, WFP and the Government work to empower women and girls through improved access to education, adequate nutrition, vocational trainings for employment, economic opportunities and consequently, improved food security.

#                #                   #

About WFP

The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impacts of climate change.

Follow us on Twitter @wfp_media add your local Twitter handle, if relevant

 

About Empowering Through

Seven Circles is an investments and consulting firm based in Amman, Jordan, working to empower ecosystems to enable individuals economically and socially. 

Follow us on Instagram @Empoweringthrough

Explainer-Indonesia's stop-start controls on palm oil exports

A woman shops for cooking oil made from oil palms at a supermarket in Jakarta, Indonesia, March 27, 2022. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

24 May 2022

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has agreed to allow palm oil exports to resume after a three-week ban, though it is unclear how rapidly shipments will resume given accompanying rules aimed at securing domestic supply.

Indonesia's frequent export policy changes have unnerved the edible oil markets and heightened concerns about global food prices.

The country is the biggest exporter of palm oil - used in everything from margarine to shampoo - accounting for about 60 per cent of world supply.

WHAT ARE THE LATEST CHANGES?

Indonesia reopened exports for crude palm oil (CPO) and some of its derivative products from May 23 but export permits will be required to show companies have met a so-called Domestic Market Obligation (DMO).

The government has yet to make public details of the DMO, but chief economics minister Airlangga Hartarto said the target was to keep 10 million tonnes of cooking oil at home.

Last year, Indonesian produced 51 million tonnes of CPO and kernel oil, with around 9 million tonnes consumed locally for food.

Asked what portion of palm oil production would be sold domestically under the DMO, Hartarto said it would be 30 per cent with a target to lower it to 20 per cent.

WHY HAS INDONESIA BEEN SEEKING TO CONTROL PALM OIL EXPORTS?

Since November, authorities have unrolled a bewildering array of measures including subsidies, export permits and a palm oil levy as well as export bans to contain cooking oil prices.

However, this has failed to bring the cost of the household necessity made from palm oil into line with a government target of 14,000 rupiah ($0.9554) per litre.

Nonetheless, Indonesia removed the export ban, claiming prices were heading lower and following protests by farmers and calls by lawmakers to reconsider the policy.

Trade ministry data showed as of Monday cooking oil averaged 16,900 rupiah per litre, down from an average of 18,000 rupiah in April but up from 13,300 rupiah in July.

HAVE EXPORTS RESUMED?

While there has been anger over Indonesia's policy flip-flops among some major buyers in countries such as India and Bangladesh, analysts do not expect many to cut off buying.

Traders in India said Indonesian sellers have started to accept new orders, but were not rushing to sign business before understanding the DMO rules.

Palm oil producer Musim Mas, for example, said on Monday it was still focused on "flooding the domestic markets with cooking oil", noting concern about stubbornly high retail prices.

Palm oil companies are awaiting further guidance from the government, with authorities holding meetings with industry participants to explain changes.

WHAT HAS BEEN HINDERING COOKING OIL DISTRIBUTION?

Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi on March 18 blamed a "palm oil mafia" for exploiting the situation.

Still, red tape has also been blamed, with palm refiners wary of releasing cooking oil supplies because of a complicated process of getting subsidies. On Tuesday, a government official said the subsidy would be replaced by another policy to control prices.

The government has also assigned state food procurement agency Bulog to distribute more cooking oil, but last week it said regulations were needed to allow it to start.

Asked about distribution issues, an industry ministry official said there were many components but logistics and transport limitations were key obstacles.

WHAT WILL THE ENDGAME BE?

As was the case with Indonesia's ban of coal exports in January, the government has eased the ban on palm oil shipments in less than a month.

Still, despite the ban costing hundreds of millions of dollars in lost state revenue, the president appears ready to make further policy changes if needed, particularly after his approval rating hit a six-year low in a recent survey.

He has appointed senior minister Luhut Pandjaitan to oversee cooking oil distribution in the populous islands of Java and Bali.

"The objective is for bulk cooking oil to reach the price level targeted by the government, and to be evenly and amply distributed," said Jodi Mahardi, a spokesperson for Luhut.

($1 = 14,645.0000 rupiah)

(Editing by Ed Davies and Jason Neely)
Source: Reuters

Abortion Injects Urgency Into Democratic Cuellar-Cisneros Rematch In Texas

By Moira Warburton
05/24/22 

U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar (D-TX) stops to talk to reporters on his way to vote on the House floor at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., November 4, 2021. Photo: Reuters / ELIZABETH FRANTZ

Centrist U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar seeks to hold off progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros on Tuesday in a high-profile south Texas Democratic primary battle that illustrates sharp dividing lines over immigration and abortion rights.

The election in a district along the U.S.-Mexico border is the third contest between Cuellar, who has held the seat since 2005, and Cisneros, a 28-year-old attorney who failed to unseat him in 2020 but forced him to a runoff in the state's March primary this year.

The race took on new urgency in recent weeks after a leaked opinion indicated that the Supreme Court could overturn a 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.

Cuellar, 66, is the lone House Democrat to oppose abortion rights, and abortion-rights groups have spent at least $160,000 to bolster Cisneros's campaign.

Cuellar has said Cisneros would risk public safety and hurt the local economy by cutting law enforcement funding in a district where many voters work for border patrol agencies.

Cisneros has since distanced herself from her previous call to eliminate U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Political analysts have said a Cisneros win could threaten Democrats' chances to hold the seat in the Nov. 8 election, when Republicans hope to win control of the House of Representatives.

But Cuellar's strength in the general election shouldn't be a foregone conclusion, said Joshua Blank, research director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas in Austin.

"The reality is that Cisneros has come very close to unseating Cuellar twice at this point," Blank said. "If he can't defeat Cisneros, then I think the logic underlying that should come into question."

A TEXAN

Cisneros has benefited from increased name recognition and an FBI investigation that saw raids on Cuellar's home and office.

Financial disclosures on Friday showed she has out-raised him by almost $1.4 million, and has around $400,000 more cash on hand than Cuellar.

The race is one of several midterm primary battles Tuesday between incumbent House Democrats and progressive challengers.

In Oregon, Jamie McLeod-Skinner looks set to oust moderate incumbent Kurt Schrader, while in Pennsylvania progressive Summer Lee has a slight lead over Steve Irwin. Other progressive challengers like Nina Turner in Ohio have lost.

CANNES

Cronenberg says that possible U.S. abortion ban is 'insane'

The potential overturn in the U.S. of a ruling that established a nationwide right to abortion is ‘completely insane,’ Canadian director David Cronenberg said as he presented his latest film at Cannes. #Abortion #RoeVWade #DavidCronenberg #Cannes #Cannes2022 #AbortionRights #News #Reuters

BLACK GENOCIDE 

Timeline of Black Americans killed by police: 2014-2022

List of events before and after George Floyd’s murder 2 years ago

Darren Lyn |25.05.2022

HOUSTON, Texas

George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer two years ago on May 25, 2020. The following is a timeline of police killings of Black Americans in high-profile police brutality cases in the US over the past eight years since 2014.

1. Eric Garner - July 17, 2014: Eric Garner uttered the words “I can’t breathe” 11 times as NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo pinned him to the ground in New York City on suspicion of illegally selling cigarettes. Garner’s death was ruled a homicide, but a grand jury decided not to prosecute Pantaleo, who was later fired by the NYPD, while Garner’s family received a $5.9 million out-of-court settlement.

2. Michael Brown - Aug. 9, 2014: Michael Brown was shot to death by Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson even though Brown held up his hands during the police foot chase and said “Don’t shoot.” A grand jury decided not to indict Wilson, sparking civil unrest and protests in the community.

3. Tamir Rice - Nov. 22, 2014: 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot and killed by Cleveland, Ohio police officer Timothy Loehmann after reports that Rice was wielding a gun, which turned out to be a toy. A grand jury declined to indict Loehmann primarily on the basis that Rice drew his gun and pointed it at police, but Rice’s family received a $6 million settlement with the city of Cleveland.

4. Eric Harris - April 2, 2015: Eric Harris was unarmed and on the ground when he was shot in the back and killed in Tulsa, Oklahoma by 73-year-old Reserve Deputy Robert Charles Bates, who confused his gun for a taser and said after the shooting “Oh, I shot him! I’m sorry.” Bates was found guilty of second degree manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison.

5. Walter Scott - April 4, 2015: Walter Scott was shot in the back five times by North Charleston, South Carolina police officer Michael Slager after being pulled over for a defective brake light on his car. Slager was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison, while Scott’s family received a $6.5 million settlement.

6. Freddie Gray - April 12, 2015: Freddie Gray was arrested in Baltimore, Maryland for possession of a knife, but 45 minutes after he was transported in a van to the police station, he was found unconscious and not breathing, his spinal cord almost severed. He died seven days later while in a coma. The medical examiner’s office ruled Gray’s death a homicide, but the six officers charged were not convicted and Gray’s family received a $6.4 million wrongful death lawsuit settlement.

7. Alton Sterling - July 5, 2016: Alton Sterling was shot and killed by two Baton Rouge, Louisiana police officers who claim Sterling reached for a loaded handgun in his pocket while they were trying to subdue him. Neither of the officers were charged in his death, but the city of Baton Rouge settled a $4.5 million wrongful death lawsuit with Sterling’s family.

8. Philando Castile - July 6, 2016: Philando Castile was fatally shot during a traffic stop in suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota by police officer Jeronimo Yanez after Castile told him he had a license to carry a weapon and reached for his pocket. Yanez was acquitted of second-degree manslaughter charges and fired by the City of Saint Anthony Police Department, while Castile’s family received a $3.8 million wrongful death settlement.

9. Stephon Clark - March 18, 2018: Stephon Clark was shot at least seven times in his grandmother’s backyard in Sacramento, California by police officers Terrence Mercadal and Jared Robinet, who were responding to a nearby break-in. Neither officer was charged in Clark’s death, with both saying they feared for their lives, believing Clark had a gun, even though police only found a cell phone at the scene.

10. Botham Jean - Sept. 6, 2018: Botham Jean was fatally shot in his Dallas, Texas apartment after off-duty police officer Amber Guyger entered his apartment, saying she thought she was in her place and shot Jean, believing him to be a burglar. Guyger was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

11. Breonna Taylor - March 13, 2020: Breonna Taylor was shot eight times as she was sleeping in her Louisville, Kentucky apartment during a police drug raid, in which her boyfriend fired a warning shot, claiming he did not hear police knock. The three officers -- Brett Hankison, Myles Cosgrove and Jonathan Mattingly -- were acquitted, with Hankison being fired from the police department for blindly firing into the apartment and Taylor’s family receiving a $12 million settlement.

12. George Floyd - May 25, 2020: George Floyd was subdued with a knee to the neck for nine minutes by Minneapolis, Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin, who was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 22 years in prison. Three other officers involved in Floyd’s death were convicted in federal court of violating Floyd’s civil rights and are awaiting sentencing, while Floyd’s family settled a $27 million wrongful death lawsuit with the city of Minneapolis.

13. Daunte Wright - April 11, 2021: Daunte Wright was shot and killed by Brooklyn Center, Minnesota police officer Kim Potter during a traffic stop, in which Potter claims she accidentally shot Wright, believing she was using her taser instead of her handgun. Potter was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

14. Patrick Lyoya - April 4, 2022: Patrick Lyoya was shot in the back of the head by Grand Rapids, Michigan police officer Christopher Schurr during a scuffle in which Schurr was trying to detain Lyoya, who tried to flee the scene after a traffic stop. Schurr was placed on paid administrative leave and has not yet been charged in Lyoya’s death pending the completion of an investigation.

Afghan Taliban hand over 4 key airports to UAE

United Arab Emirates aviation company to manage Kabul, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar-e-Sharif airports

Islamuddin Sajid |24.05.2022


ISLAMABAD

The Afghan Taliban interim government on Tuesday signed a deal to hand over the country's four key airports to a state-run United Arab Emirates company.

Under the deal, the control and management of four international airports – Kabul, Kandahar, Herat, and Mazar-e-Sharif – will be handed over to the UAE aviation company, according to the state-run Bakhtar News Agency.

The ceremony was attended by acting Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and the Afghan and United Arab Emirates officials.

Speaking at the ceremony, Baradar said the Afghan government wanted good relations with all countries, according to a statement by the deputy premier's office.

"Afghanistan has been affected by wars and now we are rebuilding it," Baradar said.

He added that they invite everyone to come and invest in Afghanistan as the Taliban government will provide all facilities and security to investors.

Baradar said the Islamic Emirate is working hard to strengthen the country's economy, adding that with the agreement, all international airlines will return to Afghanistan in peace and the level of trade will increase.

After the Taliban took over in August last year as foreign forces withdrew, Qatar and Turkiye sent temporary technical teams to help airport operations and security.

India beat famine once – now it needs to tackle climate change

New Delhi need only go back 60 years for inspiration on how it handled its previous existential crisis

JOHANN CHACKO

A villager walks through the cracked bottom of a dried-out pond on a hot summer day at Bandai village in Pali district, Rajasthan, last week. AFP

Three powerful forces rippled across South Asia this spring, touching the lives of billions.

The first was a heat wave in northern India and Pakistan that was so severe that birds are dropping from the sky from heat stroke. The second was Cyclone Asani, which hurtled across the Bay of Bengal towards eastern India and Bangladesh, bringing on shore the threat of rain and huge flood damage. The third was a painful hike in oil and gas prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that thanks to expensive subsidies is draining government coffers instead of household budgets.

Although reported as separate events, they are best understood as three facets of the same problem: the acceleration of climate change fuelled by South Asia’s increasingly carbon-hungry economies. And while governments are adopting ambitious climate action goals, events are moving much too quickly for policy making and implementation.

A case in point is the commitment Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made at last year's UN Climate Change Conference to achieve "net-zero" greenhouse gas emissions. Mr Modi received praise for breaking with decades of government policy. Unfortunately, though, the chosen target date of 2070 is literally 20 years past the 2050 threshold identified by scientific consensus as the tipping point for catastrophic change.

South Asia as a whole has a vested interest in making the energy transition sooner than later

India matters on the global climate stage because it is now the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases after the US and China, and its share of global totals may even increase as its economy continues to grow. Indeed, successive governments have focused on delivering economic growth by expanding manufacturing, which requires ever larger quantities of affordable energy. Although there is a meaningful push towards wind and solar energy, as well as an increased use of electric vehicles, renewables are largely intended to replace oil and gas, which are largely imported and therefore expensive and insecure.

However, the bulk of power generation, which produces three times as much greenhouse gases as transportation, will continue to come from coal. Emissions-wise, coal is the most dangerous of all fossil fuels, but because it is domestically produced it is also the cheapest of all. In fact, it appears that New Delhi's plan is to expand its use until it becomes uneconomical – hence the 2070 date.

As recent events suggest, huge swathes of the Indian subcontinent might simply be unlivable by then, creating cascading conditions too overwhelming for future governments to cope with. South Asia is already more vulnerable to the human impact of climate change than almost any other place in the world. It is one of the most water-stressed regions globally, and especially vulnerable to mass displacement from rising sea levels in the Bay of Bengal. As a result, global institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund rank that part of the world at the very top for climate risks.

High tides approach shore due to the formation of cyclonic storm Asani in the Bay of Bengal, at Foreshore Estate beach in Chennai, last week. EPA

South Asia as a whole has a vested interest in making the energy transition sooner than later, a motive that transcends the question of western pressures and hypocrisy. Decarbonising the economy is about far more than looking "responsible" in international forums. It is about acting while there is still time to avert widespread food insecurity, damage to private and public property and political instability.

All this may sound unprecedented, perhaps even overwhelming, but the region faced an existential challenge in the 1950s and 60s. An exploding population and repeated crop failures offered the prospect of ever-worsening hunger. But instead of falling prey to famines and a permanent dependence on American food aid, the region rapidly expanded grain production from the mid-1960s onwards. This was thanks to an agri-technology partnership between a range of institutions in the US on the one hand and the governments of India and Pakistan on the other.

The region benefited immensely from the so-called Green Revolution – and now it is time for another, only on a bigger and broader scale.

The possibility of a repeat certainly exists. South Asia, and India in particular, has the capital, the talent and the entrepreneurial energy that is simply raring to go and capable of building new ventures either on its own or in technical and financial partnerships with counterparts in the US and EU. The only thing missing is urgency of the sort governments showed in the 1960s.

The Green Revolution played a significant part in helping South Asian countries transform themselves from low-income economies into middle-income ones. Investing in new technologies instead of holding on to polluting old ones could provide a similar boost. But that promise of "green growth" only holds if governments commit to change sooner rather than later. If they wait too long, the only opportunities left will be minimising losses rather than making gains.

Norman Borlaug, the late American agronomist, played a major role in India's 'Green Revolution'. Getty Images

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend Cop26 in Glasgow last November. Reuters

It should be remembered that despite international collaboration, the Green Revolution strengthened both India and Pakistan’s sovereignty through food security. Although the US provided improved seed varieties and the requisite training, the processes involved were soon indigenised, allowing both countries to press on irrespective of the ebbs and flows in their relations with Washington in the subsequent years.

Today, South Asia cannot count on sustained American leadership to save it from a climate catastrophe. The US elected Donald Trump to the presidency in 2016 in part because of the grassroots appeal of his climate denialism. Mr Trump, or someone with his worldview, could win the presidency in 2024. Concerns about such a possibility should provide governments in the subcontinent the motivation to lock in collaborations with the US while the political atmosphere in Washington is still favourable.

The interplay between ocean, atmosphere, ecology, technology, economy and politics may seem too much for the general public to grasp, but this is where South Asia’s everyday institutions need to step up. From newspapers to television, schools and universities, the climate question needs to move from the periphery to the centre of the national conversations, alongside more household topics such as economic growth and national unity.

After all, without timely climate action, it is unclear if the survival or let alone growth of nation states will remain possible.

Published: May 23, 2022

Johann Chacko is a writer and South Asia analyst

OAN's Dan Ball tells Trump “the mainstream media should be charged ... with treason”

Trump: “You've done a great job, I have to say. I think you've done a great job.”

WRITTEN BY MEDIA MATTERS STAFF
PUBLISHED 05/24/22 


Citation From the May 23, 2022, edition of OAN's Real America with Dan Ball

DAN BALL (HOST): I know that you told me before, and some of your Secret Service guys said that you’re a fan of the program, so I know you watch, and you’ve heard me make the statement, and it might be a little bold and a little shocking, and I’ve taken a lot of heat from some of the wackos out there on the left. But I think the mainstream media should be charged – the folks that made the call at the top – with treason to this nation.

You want to talk about something that has done severe damage? It is the brainwashing and the lies and the omittance of stories by the mainstream media, and by the social media oligarchs as well. They have literally lied to and brainwashed over half this country, so, to me, they’re some of the most guilty ones. We expect politicians – not yourself included – to be liars. We’ve seen them lie, time and time again. But the press used to tell you the truth, and they don’t anymore. That’s why I’m glad to be here at One America News, where we tell the truth. Mr. President –

FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And where you’ve done a great job, I have to say. I think you’ve done a great job.

BALL: Thank you, sir. Thank you. Let’s talk about 2000 Mules and election integrity as we’re facing these elections tomorrow night.

Hungary’s Orban says shows like Tucker Carlson’s should be broadcast ’24/7′

BY SARAH POLUS - 

05/22/22 

American television host and conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson is seen on screen delivering a speech at the CPAC conference in Budapest, Hungary, Thursday, May 19, 2022. Dozens of prominent conservatives from Europe, the United States and elsewhere have gathered in Hungary for the American Conservative Political Action Conference, being held in Europe for the first time. The two-day event represents a deepening of ties between the American right wing and the autocratic government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban. 

(Szilard Koszticsak/MTI via AP)

Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban said during a meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Hungary that Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show should be broadcast “24/7.”

The recommendation came as Orban laid out a plan for conservatives to gain and maintain power, according to The Guardian.

The GOP having its own media networks is the best way to fight the agenda of the left, he said. Orban and his supporters wield major influence over Hungarian media outlets, including state TV.

“Of course, the GOP has its associated media, but they do not compete with the dominance of the liberal press. Only friend Tucker Carlson places himself on the line without wavering,” he said, according to CNN.

“His program is the most watched,” Orban added. “What does it mean? It means programs like his should be broadcasted day and night. Or as you say 24/7.”

Carlson made a brief virtual appearance at the CPAC meeting in Budapest, during which he praised Hungary as “a free and decent and beautiful country that cares about its people, their families and the physical landscape.

CPAC will next hold events in Brazil and Israel before heading back to the U.S. for its Texas conference, slated for Aug. 4 to 7.

Orban reportedly invited Trump to Budapest in February, ahead of Hungary’s election in April, in which he won his fourth consecutive term as prime minister.

Carlson released a special earlier this year about Orban’s fight against political mega-donor and philanthropist George Soros, titled “Hungary vs. Soros: Fight for Civilization.”

Opinion
MAGA Republicans aren’t isolationist. They’re pro-Putin.


By Max BootColumnist|
May 24, 2022 

When it comes to isolationism in America, I have some good news and some bad news.

The good news is that the public — and Congress — still remains largely resistant to the long-discredited “America First” argument that we can hide from the world behind our two ocean moats. The periods in U.S. history when isolationism was resurgent, after 1898, were relatively brief and generally occurred after long wars: the 1920s-1930s (after World War I), the 1970s (after the Vietnam War), the 1990s (after the Cold War), and the 2010s (after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan). But invariably a fresh crisis comes along to snap America out of its reverie: Pearl Harbor, the Iranian hostage crisis, 9/11, the rise of the Islamic State, and now the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Each time that happens, most Americans realize that the costs of abdicating international leadership are greater than the cost of exercising it.

The Ukrainian crisis has followed that template. A Pew Research Center poll found that 75 percent of Americans support strict economic sanctions on Russia and 71 percent support sending weapons to Ukraine. Roughly a third say we are not providing enough aid — even though Congress has committed a whopping $54 billion since the invasion began. The latest tranche of aid, $40 billion, was just approved by overwhelming majorities — 81 to 11 in the Senate, 368 to 57 in the House. Not a single Democrat voted against the legislation, even though they have a Bernie Sanders-led noninterventionist wing. Every “nay” vote came from Republicans.

That brings us to the bad news: Isolationism — or is it Putinism? — remains disturbingly resilient within Republican ranks. In the Pew poll, more than twice as many Republicans as Democrats said that the United States is providing too much aid to Ukraine. Roughly a quarter of House Republicans and a fifth of Senate Republicans share that view. Some of the influential voices opposing aid to Ukraine include former president Donald Trump, Fox “News” host Tucker Carlson, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Heritage Action for America (the lobbying arm of the Heritage Foundation), and FreedomWorks (the Koch-supported advocacy organization).

The irony is that all of these right-wingers claim to be fans of Ronald Reagan. Yet they reject a modern-day version of the “Reagan doctrine,” which called for aiding “freedom fighters” resisting Soviet aggression.

It’s hard to take the nationalists’ arguments at face value. They claim that we can’t afford to aid Ukraine because we have to deal with pressing problems at home, such as a shortage of baby formula. But all of the U.S. aid to Ukraine represents just 1 percent of the federal budget. Where were all of these supposed fiscal conservatives when Trump was adding $7.8 trillion to the national debt

Many of the original “America Firsters” in 1940 and 1941 were actually pro-Nazi. Likewise, many of today’s MAGA militants are actually pro-Putin. They favor a hard line against leftist dictatorships such as those in Cuba, Venezuela and China, while advocating de facto appeasement of Russia’s right-wing dictatorship.

In 2018, seven Republican senators and one Republican House member — the Red Square Republicans, my colleague Dana Milbank called them — spent July 4 in Moscow. In 2019, Tucker Carlson said: “Why shouldn’t I root for Russia? Which I am.” In February, Trump called Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s preparations for invasion an act of “genius,” “savvy,” and “smart.” In April, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) excused the Russian attack by saying that the Kremlin invades only countries that “were part of Russia.” (Should Alaskans be worried?)

The attraction of Putin’s Russia for many on the right is the same as Viktor Orban’s Hungary (site of the recent Conservative Political Action Conference). They consider right-wing autocracies — with regressive policies on immigration, multiculturalism, LGBTQ rights, women’s rights and other culture war issues — as models for the United States to emulate.

Seeing Russia as an exemplar of “family values” involves, as Anne Applebaum pointed out in the Atlantic, a large dosage of self-deception. Russia actually has a region (Chechnya) governed by sharia law, very low levels of church attendance and an abortion rate twice as high as in the United States. But Putin has been skillful in playing to his American sympathizers by utilizing their own buzz phrases; he even claims that Russia is a victim of “cancel culture.”

Beyond shared beliefs, the MAGA affinity for Putinism is rooted in sordid self-interest: The Kremlin helped Trump win office in 2016 and is likely to aid him again if he runs in 2024. The GOP has become a cult of personality, and the cult leader not only admires Putin but enjoys a mutually beneficial relationship with him. So the cult followers fall into line.

The extent to which pro-Russia sentiment has become embedded within the MAGA movement means it’s hard to take much satisfaction from the rejection of isolationism among most Americans and even most Republicans. If Trump takes power again, Putin’s fellow travelers will again be in control of U.S. foreign policy — and Ukraine, NATO and the rest of the “Free World” will be out of luck.



Opinion by Max Boot

Max Boot is a Washington Post columnist, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of “The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam.”

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

French police search McKinsey’s office in Paris over tax fraud investigation

McKinsey & Co. denied any wrongdoing and said it complies with French tax rules.

Four police officers, from the right, leave the building hosting McKinsey & Company France, on May 24, 2022 in Paris.

Michel Spingler / AP

May 24, 2022
By Dan De Luce and Reuters

French police raided the Paris office of the U.S. consulting firm McKinsey & Co. on Tuesday as part of investigation into suspected tax fraud, authorities and the firm said.

The financial prosecutor’s office launched a preliminary probe following a March report from the French Senate that alleged the consulting giant had not paid corporate taxes in France over the past decade.

McKinsey denied any wrongdoing, saying it complied with French tax laws and was cooperating with French authorities.

“We can confirm the Parquet National Financier visited on May 24 McKinsey’s Paris office where we have been cooperating in providing the requested information,” the company said in a statement.

A police officer, with red armband, stands in the building hosting McKinsey & Company France, on May 24, 2022 in Paris. 

Michel Spingler / AP

“McKinsey is cooperating fully with the French public authorities, as has always been the case. McKinsey reaffirms that the firm complies with applicable French tax and social security rules,” it said.

In a statement in April, McKinsey said it was surprised at the public focus on the company given that its work represented only 1 percent of government consulting spending.

McKinsey has come under scrutiny in Washington over its bankruptcy work, its consulting for opioid manufacturers and its work with state-owned enterprises in China and Russia.

Some lawmakers say the firm’s track record suggests possible conflicts of interest but McKinsey denies any wrongdoing and says it has strict rules to avoid any conflicts.

Government contracts for private consultants, including McKinsey & Co., became an issue in the April presidential election in France. Opposition critics on the left and right accused President Emmanuel Macron’s government of wasting taxpayers’ money on international consulting firms. Macron won the election.

The French Senate report said consultant companies had access to high-level officials and exerted influence that was often hidden from view. French government spending on consultants rose from 379 million euros ($405.57 million) in 2018 to 894 million euros in 2021, according to the report.

McKinsey has been operating in France since 1964 and its Paris office is located on the famed Champs-Elysees boulevard.