Source: Semafor
“TikTok has filed a lawsuit challenging a law that seeks to force its Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell the app to a US entity or be banned. The complaint was filed on Tuesday in Washington DC’s federal appeals court. TikTok argues that the new law is unconstitutional and violates American’s First Amendment right to free speech, according to the suit. TikTok also alleges it has been denied equal protection under the law, which, it alleges, is akin to unlawful seizure of property, according to the documents.” (05/07/24)
https://www.semafor.com/article/05/07/2024/tiktok-sues-us-over-ban
Source: EconLog
by Tarnell Brown
“Police department budgets are subject to the same laws of scarcity as everything else, and every enforcement priority comes with opportunity costs. Money and manpower dedicated to, for instance, investigating auto thefts, cannot be used to investigate homicides. Indeed, research has shown that shifting resources towards drug enforcement has lowered the opportunity costs of property crime, leading to an increase thereof (Benson, Rasmussen, & Sollars, 1995). Asset forfeiture allows the drug enforcement apparatus of police departments to supplement their revenue at little cost to the taxpayer outside of the costs of seizure. Moreover, individuals who have their assets seized are often permanently bereft of their property even if they are never found guilty of any crime.” (05/07/24)
https://www.econlib.org/civil-asset-forfeiture-the-war-on-drugs-as-a-law-enforcement-revenue-center/
Source: United Press International
“Jailed Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for his columns written for The Washington Post criticizing the war in Ukraine and the crackdown on democracy and free speech. The $15,000 prize went to the 42-year-old politician, author and historian for ‘passionate columns written under great personal risk from his prison cell, warning of the consequences of dissent in Vladimir Putin’s Russia and insisting on a democratic future for his country,’ the Pulitzer board said in an announcement. The winning work comprised seven columns all published between January and June of 2023 written from his prison cell after being imprisoned the previous year on charges of treason and spreading fake news about the war for which he was sentenced to 25 years.” (05/07/24)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2024/05/07/Kara-Murza-wins-Pulitzer-award/7781715071570/
Source: Foreign Policy
by Kenneth Roth
“Rather than recognize that the ICC represents an independent effort to uphold the international rule of law in the much-touted ‘rules-based order,’ a spokesperson for the administration claimed that the court did not have jurisdiction [to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu]. That is an allusion to the long-standing U.S. opposition to the ICC exercising jurisdiction over the nationals of governments that have not joined the court, even if their alleged crimes were committed on the territory of a government that is a court member. But Washington’s objections to such territorial jurisdiction were overruled by the governments that created the court in Rome more than two decades ago. And the U.S. government effectively abandoned that argument as well after the ICC used territorial jurisdiction in March 2023 to charge Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes in Ukraine.” (05/07/24)
https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/05/07/biden-israel-hamas-icc-gaza-netanyahu-arrest/
Source: Independent Political Report
“Region 7 Representative Beth Vest has filed a derivative lawsuit against Libertarian National Committee Chair Angela McArdle, alleging severe breaches of fiduciary duty and misconduct that threaten the integrity and operations of the Libertarian Party. Vest, who announced the lawsuit on the LNC Business List on Monday, stated that members have a responsibility to ‘seek corrective action when they believe the board, or the chairman, has not acted in the best interest of the party.’ … The lawsuit, filed on May 3, alleges that McArdle engaged in detrimental actions including mismanagement of assets, self-dealing, and undermining the party’s mission. Central to the lawsuit are accusations of using her position for personal benefit, misappropriating funds, self-appointing to key roles without proper oversight, and inappropriately hiring her life partner in a crucial fundraising role without a competitive process, contributing to a decline in donations and membership.” (05/06/24)
https://archive.is/Mt3Zt
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ron Paul
“The ink was barely dry on President Biden’s signature transferring another $61 billion to the black hole called Ukraine, when the mainstream media broke the news that this was not the parting shot in a failed US policy. The elites have no intention of shutting down this gravy train, which transports wealth from the middle and working class to the wealthy and connected class.” (05/07/24)
https://original.antiwar.com/paul/2024/05/06/the-great-ukraine-robbery-is-not-over-yet/
Source: Bloomberg
“Donald Trump’s criminal trial for allegedly mishandling classified documents has been postponed indefinitely in a blow to the Justice Department’s efforts to obtain a jury verdict before November’s presidential election. US District Judge Aileen Cannon, who is overseeing the criminal proceeding in Florida, set a new schedule for motions in the case and announced that the May 20 trial date will be pushed back indefinitely. In an order issued Tuesday, Cannon said setting a new trial date at this time ‘would be imprudent and inconsistent with the Court’s duty to fully and fairly consider the various pending pre-trial motions before the Court.'” (05/07/24)
https://archive.is/hSQzo
Source: Semafor
by David Weigel
“In last week’s 54-page indictment, federal prosecutors charged Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar with bribery, money laundering, and a conspiracy on behalf a foreign government. Donald Trump had another theory for Cuellar’s reckoning: Joe Biden, getting revenge. … Trump has been playing a similar game for years now: Constantly demanding individual Democrats be investigated or jailed, while also rallying to defend ones who actually do end up charged with crimes.” (05/06/24)
https://www.semafor.com/article/05/06/2024/donald-trumps-giant-soft-spot-for-indicted-democrats
Source: The Nation
by John Nichols
“Israeli security forces raided Al Jazeera’s Jerusalem offices and confiscated the network’s communication equipment Sunday, as part of a clampdown on press freedom that saw Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government halt Al Jazeera’s cable and satellite broadcasts within the country and block access to its websites. … This jarring attack on a network that is broadly recognized for its bold coverage of news from across the Middle East — including its unrivaled coverage of the Israeli assault on Gaza — drew an immediate outcry from media outlets, independent journalists, and advocates for freedom of expression in Israel and around the world. It is an outcry to which President Joe Biden must add his voice, loudly, emphatically, and immediately. This isn’t the time for a mumbled ‘expression of concern’ from a State Department underling. This is a red-alert moment for press freedom.” (05/07/24)
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/biden-al-jazeera-israel-ban/
Source: Bloggingheads.tv
“The New ‘Pro-Israel’ Assault on Free Speech | Robert Wright & Andrew Day.” (05/07/24)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/67599
