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President Biden is finally calling the chaos at the southern border what it is — a crisis. The startling rhetorical turnabout came Saturday in an off-the-cuff conversation with reporters in Wilmington, Del., as Biden tried to defend his Friday flip-flop on refugee admissions. Biden said, as he headed home after playing the first golf game of his presidency:Update 19/4/2021: Hold on a minute...there's some confusion and, surprise-surprise, what he meant by 'crisis' was:"We're going to increase the number [of refugees allowed into the country]. The problem was that the refugee part was working on the crisis that ended up on the border with young people. We couldn't do two things at once. But now we are going to increase the number."In his somewhat garbled comment, Biden seemed to be saying that the strain of handling the influx of migrant children has overtaxed the nation's immigration authorities — making it impossible for them to handle an increase in authorized refugees as well. But in his justification, Biden may have given his press office a new headache, by using the very word — "crisis" — his administration, including Psaki and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, has staunchly been avoiding for months.
Arguing that President Joe Biden's words aren't the official position of his administration, the White House said his use of "crisis" was referring to something completely different and not the surge of migrants at the border.Update 19/4/2021: More sudden changes afoot?:
During a game of golf and photo-op on Saturday, Biden told reporters he hadn't raised the refugee admission cap because of "working on the crisis that ended up on the border with young people and we couldn't do two things at once," in what seemed like a straightforward description of the situation at the US-Mexico border.
Except on Monday, unnamed White House officials speaking to CNN were trying to walk back the president's words. "No, there is no change in position. Children coming to our border seeking refuge from violence, economic hardships and other dire circumstances is not a crisis."
Biden "was referring to the crisis in Central America - the dire circumstances so many are fleeing from. He was not referring to the Federal Government's response," CNN's anonymous source maintained. This was then echoed by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Monday afternoon:"The president does not feel that children coming to our border seeking refuge from violence, economic hardships, and other dire circumstances is a crisis. He does feel that the crisis in Central America - the dire circumstances that many are fleeing from - that that is a situation we need to spend our time or effort on and we need to address it if we're going to prevent more of an influx of migrants from coming in years to come."
This obsession with terminology - and the efforts to explain away Biden's own words - did not go unnoticed on the other side of the aisle. Congressman Andy Biggs (R-Arizona) tweeted that not only has Biden not visited the border, "his own administration is now walking back his own words."
Steve Guest, staffer for Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), called it "insane spin" and pointed out that, "According to the Biden White House, what Joe Biden says does not represent the official position of the Biden administration."
Joe Biden's administration has closed a migrant shelter located at a warehouse in Houston housing hundreds of unaccompanied underage girls, after media reported conditions there were "unbearable."Perhaps it's time to ask who wants to return to their own country?
The Houston area shelter operated by the National Association of Christian Churches (NACC) saw a flurry of activity over the weekend as buses arrived and departed to transfer some 500 young girls living there elsewhere. Nearly 130 of the girls were expected to be handed over to the care of a sponsor, while others were set to be transferred to different facilities or reunited with relatives.
Reports by US media suggested conditions at the 'Emergency Intake Site' were less than humane. Hundreds of girls, aged between 13 and 17 on average, spent most of their days on makeshift cots surrounded by boxes in an overcrowded warehouse-turned-shelter.
Cesar Espinoza, the head of migrant civil rights organization FIEL, who visited the facility, said the girls "were not allowed to get up, unless it was to shower, or to use the restroom. Even their meals were delivered to their cots." Espinoza also said that he saw "desperation" in the girls' eyes that was "unbearable and incredible." Another source said girls were eventually told to use plastic bags for toilets since there were not even people to accompany them to a restroom.
A White House spokesperson told the network the facility was closed because it "did not meet the Biden administration's very high standard for child welfare."
Russia's Rosatom will likely be barred from tendering for refurbishing the Dukovany nuclear power plant, the Czech industry minister said, amid scandal over a 2014 munitions depot blast, blamed by Prague on Russian intelligence.Something changed their minds since March...an 'offer' they couldn't refuse? That would be coercion.
Minister Karel Havlicek said on Sunday: "I can't imagine that Rosatom would be in the safety assessment at this moment."
Given Havlicek's statement, the contest for Dukovany project is now expected to shrink even further. In the pre-tender security assessment, companies are to describe their structure of bids and supply chain, as well as to address cybersecurity issues, among other requirements. Russia's Rosatom, was allowed to take part in the assessment, as Havlicek described Russia as "key energy partner" back in March.
According to media reports, multiple security services of the EU and NATO countries had repeatedly urged Prague to bar the Russian corporation from taking part in the contest.
Other companies allowed into the security assessment round include the French EDF, South Korean Hydro & Nuclear Power as well as the American-Canadian Westinghouse. The latter has received thinly-veiled support from Washington, which has openly called on Prague to prioritize its "national security" above everything else while picking contestants for the Dukovany tender.
"The decision on the tender for Dukovany is entirely in the Czech Republic. However, we urge the government to conduct a transparent selection process that prioritizes national security," spokesman for US embassy in Prague, Griffin Rozell, told local media earlier this month."We would like to emphasize what Secretary of State Blinken said. Beijing and Moscow are increasingly using access to critical resources, markets and technology to put pressure on our allies and drive a wedge between us. We must not separate economic coercion from other forms of coercion."Dukovany nuclear power plant covers around a fifth of the electricity consumption in the country.
"Such a war would come at a cost beyond anything we can really imagine. This is something that will directly impact...every single one of your viewers. It is a war in which there are no winners."
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