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The Great Grain Grab: Ukrainian companies are facing takeover attempts by US Hedge funds 'for their own long term gain'

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

Image credit: octave @depositphotos“War has always been a racket, and it is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, and, surely, the most vicious,” said Smedley Butler, once the most decorated US Marine in history before becoming an author and anti-war advocate. Before dying in 1940, Butler said that during his 33-year military career, he was primarily “a high-class muscle man for Big Business, Wall Street, and the bankers".The war in Ukraine seems to be taking a similar path. War profiteers have already made billions of dollars from death and misery in the country. A report reveals oil companies made nearly $220 billion in profits in 2022, “a windfall of Russia`s invasion of Ukraine”, as President Joe Biden recently critiqued.When the war ends, rebuilding Ukraine will represent a trillion-dollar opportunity for US and European construction companies, who are already planning how to get their hands on those profits.Opportunist hedge funds have also emerged as significant wa...

Harriette Cole: I can’t get my home organized. What am I doing wrong?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: I’m eager to reorganize and declutter my living space. However, I have tried to do this in the past and have never been successful.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: This person’s remarks are affecting my confidence on the court Advice | Harriette Cole: I’d rather not get a new boyfriend if I can improve my current one Advice | Harriette Cole: I’m nervous about the impression I’ll make on my boyfriend’s family Advice | Harriette Cole: I’m in college, and I need my mom to stop with the panicky phone calls Advice | Harriette Cole: My boyfriend’s Instagram posts make me worried that he did something wrong What practical steps or approaches can I take to efficiently reorganize, purge belongings and create a more serene environment without feeling overwhelmed by the process?— DeclutterDEAR DECLUTTER: I will first say that this is a we...

Miss Manners: Is it vindictive to cross these people off my cookie list?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: For about a decade, my partner and I have made homemade packages of treats for about a dozen households at holiday time.Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: I wish the cleaning lady wouldn’t openly covet my belongings Advice | Miss Manners: The bride told everybody she’d be selling their gifts Advice | Miss Manners: This is way too much money for a co-worker gift. How can I get out of it? Advice | Miss Manners: Am I wrong to insist my husband should take a bite of everything at a party? Advice | Miss Manners: I was in tears after this stranger’s comment in the grocery store These have varied slightly over the years, but usually include nuts, candies and baked goods. Sometimes a cake, some brownies or cookies.This year, I used a different flour that included the salt and baking powder, saving some time on measuring ingredients. I am the first to admit that, though th...

Ukraine’s first lady: Without more aid the world ‘will simply let us die’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

Olena Zelenska has warned that without continued financial support from the West, Ukraine will be “left to die.” Zelenska, the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, spoke to the BBC a day after Republican senators in the U.S. blocked a bill which would have provided more than $60 billion worth of support to Ukraine as it fends off Russia’s full-scale invasion.“If the world gets tired, they will simply let us die,” she said. “It hurts us greatly to see the signs that the passionate willingness to help may fade.”The White House has warned that U.S. funds for Ukraine could soon run out, with President Joe Biden adding that the failure to support Ukraine would be a “gift” for Russian President Vladimir Putin and that history would “judge harshly those who turned their back on freedom’s cause.” Those remarks were echoed by Britain’s new Foreign Secretary David Cameron on Thursday, who said that block...

Horoscopes Dec. 9, 2023: Dame Judi Dench, recognize the power of positive thought

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Felicity Huffman, 61; Donny Osmond, 66; Beau Bridges, 82; Dame Judi Dench, 89.Happy Birthday: Rely on sensibility to point you in the right direction this year. Save your energy and input to make a difference, not a disruption. Be the peacekeeper, and you’ll impact what happens around you. Gravitate toward constructive transformation. What you find will change how you use your energy, influence and knowledge to make the world a better place. Recognize the power of positive thought. Your numbers are 7, 19, 22, 29, 34, 36, 48.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Piece information together before you comment. Getting the whole truth and verifying facts will help you avoid trouble. Know who you are dealing with before you agree to something that can cost you financially. Put more emphasis on maintaining your well-being and reputation. 3 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Look around, and you’ll find plenty of opportunities to engage in something entertaining,...

Bridge: Dec. 9, 2023

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

On Simple Saturday, I focus on basic technique and logical thinking.An actuary who plays at my club says that if at first you don’t succeed … try a few more times so your failure will be statistically significant.A common theme in dummy play is combining chances. If you have several chances for your contract, try them all. At today’s 3NT, declarer takes the ace of spades and counts seven top tricks: a spade, two hearts, two diamonds and two clubs. He needs two extra tricks in a minor suit.PERCENTAGEDeclarer could finesse in one minor or the other; with eight or fewer cards, to finesse for the queen is the correct percentage play. But his best approach is a combination shot.South should take the A-K of diamonds. He has eight diamonds but only seven clubs, so the queen of diamonds is more likely to fall. When no queen appears, South leads a club to dummy’s king and a club to his jack. He goes to the king of hearts and returns a club to his ten to make the game....

Word Game: Dec. 9, 2023

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — CHECKMATE (CHECKMATE: CHEK-mate: To arrest, thwart or counter.)Average mark 33 wordsTime limit 40 minutesCan you find 44 or more words in CHECKMATE? The list will be published Monday.YESTERDAY’S WORD — YEARNING yarn year yearn earing earn earning eying aery ager airy anger angry rage rain rainy rang range rangy rani regain reign rein ring nary near nearing nine inane inner gain gainer gayer gear gnar grain grainy granny gray grey grin gyreTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not all...

Ask Amy: My husband can’t see why these houseguests disturb me

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

Dear Amy: How can I politely say no when friends are passing through town or vacationing here and ask if they can spend a couple of nights with us?Related ArticlesAdvice | Ask Amy: My neighbors want money because the leaves fall in their yard Advice | Ask Amy: My wife objects to my strategy for mellow shopping with our 3-year-olds Advice | Ask Amy: After this man’s behavior at my wedding, I want my best friend to dump him Advice | Ask Amy: Now I realize what stay-at-home spouses are complaining about Advice | Ask Amy: Now we’re feeling weird about our daughter’s favorite toy I have never said no to anyone and have always been gracious to anyone staying in our home, but I find I really don’t enjoy it. I have extreme stress and anxiety days before they arrive, and also while they are here.My husband doesn’t understand my tirades over this. He welcomes anyone who wants to stay with us.I ju...

Why Does the Chicago Police Department Tolerate Abusive Racists in Its Ranks?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

I first encountered officer Raymond Piwnicki in the summer of 2001. At the time, the citywide demolition of high-rise public housing was gathering momentum in Chicago. Having recently regained control of the Chicago Housing Authority after a period of federal receivership, the administration of Mayor Richard M. Daley was making a concerted effort to replace its high-rise public housing developments with “mixed income communities.” Among its first actions was to disband the CHA police force, established a decade earlier by the housing authority in an effort to offset the Chicago Police Department’s neglect of its tenants. That, in turn, required beefing up the CPD’s Public Housing Section. While the public housing unit was ramping up, members of the Special Operations Section — an elite unit charged with rooting out, as Daley often put it, “gangs, drugs, and guns” — were deployed to public housing developments. Piwnicki was among them.The heat in Chicago on July 9, 2001, was blisteri...

Warmer Weather Ahead this Weekend

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:45 GMT

Following a cloudy day with typical temperatures on Friday, more sunshine and warmer temperatures will return this weekend until another front arrives Sunday night.Expect partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies this Saturday paired with a beach breeze out of the southeast, moderate humidity levels and above average high temperatures into the low to mid 80s.Then by Sunday, temperatures should increase by another degree or two as winds veer more out of the south. This will draw in more moisture, leading to a mix of sun and clouds and an isolated rain chance.Earlier in the week, it appeared that Sunday would be wetter but the forecast has trended drier ahead of this next front, and therefore rain chances are down to a 30% chance. The best chance for seeing any rain will be late in the day on Sunday and into the overnight hours.Behind this front, there will be another dose of cooling but it won’t be as significant as the one we had this week. Instead, highs will drop from the mid 80s ...