Is it possible to reduce meat consumption in our culture?

´At ease with the Earth’ analyzes the consumption of meat in society, as well as the possibility of alternatives to reduce its sustainable impact and improve health

Two women buy meat in a market in Madrid. EFE / Victor Casado

Meat enters the space to talk about the food of the future and the challenges it poses for the coming years in terms of its consumption.

Henar Fernandez, driver of the podcastand Noelia Lopeza Nestlé nutritionist, bring us the recommendations to achieve a healthy and sustainable diet beyond this food.

In the new program meat is the protagonist. Why do we like meat so much? Why do we consume it more than necessary?

Meat is one of the most consumed foods in our society. Evolutionarily, the human being comes from a food system based on gathering and hunting.

“There are cultures and religions that precisely follow vegetarian patterns, but the Western world has a strong link with meat and with recipes rich in foods of animal origin and derived products such as sausages”

explains the nutritionist.

In addition, the mistaken thought that the proteins that meat and its derivatives provide us with are of higher quality than vegetables is also very common.

It is thought that if we do not consume it with a certain frequency, or even in a certain quantity, we will not cover the protein needs required to maintain our health.

Environmental impact of meat

There are differences in the type of animal, veal, chicken or rabbit, as well as the origin of this meat. It also takes into account how it has been fed or how it has been raised.

“Ruminants, red meat such as cows, emit more greenhouse gases than white meat. Therefore, to avoid the growth of emissions, as well as for health reasons, it is preferable to prioritize white meat such as chicken”

recommends Noelia López.

In the event that this change costs us, we have vegetable alternatives similar in taste and texture to replace meat consumption.

Cows, red meat. EFE/Javier Onion

Apart of this it is important “to adjust the consumption of the portions that we take to the recommendations”.

“In this way we will be much more respectful and responsible with the problem of food waste, which is part of food sustainability.”

says the specialist.

Paying attention to these items, frequency of consumption and waste, we would already be much more sustainable.

Is it advisable to stop eating red meat?

Demonizing food is not a good initiative, says the nutritionist.

“The preferable thing is to reduce meat intake and try to introduce more vegetables in our diet such as legumes and cereals”

defends the nutritionist.

It is not about eliminating the intake, he proposes, but about “making a more responsible consumption, reducing the portions and the frequency of consumption”.

The role of the fish

If we opt for local and seasonal fish, its consumption will be more sustainable.

Another way to bet on sustainability in terms of fishing is the worldwide maintenance of the natural network, the consumption of aquaculture and vegetable or shellfish alternatives.

aquaculture

It’s about the production of fish and shellfish in a controlled manner. “This practice is not very well known but little by little it is growing. It is more efficient in terms of sustainability and it is making a niche for itself in the market.”

“Today it is FAO’s strongest commitment to ensure that the consumption of these foods is sustainable. In addition, it has a positive impact on food safety and the consequent commitment to fresh local products”

Aquaculture. EFE/EPA/CAROLINE BLUMBERG

sustainable market

Legumes, cereals, nuts and seeds are plant foods that can cover protein needs.

“Tempeh and tofu, made with soy and wheat, are good substitutes for meat. These alternatives are related to veggie patterns, but you don’t have to follow this diet to include them in our diet”

advises Noelia López.

Other vegetarian or vegan alternatives provide a lot of variety in our menus, but they do not pretend to imitate meat.

But we also found a group of 100% vegan alternatives that if they get the consumer to enjoy eating a hamburger or sausages with a cooking and texture similar to meat.

Something similar happens with “the tuna, la Vuna, which already has vegetable alternatives and which allows us to enjoy the taste, even the smell, of tunabut with a totally vegetable product made from peas”.

Nowadays it is easy to find this type of products in the market. Its expansion makes it possible to help sustainability, since more and more sustainable products are available to everyone.

Walter Riso: advancing self-confidence

In the era of social networks, in which there are many people, and especially the youngest, but also adults, who desperately seek the approval of others or feel intimidated when it comes to showing themselves as they are, makes it more necessary than ever to advance in self-confidence and self-affirmation

This is defended by the clinical psychologist specializing in cognitive therapy, walter riso in his latest book “The Courage to be Who You Are (even if you don’t like it)” (Planeta), in which he encourages his readers to “psychological insubordination” against those precepts and mandates that “prevent you from being yourself”.

In an interview with EFEsalud, Riso explains that the dependence on others and the thoughtless compliance with any mandate enslaves and corrupts from within.

“No matter what social conventions and role models who want to correct your
behavior at all costs: when it comes to you, and therefore you are the one who has the last word”.

And although the anxiety that this struggle for self-confidence and self-affirmation may cause “makes you tremble from head to toe, let your motto be: I am the one who decides about me, period.”

In the specific case of adolescents trapped by the groups and fashions of the networks that they follow, the psychologist considers that they greatly impede the construction of the self, because they do not allow the different to enter, and it is precisely in the opposite that one grows.

Walter Riso’s proposal is that people free themselves from the areas of sociocultural indoctrination (ties) that, according to his experience as a clinical psychologist, are a machine for generating insecure people who are afraid of being themselves.

The first way to mold and train the mind, he says, has to do with everything that makes self-knowledge difficult for us.

In your opinion, we are more oriented towards what happens abroad than towards what happens in
our interior, which promotes ignorance of oneself and advocates turning towards self-observation and opposing any attempt to hijack your “I” and reify it.

He also recommends locating yourself in your personal history and activating your autobiographical memory, because “you can’t know who you are if you don’t know where you come from.”

You have to know who your grandparents were, what you know about your great-grandparents, who your father and mother are, if you know them thoroughly or at least have tried to get into their shoes, into their problems, into their intimacy…

It is also important, according to the psychologist, to review childhood since you can remember it. Review how you have grown, the bonds you have established with friends and family.

And declare that no one can affect your inner freedom if you do not allow it.

“There is an inner freedom that belongs to you, that occurs in the reduced and exclusive space of your intimacy, where no one has an entrance, except you, and there is no to be like the majority: defend and reaffirm your uniqueness”.

Regarding this, Walter Riso points out the importance of not acquiring a mass mentality and opposing any attempt to belittle, ignore or modify your personal identity.

Fears that block change

The First It arises when individuals do not believe that they will be able to adapt to the new, because they consider that they do not have the qualities or skills required to face what awaits them.

The second has to do with social disapproval, in the sense that if someone changes their style
Staff will mark you as weird, misfit, or crazy.

And the third, It comes from thinking that the entrance of the new will profoundly affect the meaning of your life, because the beliefs and customs you have define it in a radical way.

“Generally – he points out about the latter – this fear arises “from dogmatic and fanatical minds, to whom the mere word change produces terror, since they do not conceive that their schemes can be questioned”.

(Photo by Jason Hogan on Unsplash)

Walter Riso: advancing self-confidence

Among other advice and recommendations, walter riso explains in four steps how to advance in self-confidence:

1.- Every morning, don’t say another day to endure, but another day to overcome myself… “If reality is hard, you have to reinforce the self…”

2.- Review your goals. “They have hung a sign on you or you have hung it on yourself… you have to look for sensible objectives and manage intelligent aspirations that demand you without destroying you…”

3.- Eliminate once and for all the negative automatic thoughts about your abilities… “The true disappointment about oneself arises when the objectives you pursue are not attempted..”

4.- Do not insist on remembering the bad. ..”Memory can be very cruel if you only feed it on the times when it has gone wrong…”

Educate and raise awareness to make ovarian cancer visible

The report “The social challenge of ovarian cancer” has among its objectives to advance awareness and visibility of ovarian cancer, both at a social and health level, to improve the survival and quality of life of those affected

Ovarian cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women and the leading cause of death from gynecological cancer in Spain, where some 3,300 cases are diagnosed annually, of which 58.9 percent die.

The Association of People Affected by Ovarian Cancer (ASACO) and the Fundación Más Que Ideas (MQI) promote the visibility of this tumor and favor reflection at a social and health level, under the initiative “The social challenge of ovarian cancer”.

This document has been prepared by twenty health professionals, patients, relatives of those affected and representatives of associations against ovarian cancer.

Its objective is to focus on making earlier diagnoses and obtaining better results in terms of survival and quality of life for women suffering from this disease.

In addition, they want to promote dialogue around self-care and recognition of gynecological health.

Multidisciplinary approach and sex education

The report sets out four essential priorities:

• Educate society and health groups on the recognition of symptoms
• Facilitate access to specialized surgery and a multidisciplinary approach
• Educate in gynecological, sexual and reproductive health
• Training health professionals in communication

To do this, they propose a series of actions based on awareness and sensitization as fundamental axes of their campaigns.

Both associations detail that 80% of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer are in advanced stages of the disease.

Although the patients recognize the agility of the process once diagnosed, they believe that the recognition of symptoms should improve.

Six out of 10 affected women state that they have no previous knowledge of the disease, which, added to the non-specificity of the symptoms, makes it difficult to recognize cancer early.

Recognition of symptoms is vital for early diagnosis. Image courtesy of ASACO.

The specialization of the medical team is essential to achieve success in surgery. The document states that the doctor must dedicate at least 50% of his clinical practice to this type of operation.

Ovarian cancer not only has consequences on physical health, but also emotional and social ones. Therefore, a multidisciplinary approach to patients and the integration of gynecological oncology is considered key.

In these terms, self-knowledge and knowledge about gynecological health are key factors, according to experts.

Addressing the reproductive and sexual repercussions and achieving the involvement of health personnel can help improve the quality of life of women affected by this cancer.

Finally, the associations express the need to train health personnel in communication to transmit information to patients and families more empathetically and effectively.

Raise awareness and sensitize to save lives

The report It also highlights the importance of raising awareness through raising awareness and attracting the attention of society.

Women in general and also men should know about it in order to be able to transfer this problem to all people and support the women affected.

Experts recommend that information be personalized by age groups based on involvement, empathy, clarity of messages and work with influential people, especially on social networks.

What happens to sexuality with ovarian cancer?

One of the main demands is the treatment of the sexuality of those affected with ovarian cancer. In the report they clarify that attention must be paid to favor a better self-knowledge of the body and know how to deal with sexual problems.

The sexologist, sociologist and health and gender consultant, Irene Coldexplains to EFEsalud that “sexuality must be addressed first from oncology.”

“The professional should ask what life is like for the woman who has just been diagnosed. Ovarian cancer has an unexpected course and is very irruptive in the person’s life cycle. It appears out of nowhere and this at the level of emotional management is very important”, says the specialist.

The sexologist affirms that “health professionals must take the initiative to take sexual function into account and address it directly in consultation”.

Likewise, these doctors must contact sexual health professionals to seek advice and be able to advise the patient.

Psychological treatment has to go hand in hand with treatment of sexuality, according to Aterido: “The pelvic area, where ovarian cancer develops, is a fundamental area for the female and male sexual experience. The communication of bad news is getting better, but sexuality is not yet addressed”.

anticipate to treat

It is recommended that the affected woman be able to ask about the consequences of cancer and treatment, as well as the impact it will have on her sexual life.

“We have to anticipate the questions -he adds- The recently diagnosed does not have to be afraid to ask everything and precisely all the things that scare him. It is important to ask about the consequences at all levels of the organism”.

The sexologist recalls that “sometimes oncology saves your life, but it is important during and see what happens after.”

Issues related to pleasure is another topic that is usually dealt with in sexology in cancer patients.

Irene Aterido recalls that “no cancer treatment will affect the pleasure signals of the central nervous system, so the ability to feel pleasure, love and affection is not lost.”

Communicate the bad news also to the couple

Another important aspect is cancer treatment together with the patient’s sentimental and/or sexual partner.

This expert points out that “there are no general recommendations, but the partner should be included in the communication, if the affected person so wishes.”

“The right to give information about her health belongs to the woman herself and we must attend to the rhythms of diagnosis of grief, as well as consider the stage in which the couple is at the time of diagnosis,” he concludes.

Putin ataca el corazón de las grandes ciudades de Ucrania y avanza en el flanco sur | Internacional

Ante la resistencia ucrania, el presidente ruso, Vladímir Putin, ahonda en su estrategia de atacar el corazón de las ciudades clave de Ucrania y con armas cada vez más poderosas. Arrecian los bombardeos y el asedio sobre Kiev, la capital, y sobre Járkov, la segunda ciudad en población y una estratégica localidad del Este de mayoría de habla rusa, donde esta madrugada Putin ha lanzado grupos de paracaidistas que han atacado un hospital militar. Aunque no hay una cifra oficial del total de personas que han perdido la vida desde el inicio de la ofensiva, Naciones Unidas contabiliza 136. Solo en las últimas 24 horas, los ataques en Járkov han dejado 21 muertos, mientras el flujo de desplazados internos y refugiados que huye de la violencia de Putin no cesa.

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Sobre todo desde Kiev, después de que ayer el Ejército ruso advirtiese a la población que abandonase la capital porque iba a lanzar una serie de ataques. Mientras, las fuerzas invasoras del Kremlin avanzan por el flanco sur y han logrado ya progresos relevantes. El séptimo día de invasión, el Ejército ruso, que ya se había hecho con el control de la ciudad de Berdiansk, en el mar de Azov, ha entrado con fuerza en Jersón, una importante ciudad en el mar Negro, y continúa el duro asedio a la gran localidad de Mariúpol.

Esta madrugada Putin ha lanzado tropas de paracaidistas sobre Járkov, donde han atacado un hospital militar, el Centro Clínico Médico Militar de la Región Norte, según ha señalado el centro operativo de las Fuerzas Armadas de Ucrania en su canal de Telegram, que también han alertado del estallido de una batalla entre los invasores y los defensores ucranianos, ha publicado la BBC.

El martes, las fuerzas rusas reforzaron el asedio a Jersón, de unos 280.000 habitantes y una ciudad con una estratégica industria naval. El Ejército de Putin, que había lanzado ataques a la localidad desde hace varios días, ha entrado ya en Jersón y se ha hecho con el control del puerto y de la estación de tren, según el alcalde, Igor Kolykhayev. Durante todo el martes, las fuerzas del Kremlin habían rodeado la ciudad sureña y plantado puestos de control en todas sus salidas. La toma de Jersón facilitaría el asalto a Odesa, la otra gran ciudad del mar Negro y, por tanto, el control de la salida al mar de Ucrania. A unas aguas, además, donde tres países de la otra tienen costas: Turquía, Rumania y Bulgaria.

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La gran ciudad sureña de Mariúpol está casi rodeada por completo por las fuerzas de Putin. Allí, la mayoría de los vecindarios llevan días sin calefacción, gas o electricidad; algunos también sin agua. Rusia ha bombardeado las subestaciones eléctricas de la ciudad y cortado así los suministros para facilitar el asedio. Además, las fuerzas rusas bombardearon el martes varios rascacielos en zonas residenciales de la ciudad, según el alcalde, Vadym Boychenko. “Las fuerzas enemigas están llegando a Mariúpol desde todas las direcciones, destruyendo nuestra infraestructura, matando a nuestras mujeres, niños y ancianos, y llamándolo una guerra para liberarnos”, clamó Boychenko en un vídeo difundido este martes.

Los analistas miliares temen que Putin endurezca aún sus ataques para desmoralizar a la resistencia. Mientras, el avance de la gran columna —unos 60 kilómetros— de vehículos militares rusos que avanza desde hace un par de días hacia Kiev ha ralentizado su avance por la escasez de combustible y alimentos, según fuentes de la inteligencia de Reino Unido y Estados Unidos.

Uno de los objetivos prioritarios del Kremlin, además de lograr el control del estratégico sur del país y el Donbás, es Kiev, el corazón de Ucrania. El martes, un ataque aéreo sobre la torre de la televisión de la ciudad mató a cinco personas que estaban en la zona e hirió a otras cinco. La torre de televisión se encuentra en el área de Babi Yar, donde entre 100.000 y 150.000 personas fueron ejecutadas durante la ocupación nazi de Kiev, durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

El ataque, durante la guerra con la que Putin dice tener como objetivo “desnazificar” Ucrania, un país gobernado por un presidente judío, Volodímir Zelenski, causó la repulsa inmediata del Centro Conmemorativo del Holocausto de Babi Yar. “Putin que busca distorsionar y manipular el Holocausto para justificar una invasión ilegal de un país democrático soberano es absolutamente abominable”, dijo en un comunicado Nathan Sharanski, presidente del centro ex viceprimer ministro israelí. “Es simbólico que comience a atacar Kiev bombardeando el sitio de Babin Yar, la mayor de las masacres nazis”, señaló Sharanski, que nació en Donetsk.

Y a medida que las víctimas civiles aumentan, el presidente Zelenski eleva el tono hacia la comunidad internacional. Este martes, el líder ucranio reclamó a la OTAN que imponga una zona de exclusión aérea sobre el país para frenar los brutales bombardeos. “Un misil dirigido a la plaza central de una ciudad es terrorismo abierto y no disimulado”, dijo el presidente ucranio ayer, tras el bombardeo contra el edificio de la Administración regional de Járkov, en la icónica plaza de la independencia. “Es el terrorismo que pretende quebrarnos, quebrar nuestra resistencia”, aseguró Zelenski que en la noche del martes al miércoles mantuvo una conversación de 30 minutos con el presidente estadounidense, Joe Biden.

Y a medida que incrementa los ataques contra Ucrania se endurece el aislamiento de la Rusia de Putin. La marea de sanciones han afectado a la línea de flotación de su economía. El mercado de valores ruso, con el rublo desplomado, permanecerá cerrado también este miércoles mientras empiezan a verse los primeros síntomas de corralito en el país euroasiático, el más grande del mundo, con 144 millones de habitantes. Putin ha prohibido a las personas sacar más de 10.000 dólares en moneda extranjera a partir de este miércoles, según la agencia oficial de noticias Tass, mientras el país lucha por contener el impacto financiero generalizado de las sanciones por la invasión de Ucrania.

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Estados Unidos: Biden promete en el Capitolio que Putin pagará por invadir Ucrania: “No tiene ni idea de lo que viene” | Internacional

Joe Biden se ha dirigido a Estados Unidos —y al mundo— el martes por la noche (madrugada en España) para prometer que Vladímir Putin “pagará el precio” de su acción al invadir Ucrania, y ha defendido la unidad de los demócratas ante una crisis que contempla como un pulso entre la “tiranía y la libertad”. El presidente estadounidense ha pronunciado su primer discurso del estado de la Unión, una de las citas cumbre de la política americana, en un momento aciago para Europa y Occidente, mientras el Ejército ruso ataca las principales ciudades del país vecino, los civiles toman las armas y las cifras de muertos van en aumento. Biden ha calificado de “dictador” al dirigente ruso y ha asegurado que este ha cometido un “error de cálculo” al creer que los aliados no cerrarían filas.

“La guerra de Putin fue premeditada y sin provocación. Rechazó los esfuerzos diplomáticos. Creyó que Occidente y la OTAN no responderían. Creyó que nos podría dividir aquí, en casa. Putin se equivocó. Estábamos preparados”, ha resaltado el mandatario estadounidense.

En una intervención feroz, Biden ha advertido de que perseguirá a los oligarcas rusos. ”Vamos a por vosotros, cogeremos vuestros yates, vuestros jets privados, vuestros apartamentos de lujo”, ha señalado, desafiante. También ha anunciado el cierre del espacio aéreo del país a todas las aerolíneas rusas, en sintonía con lo decidido por los aliados, una acción que estrangulará aún más la economía rusa. El presidente de EE UU ha dejado en este punto un recado para Putin: “No tiene ni idea de lo que viene”.

La invasión rusa de Ucrania ha cambiado el guion de un discurso del estado de la Unión que Biden pensaba centrar en la política nacional, en reivindicar los logros económicos, amén de la inflación y reclamar al Congreso un paso adelante con las reformas pendientes. Putin ha cambiado, al fin y al cabo, el paso a medio mundo, ha colocado a Europa en un escenario bélico que no esperaba en 2022, con tanques avanzando por las calles, familias refugiadas en estaciones de metro y tiroteos por tierra, mar y aire. Brotan los recuerdos de la Guerra Fría, las comparaciones con la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

“Un dictador ruso, invadiendo un país extranjero, tiene costes en todo el mundo”, ha dicho Biden, si bien “en la batalla entre democracia y autocracia, las democracias están alcanzando su momento”, ha añadido. Ucrania ha provocado aplausos de todas las bancadas en el Capitolio, una rareza en este tiempo de fricción política en Washington. La embajadora ucrania en Estados Unidos, Oksana Markarova, invitada de honor y sentada junto a la primera dama, Jill Biden, recibió una larga ovación en pie de toda la Cámara, donde abundaban las banderas y los colores, amarillo y azul del país atacado.

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Biden, niño de la posguerra y testigo político del ocaso de la URSS, es además un viejo conocido de Putin —“No creo que usted tenga alma”, le dijo al presidente ruso, la primera vez que lo vio, en 2011—. Fue el vicepresidente estadounidense que vivió la toma de Crimea en 2014. El martes por la noche ha recalcado la necesidad de mano dura contra el jefe del Kremlin. “A lo largo de la historia hemos aprendido la lección: cuando los dictadores no pagan un precio por su agresión, causan más caos. Siguen adelante, y los costes y las amenazas a Estados Unidos y al mundo siguen creciendo”, ha advertido.

“Ese es el motivo por el que la alianza de la OTAN fue creada: para asegurar la paz y la estabilidad en Europa después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Estados Unidos es miembro, junto con otras 29 naciones. Eso importa. La diplomacia estadounidense importa”, ha continuado, marcando las distancias del discurso aislacionista de Donald Trump, que más de un año después de dejar la Casa Blanca sigue con su estrategia de agitación, y que ha llegado a mostrar incluso en la actual situación más simpatías por Putin que por los aliados europeos. Biden ha insistido, no obstante, en que no se desplegarán tropas estadounidenses en territorio ucranio.

Se trata del primer discurso del estado de la Unión en 80 años centrado en el presente y el futuro del Viejo Continente. Y ha sido, por otra parte, el primer repaso de Biden a la situación del país, ya que su mensaje a las dos Cámaras del Congreso del año pasado no se considera como tal, puesto que apenas acababa de llegar a la Casa Blanca.

Esta es una de las ceremonias más pomposas de la política estadounidense, una de esas en las que a la burbuja de Washington le gusta recrearse. El líder habla en presencia de los legisladores, de los jueces del Supremo, del jefe del Estado de Mayor, de todos los miembros del Gobierno, salvo uno, el llamado “superviviente designado”, que se convierte en el jefe del Estado por si hubiera una masacre en el Capitolio, medida de prudencia que se remonta a la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

En el mismo acto cobran especial relevancia los acompañantes de la primera dama, que encarnan causas y se convierten en mensajes destacados. En esta ocasión estaban invitadas la embajadora ucrania, Oksana Markarova, y Frances Haugen, la exempleada de Facebook que ha denunciado las malas prácticas del gigante tecnológico.

Apenas se han visto mascarillas dentro de la Cámara, a la que todos los invitados han acudido previo test de coronavirus, y donde se han repartido abrazos en una impactante imagen de vuelta a la normalidad después de dos años. Los problemas internos del país, con todo, siguen muy presentes. Biden ha acudido al Congreso con la popularidad de capa caída. Si en su discurso de abril de 2021 el porcentaje de aprobación se situaba en el 53%, según el promedio de sondeos elaborado por FiveThirtyEight, una plataforma de referencia, ahora ha descendido al 41%.

Cuesta explicarlo en un país que el año pasado creció un 5,7%, la tasa más elevada desde 1984, y con el desempleo situado en el 4%. Pero la escalada de los precios ha hecho mella en el bolsillo de los estadounidenses. La inflación escaló hasta el 7,5% el pasado enero, el máximo en 40 años y, aunque es una tendencia global, los republicanos lo achacan en buena medida al plan de estímulos de Biden, que tachan de excesivo y causante de la falta de mano de obra que denuncian algunas empresas.

El presidente ha sacado pecho por las mejoras y se ha defendido con el siguiente razonamiento: “Una forma de luchar contra la inflación es recortar los sueldos y empobrecer a los estadounidenses, pero yo tengo un plan mejor: bajar vuestros costes, no vuestros sueldos. Fabricar más coches y más semiconductores en Estados Unidos”, ha señalado. Así, retomó también su discurso de apoyo a la industria local y llamó a reducir la dependencia de “las cadenas de suministro extranjeras”. “Hagámoslo en América”, ha resaltado.

Biden ha incidido también en las batallas que tienen al Congreso abierto en canal, como la ley de acceso al voto o el ambicioso programa social, ambos proyectos demócratas que han quedado empantanados por el rechazo republicano y también por la oposición de dos senadores de su partido, Joen Manchin y Kyrsten Sinema. En una noche de símbolos, Manchin, senador por Virginia Occidental, se sentó para escuchar al presidente con los republicanos, en lugar de ocupar un lugar al lado de los suyos, de los demócratas.

Fuera del Congreso, unidades militares de la Guardia Nacional custodiaban la zona. Su presencia hacía inevitable recordar el asalto al Capitolio del 6 de enero de 2021, que marcó un antes y un después en el templo de la democracia estadounidense. La alarma en esta ocasión tenía que ver sobre todo con una caravana de camioneros que se dirigía a la capital en protesta contra las medidas sanitarias obligatorias por la pandemia, inspirados por la de Canadá, deseosos también de sus propios símbolos.

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Biden Says Putin 'Miscalculated' on Ukraine

In his first State of the Union address Tuesday night, U.S. President Joe Biden touted his success in uniting much of the world against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Biden said Ukraine is on the front line of the global battle between democracies and autocracies, and that democracy will prevail.

With Putin ratcheting up attacks on major Ukrainian cities such as Kharkiv and Kyiv, Biden stood in the House chamber and told Americans the free world is united against Putin’s aggression.

“The free world is holding him accountable,” Biden said. “Along with 27 members of the European Union, including France, Germany, Italy, as well as countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and many others, even Switzerland are inflicting pain on Russia and supporting the people of Ukraine. Putin is now isolated from the world more than he has ever been.”

Biden said Putin badly miscalculated when he launched a full-scale invasion of his neighbor, meeting “a wall of strength he never anticipated or imagined” instead of a world that would “roll over.”

“He thought he could divide us at home in this chamber and this nation. He thought he could divide us in Europe as well, but Putin was wrong. We are ready, we are united, and that’s what we did,” Biden said.

The U.S. leader listed some of the major actions the United States and other governments have taken in response to Russia’s invasion, including sanctions against the country’s financial system, a new U.S. Justice Department task force targeting Russian oligarchs, a ban on Russian flights within U.S. air space and direct support to Ukraine in the form of military, economic and humanitarian aid.

“In the battle between democracy and autocracies, democracies are rising to the moment, and the world is clearly choosing the side of peace and security,” Biden said. “This is a real test. It’s going to take time. So let us continue to draw inspiration from the iron will of the Ukrainian people.”

Among the topics not discussed in the address was the chaotic departure of U.S.-led NATO forces from Afghanistan last August. But in the Republican response to Biden’s speech, Governor Kim Reynolds of Iowa blasted the president for what she called his failure there.

“The disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal did more than cost American lives; it betrayed our allies and emboldened our enemies,” Reynolds said.

Experts said in light of the current crisis, it makes sense that Biden devoted his foreign policy part of the speech to Ukraine, even though much there remains uncertain.

“So now it’s a moment where I think Biden thus far has proved a lot of his experience and value, but it all depends on how things play out in Ukraine,” Brian Katulis, vice president of policy at the Middle East Institute, told VOA.

Another expert told VOA the strong positive, bipartisan response Biden received on his Ukraine remarks will be noticed in Moscow.

“And foreign policy wise, that’s a very important signal,” said Michael Kimmage, professor of history at the Catholic University of America and fellow at the German Marshall Fund. “Putin will be looking for any kind of division or vulnerability in American politics. I think everybody in the room, not just Biden, but everybody in the room knew this is not the moment to send that signal.”

President Biden again made clear the United States will not send troops into Ukraine, but vowed that he and the other members of the NATO alliance will defend NATO territory.

“For that purpose, we have mobilized American ground forces, air squadrons, ship deployments to protect NATO countries including Poland, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia,” Biden said. “As I have made crystal clear, the United States and our Allies will defend every inch of territory that is NATO territory with the full force of our collective power. Every single inch.”

President Biden Delivers State of the Union Address

Biden’s first State of the Union address included tough words for autocratic adversaries and a hopeful message for US citizens battered by a pandemic, rising prices, and bitter political divides