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Ukraine’s refugee tally hits 2 million, Zelensky calls Russia a ‘terrorist state’

KYIV, Ukraine —

Global condemnation of Russia’s war against Ukraine intensified Tuesday as a trickle of trapped civilians from one city made their way toward relative safety, but another agreed-upon pathway, from a battered and encircled seaport, came under Moscow’s bombardment.

Ukraine welcomed the toughening of Western sanctions against Moscow, including President Biden’s announcement Tuesday of a U.S. ban on importing Russian oil. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continued to plead for more forceful intervention in a 13-day-old conflict that has produced more than 2 million refugees and shaken world markets.

“Please increase the pressure of sanctions against this country, and please recognize this country as a terrorist state,” Zelensky said, blasting Russia in a video speech Tuesday to Britain’s Parliament — a rare honor accorded to a foreign leader.

Zelensky reminded Britain of its own struggle against Nazi conquest in World War II and, in a deliberate echo of Winston Churchill, said Ukraine would never give in.

“We won’t stop fighting for our land no matter what the cost. He told the packed House of Commons that he would fight for his land in the forests, on the beaches, and in the streets. The House of Commons gave him a standing ovation.

Britain announced Tuesday that it would join the U.S. in taking action against Russian oil, with plans to phase out such imports by year’s end. And adding to the list of mega-corporations abandoning Russia, McDonald’s announced it was temporarily closing its more than 800 stores in the country.

In announcing the U.S. oil ban, Biden castigated Russian President Vladimir Putin for his “murderous path” in Ukraine and insisted Ukrainians would defend “their freedom, their democracy, their lives.”

Poland, meanwhile, stunned U.S. officials by declaring it would send about two dozen of its Soviet-era MIG-29 fighter jets to the U.S. air base at Ramstein, Germany — instead of to Ukraine. Zelensky requested the planes, and U.S. officials were supportive of the idea. The Russian president declared that supplying Ukraine jets was a war crime.

Viewing both the complicated logistics of moving the aircraft into a battle zone and especially the potential Russian retaliation, Poland decided to extricate itself from the transaction — without first alerting the Americans.

Saying the planes would be sent to Ramstein “was a surprise move by the Poles,” Victoria Nuland, the undersecretary of State for political affairs, said in testimony before Congress late Tuesday.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement: “We do not believe Poland’s proposal is a tenable one.”

In northeastern Ukraine, residents of the besieged city of Sumy began evacuating through a designated safe corridor Tuesday despite fears that Russian bombing could resume without warning. Ukrainian authorities stated that another route from Mariupol’s southern port was under additional shelling, which prevented civilians from fleeing the city. While visiting Latvia,

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg cited credible reports that civilians fleeing fighting were being targeted by Russian forces.

“Targeting civilians is a war crime, and it’s totally unacceptable,” he said.

On Tuesday, the German Federal Prosecutor said that it had opened a preliminary investigation into war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine. Germany follows the principle of universal jurisdiction in cases involving war crimes.

And in jarringly sobering and frank testimony, CIA Director William Burns and other senior U.S. intelligence officials told Congress that, far from being deterred by the setbacks his army is experiencing, Putin is likely to escalate.

“He is likely to double down on the Ukrainian military and not take into account civilian casualties.” Burns stated. “He has no sustainable political endgame in the face of what is going to continue to be fierce resistance from Ukrainians.”

Burns, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, said Putin calculated that Ukraine was weak and easily intimidated, that his own army would roll in to quick victory and that he had managed to “sanctions-proof” his economy, and he got it wrong on each score.

“He had been stewing in a combustible mixture of grievances and ambition for many, Burns stated.

The exodus of civilians from Ukraine has reached 2 million in just two weeks. This is according to the United Nations. Relentless Russian assaults have led to snowballing humanitarian crises and a rush to flee Europe’s biggest land war in 75 years. It remains to be seen if the airstrikes and shelling will stop long enough for all those who wish to flee. Two cease-fires that were in place before quickly fell apart, causing thousands to flee their homes or shelters in cities with no water, power or food supply.

And there was no relief for the beleaguered areas that were not covered by the agreement to establish so-called humanitarian corridors. Mykolaiv was the latest victim to Russian forces’ attempts to seize control of Ukraine’s southern coast to block access to the Azov and Black seas.

People flee the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which has been pounded by invading Russian forces.

(Associated Press)

The evacuations from Sumy and Mariupol were to begin Tuesday morning after Russian and Ukrainian negotiators agreed on exit routes. The video showed refugees boarding buses at Sumy, a town near the Russian border that has a large number of foreign students. Residents could decide to travel south to Poltava or Russia.

From Mariupol, a city of 430,000 people that has been surrounded and pounded for days by Russian troops, buses were given the green light to travel northwest to Zaporizhzhia or to Russia. Officials in Ukraine accused Russian forces of breaking the cease-fire by continuing to shell.

“Russian forces are now shelling the humanitarian corridor from Zaporizhzhia to Mariupol,” Oleg Nikolenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, said on Twitter. “Pressure on Russia MUST step up to make it uphold its commitments.”

The setback frustrated the estimated 200,000 Mariupol residents — almost half the city’s population — who are desperate to flee dire conditions that have included accounts of doctors performing emergency procedures without painkillers or antibiotics in hospitals struggling to source basic drugs. “It’s been seven days without any utility. Without water, heat.” Mariupol’s deputy Mayor, Sergei Orlov told the BBC. “People want to find something to eat, and it’s difficult.”

Orlov said the constant Russian shelling and rocket fire had destroyed schools, blood-donation stations and other civilian infrastructure, and made it impossible for people even to collect and count the dead.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said that 30 buses had been dispatched from Zaporizhzhia to deliver water, food staples and medicines to Mariupol. If conditions permit, the buses will be used for evacuation of residents who want to leave.

Kyiv was reportedly meeting with Moscow to discuss other safe routes in Ukraine. This would include out of Kharkiv (the country’s second largest city), which has been under constant attack for being a Russian target. Both Ukrainian and Western leaders had lambasted Moscow’s offer Monday of evacuation corridors leading to Russia or its ally Belarus, calling it a cynical move that would deliver refugees to the countries that drove them from their homes in the first place. The launchpad for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was in Belarus. Zelensky said that he would remain in Kyiv to protect his people and lead them.

“I’m staying here in Kyiv … as long as needed to win this war, our national war,” he said Tuesday in one of his frequent video addresses, adding: “Right to life for everyone — that is what we are fighting for in Ukraine.”

Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said more than 400 civilian deaths have been recorded so far in the war, including 38 children, although “these data are definitely incomplete.” He also said that Russian attacks have destroyed 34 hospitals, more than 200 Ukrainian schools and 1,500 residential buildings. The figures cannot be independently verified.

Here in Kyiv, residents and soldiers are bracing for an onslaught by the huge column of Russian tanks and armored vehicles that has apparently stalled just north of the capital. Officials from the West believe the convoy is struggling with logistical issues, including fuel shortages, and that it is trying regroup to either take over the capital or to mount an offensive against it. The Ukrainian military claimed that a Russian general was killed during an attack on the convoy. Moscow has not yet commented on this claim.

In Irpin, a suburb northwest of Kyiv, the opposing forces traded artillery and mortar fire even as civilians continued to evacuate from the area. Russian troops have seized a portion of the town which is on the vital route to Kyiv.

The mayor, Oleksandr Markushyn stated on his official Facebook page, that Russian “occupiers”, had sent a threat to him and asked him to surrender. He wrote, “I’m shocked that these monsters still don’t understand — Irpin won’t give up.”

Diplomatic efforts have continued even as the fighting rages. On Thursday, the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers will meet in Turkey to discuss the most important issues between them. Although there have been some improvements in humanitarian issues, three rounds of lower-level talks, including Monday’s, have not seen any indications of a political retreat from either side.

Putin said he would carry out his “special army operation” until the end and that only a complete surrender by Ukraine to his demands could stop the fighting. He says Ukraine must “de-militarize,” root out the alleged “neo-Nazis” in its leadership — though Zelensky is Jewish — and pledge never to try to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the European Union.

Kyiv and its Western supporters dismiss these demands as either fantasy or an inexcusable denial that Ukraine is a sovereign nation with the right to determine its destiny and its relations.

“Every country should have its sovereignty respected,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said Tuesday during a visit to Estonia on a quick tour through the Baltics to reassure nervous countries sitting in Russia’s shadow. “Every country should be free to choose its future, its policies and with whom it will associate.” And that’s what’s at stake when it comes to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.”

Later, Blinken flew to Paris and met with French President Emmanuel Macron. According to the State Department, they “combined notes on ongoing diplomacy in relation to the Ukraine crisis.”

Bulos reported from Kyiv and Chu from London. This report was contributed by Tracy Wilkinson, Laura King, and Sarah D. Wire from Washington.

Originally published here: https://topnewsbuzz.com/ukraines-refugee-tally-hits-2-million-zelensky-calls-russia-a-terrorist-state/

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‘Now it’s no mercy,’ Ukrainian soldiers vow, as a showdown with Russian forces nears

IRPIN, Ukraine —

Jackson is a singer.

He laughed, leaned back, and looked away for a moment before he launched into a creditable rendition of Nina Simone’s. Birds flying high, you know how I feel . .

He laughed, leaned back, looked away for a moment and — just when it seemed he wasn’t going to do anything at all — launched into a creditable rendition of Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good”:

Birds flying high, you know how I feel Sun in the sky, you know how I feel

Jackson’s voice rolled through the “-ow” in “know” with a guttural tinge. He was cheered on by his fellow fighters right up to the point where the brass blast was supposed sound. As if on cue the whistle-pause boom of artillery and mortars sounded, it was then that the battle began.

Ukrainian soldiers stay in their trenches to prepare for an assault by Russian forces in Irpin, Ukraine.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

The men ducked into the trench, hands scrabbling at the soil as they pressed themselves into the side. One beat later, one of the men gave the all-clear and the men stood up. They dusted off their feet and resumed the relaxed chatter of soldiers awaiting their last stand.

Russian troops had tried for days to storm through Irpin from Hostomel Airport to the capital, Kyiv. The tsunami had not yet arrived; the slow progress of the forces surprised the Ukrainians who attributed it to Russian ineptitude. It was there gathering force and collecting tanks, armored vehicles, and other vehicles to drive into Kyiv.

The first wave struck Bucha, a town just north of Irpin, where stiff Ukrainian resistance turned a highway into a charnel house of brown-singed armor and Russian dead. Then came the whistle-pause-boom. They decimated houses, shearing power, and water lines.

Irpin wasn’t spared. But not anymore. The inaccurate and long reach of mortars and artillery extended beyond Irpin’s southern entry, to the bridge that was blown up by Ukrainian forces in order to stop the Russian advance. Families still trickled out onto the P30 highway to Kyiv, many of them juggling an eclectic assortment of backpacks, cloth bags and trolleys, others tending to the very old or very young, explosions accompanying them all the way.

They were some of the last holdouts among Irpin’s 62,000 people. They described Russian tanks in the streets and the rush to get away from their neighbors who were hit by a shell while trying to escape.

Residents evacuate as Russian forces bombard the town of Irpin, outside the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

At the roundabout on the southern edge of town, you couldn’t hear any of those skirmishes. It was difficult to hear the whistle-pauseboom overhead.

The residents who kept emerging like apparitions on the smoke-filled highway dragged their luggage along asphalt, sand, grass, mud, down whatever path they thought would maximize their chances of making it through the maelstrom of projectiles — the Russian roulette version of a Sunday walk.

What do you do if the whistle-pause boom comes your way? It’s a numbers game. You first need to find somewhere to hide. This is best done in a side ditch filled with soil. Shell burrows are deeper than shell burrows, which reduces the chance of shrapnel being sprayed. People often keep their eyes closed, allowing their brains to process split-seconds of aural data. How fast and how often does it occur? What’s the duration of the pause? Is there a boom? Is the boom safe?

Maybe I’m foolish, maybe I’m blind Thinking I can see through this, and see what’s behind

Jackson, 28, continued singing, not missing a beat even when a barrage started up again at the line: “I’m only human after all — don’t put your blame on me.”

Jackson, whose real name is Jeka Stecenko, first saw combat in 2014, when Russian-backed separatists snatched parts of eastern Ukraine, igniting a conflict that has killed more than 14,000 people but that had — until Moscow’s full-scale invasion — simmered down to a few casualties per month. He joined a marine platoon and spent months exchanging sniper bullets and mortar rounds across the contact line that divides eastern Ukraine.

Soldiers help civilians evacuate Sunday as Russian forces continue to bombard the town of Irpin, Ukraine.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

After that, Jackson moved to Sweden to further his singing career. He built a new life, like most of the men in his unit of military veterans — men like Vladimir, an unassuming 30-year-old standing by a black sniper rifle, who had since become a clean-energy businessman. He did not give his first name, as many soldiers interviewed said, for security reasons or privacy.

When the invasion began 12 days ago, Jackson and the others from his old platoon got in touch and decided to form a sort of roving squad that, on Sunday, was attached to the ragtag collection of troops trying to defend Irpin. They positioned themselves near the southern roundabout and began digging trenches on the sidewalk. Machine guns, rocket-propelled bombers, and the heavy dumbbell of an anti-tank missile from Britain NLAW were scattered around them.

For Vladislav, one of the platoon’s younger members at 26, who used to do remote work as an IT programmer with a company in Santa Monica, the fight felt different from 2014.

“Think of what Russians do. He said that the scale of the attack was not changing, but it is still much larger. His house was less than one mile away from the place he stood vigil.

Michael Pestovsky takes cover from incoming Russian artillery fire Sunday in Irpin, Ukraine.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

“What changed is that in 2014 we saw them as brothers — we weren’t ready for the fight. Now it’s no mercy: We’re ready to destroy them.”

Also, the 2014 war was confined to the east, more than a day’s drive from Kyiv, in a part of the country that a fair number of people had accepted would probably never return to Ukrainian government control. In many ways, Vladislav and his friends were unwanted fighters in an increasingly unpopular war; even after the 2016 mass demobilization in Ukrainian army ranks, a number of veterans never really gave up the fight, at least mentally.

They were even less appreciated in the east, where much of the population is ethnic Russian, members of the group that Russian President Vladimir Putin claims to be defending with the “special military operation” — the invasion — he launched Feb. 24.

“People were being bombed. Vladislav stated that especially the older people were being bombed.

He added that his father, who lives in the Russia-annexed province of Crimea, told him that TV channels in Russia claimed the Ukrainian government spent years attacking civilians living under the separatists, and that Putin came to punish them.

“Now? This attitude was completely changed. My mother-in-law says, ‘Kill them all.’ All the people I know, even members of the opposition party that supports Russia, they’re now pro-Ukrainian,” Vladislav said, passing down a plastic container full of pelmeni, Russian dumplings, to Michael “Mig” Pestovsky, a 31-year-old captain in a beret and full uniform.

“Yeah, they say on Russian TV channels we eat Russian babies here,” Pestovsky said, chomping down on a pelmeni. Smiling, he said that he preferred vareneki — the Ukrainian version of the dish — but that the pelmeni he was having now were tasty, “because they’re filled with Russian meat.”

Pestovsky, a big rap fan who friends say occasionally posted videos of himself performing on Instagram, seemed relaxed, even jovial, despite the continuous fire overhead and the knowledge that the Russians were ever closer.

He cocked his ears at an explosion somewhere behind him, then brightened up and said: “Nasha.” Ours.

Ukrainian soldiers stand guard against Russian troops Sunday in Irpin, Ukraine.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

“I’m not saying it’s great to be back fighting,” he said, turning to look at those in the trench. “But with them, it’s great.”

Inside a nearby building commandeered as a headquarters, Marine Capt. Lymon, a tall man bristling with the hardware befitting the professional soldier he was, conferred with Vladimir Korotya, a 30-year-old deputy administrator from Bucha’s City Council. They were responsible for coordinating different squads with other units in the town.

They were a mismatched couple: Lymon, a blond, clean-shaven man, returned last month to the U.S. for a military course. Korotya, a swarthy, bearded woman, opened a notebook filled with pictures of women wearing bikinis and drew a map of Russian positions. As he was discussing possible maneuvers, he switched between the walkie-talkie and a map on his phone. I command my personal army. Here we have territorial defense forces, we have airborne, we have marines,” he said, showing a reporter a picture of a sign in Bucha that read, “Welcome to hell.” He wanted “the Russians to see it.”

The enemy wasn’t succeeding as quickly as expected, he surmised, because they didn’t know the area. His soldiers were agile, could maneuver faster than their enemies and score hits even when they were under fire. What about invading aircraft and helicopters?

A Ukrainian soldier pets a dog as he and his comrades await a showdown with invading Russian forces.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

“They’re using them, but they’re careful because we’re shooting them down,” he said.

The rat-a-tattat of sustained fire outside was reflected through the windows. Soldiers fired on a drone that they saw flying in the cloudy sky.

Around Korotya, his men were removing dirt from their shoes or adjusting their armor vests and weapons. One soldier sliced thick bread slices and spooned orange pearls of Spets Posol caviar onto them. This was a gift from a local resident. The cans still had their supermarket tags.

Lymon took a bite and ate it slowly. His blue eyes were alert, but he looked tired. He said, “All I can think of is that I need a shower.”

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By Monday, the Russians had taken half of Irpin, and the fight, he knew, was only going to get worse. It was clear that the Russians had enough troops to overpower any resistance the Ukrainians could put up.

“We’re going to try burn them. We will fight until the end. He said, “What choice do we have?”

To one side stood Dmytro, 35, gazing at a picture of his daughter, 7-month-old Diana, on his smartphone. His uniform showed that he was not comfortable in it, as did his demeanor.

” I’m proud to be a part of this team. He said, “But I’m fighting to protect Diana.” It was difficult. But better that she be without a father than without a future.”

Outside, the whistle-pause-boom sounded once more. Sunday’s barrage resulted in eight civilian deaths. Monday brought another victim. A shell struck the bridge that runs south of Irpin, killing a cyclist. He was lying on his back, with his bike behind him. His face was turned towards the twisted metal bridge that led nowhere.

Originally published here: https://topnewsbuzz.com/now-its-no-mercy-ukrainian-soldiers-vow-as-a-showdown-with-russian-forces-nears/

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WCC Tournament Final: Saint Mary’s vs. Gonzaga, live stream, TV channel, time, NCAA college basketball

The St. Mary’s Gaels will take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs at the WCC Tournament Final in Orleans Arena on Tuesday night.

St. Mary’s is coming off a 75-72 win over Santa Clara yesterday to punch their ticket to the final while improving to 25-6 on the year. Meanwhile, Gonzaga comes into tonight’s matchup with a 25-3 record on the season after knocking off the 4-seed in San Francisco on Monday night.

Tune in to the WCC Tournament Final tonight. Here’s everything you need to stream and watch the game.

2# Saint Mary’s against #1 Gonzaga

When: Tuesday, March 8

Time: 9: 00 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

NCAA Basketball Odds and Betting Lines

NCAA Basketball odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook. Odds last updated Tuesday at 7: 05 p.m. ET.

Saint Mary’s vs. Gonzaga (-12.5)

O/U: 139.5

Want to see some college basketball action? Make legal sports wagers on this and other games in CO or NJ.

We recommend interesting sports viewing/streaming and betting opportunities. We may receive a referral fee if you sign up by clicking on one of these links. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

Originally published here: https://topnewsbuzz.com/wcc-tournament-final-saint-marys-vs-gonzaga-live-stream-tv-channel-time-ncaa-college-basketball/

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Nicolae Negumereanu wants to be more active after recent two-year break from fighting

LAS VEGAS – Nicolae Negumereanu beat Kennedy Nzechukwu with a split decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 272 in Las Vegas.

Take a look at the fight with Negumereanu who won for the third time in a row since his only career loss three years ago.

Negumereanu on the fight’s key moment

Mar 5, 2022; Las Vegas, Nevada, UNITED STATES; Nicolae Negumereanu (red gloves) fights Kennedy Nzechukwu (blue gloves) during UFC 272 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

“It wasn’t a unanimous decision, but it was in my favor at the end. So I’m happy with this .”

Negumereanu on multiple eye pokes

Mar 5, 2022; Las Vegas, Nevada, UNITED STATES; Nicolae Negumereanu (red gloves) reacts in his fight with Kennedy Nzechukwu (not pictured) during UFC 272 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

” To be completely honest, I believed that my eye had been very, very badly injured. Thank God, I was able finish the fight. My eye was cleared by the doctor and I was able to continue the fight .”

Negumereanu on what he wants next

” I really want to have two more fights this year. Two years (from 2019-2021) was too long of a break.”

To hear more from Negumereanu after the fight, watch the video below.

Originally published here: https://topnewsbuzz.com/nicolae-negumereanu-wants-to-be-more-active-after-recent-two-year-break-from-fighting/

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Poll: Was franchise tagging Cam Robinson the right move?

With the NFL’s franchise tag deadline concluding at 4 p.m. today, several players ended up being assigned one-year deals by their respective teams. One of those players was Jacksonville Jaguars left tackle Cam Robinson, who received the franchise tag for a second consecutive year in a row.

Many felt that the $16.5million price tag he had to pay was too high considering the fact that the team has the No. The No. 1 pick could be used to buy cheaper options (and possibly better). These options were Evan Neal, Ikem Ekwonu and Ikem Neal, who seem unlikely candidates to be taken as the first overall pick.

For whatever reason, Trent Baalke, the Jags general manager, decided to keep the former Alabama tackle. He will receive a 20% raise in his pay. His $16.5million salary, which includes all insurance in case of injury, gives him the seventh highest average league position at his position. He’ll also be the Jags’ highest cap hit (for now).

While it is expensive, the Jags can still bring Robinson back and have one less thing to do in the offseason. This is huge because they have so many issues this offseason.

The Jags can now take Aidan Hutchinson and Kayvon Thibodeaux, which could help their defense. It could be significant, depending on who you ask. Some draft experts believe that either one of them is the best player in the draft. They could help a defense that was 20th last season.

The Jags’ front office believed that Robinson would be the best option at the moment. However, the tag could be revoked or the Jags could trade him. We would love to hear your thoughts on this matter from all of you at home. Please comment below and fill out the poll to let us know your thoughts.

Originally published here: https://topnewsbuzz.com/poll-was-franchise-tagging-cam-robinson-the-right-move/

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Summit League Championship: North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State, live stream, TV channel, time, NCAA college basketball

The Summit League Championship will be held on Tuesday night between the South Dakota State Jackrabbits and the North Dakota State Bison.

North Dakota State comes into tonight’s matchup having won 12 of their last 14 games after knocking off Oral Roberts by 20 points yesterday. As for South Dakota State, they come into this game on a 20-game winning streak and looking to capture the Summit League title.

Learn how to stream and watch the Summit League Championship game on Tuesday night.

North Dakota State

When: Tuesday, March 8

Time: 9: 00 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN2

Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

NCAA Basketball Odds and Betting Lines

NCAA Basketball odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook. Odds last updated Tuesday at 1: 05 p.m. ET.

North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State (-5.5)

O/U: 147.5

Want to see some college basketball action? Make legal sports wagers on this and other games in CO or NJ.

Originally published here: https://topnewsbuzz.com/summit-league-championship-north-dakota-state-vs-south-dakota-state-live-stream-tv-channel-time-ncaa-college-basketball/

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Nicholas Goldberg: Another thing that makes Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination special

Over the years, many ex-prosecutors have been made justices on the U.S. Supreme Court. Earl Warren was, for example, Alameda County’s district attorney. He also served as California’s attorney general. Sonia Sotomayor was employed at the Manhattan district attorneys’ office. Samuel A. Alito Jr. was a U.S. Attorney in New Jersey.

But, if she is confirmed Ketanji brown Jackson will be the Supreme Court’s only modern-day public defender.

This may not seem like much, but it is a significant accomplishment considering her other claim to fame, being the first Black woman to be nominated for the court.

But this matters. Jackson was not like her potential colleagues Alito or Sotomayor. Her job was to defend the accused, at the government’s expense, when they couldn’t afford lawyers. It’s a completely different experience.

Opinion Columnist

Nicholas Goldberg

Nicholas Goldberg served 11 years as editor of the editorial page and is a former editor of the Op-Ed page and Sunday Opinion section.

In a normal country in normal times, the U.S. senators considering her nomination would see that on her resume, thank her for her public service, praise her dedication to the poor and to the law, and note the value of diversity of experience on the federal bench. Instead, Republicans on Senate Judiciary Committee will treat her years as Washington’s public defender as a negative and suggest that she would approve of the crimes of criminals if she were to defend them for a living.

Why does it seem like they will do that? Because that’s what they did last year when she was nominated to be a federal appeals court judge.

During the confirmation process last April, Jackson was asked a series of skeptical questions by Sens. Ben Sasse (R-Neb. ), Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Tom Cotton (R-Ark.). Among others. What made her choose to become a federal public defense? Did she not worry that her work would lead to more violent criminals returning to the streets? Did it really turn out that she was a Guantanamo Bay terrorist? Do you think she would have preferred to resign from her job than continue?

Oh! The sanctimony! All Jackson had done was represent her clients as required by her government job, which, for the record, she held for only a couple of years ending 15 years ago. The Republicans refused to stop talking about the matter.

Jackson replied straight away. She stated that she became a public defender in order to assist people in need and promote the “core constitutional value”, which states that the government cannot put people in jail without first proving their criminal charges.

“Every person who is accused of criminal conduct by the government, regardless of wealth and despite the nature of the accusations, is entitled to the assistance of counsel,” she said. The belief that defense lawyers should judge the clients they represent, is common, but dangerous and wrongheaded, especially when it comes to a public Defender.

Public defenders represent suspects of murder, drug dealing, terrorists, and other people that the rest of us would prefer not to have in our lives.

But this is their job. This is the promise of the U.S. Constitution. American law is based on the principle that criminal defendants who are innocent until proven guilty will be afforded a fair and robust defense.

Trials would not be open-and-shut trials, but trials without lawyers representing the accused. An accusation is equivalent to conviction. It is a credit to Jackson that a young lawyer would rather defend clients in a federal public defense office than rushing into lucrative private practice.

We need more of these people at all levels of the bench. As Sen. Cory Booker (D.N.J.), put it, they are “urgently required”. He said, “I believe it is noble work.”

At the moment there are three former prosecutors on the nine-member Supreme Court. By contrast, the last justice who had any background in criminal defense at all was Thurgood Marshall, who was appointed to the court more than 50 years ago.

According to the Alliance for Justice, before Joe Biden took office, only three of the 166 judges sitting on the federal courts of appeals had spent the majority of their careers as lawyers working as state or federal public defenders. Of course, not all ex-prosecutors are hard-on-crime conservatives and not all defense lawyers and public defenders can be described as liberal softies. However, a judge’s personal experience can influence how they view the world and think about the law. The Supreme Court and other federal courts regularly hear cases about the constitutional rights and powers of prosecutors and criminal defendants. They consider such things as the prosecution’s obligation to turn over exculpatory evidence to the defense, what constitutes an unreasonable search, whether a lawyer provided adequate counsel and what is the modern-day meaning of “cruel and unusual punishment” or “due process of law.”

“There is a direct line from my defender experience to what I do on the bench, and I think it’s beneficial,” Jackson said in 2021. Jackson didn’t mention (and I doubt that’s true) that she became a bleeding heart pushover for defendants. She said that the experience taught her to communicate with defendants and use their names to explain what was happening and the reason she was imposing the sentence. It sounds like she made defendants feel humane by working with them.

The Biden administration, to its credit, has been consciously seeking judicial nominees whose legal experience has been, as White House Counsel Dana Remus put it, “historically underrepresented on the federal bench, including those who are public defenders, civil rights and legal aid attorneys.”

If the Republicans could stop that, I have no doubt they would. Let’s pray they don’t.

@Nick_Goldberg

Originally published here: https://topnewsbuzz.com/nicholas-goldberg-another-thing-that-makes-ketanji-brown-jacksons-nomination-special/

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How badly will Russia’s war torpedo hopes for global climate cooperation?

Even before Russia invaded Ukraine the chances of industrial countries coming together to swiftly reduce greenhouse gas emissions was slim. With Russia threatening the world order, international climate action advocates say that their cause is becoming more difficult as the consequences of global warming are getting more dire.

In the latest international climate report ,, published before the invasion, the United Nations warned of a world at risk. Rising waters are likely to overwhelm coastal cities, and wildfires will increase in size, frequency and intensity.

The report offered some hope, however, by noting that countries could still work together to reduce emissions and preserve forests as well as collaborate on mitigation efforts.

Now, consensus and widespread cooperation seem less likely, at least for the short term. Scientists already report a reduction in communication and shared research with Russian counterparts. Scientists and policymakers agree that Russia’s aggression will impede international efforts to reach consensus on climate-related issues and instead focus on other matters.

” The war will distract from climate action around world,” said Rob Jackson of Stanford University, an Earth system scientist and expert on global greenhouse emissions. He said that Russia is a major country in any international agreement to reduce emissions, even though it has been slow to phase out fossil fuels.

With its enormous energy fields, Russia is the world’s fourth-largest source of greenhouse gases, the third-largest supplier of coal and the largest emitter of methane — a gas that dissipates faster in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide but is 25 times as potent in trapping heat.

When Scotland hosted the COP25 climate summit late last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin declined to attend. At that summit, the Biden administration and the European Union launched the Global Methane Pledge, aimed at cutting emissions by 30% by 2030. More than 110 nations have since signed the pledge, but Russia has declined, as have China, India and Australia, among others.

Russia tried to sell more coal and gas to China even before the conflict. China was Russia’s ally in resisting U.S. power in Europe and Asia. Some analysts believe that China might be more willing to buy Russian gas and coal in order to help Russia weather Western sanctions.

The war could also bring some climate benefits. Many European countries are heavily dependent on Russian natural gases. They may now be more willing to invest in clean energy, as well as transition to electric-powered vehicles.

Kristine Bernzina, senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund and head of its geopolitics team — a think-tank in Washington — stated that the invasion has made it a moral imperative for countries to shift away from Russian energy and towards cleaner technologies.

“The European Union will push hard to remove Europe from Russian fossil fuels,” she stated. As long as European nations are still buying oil and gas from Russia, they are “funding the war machine.”

Up until recently, the Arctic was one region where Russia and Europe were making headway on climate concerns, but now those efforts are also in doubt.

Russia currently chairs the Arctic Council ,, one of few diplomatic venues where climate cooperation has tended t flourish, according to Marisol Maddox (senior Arctic analyst, Polar Institute of Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington). In addition to six Indigenous organizations, delegates from six countries, including the United States, Canada and Iceland, Greenland, Denmark (Greenland), Norways, Sweden, Finland and the United States, are also present at this intergovernmental forum. As climate change opens up spoils that were once under ice and snow — fishes, metals, oil, gas and new passageways — Arctic countries see opportunities, but also have incentives to work together to avoid conflict. Russia controls roughly half of the Arctic coastline, and goods and services from the region make up 20% of its gross domestic product. Russia also holds strategic military interests in the Arctic region. However, the Arctic Council explicitly excludes military issues from its deliberations. Maddox stated that this has allowed the council to keep its focus on areas mutually beneficial, such as sustainable development, scientific research, and other issues.

From these proceedings, Norway & Sweden funded a project to clean up abandoned dumpsites on Russia’s Kola peninsula. Another project was led by Finland and Iceland to share and develop technologies to reduce carbon black carbon (or soot) This form of pollution can cause severe damage to snow and ice by coating them with heat-absorbing dust. Maddox stated that

“Russia has benefited from Arctic cooperation. “They want and need that type of cooperation to continue.”

Whether it will continue is highly unlikely, at least for the near term. According to Evan Bloom, an architect and founder the Arctic Council, the war has forced meetings of the council into hiatus. On Thursday, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the United States issued a joint declaration saying they would not attend council meetings in Russia, because it had violated “core principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Since the war started, Russian and U.S. researchers in the Bering and Chukchi seas — which are bordered by the two countries — have had to cease communications for fear of inadvertently harming one another.

Information about Arctic animal migrations, movements of fish stocks, water temperature and ice extent are critical for scientists studying climate changes, partly so they can share information with people in the region dependent on these resources for food.

” We have resisted contacting our Russian colleagues after the invasion, as we believe Zoom and internet exchanges are possible to monitor,” stated Lee Cooper, an environmental scientist and oceanographer at the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science. His colleagues and he have collaborated with international teams, including the Russians, on projects that facilitate Arctic research collaboration and information sharing.

Now, he says, his team worries their Russian friends could “get into any trouble because they are communicating with Americans.”

In recent years, public opinion surveys have shown that Russian people are growing increasingly concerned about climate change, although not as fearful — or willing to make sacrifices — as their European counterparts. In the far north wildfires are more common and fish stocks have moved. Permafrost has thawed underneath roads, buildings, and pipelines, causing destruction and buckling.

It remains to be seen whether public concern over warming will influence Russian leaders towards more climate-friendly policies. They are focusing on using their military might and domestic security apparatus to overthrow Ukraine. More than 6,400 Russians have been arrested in antiwar protests since the invasion, according to news reports.

Still, some Russians are willing to takes risks to speak out, including Oleg Anisimov, Russia’s U.N. climate delegate — who publicly condemned the invasion at a Feb. 27 virtual meeting of the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

” Let me make an apology on behalf all Russians who were unable to prevent this conflict,” Anisimov was quoted as saying prior to the IPCC’s latest report. According to one delegate, Anisimov stated that climate change and the war on Ukraine “have the same roots, fossil fuels, and our dependence on them.”

Originally published here: https://topnewsbuzz.com/how-badly-will-russias-war-torpedo-hopes-for-global-climate-cooperation/

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Civilian suffering intensifies as new Russian-Ukrainian talks fail to yield breakthrough

KYIV, Ukraine —

A dozen days into a devastating war and a burgeoning refugee crisis, Russian forces on Monday launched withering new attacks on civilian areas and strategic centers in Ukraine, seeking to cripple the country’s defenses and establish supremacy over its vital Black Sea coast.

Despite the humanitarian crisis in besieged Ukrainian towns and cities, representatives from both sides held a third round negotiations Monday. However, they did not report any progress towards ending Europe’s longest-running ground war in decades. One Ukrainian negotiator said that there were some “small positive changes” in logistical arrangements for establishing humanitarian corridors by Tuesday.

Earlier Monday, for the third time since the weekend, Russia announced a new cease-fire to allow civilians to escape four beleaguered Ukrainian cities, but there was little sign that its forces would honor that pledge. Some cities and towns saw their power, water, and food diminish and then run out.

Shelling attacks drew closer to the outskirts of the capital, Kyiv, even as a massive Russian convoy remained at a near-standstill less than 20 miles to the north. The city bristled with makeshift defenses — sandbags, old tires, tree branches — as its mayor, Vitali Klitschko, vowed that defenders would fight to the death at “every house, every street, every checkpoint.”

Although the scale of suffering grows daily, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s apparent aim — to swiftly bludgeon Ukraine into submission — appears to be foundering, even if he ultimately brings its leadership to heel.

Western military analysts and officials have cited a plethora of factors, including Russian forces’ supply problems, low troop morale and tactical blunders — in combination with a furious Ukrainian defense, by regular and irregular fighters, which clearly surpassed Kremlin expectations. The Ukrainian military claimed that it had shot down two Russian warplanes flying over Kyiv late Monday. A senior U.S. defense officer said Monday that there was evidence that Russia wanted to recruit Syrians for its Ukraine military effort.

But, the Russians are bringing vastly better firepower into the fight, particularly in their assault in the south. A senior Pentagon official who briefed reporters Monday said nearly 100% of the Russian troops pre-positioned by Putin outside Ukraine were now involved. The Russian forces can compensate for their inability to reach certain areas by using tactics like bombardment or airstrikes. However, civilians will still be the most affected. The Biden administration has, however, sought to support European allies, particularly those on NATO’s Eastern flank. The Pentagon said Monday that it had deployed 500 additional troops to Europe in support roles such as refueling. As the Russian offensive intensifies, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are still trapped in their homes. Some have even died trying to flee.

Russia has proposed corridors of evacuation that would funnel refugees to Russia and to its ally Belarus, from which Russian troops rolled into northern Ukraine. This proposal was met with vehement criticism from Western and Ukrainian officials.

” This is an unacceptable option to open humanitarian corridors,” Irina Vereshchuk, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister, stated at a news conference. Alternative routes have been suggested by the Ukrainian government.

“Providing evacuation routes into the arms of the country that is currently destroying yours is a nonsense,” said James Cleverly, Britain’s minister for Europe. French President Emmanuel Macron deemed the Russian offer “political and moral cynicism.”

Almost all of the more than 1.7 million people who have escaped Ukraine in the last two weeks have gone west, to countries such as Poland and Hungary, in what the United Nations’ refugee agency chief called the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. The exodus amounts to almost 4% of Ukraine’s entire population — akin to about 12.7 million Americans fleeing the United States.

Another southern Ukrainian city, Mykolaiv, awoke to renewed shelling Monday, Mayor Oleksandr Senkevich wrote on Facebook — a pounding that continued long into the day. The regional governor stated that the defenders had resisted a Russian attack after days of pitched fighting in the city’s outskirts.

” They are running away,” Vitaliy Kim, the governor, posted on Facebook.

Taking over Mykolaiv has been a Russian objective for several days, as the city could serve as a key staging ground for a large-scale offensive against Odesa, which lies about 75 miles to the southwest and is Ukraine’s most vital access point to the Black Sea.

Evacuees prepare to board buses Sunday after the Ukrainian town of Irpin, outside Kyiv, was bombarded by Russian artillery.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Senkevich accused Russian forces of deliberately targeting civilian apartment buildings, saying that attacks overnight had left wide swaths of Mykolaiv without heat. A video was posted by Senkevich showing what appeared to be a residential building with its center darkened by a blazing flame, presumably from a shell.

Emergency crews were at work restoring service, he said. He warned residents to keep away from unexploded ordnance until they could be removed.

Reflecting the desperate circumstances facing civilians in suburbs northwest of Kyiv, authorities in Bucha, a town recently taken over by the Russian army, told residents to not try to escape on their own. According to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, the mayor of the town was injured while trying to create a safe corridor.

“We emphasize and warn that if you try to evacuate yourself, the chances of survival are 50/50,” said a post on the Bucha City Council’s official Facebook page. “DO NOT evacuate on your own!”

Both the two failed cease-fires had included the southern port city of Mariupol, where officials say Russian pummeling has taken a grievous toll in human life and on key infrastructure, cutting off water, electricity and food and medical supplies. Nearly half the city’s 430,000 residents are trying to flee, according to one estimate, but only a small fraction have succeeded.

In Kharkiv, the nation’s second-largest city, authorities said Monday that 209 people there, more than half of them civilians, have been killed since the invasion began.

Ukrainian refugees gather at the main train station in Przemysl, Poland, on Sunday.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Putin has repeatedly insisted that he would end hostilities only if Kyiv capitulates to all his demands, which include accepting the loss of Crimea, which Russia seized in 2014, Ukraine’s “demilitarization” and a renunciation of any intention to try to join NATO. Zelensky, for his part, has pleaded with NATO to create a no fly zone over Ukraine. This was after he became increasingly furious at its refusal to grant his demands. These include accepting the loss of Crimea, which Russia seized in 2014, and renunciation of any intention to join NATO.

Russian forces have been seeking to home in on Ukrainian airstrips and airfields; Zelensky said the airport at Vinnytsia, about 120 miles southwest of Kyiv, had been “completely destroyed.”

In a video address Monday, the Ukrainian president also called for an international boycott of Russian oil, one of Moscow’s most important sources of revenue. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D. San Francisco) stated Sunday that U.S. lawmakers were considering such a ban. Heavy Western sanctions have already delivered a blow to Russia’s economy, with the ruble plunging in value, multinational companies pulling out and the Moscow stock exchange all but frozen, and some U.S. officials have called for more.

“We’re raising the cost on the Kremlin and all who aid and enable it for continuing this war of choice,” Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said Monday during a visit to Lithuania, adding: “We want this to come to a stop as quickly as possible, which is why we’ll continue to increase pressure on Russia, continue to support Ukraine.”

Putin warned over the weekend that the West’s economic crackdown was close to a “declaration of war.” He launched the incursion baselessly claiming that Ukraine’s democratically elected leadership was a neo-Nazi cabal bent on wiping out ethnic Russians in the country’s east.

On Monday, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters that 2,396 “military infrastructure facilities” had been destroyed in Ukraine since the start of the “special operation” — Russia’s term for the invasion of its neighbor. The information the spokesman provided could not be independently verified.

Putin has ignored international condemnation of the invasion, and in keeping with that pattern, Russian representatives were a no-show at a hearing Monday at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, where Kyiv accused Moscow of war crimes.

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Although there is little reason to think the Kremlin would heed a call by the court to desist, Ukraine’s representative, Anton Korynevych, appealed to the judges to order Russia to halt its attacks. Putin also tried to keep the costs of the conflict under wraps. Moscow has acknowledged the deaths of nearly 500 Russian soldiers. But Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Monday that the Russian army has lost more than 11,000 service personnel, more than 1,000 tanks and armored vehicles, and more than 100 aircraft and helicopters. These figures cannot be independently verified.

The Biden administration has accused Russian troops of targeting civilians, an allegation Putin denies, although Russian forces and their proxies leveled cities during conflicts in Chechnya and Syria at the cost of thousands of lives.

With the Kremlin in effect banning independent reporting in Russia on the war, many in the country have accepted the government line on the invasion. But the war has not been without domestic opposition: Protests around the country on Sunday, from Siberia to St. Petersburg, resulted in the arrests of more than 4,600 people, according to the rights group OVD-Info.

Bulos reported from Kyiv, King from Washington and Chu from London. This report was contributed by Tracy Wilkinson, Anumita Kalur and Eli Stokols from Washington.

Originally published here: https://topnewsbuzz.com/civilian-suffering-intensifies-as-new-russian-ukrainian-talks-fail-to-yield-breakthrough/

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Vermont Maple Syrup Crawl

Photography as noted.

I spent my childhood pouring Log Cabin syrup on my Bisquick pancakes. It was inexpensive, and my parents weren’t exactly foodies. Imagine my shock when I tried to buy real maple syrup for the very first time. It was so expensive! Laura Sorkin, founder and owner of Runamok Maple, says that the price tag on the bottles makes more sense .”

Maple syrup is made from the sap of sugar maple trees and then concentrating the sugar to make maple syrup. This is a labor-intensive job, Sorkin says. “The woods crew often walk through three feet of snow with twenty-pounds of gear. Given we have 70,000 trees to tap, it can take twelve people four to six weeks to get the job done.” Betsy Luce, owner of Sugarbush Farms, adds, “As temperatures go below freezing in late February to early April, the sap is pushed up into the tree branches as it freezes and expands. The sap begins to thaw the next day and runs back down the tree’s veins. This is crucial for harvesting the sap. The sap is collected during the season. It is then boiled down to maple syrup by using different evaporation techniques. It takes approximately forty gallons to make one gallon maple syrup. Although there are many states with optimal conditions for maple syrup harvesting, Vermont is the largest producer of maple syrup in the United States.

Let’s meet some of the farms that produce this sappy goodness:

Baird Farm

Chittenden

Run by Jenna Baird, her partner, Jacob, and her father, Bob.

Tell us about the farm:

Baird Farm is a 103-year-old family farm. Maple is the main source of income. Originally, it was a dairy farm that also had maple as a side business. Today, we tap just shy of 14,000 maple trees, collect hundreds of thousands of gallons of sap each year, and boil it down into pure maple syrup in our on-site sugarhouse. Although we are a farm, we believe in sharing the experience with others.

How did you arrive to the maple syrup business?

I grew up on a farm and had an early interest in agriculture. In my teens and early twenties I worked on a family farm. After college, I pursued farming and traveled across the country with Jacob, my partner. We worked on many different organic farms under the WWOOF program. In 2015, Jacob and I had the opportunity to come back to my family’s farm. My father was my partner in the maple business. We eventually purchased the retail maple business. Jacob and I find great joy working with the land.

What are your most popular products?

Our grade A maple syrup is our most loved product. We also have three products unique to Baird Farm: a maple ketchup that is made from scratch and sweetened with maple, a wild-mint-infused maple syrup, and a wild-spruce-tip-infused maple syrup made from the trees in our woods.

What does the term “sugaring season” mean? What does the weather do to the season?

It is called sugaring because sugar makers collect sap from sugar maples and boil it down into sweet maple syrup (66.9 percent sugar). Mother Nature provides us with nights below freezing and days above freezing during the season. These freezing and The sap is released when the tree experiences a pressure change due to thawing. If temperatures get too hot, maple syrup can start to taste bitter and the buds will begin to form on the trees. It is possible to end the season early if you have too many days during the season.

For more info, visit bairdfarm.com

Runamok Maple

Fairfax + Cambridge

Owned by Eric and Laura Sorkin with roughly seventy employees.

Will you tell us about the farm?

The property we bought in Cambridge was an old sheep farm that hadn’t been farmed since the 1940s. We had a CSA (community-supported agriculture) and loved selling produce to local markets, but it wasn’t financially sustainable, so we switched to maple syrup in 2009. It was named Runamok as our business is dependent on Mother Nature and the weather, which often causes a little chaos.

What makes your company special?

Eric, and I have both received master’s degrees from environmental management. We have always strived to use the most sustainable practices in our businesses. Maple syrup production is a great example of conservation coexisting alongside agriculture. Although the sap lines run through the entire forest, they are not disturbed as natural habitat. Consequently, our 1,000 acres in Cambridge are home to numerous types of wildlife. We also installed solar panels on the roof at our production facility, which meets 100 percent of our electricity needs.

Will you talk about Sparkle Syrup?

Sparkle Syrup was born out of an unlikely idea and an unfortunate year. The FDA-approved pearlescent mica was used by our team to create a golden syrup that tasted just like maple. It was not on-brand, as we have always stressed flavor. But then, the pandemic struck. People went crazy when we announced it. We received videos from parents showing their children dancing to Sparkle Syrup.

What are some of your favorite ways to use the infused syrups?

Our smoked maple syrups taste great on sharp cheddar and blue cheese. The elderberry also works wonders on blue cheese. Maple syrup is also used in Asian cuisine quite often. One part soy sauce and one part cardamom syrup, or ginger-infused maple syrup makes an easy sauce.

For more info, visit runamokmaple.com

Silloway Maple

Randolph Center

Bette Lambert, her son, Paul, and her daughter, Marilyn, do much of the work, with two seasonal employees.

Will you tell us about the farm?

My dad and mom, Paul and Louise Silloway, bought a rundown dairy farm in central Vermont in the early 1940s and soon began maple-sugaring each spring. At that time, the operation consisted of only one bucket. In 2014, a new sugarhouse was designed and built, set facing the south, with a narrow northern roof and a large southern exposure to accommodate seventy solar panels.

What technology do you use? What technology is used to determine syrup grade?

We still boil our sap with wood. The syrup is then boiled to a certain density. It is then pumped through a filter press to remove any impurities. Finally, it is graded according to color and flavor. There are four grades in Vermont: Amber Rich, Very Dark, Dark Robust and Golden Delicate. They are made according to the day’s outside temperature. Although each grade has its own merits, all are great! I prefer lighter syrup for the table, and darker syrup for baking. All renewable resources are used, including sap, woodfire, solar power and recycled packing materials.

What are your most unusual products?

Our most unique products are our infused syrups, which include ginger, cinnamon and coffee as well as vanilla and habanero. A maple/birch mix and a bourbon barrel-aged maple syrup are also available. We now offer Maple Creamee, soft-serve icecream, flavored with our Very Dark Maple Syrup. It is a popular dessert that people travel long distances to enjoy.

For more info, visit sillowaymaple.com

Sugarbush Farm

Woodstock

Family staff is Betsy Luce; her husband, Larry; their two sons, Ralph and Jeff; a grandson, Jake; and a niece, Leslie. Seven full-time employees are also employed by them.

Will you tell us about your farm?

My parents, Jack Ayres and Marion Ayres, founded

Sugarbush Farm. They purchased a run-down 500-acre farm in 1945 having no real farming or rural-living experience. My grandparents were originally from Vermont. However, my father grew up in New York State, and eventually became a New York City worker. My mother, a New Jersey native, was born in Vermont. After reading many back-to-the land books and spending a year on a farm, my grandparents had a burning desire for Vermont. The farm is situated five miles from the village, on a hillside. The journey to the farm is a challenge as many people aren’t used to driving on unpaved backroads. We have funny signs along the last mile that read, “Don’t give up” and “Almost there.” Along this five-mile route, there are many beautiful 1800s farmsteads and stunning views.

How did you arrive at the maple-syrup business?

Larry was my high school sweetheart. He had been raised on a dairy farm and had made maple syrup with his family. By the late 1960s, we were tapping about 3,000 maple trees on our farm with some secondhand boiling pans and borrowed buckets and spouts. We were able to build a sugarhouse and purchase more modern evaporating boiling pots. As our sons Jeff and Ralph grew older, it was possible to continue expanding the number trees that we tapped.

What are your most popular products?

Our old, slightly crumbly, but very sharp cheese has a loyal following. The American Cheese Society awarded our Original Naturally Smoked Cheese the best smoked cheese award in the country. We are known for our maple syrup quality. I believe we also have several grades of maple syrup that can be used in different ways. People can try them all to find their favorite.

What is something people may not know about maple syrup?

Maple syrup must be refrigerated once it has been opened. It does not contain preservatives.

For more info, visit sugarbushfarm.com

Originally published here: https://topnewsbuzz.com/vermont-maple-syrup-crawl/

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‘Unconscionable’: Ex-Raiders coach Jon Gruden blasts NFL over request to move lawsuit to arbitration

Former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden filed a pair of oppositions in a Nevada court Friday in which he blasted the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell over its “unconscionable” request to move Gruden’s lawsuit to arbitration.

Gruden also said the NFL appeared “quite foolish” to use claims of racism against him, now that the league is facing a lawsuit from former Miami Dolphins head coach and current Steelers defensive assistant Brian Flores that alleges racism in its hiring practices. The Dolphins fired Flores in January, despite his 8-1 finish to the 2021 season.

“These statements were nothing more than hollow corporate speak when made on January 19, 2022,” Gruden argues in one of the oppositions, “but they appear quite foolish now after the torrent of revelations against the NFL and Goodell that have recently come to light. “

Both oppositions were submitted Friday in Clark County District Court. Aside from the one that was against the NFL’s motion to move the case to arbitration, the other was an opposition to the motion the NFL filed to dismiss the suit.

USA TODAY Sports obtained a copy of both.

MORE: ‘He has no one to blame but himself’: NFL moves to dismiss Jon Gruden’s lawsuit

FALLOUT: Why Jon Gruden’s lawsuit against the NFL could force league’s secrets into the open

LAWSUIT: Ex-Raiders coach Jon Gruden sues NFL, Roger Goodell over leaked emails

Gruden resigned as the head coach of the Raiders Oct. 11 after The New York Times revealed excerpts of his emails, which contained homophobic and misogynistic language. The emails were sent between 2011 and 2018 and obtained by the NFL as part of an unrelated investigation.

The Times reported that, among other things, Gruden used a homophobic slur to describe Goodell, denigrated one team’s decision to draft a gay player, mocked transgender woman Caitlyn Jenner, deprecated female referees and suggested that a player who kneeled during the national anthem should be fired.

Under the NFL’s constitution and bylaws, Goodell could theoretically serve as the arbitrator in a case that is deemed to involve conduct detrimental to the league. Gruden’s opposition against the NFL’s request to arbitrate claims that it is “unconscionable” to refer to this structure because of the power it would grant Goodell, one defendant in the case.

The opposition against the motion to move the case to arbitration also reiterated Gruden’s allegations that Goodell was directly involved in leaking knowledge of the emails to media outlets and that “the Commissioner demanded through backchannel phone calls that the Raiders fire Gruden. “

In the opposition against arbitration, Gruden and his attorneys argue that the case “is neither about Gruden’s emails nor about the NFL’s public policies or positions” but instead about the allegations that the league coerced the Raiders to fire Gruden under the threat that more emails would be leaked.

The Wall Street Journal separately reported in October that Gruden used a racist trope when describing NFL Players’ Association executive director DeMaurice Smith in a 2011 email.

The NFL obtained Gruden’s emails as part of an unrelated investigation into the culture of the Washington Commanders under owner Daniel Snyder – a probe that resulted in a $10 million fine for the team, but no written report detailing the transgressions that investigators uncovered.

Gruden was an analyst for ESPN when he sent the emails to Bruce Allen’s official team account. Allen held various senior executive positions at the Commanders during that time.

Contributing: Tom Schad and Mike Jones

Originally published here: https://topnewsbuzz.com/unconscionable-ex-raiders-coach-jon-gruden-blasts-nfl-over-request-to-move-lawsuit-to-arbitration/

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