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<v Speaker 1>You're listening to Bill Handle on demand from KFI AM

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<v Speaker 1>six forty KFI AM six forty Bill Handle and the

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<v Speaker 1>Morning Crew. It is a Monday morning, March twentieth. You've

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<v Speaker 1>got some news that we are looking at. For example,

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<v Speaker 1>House Speaker Mike Johnson has unveiled plans I did over

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<v Speaker 1>the weekend for the government funding stopgap because the government

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<v Speaker 1>was going to end I think in a couple of

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<v Speaker 1>weeks or at least the money that the government can spend,

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<v Speaker 1>and so we said, how about through September thirtieth, We'll

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<v Speaker 1>figure it out because of a presidential government or a

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<v Speaker 1>potential government shut down. Oh, the deadline is coming up

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<v Speaker 1>on Friday, and the point is is to get the

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<v Speaker 1>Trump budget through and that Mike Johnson has said, this

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<v Speaker 1>is what the most important thing that we can do

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<v Speaker 1>as a Congress is to make sure that the president

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<v Speaker 1>wishes are met. Now Here is a story I want

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<v Speaker 1>to share with you, and this is an Elon Musk story.

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<v Speaker 1>Musk story, and this one is devastating. This has to

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<v Speaker 1>do with Doge where Musk is coming in and with

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<v Speaker 1>a blowtorch stopping, eliminating, devastating, reducing programs out there at

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<v Speaker 1>the first cabinet meeting that Donald Trump had, and there

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<v Speaker 1>was musk almost. I think it's fair to say he

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<v Speaker 1>was leading the meeting. He was the first person called

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<v Speaker 1>on and he started lecturing the people in the room,

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<v Speaker 1>the cabinet members, the cabinet secretaries, and he admitted at

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<v Speaker 1>that first meeting that DOGE had accidentally canceled ebola prevention programs. Oops,

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<v Speaker 1>and he said, Okay, that was oversight. Someone's got to

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<v Speaker 1>mute over there. That is oversight. But we've swiftly corrected it.

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<v Speaker 1>The problem is it wasn't swiftly corrected. It has dismantled

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<v Speaker 1>the infrastructure of this ebullet prevention program and others. Now

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<v Speaker 1>we rely on these programs to detect and confront pathodogens.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm still hearing an echo. By the way, guys, doja's

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<v Speaker 1>slash and burn campaign has hit everything, the NIH, the

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<v Speaker 1>National Weather Service, the cuts to global health. Those are

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<v Speaker 1>particularly alarming. And I'll tell you why. And the big

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<v Speaker 1>one is that they immediately went through was the Agency

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<v Speaker 1>for International Development, the US AIDS program. And why because well,

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<v Speaker 1>the allegations made against this program this organization is that

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<v Speaker 1>on its face it seems ridiculous and it's easy to attack.

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<v Speaker 1>For example, the handing out of condoms in Africa. BOYK,

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<v Speaker 1>isn't that crazy. I mean, we're spending tens of millions

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<v Speaker 1>of dollars handing out condoms so people can stoop over

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<v Speaker 1>there and do it with impunity. Oh yeah, the fact

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<v Speaker 1>that the reason it's there is to stop the spread

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<v Speaker 1>of AIDS. Why don't you add that line to it?

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<v Speaker 1>You think that's a little important. Another one that was

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<v Speaker 1>kind of interesting, musk actually describe USAID as a criminal organization,

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<v Speaker 1>and here is the accusation. Another one at the White

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<v Speaker 1>House maid about alleged wasteful spending. There was funding for

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<v Speaker 1>a d Ei musical in Ireland paid for by the

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<v Speaker 1>US government. Guess what, that didn't happen. It just didn't happen.

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<v Speaker 1>It's just not true. So what hey, one in doubt

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<v Speaker 1>makes stuff up because that is what makes the argument

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<v Speaker 1>so much stronger. They're eating the cats and dogs? Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>how many of them are there? Do people eat cats

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<v Speaker 1>and dogs? Are their Koreans, some tiny little group of

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<v Speaker 1>them who actually do eat dogs? Or Chinese? The tiniest group. Yeah?

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<v Speaker 1>Does that mean everybody? Of course not. Although I've gotten

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<v Speaker 1>in a lot of trouble for intimidating that or intimating

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<v Speaker 1>that everybody does. And so what mus said is we

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<v Speaker 1>are going to put the USAID Agency us AIDS into

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<v Speaker 1>the wood chipper. And we're talking about the National Weather

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<v Speaker 1>Service because that's not important enough. And you've got the

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<v Speaker 1>NIH National Institute of Health, that's not important enough. And

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<v Speaker 1>then the poster child, the US Agency for International Development

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<v Speaker 1>usage as must said, that's going into the woodchipper. And

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<v Speaker 1>he declared it a criminal organization, pointed to alleged wasteful spending, which,

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<v Speaker 1>by the way, I want to point something out, there

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<v Speaker 1>is tons of wasteful spending. The government is bloated. There's

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<v Speaker 1>no issue. It's easy to bloat a government, truly. It's

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<v Speaker 1>you know, you go to Congress and Congress likes hiring people,

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<v Speaker 1>congressman senators in his or her own district. You look

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<v Speaker 1>cold that way. Look how many jobs I brought to

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<v Speaker 1>the district. You know, welcome to the world of elected officials.

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<v Speaker 1>And I have no problem with the concept of a

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<v Speaker 1>government an administration going in and saying, you know what,

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<v Speaker 1>this is too much. You know, we have to reinvent

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<v Speaker 1>the wheel here, which I think is fine. The point

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<v Speaker 1>is do you destroy everything? That's the problem and the

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<v Speaker 1>discussion here here it is is you've got these programs.

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<v Speaker 1>You've got the Democrats wanting to play chess. You've got

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<v Speaker 1>an administration that wants to burn down the chessboard. Where

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<v Speaker 1>do you go with that? You know, where's the discussion?

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<v Speaker 1>And the chessboard is governmental programs that are controlled by

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<v Speaker 1>the administration. All right, So here is usaight, Okay, this

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<v Speaker 1>is the one that has the Dei musical in Ireland,

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<v Speaker 1>which never happened, condoms in Africa which have happened. Okay.

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<v Speaker 1>Much of USAID's budget is devoted to addressing humanitarian and

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<v Speaker 1>health crisis aboard, with the goal of preventing those emergencies

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<v Speaker 1>from reaching our shores. If you look at the charter,

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<v Speaker 1>the goal is to advance American security and prosperity and

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<v Speaker 1>those programs that help people overseas. The tagline, the stamp

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<v Speaker 1>that's on a lot of the boxes of medicine, for example,

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<v Speaker 1>the trucks that deliver medicine and food and testing equipment,

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<v Speaker 1>says right there, this is from the American people. That's

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<v Speaker 1>what it says. It's from the American people. And so

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<v Speaker 1>the world relies on it for sure. USA was the

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<v Speaker 1>primary funder of the President's Emergency Plan for Age Relief

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<v Speaker 1>all over the world by the way, that was established

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<v Speaker 1>in two thousand and three under George W. Bush. And

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<v Speaker 1>this emergency age relief program has been credited with saving

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<v Speaker 1>twenty five million lives and actually helped smother the HIV pandemic,

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<v Speaker 1>although didn't do enough. Were their missteps, You bet there

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<v Speaker 1>were so these people that were receiving age treatment still

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<v Speaker 1>around the world through the program. Trump signed the executive

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<v Speaker 1>order in first day pausing all foreign aid for ninety

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<v Speaker 1>days while they're trying to figure out and you know, again,

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<v Speaker 1>investigate your brains out. I don't care. You know, root

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<v Speaker 1>out the problem. But do you root it out after

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<v Speaker 1>you shut it down, or do you root it out

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<v Speaker 1>while you're investigating it. So USAID's staff or placed on

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<v Speaker 1>administrative leave. There's no distribution of medicine, there is no

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<v Speaker 1>there's no covering of costs for transport personnel. USA's efforts

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<v Speaker 1>to stop ebola at its source gone and its role

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<v Speaker 1>in containment has long been considered essential. During the twenty

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<v Speaker 1>fourteen West Africa outbreak, more than eleven thousand people died.

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<v Speaker 1>So what did USA do? It oversaw training of local

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<v Speaker 1>healthcare workers, the building of a bowl of treatment centers,

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<v Speaker 1>passenger screening at the borders and airports. Now we're into

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<v Speaker 1>Trump's second term. Days into it, Uganda reports another abola outbreak.

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<v Speaker 1>By the way, that's not to say that's the fault

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<v Speaker 1>of the United States, and of course it's not. But

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<v Speaker 1>there's nothing there that the United States is doing to

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<v Speaker 1>stop it or treat the people. USA it is unable

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<v Speaker 1>to supply resources for transporting lab specimens or implementing airport screening.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, this is important stuff, it really is. Trump

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<v Speaker 1>signed an executive order to withdraw the United States from

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<v Speaker 1>who Great Band World Health organization why demanding owner's payments

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<v Speaker 1>from the United States. So in twenty twenty three, the

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<v Speaker 1>US contributed four hundred and eighty one million dollars. That's

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<v Speaker 1>half a billion dollars. That is a big chunk of money.

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<v Speaker 1>But here is the fun one, and that is less

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<v Speaker 1>than what we pay for dog training in the United States.

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<v Speaker 1>But that's voluntary because dog training United States, frankly is

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<v Speaker 1>pretty important stuff. I'm training my dogs, you know, I

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<v Speaker 1>got relatively new dogs and one was eaten by a coyote,

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<v Speaker 1>and so we brought another don ye and has to

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<v Speaker 1>be trained. So what are the choices? People die of

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<v Speaker 1>a bola train the dogs, people die of a bola

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<v Speaker 1>train the dogs. Which way do we go dogs? No question?

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<v Speaker 1>And there's really crazy stuff going on. You know. Every

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<v Speaker 1>year a group of scientists, volunteer scientists advise the government

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<v Speaker 1>on the flu vaccine. Guess which way the flu vaccine

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<v Speaker 1>is going to go? Which way is it going to

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<v Speaker 1>mutate from last year? I just got my flu shot.

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<v Speaker 1>And sometimes they're right on where it's eighty eighty five

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<v Speaker 1>correct if they just went ahead and predicted the right one,

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<v Speaker 1>or they miss and it's fifty percent, which is still helpful,

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<v Speaker 1>but it doesn't do what it could be doing. But

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<v Speaker 1>symptoms are less than the flu lasts a small a

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<v Speaker 1>smaller length of time. For the first time, that was canceled.

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<v Speaker 1>The government canceled that meeting. There is not going to

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<v Speaker 1>be this group of scientists that are going to help

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<v Speaker 1>the government determine which way the flu vaccine is going

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<v Speaker 1>to go. It's pretty scary stuff. And the bottom line

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<v Speaker 1>is the US AIDS position in terms of global health

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<v Speaker 1>was considered the premier organization in the world where countries

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<v Speaker 1>all over the world looked at it, and now not

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<v Speaker 1>so much anymore. You know, we're not considered allies, and

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<v Speaker 1>not only in terms of foreign affairs, but just in

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<v Speaker 1>terms of helping people, because the US, being the wealthiest

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<v Speaker 1>country in the world, or the wealthiest big country in

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<v Speaker 1>the world, has been known for helping people, and it

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<v Speaker 1>just won't. We are now becoming isolationists. You can agree

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<v Speaker 1>or disagree with that. I have to disagree. I think

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<v Speaker 1>US money to help people from getting ebola is a

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<v Speaker 1>good thing. But I understand the other side of it.

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<v Speaker 1>I get it. You know, we're going to be isolationists.

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<v Speaker 1>We're going to be America firsters, and that's what we

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<v Speaker 1>voted for. And I'm a big fan of democracy, A

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<v Speaker 1>big fan of democracy. So people that bitch and moan,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, I have friends that say he's not my president,

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<v Speaker 1>and you know what he is. He is your president.

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<v Speaker 1>The US electorate voted him into office. Now, don't give

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<v Speaker 1>me he is not my president. You know, I don't

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<v Speaker 1>want to hear it. Okay. I want to talk a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit about dumping. And this is a terrific story

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<v Speaker 1>that came out of the Atlantic. We get a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of information from the Atlantic because they're it's a good magazine.

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<v Speaker 1>Now I want to get this was based in England

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<v Speaker 1>because it talks about what's going on in England. But

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<v Speaker 1>this happens all over the world. So it starts with

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<v Speaker 1>a plastic shopping bag that is used at a supermarket

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<v Speaker 1>where groceries go in Okay, The shopper puts the groceries

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<v Speaker 1>in a bag, takes it home and then quote recycles it. Right,

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<v Speaker 1>It puts in the recycling bin. And here's what happens.

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<v Speaker 1>From a recycling bin in London. It's truck to Harwich,

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<v Speaker 1>which is port town, eighty miles northeast, and then it

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<v Speaker 1>shipped to Rotterdam, which is in Holland. Then it's driven

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<v Speaker 1>across Germany into Poland, and then it's put into this

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<v Speaker 1>jumbled pile of trash outside an unmarked warehouse in southern Turkey.

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<v Speaker 1>Now it might eventually get recycled, but more likely it's

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<v Speaker 1>just going to sit there and it'll be put out

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<v Speaker 1>in the sun, slowly descendigrating over decad aids and for

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<v Speaker 1>most plastic bags, this is completely invisible. We don't know

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<v Speaker 1>how that's done. There's a book that was just written

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<v Speaker 1>by a journalist, by a na Alexandria Clap and it's

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<v Speaker 1>called Waste Wars, The Wild Afterlife of Your Trash. And

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<v Speaker 1>the book goes through a whole lot of these journeys,

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<v Speaker 1>tracking the garbage of rich countries like ours, along these

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<v Speaker 1>arteries towards some of the planet's poorest places. As I

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<v Speaker 1>told you, it's tough to be poor, whether you're an individual,

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<v Speaker 1>whether you're a farmer, whether you are a country, poor people, countries,

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<v Speaker 1>places just not good. And so one of the dark

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<v Speaker 1>sides of consumerism what we do, what we turn out

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<v Speaker 1>is all the discarded wrappers, old ips that are piling

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<v Speaker 1>up and literally being burned on the other side of

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<v Speaker 1>the world. Burning an iPhone, you think that releases a

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<v Speaker 1>toxic or two. And what happens, according to this book,

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<v Speaker 1>and no one's going to refute it. There's a devastating

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<v Speaker 1>environmental toll, leeches toxic contaminants into water, air, food, Whole regions,

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<v Speaker 1>not just countries, whole regions are becoming fields of trash.

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<v Speaker 1>It is so big, this issue that it's actually reshaping

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<v Speaker 1>entire economies. The disposal industry employees now millions and millions

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<v Speaker 1>of people. Whole towns in India and Indonesia are buried

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<v Speaker 1>in millions of pounds of single use plastics. Whole communities

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<v Speaker 1>across Indian Bangladesh are populated by armies of migrant workers

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<v Speaker 1>who I don't know if you've ever seen this story

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<v Speaker 1>or videos or documentaries. They dismantle old cruise liners, ships, tankers.

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<v Speaker 1>They bring them up on shore and we're talking about

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<v Speaker 1>these massive ships and they're dismantled by hand. You see

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<v Speaker 1>them come in with the welding torches and take out

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<v Speaker 1>huge chunk of these ships and then bring them to

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<v Speaker 1>recycling centers. Because steel is the most recycled material in

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<v Speaker 1>the world. No one throws away steel, and so, as

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<v Speaker 1>I said, rich countries pass the problems onto poorer countries.

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<v Speaker 1>And this has been going on for a long long time,

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<v Speaker 1>even before the use of plastics really came into being.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, there was a time before World War Two

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<v Speaker 1>were plastics didn't even exist. Can you imagine a world

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<v Speaker 1>without plastics? I mean I remember a world. Oh, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>so dated, where you couldn't no one mark at the

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<v Speaker 1>market said paper or plastic, No one because there was

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<v Speaker 1>no plastic. So it was paper bags and they came

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<v Speaker 1>for free, they didn't charge you ten cents. And you

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<v Speaker 1>know what people did, like I did, you say, plastic

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<v Speaker 1>in paper? So they put the food in a plastic

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<v Speaker 1>bag and then put the bag into a paper bag

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<v Speaker 1>because you wouldn't have stuff that leaked out. And so

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<v Speaker 1>there was a time when it was only paper. We're

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<v Speaker 1>moving back to paper. Ah, what's old is new, what's

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<v Speaker 1>new is old. So going back into history, before the

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<v Speaker 1>use of plastics came up in any way whatsoever, the

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<v Speaker 1>US dumped radio appive materials where on Pacific island nations,

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<v Speaker 1>and decades later we're still looking at a potential radioactive

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<v Speaker 1>disaster in those places. I mean, this is a tough story.

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<v Speaker 1>So I want to come back give you a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit of history of what's going on. And this is

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<v Speaker 1>one of the reasons that I am happy that I'm

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<v Speaker 1>not going to be around thirty years from now. I

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<v Speaker 1>used to be really depressed that I'm not going to

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<v Speaker 1>be around thirty forty fifty years. Where I can last

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<v Speaker 1>in the twenty sixties twenty seventies, only because where technology

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<v Speaker 1>is going, what's it going to be like flying cars

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<v Speaker 1>and the Jetsons and just all of it. I was

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<v Speaker 1>going to miss out. Well, I'm fine with missing out.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't envy my kids. I don't envy my grandkids

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<v Speaker 1>because I between climate change and stuff like this, I

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<v Speaker 1>don't think it's going to be so hot? Am I

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<v Speaker 1>depressing anybody? Amy? Is this sort of up? Isn't this good? Will?

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<v Speaker 1>You're fairly new to the show, you haven't been around

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<v Speaker 1>very long. But have I depressed you during the course

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<v Speaker 1>of this show? Because I really want to. I'm a

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<v Speaker 1>little sad. Yeah, oh goody good. We have to move

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit more in that direction. Man. I love it,

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<v Speaker 1>I know, And this is why on Saturday. I love

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<v Speaker 1>it when you have no case. Hey, you don't have

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<v Speaker 1>a case. Do you understand? There's nothing there, There's nada.

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to the philosophy of this show. Oh there's more,

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<v Speaker 1>Oh there's plenty more. I'm going to talk to you

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<v Speaker 1>about waste and what's going on throughout the world. And

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<v Speaker 1>I'm discussing a book that was written by a journalist

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<v Speaker 1>Alexandra Klapp called Waste Wars The Wild after Life of

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<v Speaker 1>Your Trash. And I'm simply going through the story of

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<v Speaker 1>what happens to our trash and how we recycle plastics,

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<v Speaker 1>for example, which we don't, and primarily plastic bags, which

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<v Speaker 1>are ubiquitous. And if you look at the oceans and

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<v Speaker 1>the amount of trash that's out there, and the biggest

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<v Speaker 1>amount of trash is plastic bags. What is it the

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<v Speaker 1>great trash area in the Pacific where you've got the

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<v Speaker 1>tides that are circling and there's one chunk of floating

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<v Speaker 1>trash that's the size of Texas. I mean, just insanity.

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<v Speaker 1>So here's what we do is develop countries, is we

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<v Speaker 1>take our trash and we move it to developing non

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<v Speaker 1>developed countries, developing countries, poor countries. And what we do

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<v Speaker 1>is not only do we remove wealth from poorer developing

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<v Speaker 1>countries by sending them trash, we take away their wealth.

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<v Speaker 1>It's called anti wealth. And we're talking about the very

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<v Speaker 1>places that supplied raw material rubber, cotton, metal are now

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<v Speaker 1>dumping grounds. We're accused of taking out their natural resources

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<v Speaker 1>replacing them with the trash that we in fact manufacture.

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<v Speaker 1>And you know, we go back to the seventies, there

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<v Speaker 1>were statutes like the Federal Environmental Pesticized Control Act of

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen seventy two. Scores of toxic substances were banned in

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<v Speaker 1>seventy six the Research Conservation and Recovery Act. Buying hazardous

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<v Speaker 1>waste in the US soil became a lot more expensive,

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<v Speaker 1>and boy, whatn't end around The industry did because this

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<v Speaker 1>commitment to environmentalists did. Environmentalism didn't extend to other countries,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean only the wealthy countries. So these laws were

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<v Speaker 1>passed across Europe North America. So a semi legal international

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<v Speaker 1>waste trade soon sprang up, and so wealthy nations like

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<v Speaker 1>US exported asbestos DDT to countries like Benin and Haiti

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<v Speaker 1>or Benin and Haiti desperate to develop their economies and

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<v Speaker 1>desperate to put their people to work, and by the

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<v Speaker 1>end of the eighties, more aid more waste than development

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<v Speaker 1>aid dollar for dollar was going from the wealthy nations

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<v Speaker 1>to the poor nations. And by the late nineteen eighties

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of these developing agents had enough, and so

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<v Speaker 1>most of the world went into something called entered into

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<v Speaker 1>the Basel Convention, a nineteen eighty nine international agreement out

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<v Speaker 1>lying the export of hazardous waste to other countries. One

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and ninety one nations have ratified the Basil Convention.

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<v Speaker 1>The United States is not one of them. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>we're good at being one of the few nations in

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<v Speaker 1>several instances where we just don't sign up with the

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<v Speaker 1>rest of the world. So here is the end around

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<v Speaker 1>because this is still going on, but it's against the law.

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<v Speaker 1>You can't transport waste. So you know what these countries

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<v Speaker 1>and these industry did. Boy, I'm talking about us, the

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<v Speaker 1>wealthy guys. What happened in the nineteen nineties. They looked

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<v Speaker 1>at a provision of the Basil Convention that an object

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<v Speaker 1>sent from one country to another for reuse rather than disposal,

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<v Speaker 1>was not waste. It was a thing of value. So

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<v Speaker 1>wastebrokers and this is done by brokers. I mean this

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<v Speaker 1>is on an international scale of magnitude. What wastebrokers did

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<v Speaker 1>was refer to these wastes as recovered by products that

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<v Speaker 1>can be recycled, which of course they can't. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>technically you can recycle plastic plastic bags. The problem is

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<v Speaker 1>it's very expensive, it's not easy to do at all,

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<v Speaker 1>and it just doesn't make any sense. It doesn't make

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<v Speaker 1>any financial sense, so no one's gonna do it. But

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<v Speaker 1>the messaging was very effective, and plastic production is still accelerating,

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<v Speaker 1>going through the roof and it's a mess. Just wanting

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<v Speaker 1>to make you feel better. We're done, guys, Okay. Coming up,

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<v Speaker 1>it's Gary and Shannon at eleven twenty. They're talking about

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<v Speaker 1>the high pressure tactics Gloria already there's a famous attorney

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<v Speaker 1>Gloria already uses on her clients. Tomorrow we start all

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<v Speaker 1>over again. Wake up call at five am, Amy and

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<v Speaker 1>Will and then coming up at six o'clock it's Neil

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<v Speaker 1>and Me and is always taking care of our show mediocrely. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>Cono is bowing right now, Cono and and this is

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<v Speaker 1>KFI am six. You've been listening to the Bill Handle Show.

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<v Speaker 1>Catch My Show Monday through Friday, six am to nine am,

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<v Speaker 1>and anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.