Obama's Economist Against Student Loan Bailout, Antifa's Snipers at Children's Drag Show, Sri Lanka Facing Permanent Economic and Societal Collapse (The Five for 08/30/22)
Hey, welcome to The Five.
After taking the month of August off from news…the regular publishing schedule is kicking back in.
TUESDAY—HARD NEWS
FRIDAY—CULTURE & COMMENTARY
So let’s dive into what’s happening in the world.
[one]
The economic collapse that hit Sri Lanka may be permanent, as the best and brightest citizens, who would normally architect an economic turnaround, flee the island nation.
Since March, Sri Lankans have faced severe shortages of fuel and cooking gas due to fast-dwindling foreign currency reserves. Medicine and food essentials such as milk powder ran short and unrest swelled against the powers that be.
Fuel was only available for essential services such as healthcare and farming for most of July. Food prices soared, with year-on-year food inflation at more than 90% in July, and consumer price inflation at 60.8%, year on year.
On top of the daily grind, migrants said they had lost faith in government and feared that rising nationalism would favour the feckless at the polls, hastening the middle-class exodus.
Hence the rush to a better life by many of the island's most skilled professionals - medics, software engineers, scientists - creating a worrying skills gap for the 22 million left behind.
"There is an emerging trend of departure of skilled migrant workers," said Dr. Bilesha Weeraratne, Head of Migration and Urbanization Policy Research at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS).
The economic collapse was rooted in a fertilizer ban, which was put in place to meet climate change goals.
After the tea crop failed and local food growing came up short, Sri Lanka has been caught in a cycle of lawlessness and riots, with no real hope for a turnaround…which is being made worst by losing their most profitable and innovative citizens.
[two]
The student loans bailout encountered an unlikely critic this week, the former Obama White House Chief Economist who served alongside then-VP Biden.
The long term consequences of student loan forgiveness are still to be seen, but even Republican senator Ted Cruz admits Dems will likely get a boost in the midterms.
[three]
Tragically, an entire civilization ended in Brazil this week…with the death of the “world’s loneliest man” of apparent natural causes in the jungle.
The last known surviving member of an Amazon tribe — dubbed “The Man of the Hole” — has died in Brazil, after resisting any contact with the outside world for nearly 30 years, officials said.
Brazil’s National Indian Foundation, FUNAI, announced the tribesman’s passing on Saturday.
“(FUNAI) informs, with immense regret, the death of the indigenous known as ‘Tanaru Indian’ or ‘Hole Indian,’ who lived in voluntary isolation and was monitored and protected by Funai through the Ethnoenvironmental Protection Front. Guaporé, in the state of Rondônia, about 26 years ago,” the agency said in a press release. “The indigenous man was the only survivor of his community, of unknown ethnicity.”
This one…really horrifies me. I cannot imagine decades of isolation, with the only companion to be the grief of losing everything and everyone you’ve ever known.
[four]
The “open carry” debate put the shoe on the other foot this week, when armed leftists from Antifa placed an armed guard around a “children’s drag show” in Texas.
Masked Antifa members armed with AR-15 rifles and handguns showed up to guard what was billed as a “kid-friendly” drag show at a North Texas distillery. Reports indicate the show contained partial nudity and sexualized minors.
BlazeTV producer Kris Cruz tweeted photos of a group of mask-wearing Antifa members standing guard with AR-15 rifles at a “kid-friendly” drag sow in Roanoke, Texas. Cruz reported at least nine of the members carrying AR-15s.
Antifa also installed snipers, according to news producer Kris Cruz, who was on the scene.
Although I carry a firearm during most of my non-work time, I’ve always been against openly displaying firearms, which is about intimidation, not protection.
The far right has been into it for quite some time, but now the extreme left is in on the game too.
[five]
Three members of the Dutch military were shot in Indiana over a dispute with local residents.
Two Dutch soldiers wounded in a downtown Indianapolis shooting that killed another member of their commando unit could soon return to the Netherlands, city police said Monday while providing no new information on the search for the other people involved.
The 26-year-old member of the Dutch Commando Corps died of his injuries “surrounded by family and colleagues” after the shooting early Saturday, the country’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The Marion County coroner’s office in Indianapolis identified the victim as Simmie Poetsema but didn’t immediately release any additional information.
Poetsema and the two other soldiers were shot after what Indianapolis police believe was a disturbance outside the hotel where they were staying about 3:30 a.m. Saturday near several downtown bars and nightclubs, authorities said. The soldiers were in the U.S. for training exercises at a southern Indiana military base.
The Dutch soldiers were in country to cross train with American forces.
Until the next one,
-sth