Death and defiance in Ukraine; protests in Russia – National & International News – FRI 25Feb2022
Biden nominates first black female Supreme Court Justice. Johnson & Johnson, 3 other firms in $26 billion opioid settlement. Death and defiance in Ukraine; protests in Russia.
NATIONAL NEWS
Biden nominates Ketanji Brown Jackson to be first black female Supreme Court Justice
During his 2020 election campaign, Joe Biden vowed to put the first black woman on the Supreme Court. After narrowing the pool of candidates and interviewing the four women who made it to the shortlist, Biden announced today that he was nominating federal judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the bench.
Jackson, 51, currently sits on U.S. Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C. Previously she was a federal trial judge in D.C. If confirmed, Jackson would be the first Supreme Court Justice to have served as a public defender prior to becoming a judge. Four of the other sitting Justices have served as prosecutors. Jackson also previously served as Vice Chairman of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, advocating for more equitable sentencing for drug offenders.
She is a D.C. native and Harvard educated. Jackson also has a reputation for building consensus. This may be an asset on the ideologically fractious court. However, her confirmation would not change the 6-3 conservative super majority.
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Johnson & Johnson among 4 U.S. firms in $26 billion opioid settlement
Pharmaceutical and health services companies Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson will pay a total of $26 billion to settle claims that they helped fuel the deadly opioid addiction epidemic. The money is destined for community health care and drug treatment programs. However, none of the companies admit any wrongdoing under the terms of the settlement.
The settlement will also shield the four companies against any further civil action pertaining to the opioid pandemic. It also puts a stop to thousands of existing cases against them. The deal has won approval from 46 states and roughly 90% of eligible local governments.
The money will be distributed to eligible recipients beginning in April. The opioid pandemic began in the late 1990s. Prior to the pandemic, the numbers of addiction deaths were finally beginning to wane. But in the last two years, numbers have skyrocketed once again. in 2021 alone, 100,000 people died of opioid overdoses, many tied to the synthetic opioid fentanyl.
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Death and defiance in Ukraine; protests in Russia
The casualty numbers are changing quickly and difficult to verify. Currently, Ukraine’s defense ministry says more than 1000 Russian soldiers have been killed, though UK monitors put it at about 450. UK sources also say that 197 Ukrainians have been killed, about 57 of them civilians. Though Russia has total air superiority, the Ukrainians have shot down at least one Russian jet.
With the Russians entering Kiev, the city is bolstering its defenses with military vehicles. The government also called on the people of Kiev to resist Russian troops by making Molotov cocktails and taking up arms. Civilian volunteers have received 18,000 machine guns to aid in Kiev’s defense.
In an extraordinary step, Ukraine has banned all men 18-60 from leaving the country. The government says the measure is to “guarantee Ukraine’s defense and the organization of timely mobilization”. The military has also removed “all age restrictions” on recruitment, indicating that men over 60 and possibly minors were welcome to join. President Volodymyr Zelensky also invited men from across Europe to come and join the fight to defend Ukraine.
The story of 13 Ukrainian guards who gave their lives defending tiny Zmiiny (Snake) Island in the Black Sea is stirring a lot of feeling. Audio of the guards’ defiant final words to a Russian warship has gone viral on social media. (Listen to the audio with subtitles here). The Russian ship tells the Ukrainians: “I suggest you surrender your weapons and capitulate, otherwise I will open fire, do you copy?”. The Ukrainian guards can then be heard saying “this is it”, before answering: “Russian warship, go f— yourself”.
The Russians bombarded the island, killing the guards. Zelensky hailed the guards’ bravery in the face of certain death, and said they would posthumously receive the title of Hero of Ukraine.
Zelensky addresses, Russia responds
In a live address early this morning, Zelensky told his people “the enemy has designated me as target number one, and my family as target number two”. Later in the day, Zelensky spoke again, confirming reports of Russian missile strikes in the capital, Kiev. Zelensky also expressed frustration with European leaders, who he says have taken insufficient action to defend Ukraine. He called on Putin to negotiate with him to stop the killing.
French President Emmanuel Macron says he has spoken on the phone with Putin at Zelensky’s request, asking that he cease hostilities in Ukraine. Macron says the call was “frank, direct, quick”. He also passed on Zelensky’s request that Putin call him.
Perhaps in response, the Kremlin announced that it was ready to have talks with Ukraine in the Belarusian capital Minsk. Their terms would be that Ukraine adopt a “neutral status”, possibly an allusion to Moscow’s demand that Ukraine never join NATO. The Russians also demand that Ukraine surrenders and “demilitarizes”. There’s no indication yet that Zelensky would agree to talks under those conditions.
Meanwhile in Russia
Demonstrations against the Russian war on Ukraine have cropped up in dozens of Russian cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg. Security forces have arrested over 1700 anti-war demonstrators, 900 in Moscow alone.
Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny gave a statement accusing Putin of starting this war to distract from the corruption of his own government.
There are at least 3 million Ukrainian nationals who live and work in Russia. Many Russians have friends and family members in Ukraine. But it’s difficult to gauge what the overall sentiment of the Russian people is towards this invasion. In interviews with Western journalists, some Russians have voiced support for Putin’s actions, but many also vehemently denounce them. One Russian man interviewed by a BBC supporter expressed shame at his country’s actions. But he also gave voice to the feeling many Russians have that they are powerlessness to stop it.
“It is not clear what to do and it is very scary,” he says. “But apart from the fear, there is a sense of horror and a sense of shame about what our authorities are doing. In my circle of friends this is a very common feeling.
“I never voted for those who are in power now,” he adds, “and I did what I could, what a person in Russia is currently able to do to affect political life – went to protests. But I don’t think there will be any now. Everyone is much too scared.”
The Kremlin was sufficiently worried about public opposition to the war to issue warnings against protests. But plenty of Russians obviously felt strongly enough to protest anyway.
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