Wednesday, March 16, 2022



Oceans of Grain — America, Russia and Ukraine’s breadbasket in flames

Australia has just had a bumper wheat harvest and is a big grain exporter anyway so it looks like Australian farmers will grow rich feeding the world

The world’s breadbasket is at war. Russia and Ukraine together account for about a quarter of the world’s wheat exports, and roughly 12 per cent of its total calories. Should the war interrupt the spring planting season — which it shows every indication of doing — poor countries and rich countries alike could face food shortages and steep inflation. That disruption of grain trade may in turn bring massive economic, political and social upheaval.

It was ever thus, according to an incredibly timely history of the global wheat trade by University of Georgia academic Scott Reynolds Nelson. The subtitle is a nod to fact that with the invention of explosives that enabled the building of the railways to the west, the US was able to transport its own heartland grain via rail and then by sea to Europe in the wake of the American civil war. It was a sort of wheat dumping that contributed to the toppling of the Russian empire, which had previously fed Europeans from the rich soil of Ukraine.

Certainly, it’s hard to imagine a book more relevant for our moment. The last time there was a major global food shortage, stemming in large part from a poor harvest in Ukraine and Russia, the Arab Spring was the result. We may be on the verge of a similar crisis.

Certainly, as China gobbles up the commodities that Russia can no longer sell to the west, we are reminded that grain and great power politics go hand-in-hand. As Nelson writes, “at its deepest level, an empire may be a monopoliser of food along ancient grain pathways that it never fully understands.” We are only beginning to understand what the latest shift in the grain trade may mean for today’s world.

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Liberal US cities change course, now clearing homeless camps

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Makeshift shelters abut busy roadways, tent cities line sidewalks, tarps cover broken-down cars, and sleeping bags are tucked in storefront doorways. The reality of the homelessness crisis in Oregon’s largest city can’t be denied.

“I would be an idiot to sit here and tell you that things are better today than they were five years ago with regard to homelessness,” Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said recently. “People in this city aren’t stupid. They can open their eyes.”

As COVID-19 took root in the U.S., people on the street were largely left on their own — with many cities halting sweeps of homeless camps following guidance from federal health officials. The lack of remediation led to a situation that has spiraled out of control in many places, with frustrated residents calling for action as extreme forms of poverty play out on city streets.

Wheeler has now used emergency powers to ban camping along certain roadways and says homelessness is the “most important issue facing our community, bar none.”

In Seattle, new Mayor Bruce Harrell ran on a platform that called for action on encampments, focusing on highly visible tent cities in his first few months in office. Across from City Hall, two blocks worth of tents and belongings were removed Wednesday. The clearing marked the end of a two and a half week standoff between the mayor and activists who occupied the camp, working in shifts to keep homeless people from being moved.

In Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser launched a pilot program over the summer to permanently clear several homeless camps. In December, the initiative faced a critical test as lawmakers voted on a bill that would ban clearings until April. It failed 5-7.

In California, home to more than 160,000 homeless people, cities are reshaping how they address the crisis. The Los Angeles City Council used new laws to ban camping in 54 locations. LA Mayoral candidate Joe Buscaino has introduced plans for a ballot measure that would prohibit people from sleeping outdoors in public spaces if they have turned down offers of shelter.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed declared a state of emergency in December in the crime-heavy Tenderloin neighborhood, which has been ground zero for drug dealing, overdose deaths and homelessness. She said it’s time to get aggressive and “less tolerant of all the bull—- that has destroyed our city.”

In Sacramento voters may decide on multiple proposed homeless-related ballot measures in November — including prohibiting people from storing “hazardous waste,” such as needles and feces, on public and private property, and requiring the city to create thousands of shelter beds. City officials in the area are feeling increasing pressure to break liberal conventions, including from an conservation group that is demanding that 750 people camping along a 23-mile (37-kilometer) natural corridor of the American River Parkway be removed from the area.

Advocates for the homeless have denounced aggressive measures, saying the problem is being treated as a blight or a chance for cheap political gains, instead of a humanitarian crisis.

Donald H. Whitehead Jr., executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, said at least 65 U.S. cities are criminalizing or sweeping encampments. “Everywhere that there is a high population of homeless people, we started to see this as their response.”

Portland’s homeless crisis has grown increasingly visible in recent years. During the area’s 2019 point-in-time count — a yearly census of sorts — an estimated 4,015 people were experiencing homelessness, with half of them “unsheltered” or sleeping outside. Advocates say the numbers have likely significantly increased.

Last month Wheeler used his emergency powers to ban camping on the sides of “high-crash” roadways — which encompass about 8% of the total area of the city. The decision followed a report showing 19 of 27 pedestrians killed by cars in Portland last year were homeless. People in at least 10 encampments were given 72 hours to leave.

“It’s been made very clear people are dying,” Wheeler said. “So I approach this from a sense of urgency.”

Wheeler’s top adviser — Sam Adams, a former Portland mayor — has also outlined a controversial plan that would force up to 3,000 homeless people into massive temporary shelters staffed by Oregon National Guard members. Advocates say the move, which marks a major shift in tone and policy, would ultimately criminalize homelessness.

“I understand my suggestions are big ideas,” Adams wrote. “Our work so far, mine included, has … failed to produce the sought-after results.”

Oregon’s Democratic governor rejected the idea. But Adams says if liberal cities don’t take drastic action, ballot measures that crack down on homelessness may emerge instead.

That’s what happened in left-leaning Austin, Texas. Last year voters there reinstated a ban that penalizes those who camp downtown and near the University of Texas, in addition to making it a crime to ask for money in certain areas and times.

People who work with the homeless urge mayors to find long-term solutions — such as permanent housing and addressing root causes like addiction and affordability — instead of temporary ones they say will further traumatize and villainize a vulnerable population.

The pandemic has added complications, with homeless-related complaints skyrocketing in places like Portland, where the number of campsites removed each week plummeted from 50 to five after COVID-19 hit.

The situation has affected businesses and events, with employers routinely asking officials to do more. Some are looking to move, while others already have — notably Oregon’s largest annual golf tournament, the LPGA Tour’s Portland Classic, relocated from Portland last year due to safety concerns related to a nearby homeless encampment.

James Darwin “Dar” Crammond, director at the Oregon Water Science Center building downtown, told the City Council about his experience working in an area populated with encampments.

Crammond said four years ago the biggest security concerns were vandalism and occasional car break-ins. Now employees often are confronted by “unhinged” people and forced to sidestep discarded needles, he said.

Despite spending $300,000 on security and implementing a buddy system for workers to safely be outdoors, the division of the U.S. Geological Survey is looking to move.

“I don’t blame the campers. There are a few other options for housing. There’s a plague of meth and opiates and a world that offers them no hope and little assistance,” Crammond said. “In my view, where the blame squarely lies is with the City of Portland.”

In New York City, where a homeless man is accused of pushing a woman to her death in front of a subway in January, Mayor Eric Adams announced a plan to start barring people from sleeping on trains or riding the same lines all night.

Adams has likened homelessness to a “cancerous sore,” lending to what advocates describe as a negative and inaccurate narrative that villainizes the population.

“Talk to someone on the street and literally just hear a little bit about their stories — I mean, honestly, homelessness can happen to any one of us,” said Laura Recko, associate director of external communications for Central City Concern in Portland.

And some question whether the tougher approach is legal — citing the 2018 federal court decision known as Martin v. City of Boise, Idaho, that said cities cannot make it illegal for people to sleep or rest outside without providing sufficient indoor alternatives.

Whitehead, of the National Coalition for the Homeless, thought the landmark ruling would force elected officials to start developing long-term fixes and creating enough shelter beds for emergency needs. Instead, some areas are ignoring the decision or finding ways around it, he said.

“If cities become as creative about solutions as they are about criminalization, then we could end homelessness tomorrow,” he said.

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New Yorkers confirm: High taxes are pushing them to flee the state in droves

A new poll could spell big trouble for New York: Nearly four of every 10 voters here are thinking of fleeing. Their No. 1 reason: high taxes.

The survey, released this month by Zogby, found that 38.9% of voters are “considering” or already have “made plans” to head out, up five points from a month earlier. If even just half do, New York could lose millions of residents and enormous political clout, not to mention the tax revenue these folks pay.

Most notably, a stunning 36.7% say their top reason for wanting out is that taxes are “too high,” a gripe more people cited than any other. Even a quarter of “progressives,” 32% of “liberals” and 38% of “moderates” cite high taxes as their strongest motivation to leave.

Never mind the druggies and crazies, disastrous schools or even surging crime (though 48% say crime’s Priority One for the next gov, vs. 43% who cite taxes). And so much for Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s blaming the weather; only 7.7% cited that as their chief reason.

Seems New Yorkers don’t really like giving up more of their hard-earned cash than their peers in other states, after all. And that’s true not just for high rollers but many low- and middle-income folks as well: 26% of those making less than $35,000 a year also listed too-high-taxes as their key motivation for eyeing the exits, as did 27% of those earning from $35,000 to $75,000, 41% of those at $75,000-$100,000 and 48% in the $100,000-$150,000 range.

They’re certainly right about New York’s tax burden: It’s long been among the nation’s highest, and the Democrat-dominated Legislature keeps pushing to make it worse. Last year, when Dems slapped another $4 billion tax on high-end earners, making the top combined city-and-state rate a whopping 14.8%, we asked if lawmakers were actively “trying to fuel a mass exodus.” Looks like that’s exactly what they’ve done.

Notably, the second-most cited reason — a desire to find a “better job or economic opportunities” — is linked to the first: High taxes spur not only people but companies to flee and take jobs with them, reducing opportunity. That helps explain why New York so often suffers more unemployment than elsewhere: In January, the national jobless rate was 4%, but 5.3% in the state (and 7.6% in the city).

Alas, the Democrats in Albany couldn’t care less: The billions the state got in federal “COVID aid” sparked historic budget surpluses, as Empire Center watchdog Peter Warren notes, yet Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget, due by month’s end, makes no effort whatsoever to roll back last year’s absurd tax hit and offers only “cosmetic” adjustments to middle-class taxes.

With pro-tax Democrats like Hochul maintaining a lock on state government, no one should expect much relief soon. Last one out, please turn off the lights.

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Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday signed a constitutional carry bill into law that allows permitless concealed carry in the Yellowhammer State

Alabama House Bill 272, also known as the Constitutional Carry Bill, eliminates certain restrictions on concealed carry of pistols and transporting a handgun in a private vehicle.

The bill also established a $5 million fund to offset the revenue loss of local governments.

The bill was sponsored by state Rep. Shane Stringer and cosponsored by 36 other Republicans in the state House.

The new law will go into effect on Jan. 1 when Alabama will become the 22nd constitutional carry state.

Ivey regarded the signing of the law as an act to defend Second Amendment rights. “Unlike states who are doing everything in their power to make it harder for law abiding citizens, Alabama is reaffirming our commitment to defending our Second Amendment rights,” She said in a statement. “I have always stood up for the rights of law abiding gunowners, and I am proud to do that again today.”

Supporters of the bill said it will help citizens protect themselves.

“As law enforcement is being defunded and criminals aren’t being prosecuted, it is more important than ever that law-abiding Americans right to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their homes is fully recognized,” National Rifle Association (NRA) Alabama State Director Art Thomm said in a statement.

Law enforcement agencies hold differentiated views on the new law, Alabama Political Reporter reported.

During a February hearing about the bill, Leeds Police Department chief Paul Irwin warned that elimination of the permit requirement will allow more illegal guns on the streets.

However, Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry said he supports the bill because even a loaded AR-15 can be carried anywhere in Alabama without a permit.

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)

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