https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/24/united-nations-ukraine-resolutions-00205744
A U.S. effort to sink a draft U.N. resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine failed Monday after European countries and Kyiv marshaled support for strong language against Moscow.
The United Nations General Assembly passed the resolution with 93 countries voting in favor. The U.S. and Russia both voted against it.
https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/5157915-anti-vaxxer-movement-health-risk/?tbref=hp
“Anti-vaxxers” used to occupy a “crunchy,” hardcore lefty space filled with moms who wouldn’t let their kids eat birthday cake at parties because of the toxins. Today, this has changed. The anti-vaxx space has been firmly taken over by a political movement that believes in “health freedom” and that immunization mandates are un-American.
When we choose not to vaccinate, we aren’t just making that choice for our own children. We are putting at risk every child they come into contact with. And I’m going to guess that, as soon as a child who one of these legislators knows dies from measles, they will change their tune very quickly.
https://www.newsweek.com/republican-divisions-trump-2035698
The resolution calls for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, which has concerned lawmakers worried about the nation's growing debt. It also calls for $2 trillion in cuts to spending, which has alarmed some swing-district Republicans who worry about the impact of substantial cuts to Medicaid and other services on their constituents. It comes as the Trump campaign's pollster has sounded the alarm about the vulnerabilities congressional Republicans face ahead of next year's midterm elections.
Some conservative lawmakers oppose the level of spending cuts in the resolution.
Representatives Victoria Spartz of Indiana said on X on Sunday that she is "a NO on the current version" of the resolution and Tim Burchett of Tennessee told reporters on Monday that he was also opposed.
Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky indicated he was against the resolution, writing on X that if it passes, the deficit "gets worse, not better."
Meanwhile, some moderate Republicans—including some who represent swing districts—remain concerned about the potential cuts to Medicaid.
https://www.thefp.com/p/ukrainians-feel-betrayed-by-trump?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
‘We used to wear American flag patches on our body armor as a symbol of the land of freedom. Now, we’ve taken them off.’
Yes, the government has grown too vast and byzantine, so some of these normie workers necessarily will face the chop.
But most of the federal workers clock on for the same reasons everyone else does: just to keep a roof over the family’s heads and food on the table — not to ram progressive ideology down our throats.
Letting someone go — apart from the most obnoxious of ideologues — is no cause for celebration.
If and when Musk and his DOGE crew lay waste to the federal workforce and shut down government-funded operations around the country, remember that these people have family and friends who will suffer the financial hit.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/02/24/gop-moderates-speak-against-trump/
“If I could say one thing to Elon Musk, it’s like: Please put a dose of compassion in this,” Curtis said. “These are real people. These are real lives. These are mortgages. It’s a false narrative to say we have to cut and you have to be cruel to do it as well. We can do both.”
The meeting was rife with awkward moments. In another instance, Macron fact-checked Trump to his face after the American president claimed that Europe was “loaning” money to Ukraine.
The United Nations is no great moral arbiter of anything, but at least the United States has tried over the years to have that group of nations recognize the truth about bad actors. That wasn’t the case Monday, as the U.S. voted with Russia against a General Assembly resolution calling out Russia for its invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
What a regrettable moment. The resolution, sponsored by Ukraine and European nations, wasn’t even all that strong. It merely noted “with concern that the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation” has had “devastating and long-lasting consequences” and called for “an early cessation of hostilities.”
The resolution has no practical importance, though it does underscore Mr. Trump’s turn toward Russia in the conflict. Perhaps he thinks that telling the truth about Russia will cause Mr. Putin to walk away from the Ukraine negotiations. Ronald Reagan, who also sought peace and achieved it, never shrank from telling the truth about the Soviet Union. The truth was an essential weapon in defeating what Reagan called an “evil empire.”
Igros Moshe (YD I #42) Question Washing dishes in the sink. Is a single sink permitted? Answer: Even if you want to claim that a Bal Nefesh should be strict and not wash dishes in a single sink this is not the normative halacha to a person who only wants to do the minimum because most sinks can not actually be prohibited and thus it is not prohibited even to a Bal Nefesh. Also most times the dishes are not actually touching the sink but rest on a racks which are separate for meat and milk. Even if occasionally that the sink water rises to touch the dishes. This is only a concern lechatchilah but bedieved it is not a problem even for a Bal Nefesh. Thus even though the custom is to have separate sinks it is not prohibited to have a single sin
In conclusion, the main Ashkenazi approach is not to allow kabbalah to supersede the halacha. Indeed, R. Moshe Feinstein writes (OC 4:3) that the Arizal is to be viewed as just one of the many revered poskim, not the supreme one. This is also the opinion of even the Sephardic posek R. Ovadia Yosef in Yabia Omer (OC 9:105) and other places.
Igros Moshe (OH IV #3) Question Why did the Mishna Berura rule that a person who is awake the entire night should not say in the morning the blessing of Elokai Neshama, Bercas HaTorah and Hamavir Shaina. This is a major dispute amongst poskim and we have a rule that where there is a dispute amongst the poskim that we follow the view of Kabbala and the Ari says we should say these Berachos? Answer. It is simple and obvious that what is meant by the term Kabbala is the Zohar and Tekunei Zohar which are the words of Tannaim. While the Ari was a great man he is nonetheless just one of the many poskim that it is possible to disagree with even in Kabbala and we are not in doubt as to whom is greater. Consequently the Ari’s views are not more decisive than the other rabbis and thus in the dispute over which Berachos to say the rule is to follow the lenient view. Thus it best to hear these Berachos from another person and have in mind to fulfill the obligation in that way
A review conducted by the UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) organization into allegations by international famine review bodies that famine and severe malnutrition were widespread and prevalent in Gaza during the war between Israel and Hamas has found that famine did not break out in the territory according to the figures of the very organizations making the claims.
The report noted severe problems with the reports these organizations issued, due to what it said was their use of “incomplete or inaccurate data,” the inconsistent application of methodological standards, failure to take into account new data, and “potential bias” in how it interpreted and presented the information it had.
