Budget Fiasco or Not, Joe Biden Vows to Stand By Ukraine

A US government shutdown – the fourth in a decade – was imminent. 

 

A shutdown affects nearly every corner of the US government, from the delivery of welfare cheques and publishing of national economic data to the operation of federal courts, museums and national parks. And hundreds of thousands of federal workers likely would be furloughed – temporarily forced to leave work without pay – while workers deemed essential would remain on the job but continue without a paycheque. 

 

It would have happened if Congress did not approve discretionary spending for the upcoming fiscal year, which began on October 01. A cabal of hardline Republicans had refused to support must-pass funding legislation unless massive spending cuts were made. 

 

Fortunately, on Saturday, Congress did pass a stopgap funding bill, averting for now a looming government shutdown. And President Joe Biden signed the bill after it was cleared by the Democratic-controlled Senate. [The House of Representatives had voted 335-91 to fund the government temporarily, with 209 Democrats supporting the measure compared with 126 Republicans in a show of rare unity that ended the stalemate]. 

 

The temporary measure had not included $6 billion in military aid for Ukraine – a pressing matter for the White House. 

 

But on Sunday, Biden said Ukraine could "count on" US support. "We cannot, under any circumstances, allow US support to Ukraine to be interrupted", he insisted. 

 

"I can reassure [Ukraine] we'll get there, that we're going to get it done", he said on restoring funding for the [V]olodymyr [Z]elensky regime. Indeed, a misplaced priority! 

 

Still, the funding bill will only liquidate the government for a further 45 days which means renewed intense discussions lie ahead, in order to avert another potential shutdown. 

 

Therefore, if an agreement cannot be reached by November 17, millions of federal workers will, once again, face delayed paychecks, including many of the roughly two million military personnel and more than two million civilian workers across the nation. 

 

The United States is a broken country.

 

On Saturday, both Curtis Jones (26) and Diogo Jota (69) saw red as Liverpool fell to a last-gasp 2-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. Cody Gakpo (45+4) scored the Reds' only goal.

 

And Joel Matip's own goal deep into stoppage time gave Spurs victory over nine-man Liverpool in this contentious Premier League encounter. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the match outcome could have been different but for the error made by the on-field team of match officials who failed to act after Luis Diaz's 34th-minute strike for a dubious offside call. Refereeing organisation PGMOL later admitted the goal should have stood. 

 

Meaning, if VAR had intervened, the goal would have been awarded. Blardy hell!