CEO of Norway’s pension fund says U.S. corporate greed ‘has just gone too far’. “Norway’s $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund is pushing back on companies offering some of the most extravagant pay packages to executives. ‘We think in particular in the U.S. the corporate greed has just gone too far,’ Norges Bank Investment Management CEO Nicolai Tangen said in an interview on Bloomberg TV at the World Economic Forum in Davos.” https://www.pionline.com/sovereign-wealth-funds/corporate-greed-gone-too-far-norwegian-wealth-fund-ceo-nicolai-tangen-says “CEOs who earn more than, say, $20 million a year, he says, are ‘enriching themselves on our behalf’. ‘It’s like daylight robbery,’ [Tangen] told me.” https://fortune.com/2023/01/19/american-executive-pay-is-like-daylight-robbery-says-ceo-of-one-of-the-worlds-largest-sovereign-wealth-funds/
Non-profit that developed Signal and TOR browser has deep links to U.S. government. “There is strong evidence, however, to suggest that the Open Technology Fund is not what it claims to be: that it is neither independent nor truly committed to online freedom and privacy. First, while technically a private company, it is directly funded and controlled by the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), a government body responsible for overseeing U.S.-funded state media outlets overseas, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Voice of America and Radio and Televisión Martí. The OTF derives essentially all of its funding from USAGM, which, in turn, receives money from Congress through the Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related programs ($808 million in 2019)…. Not only was the Open Technology Foundation created by the national security state, it continues to employ high government officials in key positions. Its five-person board consists entirely of important state functionaries.” https://www.mintpressnews.com/the-open-technology-fund-makes-privacy-apps-staffed-spies/279147/
Connecticut parents charged after letting kids walk to buy donuts. “The first cop to show up [at their home] ‘said he didn’t think it was safe for the kids [ages seven and nine] to walk by themselves,’ Rivers [a pseudonym] tells Reason. ‘We told him that while we did feel it was safe, we agreed to not allow them to walk around town unsupervised.’ ‘We thought that would have been the end of it,’ Rivers added, ‘until three more officers showed up.’ The first cop sent Rivers’ husband to retrieve the kids, who had only made it about two blocks…. ‘They told us that it wasn’t safe for kids to walk down the street, that there are registered sex offenders all over town that could take them, that drug dealers were going to give them drugs, and that it was “a different world now”,’ says Rivers. She tried to dispute what the police were saying, and one of them asked if she watched the news…. The officers also claimed that they had received a dozen 911 calls about the kids during the short time they were gone. Rivers thought this was unlikely, as they had only made it past four other homes…. the officers proceeded to charge Rivers’ husband with risk of injury to a minor. They charged Rivers separately for the same thing….. The [Dept. of Children and Families] caseworker visited the family twice and interviewed everyone about their complete history…. the caseworker maintained that the parents had somehow jeopardized their kids safety.” https://reason.com/2023/01/30/dunkin-donuts-parents-arrested-kids-cops-freedom/ Charges were eventually dropped and child endangerment investigation closed.
Louisiana sheriff’s departments found to be destroying their records. “Almost half of Louisiana’s sheriffs’ offices are breaking state public records law, according to a new investigation from ProPublica and Verite, a New Orleans–based nonprofit newsroom. Lacking formal document retention policies, as required by state law, Louisiana sheriff’s offices have been accused of destroying public records, including documents showing evidence of police misconduct…. nearly two-thirds of sheriffs’ offices have reportedly failed to seek permission to destroy public records. As a result of this practice, individuals seeking information on alleged police misconduct often find it difficult to obtain needed documentation due to unclear public records policies. Further, some Louisiana sheriffs’ offices have even been accused of deliberately destroying public records that contain evidence of police abuse.” https://reason.com/2023/01/30/louisiana-sheriffs-offices-have-been-destroying-public-records-without-permission/
Two Memphis EMTs and ambulance driver fired over Tyre Nichols response, two more police officers suspended. “EMT-Basic Robert Long, EMT-Advanced JaMichael Sandridge and Lt. Michelle Whitaker have been fired, the fire department release said. An investigation concluded that the two EMTs ‘failed to conduct an adequate patient assessment of Mr. Nichols’ after responding based on both the initial call – that a person was pepper-sprayed – and information they were told at the scene, Sweat’s news release reads. Whitaker had remained in the fire truck, according to the chief’s statement…. Police named one of the officers, Preston Hemphill, who is White, and said he has been on administrative leave since the beginning of the investigation…. he city on Friday released body-camera and pole-camera surveillance footage of the initial traffic stop and the beating at the second site. One of the body-cam videos reveals Hemphill – at the site of the initial traffic stop – fired a Taser at Nichols…. Later, Hemphill says to another officer: ‘I hope they stomp his ass.’ …The seventh officer has not been publicly identified.” https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/30/us/tyre-nichols-protests-monday/index.html
Former Google executive’s lawsuit claims he was harassed after reporting female boss’s advances, pressured to reduce the number of white guys in his department, and accused of not being ‘inclusive’ for favoring high-performing employees. “According to the lawsuit, an HR rep ‘openly admitted … that if the complaint was “in reverse” — a female accusing a white male of harassment — the complaint would certainly be escalated.’ …. [His supervisor Adam] Stewart allegedly told [Ryan] Olohan that there were ‘obviously too many white guys’ on his management team…. In a video conference call, Olohan was told by the Google Employee Investigations team that he was being fired because he was not ‘inclusive’, the lawsuit claims. In response to Olohan’s request during the call for specifics as to why Google believed he was not inclusive, Google’s Employee Investigations team explained that he had shown favoritism towards high performers, which it considered ‘non-inclusive’…” https://news.yahoo.com/lawsuit-accuses-google-firing-exec-220614567.html
Mosque targeted in Peshawar explosion was in restricted police district. “At least 59 people have been killed by a suicide bombing that apparently targeted policemen praying in a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan. The mosque is within the tightly guarded police headquarters area…. The Pakistani Taliban denied involvement after an initial claim by one of its commanders. The group ended a ceasefire in November, and violence has been on the rise since.” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64451936
Israel believed to be behind drone attack on Iranian arms factory. “The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times reported that Israel was behind the attacks, citing US officials and people familiar with the operation. The New York Times cited senior intelligence officials who were familiar with the dialogue between Israel and the United States about the incident. None of the officials were named. CNN has not independently confirmed that information. A US Department of Defense spokesperson told CNN that the US has not conducted strikes or operations inside Iran.” https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/30/middleeast/drone-strikes-iran-isfahan-intl/index.html
Amnesty International accuses Iran of abusing rioters sentenced to death. “One of the men, Mehdi Mohammadifard, was raped by prison guards and severely beaten, the rights group said. Amnesty said it had learned that Mohammadifard suffered anal injuries and rectal bleeding that required treatment in a hospital outside the prison where he was being held…. Amnesty said it had obtained information that [Javad] Rouhi was subjected to severe beatings and floggings, including on the soles of his feet and while being tied to a pole, and that ice had been placed on his testicles. [Arshia] Takdastan has also been repeatedly subjected to beatings, Amnesty said.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/30/iranian-protesters-tortured-amnesty-report
Rural areas of Peru in open rebellion against the government. “Huge swaths of South America’s fourth most populous country have been paralysed by protests and roadblocks since [ex-president Pedro] Castillo’s downfall, as his supporters – and those outraged at the government’s deadly response – hit the streets to demand [current president Dina] Boluarte’s resignation, fresh elections and justice for the dozens allegedly killed by security forces…. ‘We are fighting for our future and the future of our children and our grandchildren,’ said Roxana Chahuanco, 40, as locals prepared to debate their next move after the government announced it would deploy troops to clear the roads…. From Sicuani, the highway climbed even higher into the Andes towards the spectacular 4,300-metre border with the department of Puno, where Aymara Indigenous communities are also in revolt against the new government. Boluarte further infuriated the region’s inhabitants last week when she told foreign journalists ‘Puno isn’t Peru’ – a declaration the president subsequently claimed had been misunderstood.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/30/journey-through-the-centre-of-peru-uprising-dina-boluarte
Coal-fueled power plants now cost more to operate than building new wind or solar replacements, thanks to government incentives. “Nearly all existing U.S. coal plants require more cash to operate than the cost of replacing them with new wind or solar projects, according to a report published Monday by San Francisco-based climate think tank Energy Innovation. The finding is in line with past research by BloombergNEF that determined building new solar and wind farms is cheaper than operating existing coal or gas power plants in much of the world. Critical to the cost advantage of renewable energy in the U.S. is President Joe Biden’s climate legislation, which provides billions of dollars in incentives for clean energy infrastructure.” https://www.seattletimes.com/business/replacing-us-coal-plants-with-solar-and-wind-is-cheaper-than-running-them/
Egyptian comedians arrested over TikTok video. “Basma Hegazi, Mohamed Hossam el-Dien and Ahmad Ali el-Kholi were arrested on 25 January after making a parody video about visiting inmates in Egyptian jails titled ‘The visit’. [The Egyptian Front for Human Rights] said on Monday the trio will remain in pretrial detention for 15 days pending investigation. They face charges of belonging to a ‘terror group, misusing social media, and spreading false news’.” https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/egypt-tiktok-influencers-arrested-parody-video-jail-visit
Activist groups call for independent investigation into fatal shooting of ‘Cop City’ protester. “[Manuel Paez Terán] was shot and killed on January 18 when a joint task force including Atlanta police officers raided an encampment at Weelaunee forest. The forest is the site of a proposed $90 million police training facility known as Cop City…. ‘As a growing number of Atlanta residents, national and global news outlets, and human rights and environmental organizations worldwide call for an investigation of the police narrative of Tortuguita’s death, [Atlanta Mayor Andre] Dickens has dismissed their concerns. He has refused to bring any scrutiny to the one-sided and unsubstantiated recounting of events. Dickens has yet to offer condolences to the slain protestor’s family.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/atlanta-mayor-tortuguita
Former lawyer who aided molotov attack on unoccupied police car sentenced to 366 days in prison. “Colinford Mattis bought the gasoline and drove the getaway van while fellow lawyer Urooj Rahman hurled a Molotov cocktail at a police car outside the 88th Precinct stationhouse in Brooklyn on May 30, 2020…. Mattis graduated from Princeton University and New York University law school. He was an associate with Pryor Cashman, where he specialized in start-ups, and he served on Community Board 5 in Brooklyn…. A federal grand jury initially indicted Mattis and Rahman on charges that carried potential life sentences, and when they first pleaded guilty in October 2021, the duo faced 10 years behind bars if a judge applied a ‘terrorism enhancement’.” https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-colinford-mattis-molotov-lawyer-sentenced-brooklyn-20230127-j2cur4wovbeapjmzywzbkt2lhy-story.html
U.S. intervention in war in Ukraine is death throe of a fading imperial power, claims Chris Hedges. “U.S. military support for Ukraine began with the basics — ammunition and assault weapons. The Biden administration, however, soon crossed several self-imposed red lines to provide a tidal wave of lethal war machinery: Stinger anti-aircraft systems; Javelin anti-armor systems; M777 towed Howitzers; 122mm GRAD rockets; M142 multiple rocket launchers, or HIMARS; Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles; Patriot air defense batteries; National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS); M113 Armored Personnel Carriers; and now 31 M1 Abrams, as part of a new $400 million package. These tanks will be supplemented by 14 German Leopard 2A6 tanks, 14 British Challenger 2 tanks, as well as tanks from other NATO members, including Poland…. Since Russia invaded on Feb. 24, 2022, Congress has approved more than $113 billion in aid to Ukraine and allied nations supporting the war in Ukraine. Three-fifths of this aid, $67 billion, has been allocated for military expenditures. There are 28 countries transferring weapons to Ukraine…. So why all this infusion of high-tech weaponry? We can sum it up in one word: panic…. ‘While rising empires are often judicious, even rational in their application of armed force for conquest and control of overseas dominions, fading empires are inclined to ill-considered displays of power, dreaming of bold military masterstrokes that would somehow recoup lost prestige and power,’ historian Alfred W. McCoy writes in his book, In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of US Global Power…. Washington is giving Ukraine ever more sophisticated weapons systems and billions upon billions in aid in a futile bid to save Ukraine but, more importantly, to save itself.” https://consortiumnews.com/2023/01/30/chris-hedges-ukraine-the-war-that-went-wrong/
Consortium News editor Joe Lauria’s Twitter account was on secret list of ‘Russian bots’. “The list of 644 Twitter accounts was shared with Twitter executives who were unable to prove any links to Russia, reported Matt Taibbi in his latest installment of the Twitter Files on Friday. ‘This was digital McCarthyism, taking people with dissident or unconventional opinions and mass-accusing them of “Un-American activities”,’ writes Taibbi…. ‘The two founders of Hamilton 68, the blue-and-red team of former counselor to Marco Rubio Jamie Fly and Hillary for America Foreign Policy Advisor Laura Rosenberger, told Politico they couldn’t reveal the names of the accounts because “the Russians will simply shut them down”…. It’s crucial to understand that the list captured not just Trump supporters but a range of political dissidents, including leftists, anarchists and humorists.'” https://consortiumnews.com/2023/01/27/cn-editor-named-on-secret-disinfo-list/
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