U.S. Now Paying Salaries of EVERY Ukranian Cop & Firefighter, U.S. Senator with Half a Million Dollars Hidden in His Home Thinks the Press is "Mean" For Asking About It (The Five for 09/26/23)
Plus, Canadian President Gives Standing Ovation for WWII Nazi war criminal, JPMorgan Chase pays out for aiding Jeffrey Epstein's child sex ring.
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With that being said, let’s dive into the news.
[one]
I honestly thought this story was a hoax…nope.
During a visit from the Ukrainian President, Canadian President Justin Trudeau led a standing ovation…for an actual WWII Nazi, who volunteered for a division that committed war crimes.
A ranking Canadian parliamentarian is apologizing to Jewish communities around the world for a blunder during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit that led to lawmakers honoring a veteran accused of belonging to a Nazi division in WWII.
It followed demands by Canadian Jewish organizations Sunday for an apology after it was revealed members of Parliament across party lines awarded a 98-year-old veteran on Friday with a standing ovation shortly after Zelenskyy addressed Canada’s House of Commons.
Yaroslav Hunka stood and appeared to salute from the public gallery when he was recognized by House Speaker Anthony Rota, who introduced Hunka as a Canadian-Ukrainian war hero from his political district.“We have here in the chamber today a Ukrainian-Canadian veteran from the Second World War who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians and continues to support the troops today, even at his age of 98,” Rota said Friday, followed by a lengthy round of applause and a wave by Zelenskyy. “He’s a Ukrainian hero, a Canadian hero, and we thank him for all his service. Thank you.”
Jewish advocacy groups the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center and B’nai Brith Canada condemned his honoring as disturbing and “beyond outrageous” because he fought with the First Ukrainian Division — also known as the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division, which served under command of the Nazis.
Hunka was a member of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division, which slaughtered Polish citizens, according to Wikipedia:
The division did destroy several Polish communities in western Ukraine during the winter and spring of 1944.[41] Specifically, the 4th and 5th SS Police Regiments have been accused of murdering Polish civilians in the course of anti-guerilla activity.
While we’re on the topic, a cemetery in Ontario STILL has a monument to Nazi soldiers who fought the Russians in WWII. The lower mark on this stone is a Nazi symbol.
Canada…you’re not helping.
[two]
U.S. dollars are funding farming, small business and more in Ukraine.
The war has also impacted Ukraine's financial standing, with the country's economy contracting by an estimated 31% last year, according to the United States Agency for International Development.
The U.S. government is subsidizing small businesses in Ukraine, including Tatiana Abramova's knitwear company, to keep them afloat.
American officials from USAID helped Abramova find new customers overseas. In the midst of war, her company is supporting over 70 families.
"Especially in the condition of war, we have to work," she said. "We have to pay taxes, we have to pay wage, salary to our employees. We have to work, don't stop."
The U.S. government has also bought seeds and fertilizer for Ukrainian farmers. America is covering the salaries of Ukraine's first responders, all 57,000 of them. The U.S. funds divers who clear unexploded ammunition from the country's rivers to make them safe again for swimming and fishing.
Uhhh…let’s contrast that with some other programs.
A). There was no bailout for the 9,350 family owned farms in the U.S. that declared bankruptcy. Many of these families lost their homes as well, because when you go bust in farming, you become homeless.
B). American police salaries are increasing, but not keeping pace with inflation and firefighter wages remain stagnantg. Meanwhile, we’re funding EVERY police and fire paycheck in a foreign country.
C). The U.S. Dept. of Education budget line item to education homeless children has increased by 38%, to meet demand.
D). Newly homeless victims of the wildfires in Hawaii received a “one time” payment of $700” for “food water and clothing.”
It’s not that I don’t have sympathy for a woman running a knitwear business in a war-torn country…but we’re ignoring the unmet needs of our own people to send unchecked dollars to a foreign nation ranked as the second most corrupt country in Europe (bested only by Russia).
[three]
A U.S. Senator being investigated from taking bribes from a foreign nation claims it’s…totally normal…to keep a half a mil laying around the house.
Insisting he would not resign after being indicted on corruption charges, the embattled New Jersey Democratic senator Bob Menendez told reporters that $480,000 in cash found in a safe, clothing and closets at his home was kept there for emergency personal use.
“For 30 years,” Menendez said, “I have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal savings accounts, which I have kept for emergencies and because of the history of my family facing confiscation in Cuba.”The senator’s parents are from Cuba though he was born in New York. Last week, he said: “It is not lost on me how quickly some are rushing to judge a Latino and push him out of his seat.” In Union City, New Jersey, on Monday, Menendez spoke in English and in Spanish. A group of people he said were “everyday people and constituents who know me” stood behind him as he spoke.
The senator continued: “Now this may seem old-fashioned, but these were monies drawn from my personal savings accounts based on the income that I have lawfully derived over those 30 years. I look forward to addressing other issues in trial.”
Under an indictment unsealed last week, Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, 56, were accused of using his seat in the Senate, as chair of the foreign relations committee, to benefit the government of Egypt.
Prosecutors described how the large sums of cash were found at Menendez’s New Jersey home, as well as actual gold bars. A Mercedes-Benz car is also at issue. Three businessmen have also been charged.
In his remarks on Monday, Menendez did not mention the gold bars. Nor did he respond to reporters’ questions. His wife did not attend.
I’m pretty big on privacy, across the board. Including with money. If you want to keep that much cash on hand, it’s not a crime.
Unless you got it from a crime.
And if you’re already under investigation…and can’t explain gold flipping bars, valued at $22,000 each based on today’s price…my dude, you’d better have a reason.
[four]
Count a major U.S. bank as a co-conspirator in Jeffrey Epstein’s kid-raping services for the rich and famous.
JPMorgan Chase has reached a settlement with the US Virgin Islands over a lawsuit alleging the bank enabled Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking crimes.
The settlement includes “significant commitments” by JPMorgan Chase to curtail human trafficking, and a $75 million payment to the US Virgin Islands.
The USVI attorney general sued JPMorgan Chase in December in the Southern District of New York, claiming that the bank benefited financially from disgraced financier Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation and failed in its duty to report suspicious financial activity, according to a press release from the attorney general.
JPMorgan said in a statement Tuesday that it was not conceding any liability in the settlement, reiterating that it “deeply regrets any association” with Epstein.
Epstein Island has been criticized as conspiracy theory by some corporate press outlets, despite a Crown Prince of Britain losing his titles after being defeated in a civil suit by a woman who claimed Prince Andrew raped her as a minor, a situation that was set up by Epstein.
The list of rich and famous who were closely associated with Epstein include CIA Director William Burns, Bill Gates, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, philosopher Noam Chomsky and Peter Thiel (although Thiel, who’s gay, may be innocent…as there’s no current evidence Epstein trafficked in underage males—just minor females).
[five]
As the migrant crisis hits the “breaking point” in El Paso, TX, Mexico is assisting in returning recently expelled illegal migrants back to their countries of origin.
Mexico will deport certain migrants from some of its northern border cities as part of an agreement with U.S. immigration officials who have reported a sharp increase of migrants attempting to cross the border in recent weeks, according to Mexico’s immigration enforcement authority.
Mexico’s National Migration Institute said that it wants to “depressurize” the border cities of Ciudad Juárez, Piedras Negras, Tijuana and the northern state of Tamaulipas, where large numbers of migrants have recently crossed the border and where U.S. Border Patrol agents have arrested thousands of them.
The institute didn’t say when the deportations will begin or how long they will last, adding that it will first negotiate with Venezuela, Brazil, Nicaragua, Colombia and Cuba to make sure those countries will receive its citizens.
“It should be noted that CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) representatives offered the Mexican authorities all technical assistance to address the immigration issue at airports or other inspection points such as trains to reduce the numbers of people who use these mobility routes,” the institute said in a statement.
The statement also said Mexican immigration officials will take into custody migrants who have been expelled by the United States at an international bridge connecting El Paso and Juárez.
The agreement was announced after Mexican and American officials met in Juárez on Friday. Officials with Ferromex, Mexico’s largest rail operator, were part of the meeting; hundreds of migrants have arrived at the border after hopping aboard freight cars.
El Paso has a population of 678,000, and has experienced an influx of more than 1 million migrants illegally crossing the border in the last 12 months.
Recent photos from the New York Post are heartbreaking, like this mother from Honduras who crossed the Rio Grande with three young children.
However, many new arrivals are finding worse conditions than when they left, including homelessness and a lack of food, water, clothing and sanitation.
Until the next one,
-sth