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Finnish envoy pushes for quick addition to NATO amid 'illegal' Ukraine war

Finnish Ambassador to the U.S. Mikko Hautala says that quick ratification of Finland’s ascension to NATO will send a strong message that the defensive alliance is holding strong on pushing back against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

Hautala is urging the international community to maintain “steel in its spine” over its support for Ukraine, warning that the Russian leader is a “rational” actor who has shown no signs of abandoning his goal of subsuming the former Soviet state.

The call comes as solidarity among the U.S., European and global partners is being tested over domestic pressures and crises, including ballooning inflation and energy prices, recession fears and political polarization. 

Finland, which shares an 830-mile border with Russia, and Sweden are on the brink of joining NATO in the wake of Moscow’s Ukrainian invasion, which began in late February.

The ambassador’s message, however, is also deeply personal. Hautala, who is fluent in Russian and Ukrainian, started his career in Kyiv in the late ’90s and early 2000s. 

“I was an exotic bird back then, studying Ukrainian,” he said in a recent interview at the Finnish Embassy in Washington.  

Before coming to Washington he served as Finland’s ambassador to Russia, from 2016 to 2020, which had him face-to-face with Putin multiple times. 

“He’s not insane. He’s a rational actor,” Hautala said, reflecting on speculation early on in Russia’s invasion that Putin had lost his mind.

“I think we have to take him seriously and I think it would be a grave mistake to underestimate him as a decision-maker.”

The U.S. has poured billions of dollars of military equipment and heavy weapons into Ukraine, bolstered by humanitarian and economic assistance and sanctions against Russia. The support is in addition to by similar efforts from European and democratic nations globally. 

But nearly five months into the conflict Ukrainian and Russian forces are quickly reaching a war of attrition that regional watchers are warning could drag out far beyond the capacity for the world to maintain its focus on providing support for Kyiv. 

“I think this conflict is going to test us, what are we made of? Are we made of some steel in our spine or are we just kind of trying to smell the wind and moving behind it?” Huatala asks.

The ambassador stresses Helsinki is not joining NATO to shore up its personal defense under the Article V shared security guarantee, but is intent on pushing back on Russia’s unprovoked aggression, calling its invasion of Ukraine “illegal.”

“We are not joining or applying to NATO with the idea that we will expect somebody else to do the work. So the first question would be that, ‘can we handle this with our national resources?’ Then, if the answer is ‘no,’ then I think we would be looking for different options.” 

Finland signed a defense pact with the United Kingdom and Sweden shortly before both Helsinki and Stockholm announced their intention to join the larger alliance. 

The U.S. followed up with its own security assurances to further support the Nordic countries, but Huatala said, “The situation is actually quiet” right now, despite Putin’s previous railing against NATOs expansion — one of his pretenses for invading Ukraine.

“We don’t see any extraordinary activities in our close areas,” he said.

Russia’s war against Ukraine deeply resonates with Finns, which came under attack in 1939 from the then-Soviet Union in what became known as the Winter War. Similar to Putin’s Ukraine invasion, the Soviets botched their initial offensive, expecting to roll over Helsinki, but were pushed back for nearly 100 days.

While Finland mounted an impressive defense, it was forced to cede 11 percent of its territory to end the fighting, 

Huatala says that Russia’s early failures to capture Kyiv this year similarly do not reflect an inability to take over the country’s eastern regions. 

“They can adjust, they can modify their tactics, they learn from their mistakes,” he said.

The Winter War left deep scars on generations of Finns. Huatala said he couldn’t wear a red t-shirt around his grandfather because “it reminded him of the Soviet Union that took his home.”

Finland has shored up its military strength over the intervening decades, its supporters describing it as a model applicant for the NATO alliance.

President Biden hosted the Finnish president and Swedish prime minister at the White House in May, making clear the U.S. supports behind their joining the group. 

“The bottom line is simple, quite straightforward: Finland and Sweden make NATO stronger, not just because of their capacity but because they’re strong, strong democracies. And a strong, united NATO is the foundation of America’s security,” Biden said.  

At least six NATO member-states have ratified the accession of both Finland and Sweden to the alliance, and U.S. lawmakers are hoping to push through ratification in the Senate ahead of the August recess.

Huatala said quick ratification in the U.S. would send a “very special message” that NATO is “staying on the course, that NATO is implementing strategic decisions in order to strengthen the Alliance.”

Quick ratification by all 30 member-states is likely to set up Finland formally joining the alliance as early as next year. 

Finland has long-held a status as a valued partner country to NATO, first joining the “Partnership for Peace” program in 1994 and participating in NATO-led operations in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Since 2014, Finland has worked closely with NATO as an Enhanced Opportunity Partner, a significant status that enabled it to advance military interoperability and have structured dialogue with the alliance. 

As a prospective member, Helsinki is set to further bolster the alliance with the acquisition of 64 F-35 fighter jets, having formalized a deal to purchase the war planes in February.

Full delivery is not expected until the end of the decade, a timeframe that leaves open whether the planes will be upgraded as Dual Capable Aircraft, with the ability to carry a nuclear weapon. 

“​We have not started that discussion,” Huatala said, adding that “this was not in our mind when we decided to buy…I don’t think we had any idea of any nuclear dimension when that decision was made.” 

Still, Huatala said that Finland sees its NATO membership without “conditions or limitations or caveats.”

“We are joining NATO as a member-state, full stop. No kind of limitations from the start.”

Source: TEST FEED1

The Kremlin's data-driven propaganda machine is just getting started

The war in Ukraine is in full swing, but silence reigns on the streets of Russian cities; there are almost no anti-war rallies.  

The majority of Russians support the war in Ukraine and have rallied around the ruling regime. According to the independent polling company the Levada Center — recognized in Russia as a foreign agent — 75 percent of Russians supported the actions of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine as of June 2022. Vladimir Putin’s approval rating among Russians increased from 71 percent to 83 percent during the war.  

Citizens are convinced not only of the justice of the war but also of the various myths surrounding it. Many believe that Ukraine itself was preparing to attack Russia and that the neighboring country shelters Nazis and enemy biological laboratories. The blame for the nightmarish war crimes in Bucha and other Ukrainian cities is most often attributed by Russian citizens to the Ukrainian armed forces.  

One gets the impression that the consciousness of the Russian people was skillfully hacked. 

In recent decades due to digital technologies, Russians have begun to generate enormous amounts of personal data. The Kremlin saw in this process a huge opportunity to strengthen its regime and, in 2019 piloted a system for combining, storing and analyzing the personal data of Russians. In 2020, it approved a “uniform federal database” for citizens’ personal data, including, “birth certificates, passport details, marital status, any change of gender, education, residence permits abroad, employment, and taxpayers’ information.” The database is expected to be in operation by 2025.  

Such data allows Russian authorities to monitor the mood of citizens and their reactions to various events in real-time. Authoritarian regimes of the 20th century could only dream of such a tool. Detailed knowledge and understanding of citizens, their weak points and their aspirations have helped the Kremlin to learn to play upon the moods of Russians like a piano. 

The main sources of data for the Kremlin are state authorities and private companies. Major companies in Russia usually have close ties to the Kremlin and most are committed to strengthening the current political regime. As a result, telecom operators, banks, transport companies, internet services and other Russian businesses provide the authorities with access to the personal data they collect. At the same time, no laws designed to protect personal data work effectively. Moreover, Yarovaya laws obliging telecom operators to collect and store all user traffic without notice contribute to the greater collection of personal data by the state.  

I, along with other activists, have tried in every possible way to resist the concentration of personal data by the Kremlin. We have drawn public attention to the issue of data ownership, particularly the weakness of legislation protecting personal data. Before the start of the war in Ukraine, we made a petition to the State Duma and other state authorities to strengthen the protection of personal data. 

After I was detained in 2018 by Russian authorities using a facial recognition system, I filed a lawsuit against Moscow’s Department of Technology, which controls a network of 213,000 cameras that covers the entire city. I saw practically no chance that the Russian court would take my side. The defendants, including the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Department of Information Technology of Moscow, said that the video surveillance system is designed not only to identify citizens but also to “detect snow at the entrance, overflowing garbage cans, broken swings in playgrounds.” As expected, the court dismissed the claim. I have brought this claim to the European Court of Human Rights, which will soon consider my case.  

After the court’s decision, it became clear there is no way to legally oppose the development of a data collection system without the fight being equated with anti-state activity. Without a change in the current political regime, it is nearly impossible to stop the erosion of privacy and autonomy of citizens. 

A second key element of the Kremlin’s population control methods is its monopoly over sources of information. Today, most Russians receive information only from media controlled by the Kremlin. Many Russian media outlets are not directly owned by the state but are run by businessmen close to the authorities. This applies not only to traditional media but also to internet portals as well as Russian social networks, which have become a new source of information for many citizens. Alternative sources including Meduza, Dozhd, Radio Echo of Moscow, BBC, Deutsche Welle, Radio Svoboda, Facebook, Twitter and many others were censored and blocked. The Kremlin has gained a near-total monopoly over domestic information and is now skillfully using it to manipulate Russians. 

With the evolution of information technology, the Kremlin’s propaganda machine will become even more effective. The authorities will collect more of Russia’s personal data and use sophisticated machine learning algorithms to analyze it. Propaganda is gradually transforming from mass media to personalized media. At some point, the Kremlin will begin to know Russians better than they know themselves. Dictators around the world will have significant control over the opinions of citizens and will be able to provide support for any of their actions: from heads of state maintaining power indefinitely to genocide in a neighboring country. 

It is imperative to continue to fight against Russia’s total surveillance regime and its monopoly over sources of information. Effective solutions include increasing citizens’ digital literacy to help to spread the use of VPNs, developing state-independent access to the internet such as Elon Musk’s Starlink system, actively promoting alternative information via the internet and excluding from sanctions the equipment necessary to ensure the operation of the internet.  

Russians need to be provided with access to alternative sources of information. Only then can Russian civil society change the current political regime. 

Alena Popova is the Galina Starovoitova fellow at Wilson Center. She is a Russian opposition politician and founder of the Ethics and Technology think tank. She specializes in researching the impact of emerging technologies on autocratic and democratic governance models.

Source: TEST FEED1

White House expects 'elevated' but 'out of date' inflation numbers for June

The White House is bracing for “highly elevated” inflation numbers when the Labor Department on Wednesday releases its consumer price index (CPI), a key gauge of inflation for the month of June. But the administration argued the data will not reflect recent progress that has brought down down gas prices.

“We expect the headline number, which includes gas and food, to be highly elevated mainly because gas prices were so elevated in June,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. “Gas and food prices continue to be heavily impacted by the war in Ukraine and there are a few important points to keep in mind when we get this backwards looking data.”

Jean-Pierre argued the numbers will already be “out of date” because gas prices have already come down and are expected to fall more in the coming days. Gas prices have fallen for 27 consecutive days, according to data from GasBuddy, which tracks fuel prices.

Jean-Pierre reiterated that fighting inflation is President Biden’s top economic priority.

The cost of food and energy in particular have been an issue for the American public, with record-high rising prices over the last several months causing headaches among the general public. The price of gas topped $5 per gallon last month. 

The White House has attributed rising costs to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a resulting blockade of grain exports that have rattled food supply chains. Russia is also a major exporter of oil, increasing the global price of fuel.

Biden is slated to visit Saudi Arabia this week, and while officials have downplayed the significance of oil prices in that visit, the president may argue that nations in the Middle East should pump more oil to meet global demand.

Source: TEST FEED1

White House says hospitals, doctors must give abortions in emergencies

The Biden administration on Monday said doctors and hospitals need to follow federal law and provide abortions if there is a medical emergency and the health or life of the patient is at risk, regardless of state law.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reaffirmed that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA)  protects providers when offering legally-mandated, life- or health-saving abortion services in emergency situations. 

Administration officials said the federal government can penalize doctors or hospitals that fail to provide care in those circumstances.

“Under the law, no matter where you live, women have the right to emergency care — including abortion care,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “Today, in no uncertain terms, we are reinforcing that we expect providers to continue offering these services, and that federal law preempts state abortion bans when needed for emergency care.”

The announcement follows President Biden’s executive order on reproductive health issued Friday, and comes as the White House fends off criticism for its seemingly sluggish response to the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.

EMTALA has been on the books for over 30 years. Under the law, if an emergency medical condition is found to exist, the hospital must provide available stabilizing treatment or an appropriate transfer to another hospital that has the capabilities to provide stabilizing treatment. 

HHS officials on a call with reporters said the administration is not making any new policy or changes to the existing law. The point of the guidance is to remind providers that the EMTALA law exists, and preempts any state restrictions.

The law leaves it up to a physician to determine what qualifies as an emergency medical condition for a pregnant patient, but the administration listed examples such as ectopic pregnancy, complications of miscarriage or severe preeclampsia.

Under the law, providers don’t need to wait for a patient’s condition to worsen. If there is an emergency, a physician or other provider must provide stabilizing treatment.

Any state laws or mandates that employ a more restrictive definition of an emergency medical condition are preempted by the federal statute, HHS said.

The guidance from the administration comes as dozens of states enact strict abortion bans in the wake of the ruling. Some states make explicit exceptions for the health and life of a mother, but others don’t.

Providers in some states have said they fear prosecution under the news laws if they perform an emergency abortion. Senior HHS officials told reporters the guidance is meant to provide reassurance for those hospitals and physicians that they should trust their clinical judgment.

“We heard a lot from physicians that we needed to be clearer on these points because people were still too scared to treat people,” a senior HHS official said. 

In a letter dated Monday, Becerra reassured health providers they will be protected.

“[I]f a physician believes that a pregnant patient at an emergency department, including certain labor and delivery departments, is experiencing an emergency medical condition as defined by EMTALA, and that abortion is the stabilizing treatment necessary to resolve that condition, the physician must provide that treatment.”

EMTALA is a complaint driven process, and an investigation can’t occur without a complaint to the federal government.

Each violation will cost a hospital $119,942 if it has over 100 beds, and $59,973 for hospitals under 100 beds. 

Hospitals could also lose their Medicare and Medicaid provider agreements, and private citizens who are harmed by a physician’s or hospital’s failure to provide stabilizing treatment may file a civil suit against the hospital to obtain damages. 

Additionally, an individual physician could also face civil penalties of $119,942 per violation.

Source: TEST FEED1

White House: Iran preparing to send Russia drones for Ukraine war

The United States believes that the Iranian government is preparing to provide Russia with drones in order to help Moscow with its ongoing assault on Ukraine, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Monday.  

Sullivan said that the Iranians are preparing to train Russian forces to use the unmanned aircraft vehicles. It’s unclear if any have been delivered to the Russians.  

Sullivan made the comments when briefing reporters on President Biden’s upcoming trip to the Middle East.

DEVELOPING 

Source: TEST FEED1

Who is Oath Keepers spokesperson Jason Van Tatenhove?

The House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol will hear testimony on Tuesday from a former spokesperson for the far-right militia group Oath Keepers, Jason Van Tatenhove.

The panel plans to focus its hearing on Tuesday in part on the role of far-right extremist groups leading up to and on that day.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes on the rare count of seditious conspiracy for his role in the attack.

The House panel also showed evidence last month that Rhodes and the leader of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, met secretly in an abandoned parking garage prior to Jan. 6. Tarrio was also charged with seditious conspiracy.

Here’s what we know about Van Tatenhove.

Who is Van Tatenhove?

Van Tatenhove, 47, is a longtime Colorado resident and former tattoo shop owner. He met the Oath Keepers in 2014 while covering the Bundy Ranch episode, shortly after he moved to Montana.

That year, the Oath Keepers joined others in supporting Nevada rancher Clive Bundy, who gained national attention after he refused to pay fees owed to the federal government. The fees were owed because Bundy’s cattle were grazing on public land adjacent to his own.

When the government announced it would move to seize his cattle, Bundy called on armed Americans to support him.

The government eventually backed down and the Oath Keepers, which had formed in 2009, gained notoriety after the incident. Van Tatenhove had impressed Rhodes during the standoff and was quickly hired.

Van Tatenhove told the Denver Post he originally joined the Oath Keepers as something of an embed to document and tell the narrative of a militia group, similar to how revered journalist and writer Hunter S. Thompson captured the story of the Hell’s Angels biker group in the late ’60s.

Instead, Van Tatenhove ended up writing blog posts, running the group’s social media account and talking to reporters on behalf of the Oath Keepers.

“I had these grand intentions that I was going to write my break-out novel, but what wound up happening is I just became a propagandist for them,” he told the Denver Post. “I failed that internal mission pretty fantastically.”

As their publicist, he also had several issues with Rhodes, who did not let him write opinions he did not agree with, according to the Denver Post, including when Van Tatenhove wished to express support for the 2015 Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage.

Van Tatenhove quit the organization after a couple of years.

What might he testify on?

Van Tatenhove testified to the committee twice: once on Zoom and once in person, according to the news and podcast website he founded last year, the Colorado Switchblade.

In a June 7 post, Van Tatenhove said his testimony will provide a “historical overview of the Oath Keepers and violent militias.”

“All I’m doing is giving a historical precedence,” he said in the podcast.

What has Van Tatenhove already said?

After leaving the militia group, Van Tatenhove has been especially critical of the group. While he previously agreed with Rhodes that the government should be checked, he has had a change of heart.

In a January interview with ABC News, Van Tatenhove said he was “wrong” and that his thinking has “evolved” since his days as the organization’s publicist.

As a local writer and artist, he also said he’s trying to make amends for his past.

“We’ve got to start talking to one another,” he told ABC News. “Not with guns, and not with body armor [or] standoffs, but just talking.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Hispanic Caucus endorses Michelle Vallejo in Texas toss-up

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus campaign arm on Monday announced its endorsement of Democrat Michelle Vallejo in an open South Texas House race that’s being aggressively targeted by the GOP.

Bold PAC, the Hispanic Caucus campaign arm, threw its weight behind Vallejo, a small business owner who in May won a primary runoff by 30 votes.

“The people of Texas 15 deserve a champion of working Americans and small business owner like Michelle Vallejo to represent them in Congress. Bold PAC is proud to support Michelle and her campaign to focus on solutions for working families of all backgrounds,” Bold PAC Chairman Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said.

“South Texans will have a fighter for their communities in Michelle and we look forward to joining her in that fight here in Washington.” 

Vallejo is facing off against GOP nominee Michelle de la Cruz, a Rio Grande Valley businesswoman who’s already spent nearly $2 million on her campaign.

The two candidates are competing for an open district that stretches 270 miles from McAllen on the Rio Grande to the outskirts of Austin.

The district was left without an incumbent following redistricting, after Rep. Vicente González (D-Texas) decided to run in a neighboring district when former Rep. Filemón Vela (D-Texas) retired from Congress.

Vallejo helps run her family’s flea market, Pulga los Portales, founded two community organizations to support community leaders and minority women in business, and has promoted immigrant rights.

She was supported in her primary by LUPE Votes, the political arm of La Unión del Pueblo Entero, a non-profit founded by civil rights activists César Chávez and Dolores Huerta.

Her pitch as an unabashed progressive, in contrast with her primary opponent’s more moderate stance, is a gamble for Democrats in the region, who risk losing the district for the first time since its creation in 1903.

While Republicans in the three Rio Grande Valley districts are bullish about their prospects after Mayra Flores’ victory in a special election to fill Vela’s seat earlier this summer, turnout in the special election was low, leading many to question whether it was a sign of things to come.

Vallejo told The Hill Bold PAC’s endorsement will help reach more voters in the district.

“One of the most critical needs that we have is to connect with our voters who have largely been disengaged because we need to reach out to them in Spanish through bilingual media and by really knocking on their doors and getting in front of them as much as we can,” said Vallejo.

“And Bold PAC has proven to be a champion of creating diversity and inspiring and empowering diversity in the House,” she added.

Still, Vallejo is running in a district that’s rated as “lean Republican” by the Cook Political report, given the headwinds facing Democrats and a redistricting process that tweaked the district’s borders to slightly favor Republicans.

“What we’re focusing on is the work that we have on hand, which is connecting with our community, connecting one-on-one, getting in front of them and talking about the real issues that we’re having but also the solutions that need to be heard in D.C.,” said Vallejo.

“And that’s a stark contrast to what my opponents approach is, which is quite frankly villainizing everyone in this region, making it seem like people don’t know better by the way that they’ve been voting,” she added.

Source: TEST FEED1

De Blasio calls on federal government to ramp up access to monkeypox vaccines

Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) urged the federal government Monday to ramp up access to monkeypox vaccines as cases of the virus continue to rise.

“We cannot wait any longer to take action against the spread of monkeypox,” De Blasio said in a Twitter thread on Monday.

De Blasio officially announced his run for New York’s 10th district last month after months of speculation, and after eight years as mayor. He is in a crowded race for the House seat.

Among the steps De Blasio recommended in his thread was invoking the Defense Production Act to ramp up access to the vaccines. 

“Invoke the Defense Production Act to fill the need for vaccines in the US,” the former NYC mayor wrote in his thread. “There really is no time to waste in a crisis like this, and there is so much that federal and city officials can do right now to get control of this crisis.”  

He also pushed for federal agencies to make at least one dose available for patients who are considered at high risk of infection, and educating the public on how and why the virus spreads. 

The number of confirmed weekly monkeypox cases in New York City had doubled as of last week, according to data from the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The department said in a tweet on Tuesday that 111 people had tested positive in New York City so far, up from 55 a week prior.

The Biden administration last week announced plans to distribute up to 144,00 more doses of the Jynneos vaccine in an effort to combat the recent spike of monkeypox cases. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are more than 700 monkeypox cases in 37 U.S. states.

Steve Adams, director of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), said in a statement the department is using every tool available to vaccinate those in high-risk communities. 

Source: TEST FEED1

American prisoner in Venezuela calls on Biden to push for release

A U.S. citizen who has been detained in Venezuela for several years is calling on President Biden to negotiate his release from a Venezuelan prison.

Jorge Toledo, who was sentenced to prison along with five other American oil executives in 2020, was convicted of corruption charges after traveling to Venezuela on a work trip with oil company Citgo.

“My colleagues and I went through a broken judicial system which violated all proceedings and legal due process ending in an unfair trial, condemning me without any evidence of a crime, without committing a crime,” Toledo wrote in a letter to Biden released Monday.

He continued, “Mr. President, I am an innocent man; perhaps my only crime here is being an American.”

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment on the letter.

Toledo is among several Americans detained abroad on charges condemned by the U.S. government, including WNBA player Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan in Russia.

Vice President Harris said in an interview on Sunday that freeing Americans wrongfully detained abroad is on the administration’s “highest priority list.”

“We take very seriously and we’ve been very clear, Brittney Griner, and there are sadly other Americans who are being unlawfully detained around the world, and it is on our highest priority list to bring those folks home,” said Harris.

U.S. diplomats have traveled to Venezuela previously to urge the release of detained Americans.

Toledo’s letter, dated July 5, called on Biden to support his freedom in celebration of Independence Day.

The American citizen wrote in his letter that he and his colleagues, known as the “Citgo 6,” have been in “arbitrary and unjust imprisonment” for more than 1,680 days.

“I am calling on your humanity, courage and decisive leadership to put an end to this difficult and extreme circumstance,” he wrote to Biden.

Toledo wrote that he lives in a “dungeon” and has experienced serious health conditions due to his confinement, including pneumonia, kidney failure, COVID-19 and multiple infections, as well as severe weight loss.

The prisoner also appealed to his family to urge Biden to act, describing himself as a husband, father, son, brother, friend and grandfather.

“Your leadership and authority are necessary to put in place the required prompt actions to ensure my release, and the release of more than 60 fellow Americans, my brothers and sisters in captivity as hostages and wrongful detainees around the world,” said Toledo.

Source: TEST FEED1