Federal appeals court blocks Trump administration’s attempt to undermine rules for handling children in ICE custody. “Placement in state licensed facilities and expeditious release are core principles of the Flores Settlement Agreement; principles that are eviscerated by the government’s regulations, which allow for ‘self-licensing’ and indefinite detention,” (Neha) Desai, the director of the immigration division at the National Center for Youth Law, told CBS News. “The Ninth Circuit’s refusal to allow these regulations to take effect represents a profound victory for accompanied children.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/migrant-families-long-term-detention-lawsuit-blocked-flores-agreement/
U.N. committee says President Trump’s pardons for Blackwater security contractors who opened fire on Iraqi civilians violates U.S. obligations under international law. “… the U.N. Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries…. said the Geneva conventions obliged states to hold war criminals accountable for their crimes, even when they are acting as private security contractors.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/dec/30/trumps-blackwater-pardons-an-affront-to-justice-say-un-experts
Ohio death row inmate who survived botched 2009 execution attempt is believed to have died from covid-19. “The execution was finally put off after (Romell) Broom was stuck by needles 18 times over two hours. He was set again for execution on March 16, 2022.” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ohio-inmate-who-survived-execution-attempt-dies-prison-possible-covid-n1252553
Police departments increasingly collecting evidence from the onboard computers of vehicles. “The telematics system stores a vehicle’s turn-by-turn navigation, speed, acceleration and deceleration information, as well as more granular clues, such as when and where the lights were switched on, the doors were opened, seat belts were put on and airbags were deployed. The infotainment system records recent destinations, call logs, contact lists, text messages, emails, pictures, videos, web histories, voice commands and social media feeds. It can also keep track of the phones that have been connected to the vehicle via USB cable or Bluetooth, as well as all the apps installed on the device.” https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/snitches-wheels-police-turn-car-data-destroy-suspects-alibis-n1251939 Not to mention that rental and fleet vehicles can be tracked in real time by their owners, and some private vehicles can also be located by police officers if they know whose vehicle they are looking for.
Kathleen Hicks is Joe Biden’s pick for deputy secretary of defense. “…. (her) most recent employer is the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)…. a hawkish think tank funded by some of the country’s top weapons makers, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman.” https://news.antiwar.com/2020/12/30/bidens-pick-for-no-pentagon-spot-comes-from-hawkish-arms-industry-funded-think-tank/
Turkey sentences 92 more people to life in prison in connection with 2016 coup attempt. “Senior army officials were among the 92 who were sentenced to life terms — 12 of them ‘aggravated’ terms with no chance of parole. Among the dozen were some departmental heads of land forces, the state-run news agency Anadolu reported.” https://www.dw.com/en/turkey-ex-generals-jailed-for-life-over-2016-coup-attempt/a-56093904 More than 2,500 people in Turkey have reportedly now been sentenced to life in prison in connection with the coup attempt.
Dozens of Democratic Party senators vote in favor of Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell’s motion to drop efforts to increase stimulus checks and move on to overriding President Trumps veto of military funding bill. “In total, 41 Democrats—including Schumer and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris—voted for the motion, paving the way for an override of Trump’s NDAA veto and effectively killing the prospect of a vote on $2,000 direct payments before the next Congress.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/12/31/after-gop-repeatedly-blocked-vote-2000-checks-41-democrats-joined-mcconnell-advance
International Criminal Court’s report closing inquiry into British war crimes in Iraq disappoints those who hoped for justice. “… Iraqis resisting the foreign occupation are referred to as ‘insurgents’ throughout the document…. The idea that the invaders were the respectable power and the locals were ‘insurgents’ may be the language of the British (Ministry of Defence)… but it should not be the language of the International Criminal Court…. Not only is the entire report written in the British voice, it entirely omits the Iraqi voice.” https://consortiumnews.com/2020/12/30/the-iccs-indefensible-decision-on-alleged-uk-war-crimes-in-iraq/ Author points out that the court also refused to consider the invasion of Iraq, a war of aggression, as a war crime, in stark conflict with the findings of the Nuremberg Tribunals.
Civil liberties group downgrades U.S. again, from ‘narrowed’ freedoms to ‘obstructed’ freedoms. “The harsh treatment of people wanting to express themselves (in the U.S.) and the decline of civil liberties is part of a broader global decline in fundamental freedoms. Our new report shows less than four percent of the world’s population live in countries that respect the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression.” https://consortiumnews.com/2020/12/28/us-downgraded-as-civil-liberties-deteriorate-across-the-americas/
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, tasked with investigating systemic racism in the U.S. and human rights violations against African-Americans. “Twelve commissioners, including prominent judges, lawyers, professors, advocates and UN special rapporteurs from Pakistan, South Africa, Japan, India, Nigeria, France, Costa Rica, the United Kingdom and the West Indies will hold public hearings from January 18 to February 6. The commission will hear evidence in 50 cases of police violence that occurred throughout the United States from 2010-2020, including the killings of George Floyd, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor and Tamir Rice.” https://consortiumnews.com/2020/12/28/un-human-rights-commissioner-probing-racist-violence-in-us-as-part-of-wordwide-study-after-trump-administration-blocked-un-human-rights-council-us-inquiry/
Joe Biden’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, is a former deputy director of the CIA. “There were three controversial areas where Haines made a name for herself and for which she should have to answer in a confirmation hearing: The CIA’s refusal to release the Senate Torture Report and the decision to hack into the Senate Intelligence Committee’s computer system; the CIA’s decision to not punish those officers who carried out the hack and who killed and tortured prisoners beyond even what the Justice Department said was permissible; and the government’s drone program, in which hundreds, perhaps thousands, of civilians were killed.” https://consortiumnews.com/2020/12/29/john-kiriakou-the-dark-past-of-bidens-nominee-for-national-intelligence-director/