A true American horror story: The debt deal and the future of the US

June 2, 2023

Source: Al Mayadeen English

A true American horror story: the debt deal and the future of the US

By Rachel Hamdoun 

With the freshly struck debt deal potentially passing the US Senate to be ratified, Americans remain treading on thin ice because being in dire straits spells trouble not only for the government and the average American but for the world – indicating another global pandemic-scenario crisis. 

The what, how, and when will be detailed here to better know what the American people are up against before the deadline. This is your explainer to keep it short and sweet – as ironically possible because money doesn’t grow on trees, but apparently, it does in the new debt deal. 

The US has been in quite a pickle with a Republican vs. Democrat strife over the debt ceiling bill, between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who wants to cut government spending, and President Joe Biden who wants to increase it.

What does defaulting on a debt mean?

When one does not fulfill the obligation of paying off a loan or debt on time, it’s called a default, but when the limit is being raised to spend more than one is able to afford, we call that the US government.

The first debt ceiling was approved back in 1917 to allow then-President Woodrow Wilson to fund the needed material for World War I. However, the US has never in its history defaulted on debt, despite the fact that it has raised the debt ceiling 78 times since 1960 – 49 of them were implemented under Republican presidents, and 29 under Democratic presidents.

The current national debt stands at $31.4 trillion, which capped the debt ceiling. One might ask though, what bills could the US possibly have to pay to have reached a whopping $31.4 trillion?

The government receives money from revenue mostly collected in taxes, public services, and the sale of natural resources, leases, and customs duties. This revenue is spent to fund government employee wages, Medicaid and Medicare, social security, financial aid, and education programs, and retirement funds.

In a report by The Hill on Tuesday, an average US household now carries $10,000 in credit card debt, raising the US credit card balance to $1 trillion, which adds to that debt. 

The problem is that the US is breaking its own bank by spending more than it has or takes. In fiscal year 2023, it collected $2.69 trillion in revenue from corporate and individual taxes and national public services like parks. In fiscal year 2023, it spent $3.61 trillion, creating a deficit of $925 billion, according to the Treasury’s data.

This is due to military and defense spending, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. As the US continues to recklessly supply and voluntarily gift the Ukrainian forces military aid and weapons, the Republicans are still not happy campers as their stance remains against providing ‘blank checks’ to Ukraine. 

According to data from the Council of Foreign Relations, the US so far has provided Ukraine with a total of $76.8 billion between January 24, 2022, and February 24, 2023. The most recent package was announced on May 31 for $300 million – ‘the 39th drawdown of equipment’ per White House National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby.

What’s the damage?

A draft deal was passed by the House on Thursday but it is yet to pass the Senate and Congress.

The draft includes raising the debt ceiling until January 2025, limiting non-defense spending that will increase by 1% in the fiscal year 2025, adding more work requirements for some food stamp recipients, and taking back some unused Covid-19 relief funds which amount to approximately $30 billion.

Under the new provisions, the maximum age limit for adults participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will be gradually raised to 54 by 2025. However, it’s important to note that this particular provision is set to expire by 2030, thereby reverting the maximum age back to 49.

If Congress doesn’t pass it by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s deadline of June 5, being in hot water would be an understatement for the hegemonic power.

Being in dire straits spells trouble not only for the government and the average American but for the world – indicating another global pandemic-scenario crisis. 

First and foremost, Americans will see an even higher increase in the inflation they are experiencing. Government employees won’t be paid for their work, food prices will skyrocket and 401K retirement plans will stop due to insufficient funds, as will essential programs such as social security, Medicaid, infrastructure, and financial aid. 

On the financial side, the US as an economic power will lose credibility, stock market prices will go down as they did during the Obama administration which threatened a stock market crash it has not experienced since the 2008 financial crisis. 

Moody’s Analytics states that a default would lead to a loss of almost seven million jobs in the US, and that does not count the loss of employment it would cause on a global scale as a result of a potential global crisis. 

Consumer confidence in the financial market would be dealt a huge blow, as higher interest rates could move money away from developing infrastructure and healthcare, borrowing costs for homeowners increase and consumer prices go up.  

Yet, raising the debt ceiling increase borrowing by the Treasury and leave financial institutions, which are already in a fragile state after the record crash of three major banks in March, suffering from more drain in deposits and a declined cash volume.

How could this affect anyone in the nearest country or on the other side of the world?

Investors around the world would be forced to sell American treasury bonds, which would heavily weaken the dollar, keeping in mind that over half of the world’s foreign currency reserves are held in dollars.   

What’s in store next?

Senior GOP Congress members are now calling for the unseating of McCarthy over the debt ceiling agreement he reached with Biden, according to Politico, which added that Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) said conservative leaders will face a “reckoning” if the bill was passed.

Roy saw the deal as a “betrayal of the power-sharing arrangement that we put in place” among the House GOP, adding that “Not one Republican” should vote in favor of the deal, while Republican Governor and current presidential candidate Ron DeSantis called the agreement ‘inadequate’. 

Reaching a draft deal that has been partially agreed upon does not mean the American economy is out of the woods because if Congress rejects the bill, the nation could very well be lost in the woods and find it hard to get out. 

America already has a growing list of problems, and this may just be the cherry on top that could make this very fragile cake crumble.

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Biden signs $40Bln bill for Ukraine: White House

May 21, 2022 

Source: Agencies

By Al Mayadeen English 

The White House signed the bill to send $40 billion in aid to Ukraine, despite calls against it.

US President Joe Biden Signs $40Bln Aid Bill For Ukraine: White House

The White House said on Saturday that US President Joe Biden approved legislation providing $40 billion in aid to Ukraine.

On Thursday, the US Senate cleared a record $40 billion Ukraine aid bill by an 86-to-11 vote. The proposal was approved by the House of Representatives earlier this month, 368-57.

The law will deliver almost $20 billion in military aid to Ukraine, nearly $9 billion in economic support, more than $4 billion in humanitarian relief, and another $4 billion in foreign military finance through the State Department. 

His words came hours before the Congress’ upper chamber is expected to vote in favor of the package in an unusual majority in Washington.

The bill provides “supplemental emergency appropriations for the fiscal year 2022 to Federal agencies to respond to the situation in, and for assistance to, Ukraine,” according to the White House.

However, Republican senator Rand Paul, on Wednesday, said that Congress needs to borrow money from China to send aid to Ukraine, just a day before the US Senate voted by majority to send $40 billion in military and economic aid to Ukraine and its allies. According to Investopedia, the US owes China $1 trillion in debt. 

“To borrow the money from China simply to send it to Ukraine makes no sense and makes us weaker, not stronger,” Paul said on the Senate floor regarding the aid package.

Paul, a week ago, disrupted the proceeding of a quick vote on a bill by blocking the US decision to allocate $40 billion to Ukraine. Ten other senate Republicans, including Marsha Blackburn, John Boozman, Mike Braun, Mike Crapo, Bill Hagerty, Josh Hawley, Mike Lee, Cynthia Lummis, Roger Marshall, and Tommy Tuberville, also voted against the advancement of the bill.

CNN claimed earlier this week, citing a government official, that the bill will be “flown” to Biden in South Korea for signature while the president is on his Asian tour.

US House: Trump Singularly Responsible for Capitol Assault, Should Be Convicted

By Staff, Agencies

The House of Representatives impeachment managers have filed a lengthy pretrial brief, saying former President Donald Trump was “singularly responsible” for the assault on the Capitol last month and that he should be convicted.

The House impeached the ex-president over his role in the invasion on January 6 that left five people dead, including a member of law enforcement.

Trump was blamed for inciting an insurrection when the lawmakers were busy certifying the victory of Joe Biden in the November 3 election.

The House introduced an article of impeachment to the Senate late last month.

In an 80-page brief filed on Tuesday, the impeachment managers – nine House Democrats led by Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin –  outlined the arguments they planned to make when the Senate trial opens next week, arguing that Trump should be barred from holding public office.

“President Trump incited a violent mob to attack the United States Capitol during the Joint Session, thus impeding Congress’s confirmation of Joseph R. Biden, Jr. as the winner of the presidential election,” the House brief reads.

“The framers of the Constitution feared a president who would corrupt his office by sparing ‘no efforts or means whatever to get himself re-elected,’” wrote the nine House Democrats, quoting directly from the 1787 debate in Philadelphia.

“If provoking an insurrectionary riot against a joint session of Congress after losing an election is not an impeachable offense, it is hard to imagine what would be.”

Meanwhile, Trump’s legal team responded to the charges against him, arguing that the Senate “lacks jurisdiction” to try a former president.

“The Senate of the United States lacks jurisdiction over the 45th president because he holds no public office from which he can be removed, rendering the article of impeachment moot and a non-justiciable question,” the lawyers, Bruce L. Castor Jr. and David Schoen, wrote in their 14-page response.

The lawyers also asserted that Trump believed he “won it by a landslide,” and, thus, was within his First Amendment rights to “express his belief that the election results were suspect.”

Trump had told his supporters, “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” His lawyers, however, said such remarks were not meant as a call to violent action, but were “about the need to fight for election security in general.”

Trump’s assertions about the election results could not be disproved, the lawyers added, because there was “insufficient evidence.”

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Joe Biden-Administration may focus only on internal issues

January 26, 2021

by Zamir Awan for the Saker Blog

Congratulations! Joe Biden has been taken oath as the 46th U.S. president, terminating one of the most intense political transitions in modern American history. Due to various internal threats, heavy deployment of troops has turned Capital Washington into a military Garrison. The security measured taken never witnessed in the past. Donald Trump – who has not formally acknowledged the presidency to Mr. Joe Biden – ridiculed the inaugural ceremony, in a departure from longstanding precedent, Vice-President Mr. Pence handed over the Presidency to Mr. Joe Bidden. Mr. Trump has become the first president not to attend his successor’s inauguration since 1869. He left the White House early on Wednesday and flew to the nearby Andrews Air Force base.

President Joe Biden, 78, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1942. At the young age of only 29, in 1972, he became one of the youngest persons ever elected to the U.S. Senate. He went on to serve as a six-term senator from Delaware. A well-versed, mature politician, having served under several US-administrations, having gained an in-depth understanding of state affairs, received greetings from all around the world and messages of good wishes. He is a ray of hope for many Americans and hopes for the rest of the world.

Trump-era was full of controversies, chaos, and unrest, especially during the last couple of months, he has created an enormous mess. The hate, turmoil, and internal drive he has left behind him, are an inheritance to President Joe Biden.

Many questions are arising in the minds of many Americans as well as around the globe. Like: Who is the real threat to the U.S. national security? It has been propagated often that the U.S. is facing external threats, especially from China and Russia. These are a phenomenon of the cold war era and vanished long ago. However, the chaotic Capitol riots on January 6 have set an alarming message to the world as a new food for thought. The internal clashes and civil unrest of the U.S. Capitol’s type have switched external military aggression as the primary source of threats to human lives and state stability. It directly affects the collapse of the internal system and the erosion of “democracy” and the typical capitalistic system. Failure of state rit and helplessness of state institutions means a destruction.

President Biden has frequently stressed the term “unity” in his opening address, precisely what’s needed in present China-US relations. Because over the past four years, a small number of anti-China politicians in the United States have misled and lied too much out of their political interests and prompted too much hatred and division, and the people of both countries have all been hurt because of it. Many people of vision from China, the United States, and the international community hope China-US-Russia relations will get back to the right path at an early date. All sides can work together to meet the significant persistent challenges facing the world today. The same is valid in the case of Russia-US relations. President Biden said in his opening address; democracy allows disagreement, and “Disagreement must not lead to disunion”. It is hoped this should also be revealed in his foreign policy. Countries with different political & social systems, cultural backgrounds, and ideologies should and are fully capable of coexisting in harmony, engaging in dialogue and collaboration, and collectively work for world peace, stability and prosperity. President Biden also mentioned that the United States “has too much to heal, much to restore.”

The world welcomes the United States’ return to the Paris Agreement and looking onward to its positive contributions to fighting climate change. The Paris Agreement is an outcome of multilateralism, which united together countries worldwide, reinforces the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and is an essential legal instrument to guide post-2020 international collaboration on climate change.

U.S. withdrawal from WHO, it is well-known that WHO is a specialized organization in international health and plays a vital leading and coordinating role in international anti-epidemic collaboration. In particular, against the grim situation of the raging COVID-19 Pandemic, the International community welcome the United States’ return to WHO and wishing to strengthen cooperation with the United States and other countries.

The Capitol riots have exploded unprecedented U.S. political and social anarchy like a spark falling into an oil container. Especially while the U.S. claimed global superpower and claimed its leadership role for the whole world, such mishaps were never expected. It has irreversibly, irrecoverably, and unforgettable damaged the reputation and image of the U.S. internationally. Although the chaos dragged the country into its darkest moment was controlled temporarily, it might take decades to restore completely. The FBI is cautioning that it has received information of “armed protests” in all other states in the days to come. It is expected that the departed President Trump may not sit idly, but continue to create more hurdles for President Joe Biden, and ultimately bleeding America. The hate and divide, which he has made in American society, is not easy to mend.

The Capitol invasion, the anti-racism protests that brushed the U.S., and the rapid-growing and uncontrolled epidemic are sufficient to prove that the U.S. is decaying speedily and badly sick. The ailing economy has also impacted adversely and aggregated in the radicalization of the situation. The U.S., punctured with deep flaws, is now being plagued by ongoing internal crises. It’s rational to say the country’s internal division has touched the level where it’s hard to mend. The political and social divergence has produced hatred, high risks of violence, and unrest. Civil war could be ignited at any moment. A country is mostly known for its gun culture, the legislation over guns and ammunition is another factor to endanger the risk of the civil war-like situation.

Americans are known for planting sabotage, subversion, and conspiracies around the world. But due to the Pandemic, they could not travel abroad, and finally, they have to stage it on their soil. It is time for a typical American to feel the pain of such crimes committed in other countries. It is hoped that such things will not be repeated in any part of the world, and human rights must be respected irrespective of race, religion, or ethnicity.

Will American society be restored or continue to be torn apart? Will the U.S. see more turmoil or keep its stability? If the U.S. still can’t sort out the real threat to its national security and flops to diagnose that the biggest enemy of the U.S. is itself, the scenarios of the country will be even miserable. In fact, Americans are the victim of superiority complex and feel shame to acknowledge their weaknesses or flaws. They are reluctant to learn from others and have closed all options to improve their thinking or political system.

Why has the U.S. been stuck in such grave internal crises? One of the reasons is that, for a long time, Washington has spared little interest in addressing domestic problems but has been more excited about shaping ideological adversaries, engaging in geopolitical competition, and provoking major power confrontations. The 2017 U.S. National Security Strategy declared “inter-state strategic competition” as a significant national security concern. Over some time, the domestic problems kept on compiling, and finally, the volcano has to burst one day.

The U.S. sets itself as a “firm” protector of national security and interests by creating a hype about the “China threat” or “Russia threat.” For example, U.S. Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe in December 2020 branded China as “national security threat No.1,” blaming China for posing the greatest threat to America, as well as to democracy and freedom around the globe. U.S. president-elect Joe Biden termed Russia as Washington’s most severe global threat during his election campaign.

The U.S., since the Cold War, has been the single superpower in the world. No matter how hard it tries to expose alleged foreign foes, no external forces can cause such a big country to flop.

But can shaping alleged foreign adversaries bring American unity? Should the U.S. have dedicated more resources and energy to resolving its domestic flaws, getting liberated from ideological prejudice and a sense of supremacy over its political system, and converging more on major power collaboration rather than rivalry, it may have encountered a different domestic situation.

The only element that can cripple the country is its internal crunches. The domestic dilemma the U.S. is facing demonstrations the country’s biggest enemy is itself. The question is: Who dares to speak this out in the U.S.? It is hoped the scholars, intellectuals, politicians, and visionary individuals and professionals may think neutrally and realize their faults and formulate policies to rectify things in the best interest of humankind worldwide.

---

Author: Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan, Sinologist (ex-Diplomat), Editor, Analyst, Non-Resident Fellow of CCG (Center for China and Globalization), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan. (E-mail: awanzamir@yahoo.com).

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Prof. William O. Beeman: Impeachment of Trump for Democrats is A Gamble

Wed Oct 09, 2019 9:19

Prof. William O. Beeman: Impeachment of Trump for Democrats is A Gamble

TEHRAN (FNA)- Prof. William O. Beeman, chair of the anthropology department at the State University of Minnesota, says some Democrats point out that Trump really has committed a crime, and if they don’t impeach him, they will be supporting his criminal action.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with FNA, Professor Beeman said, “These people fear that their own Democratic voters will punish them for not impeaching.”

He also said “for Democrats this process is a gamble”.

William Orman Beeman is an American scholar whose specialty is the Middle East;[1] he is a professor of anthropology at The University of Minnesota, where he is Chair of the Department of Anthropology. For many years he was Professor of Anthropology; Theatre, Speech and Dance; and East Asian Studies at Brown University.

Below is the full text of the interview:

Q: Following Trump’s phone conversation with Ukrainian President, the impeachment of Trump has come under serious scrutiny. Trump’s impeachment was to be postponed until after the 2020 US presidential election. Why did the Democrats activate Trump’s impeachment plan?

A: The House of Representatives has not voted to hold impeachment hearings yet. The Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, has opened “impeachment investigations” through six House of Representatives committees. They have purposely not voted to open formal impeachment hearings to protect Democrats who were elected from districts that voted for President Trump, and who might be in danger in the 2020 elections from voters who favor Trump. However, many people expect that the impeachment hearings will be voted on soon, and that the President might be impeached before the end of November (the Thanksgiving Holiday)

Q: US Senate is said to be unlikely to get Trump removed from office. What could be the price of an unsuccessful impeachment of President Trump for the Democrats?

A: The House of Representatives impeaches a president or other government officials with a simple majority vote. The impeachment does not lead to removal. It is just a formal accusation. The Senate then tries the official, like a court, with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court trying to hearings. After this trial, the Senate can remove him or her from office with a 2/3 majority vote. Impeachment of Trump (the formal accusation) is likely to succeed in the House of Representatives The removal of the president is likely to fail in the Senate, because Republicans are the majority in the Senate, and reaching a 2/3 majority (67 Senators) voting to remove the president is likely impossible.

Many Democrats feel that impeaching the President but not removing him from office is dangerous for them. They feel that if the Senate does not remove him, he will claim that he has been exonerated, and that the impeachment itself was a partisan effort on the part of Democrats and had no merit. Democrats feel that this will result in Trump being re-elected in 2020, and the loss of Democratic seats in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Other Democrats point out that Trump really has committed a crime, and if they don’t impeach him, they will be supporting his criminal action. These people fear that their own Democratic voters will punish them for not impeaching.

So you see, this is a difficult political decision for Democrats. At present there is no clear outcome for the impeachment process.

Q: What are the odds for Trump’s removal. Will his impeachment lead to his dismissal?

A: No, the impeachment is just a formal accusation–an indictment. The president can only be removed by a 2/3 vote in the Senate after the impeachment is approved.

Q: How will Trump’s impeachment and its consequences affect the 2020 US presidential election?

A: Trump thinks that if he is impeached and not removed, it will help him with voters. Some Democrats agree. Other Democrats feel that the impeachment investigation itself will expose his crimes and make him less attractive to voters. So for Democrats this process is a gamble. Personally, I feel that Trump will not be removed from office, and may even be re-elected. A great deal will depend on which candidate Democrats choose to run against Trump.

America Role in Saudi Crimes in Yemen

Source

Thu Aug 01, 2019 10:7

TEHRAN (FNA)- Bipartisan bills that blocked US arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which were vetoed by President Trump earlier this month, has survived another vote in the US Senate, where they failed to get enough votes to override the vetoes. The vote was 45-40.

These arms sales were authorized on an “emergency” basis to bypass Congress, though since they weren’t being rushed to the purchasers, Congress still had ample time to debate and vote against the sales. Until that happens, the US will continue to be complicit in Saudi war crimes in Yemen.

Washington is agonizingly slow at learning from its mistakes too. Over the last five years or so in that critical but chaotic part of the world, the United States has repeatedly witnessed the limitations of using the blunt instrument of American military force to win that complicated political, social, economic and religious conflict. There is, of course, no better example of this failure to understand the limits of American military power than its disastrous invasion and occupation of Iraq as well. And yet it is now back to making the same mistake, this time in Yemen.

For five years, the United States has supported a coalition led by Saudi Arabia that is waging war inside Yemen, trying to oust a government made up of members of the Houthi Ansarulah movement. US role in the coalition is significant – it sells bombs and weapons to the Saudis, it helps them pick targets inside Yemen, and it refuels their planes in the sky.

To anyone paying attention, it’s clear that the United States is engaged in a war in Yemen. And yet this war has not been authorized or debated by Congress. Its involvement started quietly under President Barack Obama, and now President Donald Trump has increased US participation. And it’s not as if US participation in the Yemen conflict hasn’t come with serious consequences.

Yemen has become a hell on earth for the civilians caught within its borders. More than 90,000 innocents have been killed in the Saudi-led bombing campaign since the beginning of the civil war, according to the UN. Targets have included schools, hospitals, weddings, funeral parties and school buses carrying children.

More than 22 million people – three quarters of the population – require humanitarian assistance and protection. The country is on the brink of famine and is in the midst of the worst cholera outbreak in the world. To date, an estimated 85,000 children under the age of 5 in Yemen may have died from starvation and disease. In many ways, this suffering is an intentional byproduct of the Saudi coalition, which has targeted water treatment plants, health clinics and even a Doctors Without Borders hospital, all with US assistance.

There is a US imprint on each of these civilian deaths. As the humanitarian nightmare worsens, it also provides the fuel to recruit young men into terrorist organizations, which have been able to thrive in the power vacuum created by the war.

It’s time for Congress to reclaim one of its most fundamental duties – deciding when and where the United States goes to war. For too long, it has been content to sit on the sidelines and cede this power to the executive branch. But in doing so, it is repeating the same mistakes it has made with regard to US foreign policy in the Middle East in the last several years. It’s time to end this disastrous engagement in Yemen, and it’s time for the Congress to this shameless war on a defenseless nation.

The United States is failing in Yemen (and the entire Middle East, for that matter) ethically and strategically. America is complicit in the collapse of an impoverished, failed state that has spread the anti-American spirit all over the Middle-East. The US role in Yemen counts not only because millions may die, but because it matters how Americans are viewed in the world. The Yemen war has brought Riyadh and Washington mere defeat and failure and filled the world with hate for the Saudis and their American backers. Even if one is loath to discuss morals or human rights, consider it this way: Withdrawing support from Saudi aggression could save millions of civilian lives.

US Senate Passes Yemen War Resolution: No for Trump’s Support of Saudi War

By Staff, Agnecies

The Republican-controlled Senate has passed a resolution that would end US involvement in the Saudi-led coalition’s brutal war in Yemen, countering President Donald Trump’s support for the controversial conflict.

The Yemen War Powers resolution, which passed 54-46, blocks US forces from any involvement in the increasingly unpopular war without further authorization from Congress. Its backers have argued that US involvement in the conflict violates the constitutional requirement that Congress alone can authorize participation in war.

An earlier version of the resolution passed the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives but was rejected by the Senate; the resolution must now pass the House again before it is sent to the White House, where Trump has promised to veto it.

A small group of Republicans were willing to cross party lines to rebuke Trump over his support for a conflict the United Nations has declared a humanitarian disaster, which has killed tens of thousands of civilians and left half the population of Yemen on the brink of starvation.

US forces previously provided targeting support for coalition airstrikes and even mid-air refueling for coalition planes, until that practice was reportedly discontinued late last year.

The Yemen War Powers resolution also serves as a vehicle to pressure Trump to condemn the Saudi government over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which US intelligence agencies have pinned on Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Meanwhile, revelations that interests connected with the Trump administration were in negotiations to sell the Saudis nuclear technology have shed new light on the president’s cozy relationship with the embattled kingdom.

Coalition forces led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have relentlessly bombed Yemen since 2015.

Half of Yemen’s population relies on food aid to survive, placing them in immediate danger of starving to death after coalition forces blockaded the port city of al-Hudaydah last year.

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