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In American politics, "when it really looks like we're forever going to be in X, that's a pretty good sign to start betting on Y," says Reason's Matt Welch. After a period of wall-building and anti-immigrant fervor, in which "more people die in the desert," we can expect that the political pendulum will swing way back in the opposite direction.

On today's podcast, Nick Gillespie, Katherine Mangu-Ward, and Welch discuss Trump and immigration in the context of Robert Draper's masterful New York Times Magazine story on Steve Bannon, in which the presidential adviser slimes libertarians for "not living in the real world." The Reason crew also talks about what do about "the giant loogie" hanging off Paul Ryan's face after the collapse of the GOP's health care bill and the Speaker's failure to live up to the title of "wonk king;" whether the coming push for tax reform will go any better than the health care debacle; and the Associated Press' controversial decision to permit journalists to use "they" as a single, gender-neutral pronoun. Is it language evolution or devolution? What would rap super-producer DJ Khaledfamous for invoking the phrase they don't want you to...think?

To wrap things up, Katherine Mangu-Ward explains the genesis of Reason magazine's buzz-generating new punctured-wall cover. Need to know how to import marijuana from Mexico via catapult? Subscribe!

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Photo of Steve Bannon by Gage Skidmore (Creative Commons license) and of ersatz Captain America by Reason.

Originally posted here:
Steve Bannon vs. the Tea Party Libertarians [Reason podcast] - Hit ... - Reason (blog)

Forbes

In Europe's Other 'Divorce,' Ukraine Loses To Russia ... Again Forbes As the world focuses on the "divorce" between the U.K. and E.U., another divorce court hearing for two other former partners was handed down today in London. In Ukraine vs. Russia on Wednesday, a U.K. court said Kiev still owes the Russians a cool $3 ... What Is Putin Planning For Ukraine?OilPrice.com When Russia and Ukraine Battle in Court, the West WinsBloomberg Brazen Murder in Kiev Chills Russia's Dissidents in UkraineForeign Policy (blog) Financial Times -Fox News -Reuters all 100 news articles »

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In Europe's Other 'Divorce,' Ukraine Loses To Russia ... Again - Forbes

Ukrainian NGOs have denounced amendments to the country's anti-corruption legislation, which they say was changed to intimidate activists and journalists.

The bill, signed on Tuesday (28 March) by Ukraine's president Petro Poroshenko, obliges any individual and organisation engaged in anti-corruption work to fill out an electronic income declaration.

The Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union has said the law is vaguely formulated, as almost all NGOs in the country work against corruption in one way or another.

"The law risks becoming a tool for arbitrary and selective application [against civil society]," the Helsinki group said in a statement.

Oleksandra Drik, head of the board of the Civic Lustration Committee, another NGO, said the amendments "turn Ukraine into Putin's Russia by introducing essentially the same law on 'foreign agents' that destroyed all independent NGOs there".

She said the new law introduced loopholes into Ukraine's anti-corruption regime.

"Only a couple of the amendments apply to NGOs, while most of the other either restore corruption risks already cleaned out or create new ones," she said in a written statement.

NGOs and journalists have been fighting for months to ensure that lawmakers and high-ranking officials have to declare their income in an electronic register.

They have denounced efforts to derail the e-declaration system, which they said came from people close to Poroshenko.

Poroshenko said on Tuesday he had to sign the bill because it also contained provisions that were important for the country's military.

He promised to create a working group to deal with the controversial amendments, but NGOs said the bill should not have been passed in its current form in the first place.

Ambassadors of the G7 support group, who met with Poroshenko on Tuesday, said they were worried by the changes.

The G7 club includes Germany, France, Italy, and the UK, as well as Canada, Japan, and the US.

"They were encouraged by President Poroshenkos promise to convene a working group, including civil society, to look at recent legislative amendments, their statement said.

They emphasised Ukraines need for institutional stability as a prerequisite for further reform. They also vowed to further support Ukraine on its reform path, the ownership of which lies fully in the hands of Ukraine," it added.

EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn likewise said last week that the proposed changes were a roll-back of Ukraine's anti-corruption efforts and should be re-considered.

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Ukraine law on NGOs like 'Putin's Russia' - EUobserver

Video Assistant Referees could be deployed in English football as early as August when the EFL Cup first round takes place.

The Football Association has indicated VARs could be trialled in next season's FA Cup, beginning in January 2018 with the FA Cup third round when Premier League teams join the competition.

But, if a trial is approved by the EFL board, VARs could be used in the EFL Cup from as soon as the first round.

EFL chief executive Shaun Harvey said on Wednesday: "As part of a trial the board will consider allowing the EFL Cup to be utilised.

"There are a number of rounds of the EFL Cup prior to that (the FA Cup third round).

"Theoretically it could happen from the first round of the EFL Cup, which would be a team no higher than the Championship down to League Two."

VARs are currently being trialled, with FIFA president Gianni Infantino keen to employ the system during the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The video official in Tuesday night's friendly between France and Spain corrected two wrong decisions - disallowing an offside effort by Antoine Griezmann and awarding a goal for Gerard Deulofeu after an incorrect offside flag. Spain won 2-0 in Paris.

Approval for VARs to be employed in the EFL Cup could come as soon as May.

There is likely to be a longer wait before VARs can be utilised in the Championship, League One and League Two, due to the lack of cameras currently available across stadia.

Although some stadia will have the capacity to utilise VARs in the league, the EFL believe it is important for the same facilities to be available throughout.

Goal line technology is likely to come into the Championship for the first time next season.

Harvey, who on Wednesday spoke at SportsPro Live where he talked about new streaming product iFollow, added: "One of the real challenges is the integrity of the games.

"If you don't have the technology available at every single game in the competition, does that potentially have a negative impact on the competition as a whole?

"Ultimately (in the EFL Cup) it doesn't matter then if it's not used at every single game in that round because each individual game is a knockout game in its own right.

"Technology's got to work with the EFL as well and be possible as part of the whole, not just in part.

"But that should never be interpreted as the EFL not wanting to embrace technology or being against it.

"It's just the absolute practicalities and the cost effectiveness of being able to implement it."

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Video Assistant Referees could be used in EFL Cup first round next season - Eurosport.com

England must learn from Wilfried Zaha's switch to the Ivory Coast and "love" and nurture prospects from smaller clubs, according to Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish.

Zaha, 24, played two friendlies for England and represented them at age group levels but reverted to the country of his birth in time for January's African Nations Cup.

England manager Gareth Southgate has pledged to focus on players who are "desperate to play for England" as he addresses the dual-nationality question.

But Parish declared himself devastated to see a "ludicrous" talent slip away and called for a fresh approach.

"The whole England set-up gave Wilfried no love and it is a shame that we lost him," he told the Times. " Wilfried was waiting and waiting for that call.

"It is devastating for us as we always thought we would see him in an England shirt. We need to learn our lessons. You would not see Brazil let a player like that go."

The proportion of English-qualified players in Premier League line-ups hovers around the one-third mark and Parish warned that those who do break through must be appreciated.

He said: "If we constantly neglect these kids, as their face does not fit or they are not maturing at the rate we want them to, then you can't tell the Premier League that we have to have more and more English players playing.

"It has a lot to do with the less glamorous clubs. Every now and then, a club like Palace throws up a gem. Our gems do tend to be a bit rough around the edges when they start out, they need to be honed.

"Anybody who watched Wilfried will tell you some of the things he does are ludicrous. Do we not want that? I can't believe there was not a role for Wilfried at England."

A statement issued by Zaha's agent Will Salthouse on Tuesday took issue with questions over his passion and insisted the player had never set a deadline for an England call-up - the "disappearing egg-timer" referenced by Southgate on Monday.

And Parish took aim at former England defender Danny Mills' suggestion on Tuesday that the winger took "the easy way out" by switching allegiance.

"What is easier, travelling thousands of miles every time you have to play a game?" he said. "Put England in a knockout game against Ivory Coast and it is not going to be 4-0 to England, is it? They will give England a game."

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Palace chairman Parish urges England to learn from Zaha switch to Ivory Coast - Eurosport.com