Sunday, February 27, 2022
ARIZONA STATE SENATOR WENDY ROGERS: New White Nationalist Icon
Wendy Rogers said white nationalists are ‘patriots’ and called for hanging political enemies
"A Republican state senator fawned over the leader of a white nationalist movement on Friday and told his followers that she fantasizes about hanging her perceived enemies from gallows.
“I’ve said we need to build more gallows. If we try some of these high-level criminals, convict them and use a newly built set of gallows, it’ll make an example of these traitors who have betrayed our country,” Sen. Wendy Rogers, R-Flagstaff, said Feb. 25 in her speech to the white nationalist America First Political Action Conference in Florida.
Rogers told the white nationalists who were assembled in the ballroom at the Orlando World Center Marriott that they were “patriots.”
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INSERT: RECENT ACTIONS IN ARIZONA STATE HOUSE
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She addressed the AFPAC crowd remotely, speaking from Arizona, where she said she was busy pushing legislation. Rogers effusively praised Nick Fuentes, the event’s racist organizer, who she said had been “de-platformed everywhere” because he says things that upset “the media and the far left.”
“I truly respect Nick because he’s the most persecuted man in America,” she said to loud cheers, adding later that he was “standing up to tyranny” by creating AFPAC.
Fuentes, an advocate of turning America into a nation only for white Christians, is one of the leaders of the so-called “groyper” movement — along with the founder of American Identity Movement, a white nationalist group formerly known as Identity Ervopa — and Rogers is one of its emerging icons.
The groyper movement is a collection of white nationalists who seek to normalize racism and make it a part of mainstream conservative political ideology.
AFPAC opened with Fuentes soliciting a round of applause from the crowd for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The white nationalists chanted in response, “Putin! Putin! Putin!”
In his closing speech, Fuentes said “the United States is the evil empire in the world.”
“Now, they’re going and saying,’’Vladimir Putin is Adolf Hitler,’ as if that isn’t a good thing,” he said, before nervously laughing and adding, “Oops, I shouldn’t have said that.”
Rogers lamented that there was no longer freedom of speech, and said “we can’t even laugh at comedy any more” for fear of being banned from social media platforms. (The First Amendment protects people from being punished by the government for their speech, but it does not apply to businesses or exempt people from facing consequences for their speech.) She pined for the 1980s and 1990s, when “we could say the craziest stuff and people would just laugh and not take offense, because it was simply light-hearted.”
“Now, they deplatform and debank people like Nick Fuentes, and even President (Donald) Trump,” she said. “This is like the USSR, but worse.”
The crowd at AFPAC included prominent members of America’s white nationalist movement, among them Jared Taylor and Peter Bigelow
> One speaker at the event was Vincent James Foxx, a stalwart white nationalist who said he wanted to “criminalize” LGBTQ Americans and warned of the “Great Replacement.” That idea, popular among white supremacists, holds that white Americans are being replaced by non-white immigrants. . .
> Later in the evening, former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio gave a rambling, 40-minute speech in which he seemingly didn’t realize he was speaking to a crowd of white nationalists. At times, he seemed taken aback at the reaction to things he said."
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Arizona Governor Says He’d Rather Have a White Nationalist in State Legislature than a Democrat
Doug Ducey spent $500,000 to help elect Wendy Rogers — a lawmaker who’s making common cause with overt racists. He’s apparently just fine with that decision
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey was questioned Thursday about his efforts to get Wendy Rogers elected to the state senate in 2020, and whether he has any regrets in light of how Rogers has been promoting white nationalist causes.
Arizona Mirror reporter Jeremy Duda asked the Republican governor his thoughts on Rogers during an event where Ducey announced a scholarship program for the state’s foster children.
“Are you still happy with that investment? Do you believe that was a good decision?” Duda asked, referring to the governor’s independent expenditures giving half a million dollars to Rogers’ campaign.
WATCH @jeremyduda asks @dougducey what he thinks about his IE spending $500,000 to get white nationalist @WendyRogersAZ elected in '20. Rogers defeated Democrat Felicia French. pic.twitter.com/Mo70jYWtof
— Brahm Resnik (@brahmresnik) February 25, 2022
“What I need as a governor are governing majorities so that I can pass dollars into our social safety net so we can provide programs like this that will help children from all over our state… [and so] we can pass budgets that will put $8.6, $8.7 billion additional dollars into K-12 education,” Ducey claimed. “So that’s what I’ve wanted to do, is move my agenda forward. I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish, and [Rogers] is still better than her opponent, Felicia French.”
-- “I have the reputation of being the biggest racist in the country,” he said, to robust applause. “What are you clapping for, that I am or that I’m not? Well, I’m not.”
Later, when he repeated that he was called “the biggest racist in the country” and received loud applause, he quickly added, “I have a black grandkid, I got a Mexican grandkid,” prompting some in the crowd to boo him.
At another point, Arpaio boasted about having a howitzer artillery gun while sheriff. ---“Everyone said, ‘What are you using this for?’ I said, ‘To shoot people that come across the border,’” he said, eliciting raucous cheers from the crowd that left Arpaio visibly surprised.
“Wait a minute. I didn’t mean to shoot the illegals coming across. I’m saying the illegals that are terrorists and other violent (criminals), if they’re going to start shooting at my people, I’m going to fire back,” he explained, to much fewer cheers.
“I’m not about to shoot illegals who are coming across, just for coming illegally,” he finished, to no cheers.
> Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar, a Republican from Prescott, gave a brief video address, a far cry from last year, when he was the featured speaker."
ONLY 'REAL NEGOTIATIONS' ....but where remains undecided | Aljazeera Sat 27 February 2022
Ukraine rejects Belarus as Russia talks host, lists alternatives
Kremlin says a delegation of military officials and diplomats arrived in Gomel for talks with Ukraine; Kyiv says it wants ‘only real negotiations’.
![<div class=__reading__mode__extracted__imagecaption>A helicopter flies over troops during a joint military drill of the armed forces of Russia and Belarus in the Brest region of Belarus on February 19 [File: Vadim Yakubyonok/Belta/Handout via Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/2022-02-19T150256Z_36277825_RC20NS9ZCUCV_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-RUSSIA-BELARUS-DRILLS-1.jpg?resize=770%2C513)
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine is ready for peace talks with Russia but not in neighbouring Belarus, an ally of Moscow which used it as a staging ground for its multipronged invasion.
Speaking in Russian in a video message on Sunday, Zelenskyy left the door open for negotiations elsewhere and listed the cities of Warsaw, Bratislava, Istanbul, Budapest or Baku as alternative venues.
He said other locations were also possible but stressed Ukraine does not accept Russia’s selection of Belarus.
“Any other city in a country from whose territory missiles do not fly would suit us,” Zelenskyy said.
Earlier, the Kremlin said a Russian delegation had arrived in the Belarusian city of Gomel for talks and was waiting for the Ukrainian officials.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the delegation includes representatives from the foreign ministry, defence ministry and presidential administration.
“We are ready to start these negotiations in Gomel,” Peskov said, according to the TASS news agency.
But Zelenskyy’s adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Ukraine wants only “real” negotiations, calling Russia’s decision to send the delegation to Belarus for talks “propaganda”.
“They arrived in Gomel knowing that it was pointless. And now they say – ‘we are waiting’,” he told Reuters news agency.
“Zelenskyy’s position remains unchanged: only real negotiations, no ultimatums. . ."
Reference >> https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/27/ukraine-rejects-belarus-as-russia-talks-host-lists-alternatives
DO SVIDANIYA — THINK ABOUT IT: Sweeping Sanctions Create Reactive Responses
US and allies block tech exports to Russia in response to invasion of Ukraine
Export ban affects chips, telecom, encryption tech, lasers, sensors, and more.
"In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the US and allies are imposing sanctions that "will cut off more than half of Russia's high-tech imports, restricting Russia's access to vital technological inputs, atrophying its industrial base, and undercutting Russia's strategic ambitions to exert influence on the world stage," the White House said on Thursday. The sanctions are a "response to Putin's war of choice against Ukraine" and "impose severe costs on Russia's largest financial institutions," the White House said.
For exports to Russia, "US companies must now obtain licenses to sell computers, sensors, lasers, navigation tools, and telecommunications, aerospace, and marine equipment. The United States will deny almost all requests," a Reuters article explained. "The new rules also force companies making tech products overseas with US tools to seek a US license before shipping to Russia," Reuters wrote, noting that similar restrictions were previously applied to Chinese tech giant Huawei.
According to the White House announcement, "countries that adopt substantially similar export restrictions are exempted from new US licensing requirements for items produced in their countries." The European Union, Australia, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom are imposing similar sanctions.
Tech-specific export restrictions
Tech-specific sanctions target chips, telecom, security, and more, the White House said:
Russia-wide restrictions to choke off Russia's import of technological goods critical to a diversified economy and Putin's ability to project power. This includes Russia-wide denial of exports of sensitive technology, primarily targeting the Russian defense, aviation, and maritime sectors to cut off Russia's access to cutting-edge technology. In addition to sweeping restrictions on the Russian-defense sector, the United States government will impose Russia-wide restrictions on sensitive US technologies produced in foreign countries using US-origin software, technology, or equipment. This includes Russia-wide restrictions on semiconductors, telecommunication, encryption security, lasers, sensors, navigation, avionics and maritime technologies. These severe and sustained controls will cut off Russia's access to cutting edge technology.
Regarding military-specific restrictions, the White House said that "Exports of nearly all US items and items produced in foreign countries using certain US-origin software, technology, or equipment will be restricted to targeted military end users. These comprehensive restrictions apply to the Russian Ministry of Defense, including the Armed Forces of Russia, wherever located."
A Commerce Department fact sheet on the license rules said the US is imposing "a policy of denial" for license applications but will conduct case-by-case reviews for "applications related to safety of flight, maritime safety, humanitarian needs, government space cooperation, civil telecommunications infrastructure, government-to-government activities, and to support limited operations of partner country companies in Russia."
Tough sanctions on Russian banks
The Biden administration said it is "cutting off Russia's largest bank from the US financial system" and imposing "full blocking sanctions on Russia's second largest bank—freezing any of its assets touching the US financial system." There are also "full blocking sanctions" on three other major Russian financial institutions and certain "Russian elites... who have enriched themselves at the expense of the Russian state, and have elevated their family members into some of the highest position of powers in the country."
The US Treasury Department posted more details on the financial sanctions here.
Meanwhile, Russia's invasion of Ukraine could cause problems for chip manufacturing. "Ukraine is a major producer of neon gas critical for lasers used in chipmaking and supplies more than 90 percent of US semiconductor-grade neon, according to estimates from research firm Techcet," Reuters reported. "About 35 percent of palladium, a rare metal also used for semiconductors, is sourced from Russia. A full-scale conflict disrupting exports of these elements might hit players like Intel, which gets about 50 percent of its neon from Eastern Europe according to JPMorgan."
Russia pulls out of European spaceport, abandoning a planned launch
"We will take all relevant decisions in response to this decision."
Russia has decided to suspend cooperation with European launch officials, and says it will withdraw its personnel from Europe's main spaceport.
The chief of Russia's main space corporation, Dmitry Rogozin, announced the decision on Twitter Saturday morning, saying his country was responding to sanctions placed on Russia by the European Union. Europe, the United States, and other nations around the world issued significant sanctions on Russia this week after the country's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
Approximately two dozen Russian technicians and engineers work at Russian facilities in French Guiana. This spaceport, called the Guiana Space Center, is where Europe launches its fleet of orbital rockets, including a "Europeanized" version of the Russian Soyuz vehicle for medium-lift missions. The Russians had been working to prepare a Soyuz rocket to launch two Galileo satellites for the European Union on April 6.
Europe has spent $10 billion developing the independent Galileo navigation system, which now has more than two dozen satellites in orbit. The continent has also used the Soyuz vehicle to launch elements of its Copernicus network of Earth observation satellites.
In response to Russia's action, the European Commissioner for Space, Thierry Breton, issued a statement on Saturday that said there would be no consequences for the Galileo or Copernicus constellations in terms of continuity or quality of service. Nor, he said, would Russia's suspension of cooperation impact their development.
"We will take all relevant decisions in response to this decision in due course and continue developing resolutely the second generation of these two EU sovereign space infrastructures," Breton said. "We are ready to act decisively, together with the Member States, to protect these critical infrastructures in case of aggression, and continue to develop Ariane 6 and Vega C to ensure Europe's strategic autonomy in the area of launchers."
The Russian decision does put the European Union in something of a bind, however. Europe's small Vega rockets are not powerful enough to lift the Galileo and Copernicus satellites to their orbits. And the continent's heavy lift vehicle, Ariane 5, is being retired in favor of the more efficient and cost-effective Ariane 6 rocket. However, all of the remaining Ariane 5 launches are spoken for, and the Ariane 6 rocket probably will not become operational until at least 2023.
So it is not clear what steps Europe might take in the interim, should it need to rapidly launch a Galileo or Copernicus satellite. The only Western company with the spare capacity for such a mission is probably the United States-based SpaceX, but it seems unlikely that Europe would want to support a competitor to its institutional launch industry."
The Russian invasion of Ukraine will have myriad impacts on spaceflight
"If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from an unguided de-orbit?"
Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine this week will have devastating consequences for the people on the ground. Although the terrestrial implications of this war are far greater than those for spaceflight, there will nonetheless be ripple effects felt by space programs around the world.
During a speech on Thursday about US sanctions on Russia as a result of its invasion, President Joe Biden even mentioned space. "Between our actions and those of our allies and partners, we estimate that we’ll cut off more than half of Russia’s high tech imports and will strike a blow to their ability to continue to modernize their military," he said. "It’ll degrade their aerospace industry, including their space program."
So what does this mean? While it is very early in this crisis, this article will attempt to draw the broad outlines of how this conflict may impact spaceflight. As the situation is dynamic and the political landscape is tumultuous, please note that rapid changes are possible.
International Space Station
The most prominent space issue concerns the fate of the International Space Station, which is operated by 15 nations but led by the United States and Russia. The countries rely on one another: Russia provides fuel and thruster capability to periodically re-boost the space station to a higher altitude, and NASA gyroscopes provide stability, and its solar panels generate the vast majority of electricity. At present, the station cannot operate without the consent of both partners.
After Biden's comments on Thursday, the head of Russia's main space corporation, Dmitry Rogozin, lashed out in a series of tweets in which he characterized Biden's actions as "Alzheimer's Sanctions." A full translation of Rogozin's comments can be found here. In his rant, Rogozin complained about the loss of RD-180 engine sales ( the 01/01/2023 date), Elon Musk ("talented businessmen"), and other irritants. Rogozin also appears to assume that the US government will prevent NASA from working with Russia.
"If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from an unguided de-orbit to impact on the territory of the US or Europe?" Rogozin asked. "There's also the chance of impact of the 500-ton construction in India or China. Do you want to threaten them with such a prospect? The ISS doesn't fly over Russia, so all the risk is yours. Are you ready for it?"
In response to these comments, NASA issued a measured response on Thursday evening, saying it was continuing to work with Russia and its partners to safely fly the International Space Station. "The new export control measures will continue to allow US-Russia civil space cooperation," the agency said. "No changes are planned to the agency’s support for ongoing in-orbit and ground station operations."
It remains in the interest of both NASA and Russia's space program to continue operating the space station. However, the situation could change in response to political pressure, particularly from the US Congress. . ."
READ MORE >> https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/02/the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine-will-have-myriad-impacts-on-spaceflight/
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