Notes: (1) The Russian controlled, International Boxing Association, who may pay Carini reward money after her lost to Khelif, has largely been discredited and was banned by the International Olympics Committee. The IBA in response has banned Ukraine for example. Thus, the IBA vs the IOC is a part of the larger West vs Russia conflict, but conservatives jumping to Carini’s defense so quickly proves the effectiveness of Russian psychological operations and infiltration campaigns into Western conservative politics to the delight to the Kremlin.
According to Greg Beacham (2024) of the Associated Press as published by PBS, stated that the Olympics has tightened rules relating to gender such as since the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the World Aquatics (organization), World Athletics, and the International Cycling Union having changed rules on the matter. These new restrictions span from banning athlete’s born male who went through male puberty but transitioned to female after puberty, and to testing testosterone levels of people assigned female at birth who may have more masculine characteristics, e.g., being intersexual, not trans-sexual.
So, we are in an Olympic games where qualifying international organizations clamped down on possible trans-athletes, but…that still hasn’t prevented conservatives from threating the Paris Olympic Games as a showcasing for “the fall of Western Civilization”.
But this paper I am writing is about a theory I have.
The theory being (1) Russia worked a deal with Angela Carini – who outside of boxing is an Italian cop – to be a plant to throw the fight, to help Russia in their psychological war with the West. By Carini being beat by Khelif it would enrage many Christians, conservatives, Right Wingers, etc., and help paint the West as a decadent, immoral, ungodly, woke, etc. The Russia led International Boxing Association, i.e., the IBA, would then pay Carini outside of the Olympics for her throwing the fight and would make it seem like Russia cares about women’s rights and fairness in sports. This is the same IBA that disqualified Khelif from the 2023 IBA World Championship, or (2) Carini wasn’t actively involved but the IBA intended to use her regardless for their own propaganda campaigns.
The only reason why I may suspect the number one theory of Carini possibly being complicit is that Carini did appear to “flop” when fighting against a Turkish female fighter Busenaz Suremeneli (the current defending IBA world champion and Gold Medalist at the Tokyo Olympics) in the 2022 IBA Women’s World Champion Boxing event. So that’s two events that Carini has been caught up in some form controversy, or suspicion by onlookers, etc.
At minute 4:09 you can see Carini slip against Busenaz.
According to Beacham (2024) of the Associated Press, “Kremlev (leader of the IBA) also said he intends to award $25,000 to Italy’s national federation and $25,000 to Carini’s coach after her dramatic opening-round exit against Khelif. Further, Kremlev regarding Carini said, ““I couldn’t look at her tears,””.
Russia, who oversees the International Boxing Association, was disqualified from the Olympics for their invasion of Ukraine and has a gripe with the International Olympics Committee (IOC) for the banning of Russian athletes suspected of doping at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games.
Russia has also been proven as having tried to infiltrate American conservative and right-wing politics, e.g., Trump Tower Meeting, Trump Bayrock Scandal, Tucker Carlson & Alex Jones being platformed by Russian State media, Marina Butina with the NRA, the Neo Nazi group – The Base – being in Moscow and ran by an American in exile, David Duke having an apartment in Moscow, etc.
Also, Russia has been doing ongoing irregular warfare campaigns against the United States and European NATO allied nations. By irregular warfare I am referring to online warfare such as troll and bot farms, sometimes posing as American’s and Europeans across the political spectrums to sow unrest, tension, foster culture war, etc. Yet, it is not only the Russians doing this irregular warfare but the Israelis (who have some ties to the Russian state, both politically and culturally), Iranians, Chinese, Cubans, North Koreans, etc. Russia has diplomatic ties with all these nations that are hostile to the United States, and often steps in to be a savior to these pariah regimes when the larger international community condemns their actions.
If Imane Khelif, who beat Italian amateur boxer, Angela Carini, were to be a male, many people are assuming that all men are stronger than females. However, Imane Khelif is a woman who was assigned that birth, and this gender is on her passport, but she has more masculine features. Imane Khelif has lost to women before such has having lost to Ireland’s Kellie Harrington during the Tokyo Olympics and had been on the international circuit for some time now, even having been assigned as a UNICEF Ambassador (according to Beachman, 2024). So, in theory Angela Carini had a possibility of putting up a fight or even beating Khelif, yet, Carini called the fight herself in less than one minute. Currently, Khelif will square off next after the Carini fight against Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamouri who outright said she isn’t scared of Khelif and Khelif isn’t even considered the best in the games.
People’s instant, unresearched reactions are more about instilled implicit biases which paints women as being scared, feeble, and weak and that men have automatic advantages across the board over females, even if the females are better trained, conditioned, etc. In other words, the world is using the scandal to project their patriarchal sentiments and ambitions onto others. The out of shape, balding, middle-aged divorcee can feel a sense of accomplishment knowing that he can beat women no matter how much they accomplish, sort of thing.
To me this means that Carini, may just be…soft. Yes, I said it. If Khelif was beat by other women, then maybe Carini wasn’t as tough for what a female Olympian is expected to be.
Yet, Carini has already been coddle by far-right, Pro-Mussolini Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who as a candidate won on the larger wave or Euroskeptic, Anti-EU, far right politicians that swept over Europe in the wake of the European Financial Crisis (onset by the poor financial management of Greece and others) and the refugee crises of the Syrian War, Libyan Civil War, Arab Spring, and the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
People are using this boxing “scandal” to be political, with the critics being opportunistic and trying to weave this the woodegy-boodgedy narrative of the “ungodly, Neo-Marxist, Luciferians” who are trying to attack, flatten and distort the godly, hierarchical, traditional order best typified by Western (often synonymous with White, Patriarchal, European) Civilization. This scandal is just shy of the earlier Olympics opening ceremony scandal that featured either a depiction of the Last Supper or the Feast of Dionysius, or a combination of both, that featured gender-bending drag queens, queer people, and plus size models. That scandal had already activated the masses of Christians – many who have adopted a conspiratorial mindset in our post-COVID 19 post-lockdown world – but, now with this boxing scandal the hungry masses were already primed for more blood.
The irony of conservatives jumping on this scandal and pretending to defend Carini is that many Right Wingers, notably the men within it, don’t care about women’s sports. These are the same type of men that you can see on any WNBA post making fun of the WNBA and how it isn’t as profitable as the NBA. These are the same people within the larger contemporary conservative movement who…repealed federal abortion protection under Roe vs. Wade, are pushing the “Trad Wife” lifestyle where women don’t work or control their finances, and admire a leader such as Donald Trump who called Stormy Daniel’s “horseface” (even though he had unprotected sex with her while his wife was pregnant), was civilly charged with sexual assault, and of course was caught on camera talking about “grabbing women” by the p-ssy.
The Right-Wing men often speaking on this boxing controversy are not defending women’s rights to support women in being free or equal but are trying to get women to reject feminism and comeback to the overlordship of patriarchy which requires rigid gender conformance (largely to coddle and inflate the male’s ego and sense of self-worth). The men often commenting on behalf of Carini, first off spoke without hearing all the facts, but that is irrelevant because they already have their agenda in mind. It is fake sympathy with hidden intent. The intent being of convincing women with the tactic of “See, I told you so”, so come back to men protecting women because you (women) can’t protect yourself.
However, there are plenty of women as you can see online commenting that are embracing this patriarchal framing of the matter. These women span your run-of-the-mill, freaking out at PTA meeting, 1980’s -like Satanic Panic Karens, to this new movement of “Biblical Femininity” “Trad Wives” (women who want to live at home and not work despite technology having replaced the duties of domestic work such as microwaves, dishwashers, laundry machines, grocery deliveries, etc. – note, yes, being a stay at home mother is not just about cooking and cleaning), and, of course the Trans-Exclusive Radical Feminists (TERFs). On TERFs, I find TERFs to be nonsensical because they claim to want to “destroy patriarchy” so they’re at odds with conservative men but they are in agreement with conservatives on excluding trans-people, though trans-women specifically have voluntarily given up their male privilege in order to fit into and honor femininity (some going as far as getting bottom surgery). The fact that radical feminists believe in destroying patriarchy, you would think they would ally with someone who voluntarily gives up their male privilege, but TERFs are in theory adjacent to purist supremacist forms of fascism.
But what does this boxing scandal have to do with Russia? The paranoia and backlash feeds into the larger anti-West propaganda in part from Russia to label the West as decadent, liberal, but the Russians as being strong, Orthodox, traditionally masculine, etc. Which is ironic because Putin has tried to pay people to have children. No, seriously. He had to ordain a baby-making day to encourage Russians to have babies. If Russians were as much of a caricature as Putin and Western conservatives wish the Russian people were, then they wouldn’t need any problem pushing out children in a very homophobic culture.
Further, is the fact that Angela Carini is being paid by the International Boxing Association which is now based in Russia. According to Greg Beacham of the Associated Press, as quoted in an online article by PBS on 2 August 2024, “The IBA is controlled by Umar Kremlev, who is Russian and brought in the state-owned energy supplier Gazprom as its primary sponsor and moved much of the governing body’s operations to Russia.” The irony of the Gazprom connection is that Gazprom’s football club, FC Zenit, has been accused multiple times of racism and xenophobia, and was later banned form European competition.
It is important to know that Khelif was disqualified by the IBA in 2023 for “failing unspecified and untransparent eligibility tests for women’s competition from the now-banned International Boxing Association” (Beacham, 2024). Her 2023 disqualification came interestingly after Khelif beat Russian Azalia Amineva in 2023 according to Beacham (2024).
I can’t prove it, and it does seem conspiratorial, but it could appear that Angela was promised to have been paid by the IBA if she threw the fight with Khelif, and by her throwing the fight it would feed into the narrative that Khalif was transsexual and beating up on a “poor, innocent, beautiful” women who trained her whole life just have it taken away by the “woke, Social Justice” mob. This therefore feeds back to the Kremlin’s psychological warfare operation of trying to posit themselves as the saviors of Christendom against the “failed experiment” of liberal democracies where “women have rights”, “white populations are in decline” “LGBTQ+ aren’t forced to live in hiding and are able to get married”, etc.
The talking points regarding the west being “degenerate” are straight from Putin intellectual Aleksandr Dugin, a man who became a key foundational figure of the Western Alt-Right movement (alongside other figures such as Juilus Evola). Dugin has been associated with Right Wing conspiracy theorists, Alex Jones and Jay Dyer, but also former Fox News contributor, Tucker Carlson, and even white supremacist Lauren Southern, who was platformed by Fox’s Australia outlet, Sky News.
According to Thomas Saintourens of Le Monde (2022), Umar Kremlev has ties to Putin, in which Kremlev, a former Russian military man who is a member of the Order of St. George (Russia’s Medal of Honor) used Russian troops for ceremonies for his International Boxing Association. Further, Saintourens (2022) mentioned that Kremlex is part of the patriot biker association known as the “Night Wolves”, and in 2004 and 2006, the former amateur boxer was convicted of violence. “Under the chairmanship of Mr. Kremlev, the IBA hoists the Russian colors high up in boxing rings around the world and defies the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Mr. Putin himself has made the case a personal one in a long-distance fight against IOC president, Germany’s Thomas Bach, in retaliation for sanctions imposed on Russia following the disclosure of a “state-sponsored” doping program after the Sochi Olympic Games (2014). Overseeing amateur boxing, which is a popular sport on every continent, is seen as an opportunity to promote Russia’s soft power.” (Saintourens, 2022).
Version 1 posted on 8/17/2023. Version 2 updated on 8/18/2023. Version 3 updated 8/22/2023. Version 4 updated 8/27/2023.
I. Digging into the Hawaii Emergency Management System anddebunking the rumor that only $700 was given in Federal Aid to Maui Fire Victims
Disclaimer: This section about Hawaii despite having some research backing my thoughts is speculative. I am not putting any personal blame or libelous claims on any companies, government officials, etc. The general theory is that the fires were started by downed power lines in conjunction with environmental conditions, e.g., dry grasses. However, I wrote this specific section of this paper on Hawaii to research more about the emergency siren system itself, its possible OEMs (official equipment manufacturers), etc.
Sadly, in early August 2023, there were multiple fires on the Hawaiian Islands. Conservatives, conspiracy theorists who have blamed the fires on “Chinese Space Lasers” or arsonists trying to clear the precious real estate, anti-Ukraine War people, etc., have tried to place the blame on President Joe Biden. However, it seems this fire situation was an accident (downed power lines per Brianna Sacks, 2023, of The Washington Post) exacerbated by environmental conditions.
I personally know people from Hawaii. I went to college with many and some of my best friends are from the various islands spanning Oahu and Maui. According to one friend, when consulting his father-in-law, the emergency system was simply old and outdated. According to another friend whose father was a federal firefighter on the US military bases in Hawaii, his father said that local firefighters only “contain” fires, whereas federal fighter fighters serving the US military bases are required to fully put out fires. Sometimes there’s coordination between the firefighters on federal facilities with those of civilian firefighters, but my friend did not know much more than that.
There are many rumors being circulated online, such as Biden only gave $700. These rumors often negate to go into detail about how programs, bills, funds, etc., all work, yet, instead they appeal to emotion and rage within our already divided country, with a good chunk still reeling that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. Many of these Trump supporters, but not just them, believe in various conspiracies that been within the pop culture for years such as “FEMA Camps” which are code-word for concentration camps, the New World Order, Mark of the Beast which is code for implants, surveillance, etc.
For example, regarding the $700 payment, FEMA.gov (2023) addressed the rumor, titled, “Rumor: FEMA is only giving Hawaii wildfire survivors $700 per household.”, but responding with “This is not true. There is a range of federal disaster assistance available. Critical Needs Assistance provides a one-time payment of $700 to address immediate needs such as food, water, and clothing. This is just one of several types of federal assistance you may be eligible to receive. As applications are reviewed, you can check your application status online or call 800-621-3362 to find out what types of disaster assistance you are eligible to receive.”
Looking into the CNA Program, FEMA.gov (202) stated that, ““FEMA may provide financial assistance to applicants who have immediate or critical needs because they are displaced from their primary dwelling. Immediate or critical needs are life- saving and life-sustaining items including, but not limited to: water, food, first aid, prescriptions, infant formula, diapers, consumable medical supplies, durable medical equipment, personal hygiene items and fuel for transportation. Critical Needs Assistance (CNA) is awarded under the Other Needs Assistance (ONA) provision of the Individuals and Households Program (IHP).Funds awarded for CNA count toward an applicant’s financial ONA maximum for that disaster, which is an annually-adjusted amount based on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index. CNA is a one-time $500 payment per household. An affected state, territorial, or tribal government must submit a written request to FEMA to implement CNA. FEMA’s Individual Assistance Division Director may authorize assistance when the majority of applicants from the declared area are, or will be, displaced from their primary residence for an extended period of time, generally 7 days or more.” (end quote)
Note, that this quote/reference is from 2020, so that $500 must have been bumped up to the $700.
Further according to FEMA.gov (2021), Other Needs Assistance (ONA) falls under FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program and provides financial help after a disaster to cover necessary expenses and serious needs not paid by insurance or other sources (FEMA, 2021). The first two categories of assistance – transportation and personal property – are dependent on residents applying for a low-interest disaster loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration beforehand. If applicants are denied a loan, or if the loan does not cover all their needs, they may receive a FEMA grant to replace or repair transportation and/or personal property (FEMA, 2021). Survivors do NOThave to apply for an SBA loan first to be considered for the following categories of assistance, which includes (A) moving and storage equipment, (B) Medical and Dental Assistance, (C) Funeral Assistance, and (D) some miscellaneous item (FEMA, 2021). If you have already applied with FEMA for Housing Assistance, you don’t need to apply separately for ONA (FEMA, 2021).
Regarding the Small Business Loan, states such as Washington State’s Emergency Management page under its Department of Military (i.e., the National Guard) stated that, “SBA disaster loans are available even without a Presidential Disaster Declaration and are a great tool to provide low-interest loans to individuals, families, businesses and organizations that suffer physical or economic loss due to a disaster or other disruption”
But what about this Other Needs Assistance (ONA) maximum which the $700 from the Critical Needs Assistance falls under?
First off, Other Needs Assistance programs are administered by the state and funded 75 percent by FEMA and 25 percent by the state (Washington State Military Department – Emergency Management Division). This 75 to 25 cost sharing between the federal government and states can be found on multiple state’s webpages, etc.
Secondly,
According to the Federal Register (2021), where the Federal Register could be understood as the Federal Government’s bulletin board it was stated that Section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Stafford Act), 42 U.S.C. 5174, prescribes that FEMA must annually adjust the maximum amount for assistance provided under the Individuals and Households Program (IHP). FEMA gives notice that the maximum amount of IHP financial assistance provided to an individual or household under section 408 of the Stafford Act with respect to any single emergency or major disaster is $37,900 for housing assistance and $37,900 for other needs assistance. The increase in award amount is for any single emergency or major disaster declared on or after October 1, 2021. In addition, in accordance with 44 CFR 61.17(c), this increases the maximum amount of available coverage under any Group Flood Insurance Policy (GFIP) issued (Federal Register, 2021). [See: https://www.fema.gov/fact-sheet/group-flood-insurance-policy%5D
Further, Federal Register (2021) FEMA bases the adjustment on an increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers of 5.3 percent for the 12-month period, which ended in August 2021. The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor released the information on September 14, 2021.
To wrap our heads around this for the sake of clarity, $700 was given in immediate assistance under the CNA (Critical Need Assistance) Program which is based on an annually-adjusted amount based on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index, but CNA falls under FEMA’s Other Needs Assistance (ONA) provision, which is a larger type of “expense account budget” where FEMA provides 75% of funding and the state provides the other 25% (as well as manages the program), which is for personal property, transportation, funeral expenses, etc., that is not necessarily for FEMA Housing Assistance (but can be applied for at the same time if applying for FEMA Housing Assistance). ONA however falls under the Individuals and Households Program (IHP) of FEMA. Per Section 408 of the Stafford Act, the ONA maximums are $37,900 for housing assistance and $37,900 for other needs assistance. So, $75,800 overall, but you get $700 up front.
The White House has begun the process of disaster relief, but it is important to remember that the Federal government must work with the State Government regarding disaster relief such as in relation to laws such as Posse Comitatus (federal troops can’t police states in theory), the Stafford Act, etc.
Regarding the conspiracy theory that the fires are due to “Chinese Space Lasers”, even though I have no way of verifying that, nor do I really want to encourage the conspiracy because of its jingoistic/xenophobic undertones, back in February 2023, mainstream outlets such as Newsweek, Popular Mechanics, etc., did address the space laser situation. So, I understand why people may believe this, even though I am not sure if it’s believable or not.
Brodsky (2023) stated that the Chinese pollution-monitoring satellite Daqi-1 probably produced the lights spotted over Hawaii on January 28, according to a NASA scientist.
In other words, a sort of optical illusion in the atmosphere.
Yet, back on track, according to CBS News (2023) by way of CNN, residents did receive some text messages about winds and fires, including a National Weather Service fire warning, but per some residents there was not a major alert akin to an Amber Alert and most importantly there were no sirens. Hawaii residents have long been accustomed to the monthly tests of the outdoor siren warning system (CBS News, 2023).
While Maui’s warning sirens were not activated, emergency communications with residents were largely limited to mobile phones and broadcasters at a time when most power and cell service was already cut (CBS News, 2023).
Most Americans can relate to the feeling. We often get Tornado, Flood, or other Emergency warnings, but often it is hard to gauge the severity of the matter.
Relating to Hawaii, the National Weather Service operates the National and Pacific Tsunami Warning Centers ensuring there is free and not-for-profit tracking of tsunamis which can be caused by earthquakes. The PTWC dates to 1946 when 165 U.S. citizens were killed by tsunamis in Alaska and Hawaii.
However, this Tsunami system seems different than the siren warning system involved in the Maui Fire Disaster.
After looking into the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (n.d.), the actual siren system under question seems to be the Hawaiʻi All Hazard Statewide Outdoor Warning System managed by the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) which is the largest single integrated Outdoor Siren Warning System for Public Safety in the world.
This Warning System is one part of the larger Hawaiʻi Statewide Alert and Warning System (SAWS) which includes FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) which used both the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) to alert the public.
So, who made or worked on the All-Hazard Statewide Outdoor Warning System?
I searched terms such as “Contract”, “Award”, “Supplier”, and “OEM” (Official Equipment Manufacturer), in relation to the All-Hazard Statewide Outdoor Warning System, which we should shorten to AHSOWS, and found an official government website by the State of Hawaii that reveals procurement data of state awards to suppliers. This website is called HANDS, i.e., Hawaii Awards & Notices Data System.
I noticed a few contracts awarded to Federal Signal Corporation by the State of Hawaii for its Defense Department. The Federal Signal Corporation is based in Oakbrook, Illinois, founded in 1901, and specializes in emergency vehicle equipment, warning sirens and public safety systems. They are listed on Nasdaq under NYSE: FSS.
From June 2022 through November 2022, I noticed a few procurements (buys) relating to sirens such as 110w Solar Panels and affiliated equipment for the State’s Emergency Warning Siren System which was awarded to Federal Signal Corporation via a Sole Source procurement (i.e., they were the only supplier solicited, i.e., not procured via a competitive bid) issued under Purchase Order Number G22A0157 in a dollar amount of $60,974.27.
Federal Signal Corporation also received a sole soured award Purchase Order under PO # G2218071 in the amount of $58,366.47 for Satellite Activation and Services (Isat Data Pro System Service) for Emergency Siren Communications. According to the posting, “SAT Data Pro System Service ‐ satellite to provide communication with the State’s Emergency Warning Siren System. The SAT service is a backup communication to the Siren system should the Cellular network fail. Service period from July 01, 2022 – June 30, 2023 DAGS Job No 16‐14‐7242. Federal Signal Sole Source # 21‐001‐SK. Approved Dec 11, 2020. CHANGE ORDER 1 Approved”
Also, under PO G2218061, in amount of $ 40,722.50, via a sole source procurement, Federal Signal Corporation was awarded an annual renewal for their Commander One Subscription Services which per the posting states, “Annual Renewal of Commander 1 Subscription for service period: 7/1/22 to 6/30/23 Includes: 1. Mobile apps & Web access 2. 20 SEATS 3. 5 Organization 4. 512 devices supported, 5. 24/7 after hours suppor 6. SmartMsg updates and 5,000 text and email notifications/month Approved for Sole Source pursuant to HRS 26‐6, 103D‐306, HAR 3‐122‐143 on 12/11/2020 Ref No. 21‐001‐SK, Federal Signal Sole Source Contract DAGS Job # 16‐14‐7242, CHANGE ORDER 1 Approved 3/8/2022.”
Further, PO 22807001, Federal Signal Corporation was awarded a contract for emergency siren equipment due to environmental reasons and vandalism.
Using a different search term I discovered that Federal Signal Corporation was awarded a $9 Million dollar award by the State of Hawaii for the HI-EMA, under PO 16-14-7242, issued by Daniel Jandoc, which in an Indefinite Quantity type of contract. FSC was to furnish Outdoor Warning Sirens for Public Safety (Sirens). This PO had a Period of Performance of 1/1/2021 to 12/31/2022.
The Period of Performance was 7/1/2022 to 6/30/2023 for the Satellite Activation and Services Contract and 6/14/2023 – 6/30/2023 for the Annual Renewal of Commander 1 Service.
Is it possible that the Period of Performance for certain subscriptions expired and that the State of Hawaii was trying to re-issue a new award or exercise an option, but due to lapse in time from June 2023 to early August 2023, there were lags or drops in coverage between the satellites, cell phones, controllers, towers, etc.? It would be nice to know the actual business and contracting behind the emergency system, i.e., was there pre-planning or were procurement offices reactionary once they realized funding was about to dry up or a new contracting vehicle was lingering in some sort of approval phase.
In other words, Federal Signal Corporation as the prime contractor has a complex system in place to support Hawaii (a combination of Software as a Service -SaaS- mixed with Hardware that integrates with other equipment), but while they were waiting for the state to issue funding for a new award or exercise a contract option, that lap in coverage, possibly mixed with vandalism, weather, etc., disrupted parts of the overall Emergency System, and once the fires started, their high temperatures fried the actual hardware.
II. The Federal Response
According to the White House.gov (2023) in an official press release it was stated that Mr. Maona N. Ngwira of FEMA has been appointed to coordinate Federal recovery operations in the affected areas. Further, President Joe Biden, likely by evoking the Stafford Emergency Act, authorized federal funding available to affected individuals in Maui County including assistance on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide which includes grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
Per, the White House.gov (2023) article, residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated areas can begin applying for assistance at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362), or by using the FEMA App.
According to Claims Journal (2023), Two firms have released early estimates of losses and damage from the devastating wildfires across Hawaii’s Maui Island and the historic town of Lahaina. Catastrophe modeler Karen Clark & Company issued new estimates showing the insured property losses from the Lahaina Fire in Hawaii to be around $3.2 billion. AccuWeather on Monday increased its estimate of the total damage and economic loss to $14 to $16 billion (Claims Journal, 2023). That update followed AccuWeather’s preliminary estimate last week of total damage and economic loss of $8-10 billion, and the latest AccuWeather loss estimate would equate to about 15% of the state of Hawaii’s gross domestic product and would exceed the GDP of Maui (Claims Journal, 2023). The Lahaina fire burned approximately 2,170 acres and devastated the town of Lahaina on Maui, according to KCC (Claims Journal, 2023).
According to Jim Garamone (2023) of DOD News of the US Department of Defense, Combined Joint Task Force 50, under the command of Army Brig. Gen. Stephen F. Logan, has mustered almost 700 DOD personnel and 140 Coast Guardsmen that are part of the coordinated response to the Maui wildfires that killed more than 100 people and destroyed the city of Lahaina last week, according to Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder. This includes FEMA asking for space at the US Army’s Schofield Barracks for billeting (i.e., rooms for troops and personnel, etc.). The Joint Task Force includes the US Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines, Homeland Security, FEMA, and the National Guard. The Task Force is flying two Boeing CH-47 Chinooks (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_CH-47_Chinook) with fire suppression buckets capable of 189,000 gallons of water, and the Navy also has two Sikorsky (a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin) SH-60 Seahawks and three Boeing CMV-22 Ospreys on standby to support incoming requests.
More specifically this CJTF 50 is comprised of 402nd Field Support Brigade (responsible for assisting in Quartermaster duties, Sustainment Support, etc. in the Pacific Region) under Colonel Courtney Sugai and Lt. Colonel Timothy Page. Also, there is the 249th Engineer Battalion which is a power generation battalion that answers to the US Amry Corps of Engineers and serves more in a Reservist Capacity. The 249th Engineer Battalion Company is comprised of four companies, but specifically Company A is based at Hawaii’s Schofield Barracks and answers to Lt. Colonel Langston J. Turner. Lastly, the US Air Force and Navy have also established Liaison Officers, i.e., Points of Contract, to help their respected branch coordinate in the CJTF effort. Further, there is the Third Marine Littoral (i.e., nearshore) Battalion under Colonel John G. Lehane of the US Marine Corps providing General Dynamics MQ-9 Reaper Drones for aerial surveillance, Boeing MV-22 Osprey, and a Lockheed Martin KC-130J Super Hercules.
III. We have money for Ukraine, Hawaii, the Border, Crime Prevention, etc.
Sofi Stadium cost $5.5 Billion.
Lionel Messi at FC Barcelona had a $675 Million contract….to himself… but Christiano Rinaldo at Al Nassr has a $536 Million contract.
So that’s $1.2 billion of pledged (not necessarily paid) money on just two athletes.
So, why not hate on sports and not a country trying to maintain independence from Russia, when Russia invaded Ukraine?
[See video, Shut up about NATO expansion]
[See Video: The Dumbest Arguments About Russia’s War on Ukraine]
Regarding the 2008/9 Bailouts of US Auto Industry with giants like Ford and GM, “In all, the federal government extended nearly $81 billion to bail out the auto industry in a rescue effort that began under Bush’s watch and ended in December 2014, well into Obama’s second term.” (Source: Andrew Glass, Politico, 12/19/2018, Bush Bailouts US Automakers, Dec. 19, 2008).
Further, the New York Post (2021) by way of the Associated Press, released an article, titled: Costs of the Afghanistan War, in lives and dollars, which referenced a meta-study by Harvard University’s Kennedy School and Brown University’s Costs of War project. These studies estimated the amount of direct Afghanistan and Iraq war costs that the United States has debt-financed as of 2020 was $2 trillion but with interest will be $6.5 trillion by 2050.
According to Jonathan Masters and Will Merrow (2023) of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), since the war began, the Biden administration and the U.S. Congress have directed more than $75 billion in assistance to Ukraine, which includes humanitarian, financial, and military support, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research institute (end quote). Much of the aid has gone toward providing weapons systems, training, and intelligence that Ukrainian commanders need to defend against Russia, which has one of the world’s most powerful militaries (Master and Merrow, 2023). Yet, according to the US Embassy to Ukraine (2015) Vice President Joe Biden announced today in Kyiv, Ukraine, that, pending consultation with Congress, the White House plans to commit approximately $190 million in new assistance to support Ukraine’s ambitious reform agenda.
Note this was when Biden was Vice President, speaking for President Obama in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, so this was only a policy promise and pledge. Yet, Donald Trump got into office and then threatened to pull funding away that Congress was ready to approve if Ukraine didn’t give dirt on Joe Biden.
But, fast forward, according to Lawrence Richards (2022) of Fox News in an article, titled: US leads the rest of the world with $196 billion given to Ukraine amid war with Russia – Russia first invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the article’s headline states that use has given $196 Billion, but in the article, it states “$200 billion in promised or sent aid”. Emphasis on promised or pledged, not actually spent, yet it looks like the US has spent over 200 billion.
Yet not all this money is “new money” being randomly created, but it was already spent on existing hardware or approved on existing budgets. Or it is pledged money that has not been approved yet.
Tom Norton (2023) of Newsweek, in his article, titled: Fact Check: Have U.S. Taxpayers Sent Over $200B to Ukraine? In the article Norton (2023) details how Republicans have repeatedly and misleadingly used the $200 Billion price tag. From Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Monica Crowley who stated, “”$200 billion+ of your hard-earned money has been disappeared into the corrupt money-pit of Ukraine.”, Andy Briggs, Keri Lake, Steve Bannon, and Fox News have all chirped this dollar amount.
Norton (2023) summarized as of April 2023, that Congress has only approved $113 billion for spending in Ukraine. Researchers tracking spending suggest that only around $77 billion has gone directly to Ukraine, a combination of financial, military and other forms of aid.
So let’s summarized…Fox News or at least prominent conservatives have dubiously stated the US has already spent $200 Billion, yet, per Norton (2023) back in April 2023, the US had spent $77 Billion out of $113 billion approved by Congress. Yet, to update this figure, in July 2023, Masters and Merrow (2023) stated that the US has sent $76.8 Billion, so that matches what Norton (2023) was saying on money actually spent, not promised, not pledged, not talked about, etc.
I do not blame people for being angry about Hawaii vs Ukraine situation regarding the perception and reality of responses and funding, but…Ukraine is not affecting Hawaii, no more Social Security or Medicare are affecting Hawaii. We are talking about different pools of money, bills, authorizations, etc. We have checks and balances, appropriation, and financing rules, etc., so to change rules we need Congress to change such rules. I get it. Why can’t we just command things into existence, but the thing is that we in the United States have rules based on checks and balances and tight appropriation laws (color of money rules, Misappropriation rules, etc.)
A lot of the Ukraine Lend Lease Money is money already for paid for assets via the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), and Foreign Military Financing (FMF). According to the CRFB, i.e., the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (2023), using PDA, the President can send military hardware out of the U.S. military’s own stockpiles directly to Ukraine (CRFB, 2023). Through USAI, the federal government contracts with the private sector to provide training, supplies, and other operational needs to the Ukrainian military and other allies (CRDB, 2023). Also, per CRFB (2023), the federal government uses FMF to backfill the stockpiles of NATO allies that have sent their own military hardware directly to Ukraine.
So, when you see this or that billion that is being spent on Ukraine a lot is basically a receipt and public disclosure of something already paid for, not more “pork barrel waste” adding onto our debt. The government did not just “print” with the “Federal Reserve” the money, but the money was also on the books, appropriated, and in many cases already spent on hardware that were sitting in stockpiles. Think of it all as receipts against existing appropriated budgets.
But I get the confusion. Defense funds come from NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) pot of money whereas FEMA funding under Homeland Security comes from the Homeland Security Bill (See HR 8257).
In other words, sending already paid for tanks wouldn’t help Hawaii in a freak act of God accident no one saw coming, so it’s a false equivalency to compare the two, though emotionally I get people’s frustrations. And Congress controls the “power of the purse”, so it is on them to attempt to reform laws, even the constitution, if need be, if they want to change how money is appropriated and spent.
Republicans in Congress, running for office, or anti Biden types talking about this are gaslighting. Congressional Republicans had no problem voting for the NDAA same as Democrats, so if people want more FEMA funding it’s on Congress to do the bills such as budget more for the Homeland Security Bill. The President only signs or vetoes the bills but has certain executive powers to tap into those already existing and approved pots of money, i.e., the PDA program.
According to John M. Donnelly of Rollcall.com (2022), “The Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to pass the final defense authorization bill for fiscal 2023, clearing the sweeping measure for President Joe Biden’s signature. If Biden signs the NDAA into law, as he is expected to do, it would be the 62nd straight fiscal year that the defense policy measure has been enacted. The Senate’s final NDAA passage vote was 83-11, and 60 votes were required. The House passed the bicameral compromise on Dec. 8. When Armed Services Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., noted that the bill is named after the committee’s top Republican, James M. Inhofe of Oklahoma, the chamber resounded with applause. Reed said that Inhofe’s leadership of the committee, both in the majority and minority, had been “monumental.” Inhofe is retiring at the end of this year. With enactment of the bill, Washington will have authorized spending about $858 billion on defense programs in this fiscal year, mostly at the Pentagon. That is $45 billion, or 5 percent, more than Biden asked for in March.” (end quote).
Think about that. (A) Both parties voted for the NDAA (because it’s political suicide to not), (B) Congress added more money than what Biden had even asked for, meaning that Congress could have potentially shifted $45 Billion to the Homeland Security Bill or had planned on doing that, which theoretically could have pushed the Homeland Security Bill from $80 Billion to $125 Billion, (C) the bill was named for a Republican.
If you are angry at what is happening in Ukraine, then take it up with your legislators.
According to the Appropriations page owned by the US Senate’s website, The Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill includes a total of $82.068 billion, including $60.7 billion in net discretionary appropriations.
The below picture is from the US Congress.gov
According to the US Senate Armed Services Committee (2023) 857.9 billion was appropriated for the National Defense Authorization Act of 2023. Out of this 857.9 billion most of the funds goes to the Department of Defense whereas some funding also goes to the Department of Energy considering the DOE overseas nuclear power, certain infrastructure such as electricity attached to our dams (whose construction is monitored by the US Army Corps of Engineers), etc. The bill does allow for up to 6 billion for General Transfer Authority for unforeseen high priority needs via “Reprogramming”. On an interesting note, this FY23 NDAA also authorizes funding to support a 4.6 percent pay raise for both military service-members and the DOD civilian workforce.
So, the NDAA got 857.9 billion, whereas the FY23 Homeland Security Funding Bill of $82.068 billion. So, the NDAA has over 10 times more funding. Yet, whose fault is this? It starts with Congress.
So, can we fund Ukraine to defend itself while protecting the border, funding cops and drug rehabs, investing in public housing and schools, etc? Yes.
The US has money to fund Ukraine and take care of most of its issues at home because our allies are gonna vouch for our debt anyways and buy our US treasuries, because that’s the brilliance of the scheme.
The EU, UK, Japan, Australia, Brazil, Canada, etc., will vouch for our debt and even if the US dollar weakens, a weak US dollar can boost US exports since foreign currencies rise, i.e., they have more purchasing power.
They’ll vouch for our debt because they already have so many US investments that dumping our debt would crash them too and cause a Global Depression. I do not think most of the world wants the Chinese Yuan or Russian Ruble as their reserve currency. And, sorry to the Crypto currency bros, but there’s only so many bitcoins that will ever be made.
The US despite its flaws has a good relationship with most powerful albeit non-Super Power nations. Yet, people have a very conservative framing of how sovereign debt and taxes work as if national financing is the same as personal financing in your personal life, when they’re not the same. Also people forget there were tax cuts on the highest income earners/corporations starting with Bush, the Obama Era Bush tax cut extension, and the Trump cut.
According to the Emily Horton (2017) of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “In 2013 CBPP estimated that, when the associated interest costs are taken into account, the Bush tax cuts (including those that policymakers made permanent) would add $5.6 trillion to deficits from 2001 to 2018. This means that the Bush tax cuts will be responsible for roughly one-third of the federal debt owed by 2018.”
In theory if Bush didn’t do these cuts and if Americans accepted increases as opposed to reductions in taxes that $6.5 Trillion bill by 2050 with interests included according to Harvard and Brown University’s would have been hedged significantly by the $5.6 Trillion is projected loses in revenue.
So it’s not a matter of not having money for home improvement and Ukraine, when (A) our allies don’t care if we create money because we have the most lethal military as far as weapons that we use to protect them so they do not have to fight, i.e., the US economy is a Spartan mercenary operation at industrial scale, (B) the US has the safest banking system to store the world’s money and if they don’t store it here, they often store it in US dollars, and, (C) we can always reverse the 20 years of tax cuts because the rich are likely investing in this war anyways.
It’s a gaslight to make it seem as if we can’t afford both. Further even if we weren’t funding Ukraine to keep Russia away, our conservative minded, pro business politicians wouldn’t fund the things we want anyways like housing, etc. When has the government ever really invested in people? Bill Maher freaked out when people got COVID relief money.
So pretending like cheapskate frugal Republicans and phony progressive corporate Democrats will make us into a utopia is laughable.
Most people who are against the war are (A) Trump supporters just being Trump supporters, despite, ironically their blood-lust for war with “Communist” China, (B) hippies who have no realpolitik or concept of defense policy who believe peace exist in nature rather than something maintained by projecting force, (C) fake hippies who are actually conservatives who simply want the current Biden Administration to fail but not appearing to be conservative adjacent, e.g. The Hill owned by Nexstar Media, (D) Russian, Chinese, etc., psy-ops that want Russia to win even if they get concessions.
Brown University (2023) Cost of War by the Watson Institute – International and Public Affairs. Source: https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/figures (Date Retrieved. 17 August 2023).
Federal Emergency Management Agency (18 August 2023) Hawaii (DR-4724-HI): Rumor Response and Frequently Asked Questions. Source: https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4724/rumor-response (Date Retrieved 27 August 2023).
John M. Donnelly (15 December 2022) Senate sends fiscal 2023 NDAA to Biden’s desk – With enactment, Washington will have authorized about $858 billion on defense programs in this fiscal year. Source: https://rollcall.com/2022/12/15/senate-sends-fiscal-2023-ndaa-to-bidens-desk/ (Date Retrieved 27 August 2023).
Mitchell Research Group 