Australian whistleblower who revealed special forces executions in Afghanistan is jailed. “David McBride, 60, was sentenced in a court in the capital, Canberra, to five years and eight months in prison after pleading guilty to three charges including theft and sharing with members of the press documents classified as secret. He had faced a potential life sentence. ….McBride’s documents formed the basis of an Australian Broadcasting Corp. seven-part television series in 2017 that contained war crime allegations including Australian Special Air Service Regiment soldiers killing unarmed Afghan men and children in 2013. Police raided the ABC’s Sydney headquarters in 2019 in search of evidence of a leak, but decided against charging the two reporters responsible for the investigation. ….McBride’s argument that his suspicions that the higher echelons of the Australian Defense Force were engaged in criminal activity obliged him to disclose classified papers ‘didn’t reflect reality,’ [Justice David] Mossop said. An Australian military report released in 2020 found evidence that Australian troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan prisoners, farmers and civilians. The report recommended 19 current and former soldiers face criminal investigation.” https://apnews.com/article/mcbride-whistleblower-court-prison-afghanistan-war-crimes-e3fd2301d22d35ee348668b91b02d6bb
Israeli troops open fire on U.N. vehicle, killing one employee and injuring another. “Relatives of the [American] doctors [trapped in Gaza] were told by the State Department that rescue efforts were underway, including through coordination with the United Nations and the Israel Defense Forces. Yet on Monday, the Israeli military fired on a United Nations vehicle that was traveling to the European Hospital in Khan Younis, near Rafah, killing a U.N. employee and injuring another. A family member of one of the doctors stranded at the European Hospital said that he suspected the vehicle was part of the rescue mission, but was uncertain.” https://theintercept.com/2024/05/13/rafah-doctors-european-hospital-un-employee-killed/
Israeli settlers attack aid trucks, destroy food and other aid bound for Gaza. “The aid was on the way to Gaza when it was attacked by settlers between the Tuqumiya and Kiryat Arba checkpoints near the occupied West Bank city of Hebron. Footage shows settlers carrying Israeli flags and climbing up onto one of the trucks, throwing the aid boxes onto the road. ….It was the first major aid shipment Jordan was meant to bring into Gaza via the Erez crossing, which was recently reopened for the first time since 7 October.” https://thecradle.co/articles-id/24859
At least 180 killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza. “Heavy air strikes were reported across the strip over the weekend and on Monday, with attacks since Friday killing at least 180 Palestinians and wounding dozens more, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The raids coincided with incursions into Jabalia in northern Gaza, the Zeitoun neighbourhood in Gaza City and eastern Rafah. ….The heavy shelling has forced tens of thousands of people to temporarily flee their homes in Jabalia and Zeitoun. In Rafah, the UN estimates nearly 360,000 have fled since last week.” https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-israel-unleashes-heaviest-bombing-months
Biden administration imposes steep tariffs on Chinese products. “Starting this year, President Joe Biden will quadruple tariffs on imported Chinese electric vehicles, from 25% to 100%. The import tax on Chinese solar cells will double, from 25% to 50%. And tariffs on some Chinese steel and aluminum imports will increase more than three-fold, from 7.5% today up to 25%. ….The president also directed U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to more than triple the tariff rates on lithium-ion batteries for EVs and lithium batteries meant for other uses. Starting in 2025, tariffs on imported Chinese semiconductors will jump from 25% to 50%. First-time tariffs will be imposed on Chinese imports of medical needles and syringes, as well as massive ship-to-shore cranes, the White House said in a fact sheet. Chinese rubber medical gloves and some respirators and face masks will also be hit with higher tariff rates.” https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/14/biden-raises-china-tariffs-on-evs-solar-panels-batteries-.html This keeps electric vehicles out of reach for most U.S. motorists. It might make sense if U.S. automakers were producing affordable EVs, but they’re not.
New Alabama law denies state incentives to companies that voluntarily recognize labor unions. “[Gov. Kay] Ivey signed SB231 into law on Friday. The new law, which passed out of the Alabama Legislature last week, withholds economic incentives the state offers to lure a company into the state if it voluntarily recognizes a union or if the union does not hold a secret ballot during an election. Similar laws have been adopted in Tennessee and Georgia. The new law sets a Jan. 1, 2025, date to revoke economic incentives if a company voluntarily accepts a union.” https://www.al.com/news/2024/05/alabama-is-not-michigan-ivey-signs-union-bill-as-mercedes-workers-vote-on-joining-uaw.html WTF? Politicians being politicians…
Airlines sue Dept. of Transportation over fee disclosure rules. “Major airlines have filed a lawsuit against the federal government over new rules that would require carriers to disclose all airline fees — including those for checked and carry-on bags as well as change and cancelation fees — up front. The suit was filed Friday in the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court by carriers Alaska, American, Delta, Hawaiian, JetBlue, and United along with industry lobby Airlines For America. It alleges the Department of Transportation exceeded its authority in announcing the new rule, calling it an ‘arbitrary, capricious’ change.” https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/13/business/airlines-sue-dot-over-new-rules-requiring-disclosure-of-fees/index.html Asserting that you have a right to scam consumers is a pretty bold move.
Man claims he was beaten and tasered by Kinston, NC police after they asked him for ID for no apparent reason. “The video shows two officers using force. In the videos, the officers are seen punching and tasing the man. News12’s Maiya Crews spoke with the man today. Khalil Branch is the man seen in the video being held down by police. He says he grew up in the neighborhood and was returning to visit family. ….He claims that police came up to him and a few friends asking for ID and threatening to search them. Video shows one of the officers punching and tasing Branch in an attempt to cuff him. ….So far, Branch has not been charged. ….Branch says he is now suffering from several bruised ribs.” https://www.wcti12.com/news/local/kinston-man-claims-excessive-force-by-police-in-viral-arrest-video-investigation-underway
66 Los Angeles county parole officers on administrative leave. “The Los Angeles County Probation Department announced Monday that it has put 66 of its officers on administrative leave in the past five months for alleged offenses including excessive force, sexual abuse and drug possession. The department said the announcement was intended as an effort to ‘regain public trust’ as it roots out employees who engage in misconduct at the nation’s largest probation agency….. Of the 66 officers cited, 39 were for issues of general misconduct, which includes suspected use of excessive force, child endangerment or abuse, possession of contraband, and negligent supervision, officials said. In addition, 18 were put on leave for suspected sexual misconduct and nine for arrests unrelated to employment.” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/la-county-puts-66-probation-officers-leave-misconduct-sexual-abuse-exc-rcna152116
Pathologist who called Warren Report’s ‘single bullet’ finding ‘absolute nonsense’ dies at 93. “After reviewing the autopsy documents, discovering the president’s brain had gone missing, and viewing an amateur video of the assassination, [Dr. Cyril] Wecht concluded the commission’s findings that there was a single bullet involved in the attack that killed [Pres. John] Kennedy and injured Texas Gov. John Connally was ‘absolute nonsense’. Wecht’s lecture circuit demonstration detailing his theory that it was impossible for one bullet to cause the damage it did on that November day in Dallas made its way into Oliver Stone’s movie ‘JFK’ after the director consulted with him. It became the famous courtroom scene showing the path of the ‘magic bullet’. Attorney F. Lee Bailey called Wecht the ‘single most important spearhead of challenge’ to the Warren report.” https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13414043/Famed-pathologist-Dr-Cyril-Wecht-dies-aged-93-JFK-Brittany-Murphy.html Wecht believed the JFK assassination was part of a coup d’etat carried out by powerful insiders. https://www.wtae.com/article/there-was-coup-d-etat-in-america-cyril-wecht-weighs-in-on-decision-to-open-jfk-assassination-files/13068298
Anti-war Republican ‘Pete’ McCloskey Jr. dies at 96. “When the Korean War began, McCloskey joined the Marines where he led a rifle platoon in a bayonet charge to take a strategic hill. He won the Navy Cross, the Silver Star, and two Purple Hearts. He remained a Marine Reserve officer for several years thereafter. In 1953, McCloskey earned his law degree from Stanford and became a deputy district attorney in Alameda County until 1954. ….In a 1967 special election necessitated by the death of Rep. J. Arthur Younger, McCloskey won his seat representing the San Mateo district in Congress. With the Vietnam War already raging, McCloskey ran as an antiwar candidate defeating the beloved film star and his fellow Republican Shirley Temple Black along with the Democrat Roy Archibald. While serving seven terms in Congress, McCloskey became the first GOP representative to both oppose the war… and demand Nixon’s impeachment. ….In 1975, he traveled to Cambodia to observe the… destruction left by the massive US bombing campaign. ….McCloskey condemned the atrocities committed in Cambodia, declaring that Washington had unleashed ‘greater evil than we have done to any country in the world, and wholly without reason, except for our benefit to fight against the Vietnamese.’ ….During the second Iraq War, McCloskey also highlighted the heavy influence of the Likud as well as the neoconservatives in spearheading the push for Washington’s illegal and disastrous invasion. ….’I don’t think there’s any secret that we’ve gone to war in Iraq, not to protect against the Iraq threat to the United States, but to stop the Iraq threat to Israel…. Of course, now they’re pushing to take out Iran. Well why are we wanting to take out Iran? Because it represents a threat to Israel.'” https://original.antiwar.com/Connor_Freeman/2024/05/13/goodbye-to-pete-mccloskey-an-antiwar-hero/
Robert Kennedy, Jr. campaign sues Meta for blocking campaign video. “In the complaint filed in San Francisco federal court, Kennedy… claims that Meta censored a 30-minute video advertisement about his life on Facebook, Instagram and other Meta-owned platforms by blocking users on those platforms from watching, sharing or linking to the video. When users attempted to share or discuss the video, Kennedy claims that Meta suspended or banned the accounts. ….’If supporters of all candidates do not have equal access to the digital public square, then we have a democracy in name only,’ Kennedy said in a press release posted by his campaign. ….’Meta is censoring a biographical film about a major candidate in an election year. How can voters make an informed choice if they are denied basic information about a candidate’s life?’ ….In the complaint, Kennedy claims that Meta began censoring the video almost immediately after it was posted on May 3. Meta told news outlets that it reversed the ban on May 5, but Kennedy claims that Meta is still ‘continuing to throttle, de-boost, demote and shadow-ban the film’. Meta did not respond to requests for comment on Monday’s lawsuit, but told Forbes last week that the advertisement was blocked by mistake and ‘was quickly restored once the issue was uncovered.'” https://www.courthousenews.com/robert-kennedy-jr-sues-meta-over-censored-campaign-video/
New Jersey bill would give state and local agencies the power to sue people who badger them for public documents. “The bill states that courts can issue a restraining order against requesters who intend to ‘harass’ government agencies or ‘substantially interrupt the performance of government function’. The order could limit ‘the number and scope of requests the requestor may make’, or even eliminate the requester’s right to obtain government records statewide. New Jersey politicians have been salivating over this power. Last year, the Township of Irvington sued an elderly woman, claiming that her frequent requests for information “‘bullied and annoyed‘ municipal officials. After getting bad press, Irvington backed out of the lawsuit—but then it threatened to have First Amendment lawyer Adam Steinbaugh prosecuted when he dug around for more records on the case. The League of Municipalities, the New Jersey Conference of Mayors, and the New Jersey Association of Counties all support the bill, arguing that they’ve been swamped with time- and resource-wasting records requests. ….CJ Griffin, director of the Stein Public Interest Center and vice president of the Board of Trustees for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, has denounced the bill. ‘And so what if tons of people want tons of records? It’s OUR government. Every OPRA request means someone is engaged and wants to know what’s going on in their government,’ he wrote on social media.” https://reason.com/2024/05/13/new-jersey-mayors-want-the-power-to-sue-you-for-asking-too-many-questions/