The real story here, which most of the news outlets writing about this completely skip over, is that the city of Portland has been a mess ever since 2020. That's when police were defunded and crime began to go up sharply. And thanks to the passage of Measure 110 (also in 2020) drug use on the streets and homelessness have gotten worse as well.

[...]

For the last several months, Gov. Tina Kotek has gone through a series of steps involving a task force making recommendations about what to do about these problems. All of this was political theater designed to reach the obvious conclusion that the state needed to do something about Measure 110. And that's where we are now.

Just a few years ago, Measure 110 was sold as a bold new vision for dealing with the drug problem, one that would replace the old, harsh system of imprisoning people. The results have been a disaster.

[...]

My own take on this, having watched the downfall of Portland from afar for many years now, is that neither decriminalization nor locking people up with solve this problem because this isn't a problem that can be solved. There is no magic pill that turns homeless addicts into reformed, productive members of society. Offering clean needles and endless services won't do it and neither will putting them in jail. Even those interventions that work can't keep up with the pace of new addicts showing up on the streets.

But the addicts aren't the only ones who matter.

That's what I think the ACLU and similar activists tend to overlook. We can't solve the problem of fentanyl addiction, but we can keep the street cleaner and open for business so people who aren't fentanyl addicts have a nice place to live. We can make it possible for people with physical handicaps to move down the sidewalk rather than being forced to traverse the streets because of all the tents blocking the way.

Locking people up is a brute force means of doing that but it's better than not doing anything at all. If the choice is between lots of addicts walking around, stealing and pissing on the street and lots of addicts locked up in jail, jail is the better option for everyone else. At some point, everyone else has to matter.

You don't have to take my word for it. It's Oregon Democrats who are about to repeal Measure 110. They have learned this lesson the hard way. The new bill should pass sometime in the next 10 days.

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Survey results published on Thursday by French newspaper Le Figaro showed that 68% of respondents disapproved of Macron's comments on a possible future NATO deployment to the war-torn state, while just 31% said they agreed. The remainder, just 1%, were undecided.

Estonia is "not afraid" of Russia and thinks sending NATO ground troops to Ukraine ought to be under consideration, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has told Sky News in an interview aired on Wednesday.

So far, only Estonia and Lithuania have expressed any enthusiasm for the idea of escalating NATO support to Kiev beyond deliveries of weapons, ammunition, and money.

"We shouldn't be afraid of our own power. Russia is saying this or that step is escalation, but defense is not escalation," Kallas told Sky. "I'm saying we should have all options on the table. What more can we do in order to really help Ukraine win?"

Earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron argued that the US-led bloc should not rule out sending troops to Ukraine, or any other options. Most members of the bloc have since distanced themselves from the idea - except two of the former Soviet Baltic republics.

On Tuesday, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis urged NATO to "think outside the box." Meanwhile, the country's ambassador to Sweden, Linas Linkevicius, said the bloc would "neutralize" the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad if Moscow "dares to challenge NATO."

Addressing the US House Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, Austin once again urged lawmakers to approve additional funding for Kiev's war effort, painting a grim picture for NATO allies.

"If you are a Baltic state, you are really worried about whether you are next... And, frankly, if Ukraine falls, I really believe that NATO will be in a fight with Russia," the Pentagon chief said.

Austin went on to claim that "other autocrats around the world will look at this and will be encouraged by the fact that this happened and we failed to support a democracy."

The outlet RTVI asked Peskov to comment a report from The Times which claimed that Admiral Tony Radakin, the head of the UK armed forces, has helped make "battle plans" for Ukraine.

"In general, it's no secret that the British really provide different forms of support [to Ukraine]. People on the ground and intelligence and so on and so forth," Peskov said. "That is, they are actually directly involved in this conflict."

According to the British outlet, citing a Ukrainian military source, Radakin "is understood to have helped the Ukrainians with the strategy to destroy Russian ships and open up the Black Sea," and seen as "invaluable in coordinating support from other senior chiefs in NATO."

The admiral also reportedly visited Kiev and met with President Vladimir Zelensky, to discuss Ukraine's strategy and the ways in which the West could help.

The Kremlin doesn't have specific information related to Radakin, but "probably our military knows about this," Peskov said.

Radakin, 58, was due to retire in November after three years as chief of the defense staff, but will stay on the job for another year at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's request, the Times reported. One source told the outlet that the British government considered it important to retain "continuity" ahead of the upcoming general election.

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