Charles McGonigal, a former FBI agent arrested over the weekend on accusations he worked for sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, pleaded not guilty on Monday in federal court in Manhattan.

The Reconstructionist movement has adopted a resolution calling for reparations from the U.S.  to descendants of victims of the slave trade.

The endorsement follows a similar one by the largest stream of Judaism, the Reform movement, which in 2019 endorsed the creation of a federal commission to develop proposals for reparations. 

The Reconstructionist movement, which includes about 100 congregations across the U.S. and Canada, approved its resolution following a Jan. 22 vote by its board of governors. The motion also calls for national repentance, and for those affiliated with the movement to “to engage in deep reflection on the ways we have participated in or benefited from racial injustice.” It throws its support behind H.R. 40, a bill introduced in the U.S. House by late congressman John Conyers in 1989 which, if passed, would form a commission to examine reparations proposals. 

The Reconstructionist resolution drew on “Jewish teachings on accountability and repair and are heeding the voices of people of African descent,” said Reconstructing Judaism president and CEO Deborah Waxman in a press release. Reconstructing Judaism is the name of the central body of the Reconstructionist movement.

In 2021, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, approved its own reparations resolution. In December, the congregational arm of Reconstructing Judaism approved the motion just voted on by the board of governors.

The post Reconstructionists become second Jewish movement to support reparations for slavery appeared first on The Forward.

(JTA) — David Bowie, Greta Garbo and Sean Connery were not Jewish. But some of the garments they made famous — Bowie’s dresses, Garbo’s hats and the tuxedo Connery donned as James Bond — all had Jewish creators.

A London Museum is trying to gather some of those pieces of clothing for an exhibit on the impact that London’s immigrant communities had on the British fashion industry.

The Museum of London Docklands documents the city’s history as port town, telling the stories of those who arrived through the river Thames, from African slaves brought through the Atlantic slave trade, to the ,asses of Jewish immigrants who came in the late 1800 fleeing persecution in Eastern Europe.

Like their co-religionists who arrived in New York, many of those Jews found themselves in the garment industry after immigrating.

“Jewish people were working at all levels of the fashion industry in London throughout the twentieth century but the extent of their contribution has been widely unrecognised,” Fashion Curator Lucie Whitmore said in a statement from the museum. “Jewish makers established the ready to wear industry, worked their way into the highest levels of London fashion and dominated Carnaby Street in the swinging sixties. Many of these designers were internationally famous — favoured by the rich and famous and highly respected for their creativity, skill, and originality. It’s a contribution that deserves to be recognised.”

Starting in October and running until April 2024, the museum will host an exhibit titled, “Fashion City: How Jewish Londoners Shaped Global Style.”

To fill out the collection, however, they have put out a public call for help in gathering notable artifacts created by Jewish designers such as Mr Fish (born Michael Fish), Cecil Gee, Otto Lucas, the Rahvis sisters and Madame Isobel (Isobel Spevak Harris). The statement states the museum is looking for “menswear pieces…worn by famous names such as David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Muhammad Ali and Michael Caine,” along with “members of The Beatles,” by March 1.

Fish produced some of Britain’s most iconic 1960s and 70s fashion designs, such as the wide kipper tie. Cecil Gee began his career in the 1930s and designed the “Demob Suit” — short for demobilization — which was granted to British soldiers by the army after their release from World War II service. Raemonde and Dora Rahvis were two South Africa-born Jewish sisters who after emigrating to London became some of the first prominent costume designers in the British film industry.

This article originally appeared on JTA.org.

The post A London museum is seeking David Bowie’s dress for an exhibit on Jews in the UK fashion industry appeared first on The Forward.

As legal experts predicted, the DOJ has told Jim Jordan and his committee to pound sand. At least they did it politely and professionally, two words that are foreign to Jim Jordan. According to Politico, Jim Jordan wrote to the DOJ on January 17, 2023, requesting access to DOJ records, which the agency has declined to provide. The response said, among other things: “Consistent with longstanding policy and practice, any oversight requests must be weighed against the Department’s interests in protecting the integrity of its work.” Politico published the letter in it entirety, and it clearly outlines the steps that Congressional committees must follow to secure testimony at hearings. They directed Jordan to the Office of Legislative Affairs as the correct agency to begin communications with the DOJ. One would think that someone who has been in Washington as long as Jordan knows appropriate procedures, but Jordan is hateful and dumb.

The DOJ pointed Jordan to a 1982 directive from President Ronald Reagan, indicating that the agency will try to respond to the committee requests and “avoid invoking executive privilege.” That means Jordan isn’t going to get what he wants. The DOJ also advised Jordan that they would send staff to any meetings but that it will not make agents or attorneys involved in casework available for testimony. The DOJ has (hopefully) made clear to Jordan that the agency isn’t going to simply bend to his will, and it further made clear that it will not share any information on ongoing criminal investigations with any committees. What in the world was Jim Jordan thinking? Perhaps the better questions is who the hell he thinks he is. Criminal investigations remain closed for good reason. The agency is not going to “tip its hand” on any investigations to anyone, including Jim Jordan. From the DOJ’s perspective, to do otherwise compromises the integrity of its investigations because it gives the perception that those activities are being influenced by people who have nothing to do with those investigations.

Republicans took the response personally, tweeting: “Why’s DOJ scared to cooperate with our investigations?” Please. No one fears them. They should understand how the DOJ functions. Any agency or police department that handles criminal investigations have to keep information quiet until they build their cases. The DEA frequently files documents relating to criminal investigations under seal so that those investigations can continue unhampered or uncompromised. This confirms that Republicans will do nothing with their House control but create trouble.

Republicans are already getting off on the wrong foot. Jordan’s aggressive approach will get them nowhere. As CNN reported, Jordan’s letter requested documents relating to the Biden documents probe, including documents regarding the selection of U.S. Attorney John Lausch to lead the initial review. Lausch is a Trump appointee; you would think that would make them happy, but Jordan is too busy trying to flex his nonexistent muscles, writing: “The Administration’s stonewalling must stop.” Jordan claimed in his letter that they want “answers for the American people,” but most Americans have no interest in their wastes of time and taxpayer money on nonsense.

The post DOJ tells Jim Jordan to go pound sand appeared first on Palmer Report.

By Nicol Turner Lee, Darrell M. West

After the longest election for Speaker of the House since 1859, Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has finally taken the helm of a slim Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, potentially heralding a new era for Congressional action on technology policy. With a White House and Senate under Democratic control, passing sweeping legislation may be a challenge for the GOP, but it’s likely that they will apply pressure on the current and forthcoming tech policy goals of the Biden-Harris administration.

Regarding the latter, President Biden recently published a rare op-ed in The Wall Street Journal calling for “bipartisan action from Congress to hold Big Tech accountable”—perhaps one issue where there appears to be some consensus. Partisan differences may lie in how Republicans are likely to use their new power over several House committees to ramp up oversight of recent government investments in infrastructure and their long-standing call for a more accurate broadband coverage map generated by the split-vote Federal Communications Commission (FCC). McCarthy has also signaled heightened interest in global supply chain issues related to China as evidenced by a newly formed House committee that plans to investigate competition, as well as supply chain resilience and sustainability.

These factors provide some insight into what to expect in the 118^th Congress, particularly in the areas of big tech accountability, broadband infrastructure, relations with China, and the global supply chain.

Big Tech Accountability

As the Biden administration gets tougher on antitrust and conservative politicians continue to allege liberal bias in social media platforms’ content moderation, cracking down on big tech companies may be a course toward more bipartisanship around tech regulation. President Biden’s recent op-ed also called for expeditious privacy protections to limit the collection of sensitive data with a total prohibition on targeted advertising to children. In line with his grand plan for stronger anti-trust and competition policies, the president reiterated his interest in leveling the “playing field” in the tech sector, echoing his administration’s play toward stricter scrutiny over the review and approval of mergers and acquisitions like Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision.

President Biden’s op-ed also dived into the need for actionable reform of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which both insulates online platforms from liability for their users’ posts while reinforcing their right to moderate that content. Not since former President Trump has the White House opined on this issue; at the time, two commissioners objected to Trump’s direction to the FCC to initiate a rulemaking proceeding without appropriate authority, which was never implemented. How Biden proceeds may finally encourage some movement among congressional Democrats, but his efforts may still be stalled by House GOP members.

Broadband

To date, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) at the U.S. Department of Commerce has distributed initial planning funds for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, a broadband expansion initiative created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s (IIJA) which allocated $65 billion to close the digital divide. Separately, the FCC has been updating the national broadband maps and adjusting to the congressional timeline that seeks updated maps to guide the appropriate allocations of BEAD funding. But members of the 118^th Congress have started to lodge concerns around the accuracy of the FCC maps and, earlier this month, Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) sent a joint letter to the Commission urging additional actions. Further, Republicans have expressed frustration with the Biden administration on its big spending, and efforts are underway by the House majority to examine the spending and oversight of the IIJA’s broadband investments. Under Speaker McCarthy, the House will further scrutinize broadband expenditures, as well as the FCC’s coverage maps.

Despite Republicans’ concerns with the current administration’s spending, closing the digital divide should be an area of opportunity for bipartisan action, especially since many Republicans have constituents in severely under-served rural areas. In September 2020, the Senate Republican Policy Committee published a policy paper outlining Republican efforts to close the digital divide and improve the accuracy of FCC broadband availability data, and in September 2022 Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) called for more coordination between Tribal, state, and federal governments to expand broadband access in native communities. Although Democrats and Republicans differ on approaches to greater broadband deployment and digital inclusion activities, there should be consensus in this area due to its national import.

China

Interestingly, one area where lawmakers have already coalesced is around the U.S.’s stance on China. Speaker McCarthy secured a bipartisan victory to form the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. The committee has been authorized to investigate and submit policy recommendations concerning the status of the economic, technological, and security progress of China. Congressman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) will chair the new committee, comprised of nine Republicans and seven Democrats, pending assignments. In a joint op-Ed with Speaker McCarthy, Rep. Gallagher wrote that the committee would focus chiefly on concerns of supply chains, economic dependence, defense, and data privacy. While these powers are largely investigative rather than legislative, the bipartisan move signals that the 118^th Congress may have the political capital required to escalate the intensifying power competition between the U.S. and China.

Legislatively, the focus on advancing U.S. technology leadership may turn out to be a prominent focus of this Congress. In the 117^th Congress, lawmakers passed the CHIPS and Science Act (CHIPS) with bipartisan support, providing monies for research and development for advanced technologies. Notably, these initiatives were designed to provide unique opportunities for rural America and economically marginalized communities to fully participate in the changing economy. The new Congress may opt to build on this momentum and ensure robust appropriations of the CHIPS Act, while also seeking out emerging investment opportunities that strengthen global competitiveness. Accordingly, an important question for this Congress will be whether the House GOP will search for legislative cooperation to further the U.S.-China great power competition or leverage the investigative and attention-grabbing nature of the new select committee on China. Regardless, how Congress and President Biden position U.S.-China relations will be an animating policy issue in 2023.

Although bipartisanship exists around the new select committee, it’s worth noting that lawmakers like Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA) hope that this effort does not contribute to the xenophobia discriminating against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) populations, who are likely to be villainized as Chinese business practices are further scrutinized. Going forward, it remains to be seen how both parties will make the interrogation of Chinese business practices constructive to deliver substantive policies that strengthen the U.S. economy.

Global Supply Chain

Over the past few years, global supply chains buckled under pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical crises such as the war in Ukraine, and even an avian flu. While the worst of this crisis may be behind us, supply chains have yet to fully stabilize, emphasizing the need for increased resiliency and sustainability—points that will be brought in the new Select Committee on China. In September 2022, Speaker McCarthy also published a suite of policy proposals from the GOP Jobs & the Economy Task Force, which may forecast the steps that the House, under his leadership, will take to secure U.S. supply chains, including technology. The report emphasizes U.S. dependence on foreign nations for energy resources and critical minerals, calling for tax deductions for “mining, reclaiming, or recycling of critical minerals and metals from the United States” and decrying President Biden’s easing of oil restrictions on Venezuela as “unacceptable.” A consistent theme throughout the task force’s proposals is that of cutting red tape, whether loosening the SEC’s climate regulations or lifting restrictions on infrastructure projects and truck deliveries, which likely previews the strategy the GOP will adopt for confronting the supply chain crisis.

5G

The future of 5G technology may be another critical policy area that the new Congress will likely focus on. Some analysts expected this issue to make an appearance in Congress’s omnibus spending bill last month, but it largely went unaddressed. One exception is the FCC’s authority to hold spectrum auctions, which was afforded a brief extension through March 9, 2023. However, how these auctions will be managed for 5G is still an open question. The US wireless industry has been lobbying lawmakers to reserve spectrum bands between 3.1GHz and 3.45GHz to be auctioned for 5G use under exclusive licenses. This proposal has been met with opposition from the military, which uses that band to operate radar operations. Where Congress falls in support of the reallocation of government spectrum, especially from the U.S. Department of Defense, will drive how this issue lands on the full list of other priorities of Democratic and Republican leaders.

While these and other policy considerations are likely to percolate on Capitol Hill, numerous congressional leadership positions have been filled. New committee chairs on tech-related issues include Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), who will chair the Energy and Commerce Committee, overseeing healthcare, energy, and technology policy. Within a few days of assuming the new role, the House passed her Protecting America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act, which would block the sale of crude oil from the SPR to China. The powerful Appropriations Committee will be chaired by Congresswoman Kay Granger (R-TX) whose implementation of McCarthy’s planned cuts to government expenditures could affect continued investment in broadband infrastructure. Another key leadership announcement was the renomination of Gigi Sohn to the FCC to break the current 2-2 deadlock, which has stalled movement on key Biden initiatives at the agency. The lack of a Democratic majority has also limited the ability of the FCC Chair, Jessica Rosenworcel, to codify her legacy, while advancing the goals of expanded broadband infrastructure under the IIJA. Sohn’s name has been floated by the Biden administration for the last two years, but with a majority Senate, she may face fewer obstacles to a formal appointment.

Biden’s recent op-ed appears to be an attempt to throw out several “white flags” to build consensus around his tech policy agenda items. But Republican leaders in the House are thinking otherwise when it comes to what his administration started, and Speaker McCarthy faces the challenge of appealing to the concerns of the Freedom Caucus in his new role. With two years left in the White House, President Biden may have to choose a couple of areas to impact, while relying on his Senate majority to secure his legacy through political appointments.

The authors acknowledge the research support of CTI’s Jack Malamud and Brady Tavernier.

      

Source link

The post Russians strike house of large family in Sumy region. Mother killed appeared first on Ukraine Intelligence.

The latest murder victim in Los Angeles is one of the criminals let off easy by radical prosecutor George Gascón.

In a turn of events that captures the epidemic of lawlessness affecting the city, a Los Angeles teenager who hit a mother and baby with his car was shot and killed just weeks after completing his time in a diversionary program.

Kristopher Baca, who pleaded guilty in June 2022 to mowing down the mother walking her child in a stroller in August 2021, was shot to death on Wednesday in Palmdale, Calif., the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announced Friday. The mother, who says she voted for Gascón but later left Los Angeles over his “soft-on-crime” approach, told Fox 11 that the “universe delivered the justice we weren’t given in court, but a much harsher punishment than he’d have been dealt in a court of law.”

The sequence of events shows how crime can compound in many “reform-minded” prosecutors’ districts, as their offices pursue lighter sentences and alternatives to incarceration that keep dangerous offenders on the street. Los Angeles’s murder rate reached a 15-year high in 2021.

Gascón is one of several so-called progressive prosecutors boosted into office by liberal billionaire George Soros. Elected on a platform to reduce “mass incarceration,” the embattled district attorney has faced two potential recall elections over his policies.

After winning office, Gascón announced he would no longer try juvenile criminals as adults, but was forced to reverse course in 2022 after facing backlash. Soros donated $2 million to Gascón’s 2020 campaign.

Gascón’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Gascón’s office told Fox News in June 2022 that a five to seven months’ sentence at a “youth camp” was an “appropriate resolution” in Baca’s case. “Fortunately, the baby was uninjured, and the mother received a laceration to her elbow,” the office said. Baca had also admitted in court that he had a prior felony conviction from 2019 for poisoning a girl at his high school who later had to be hospitalized.

Prosecutors in Gascón’s office described the youth diversion camp as “less than a military school and a little bit tougher than a summer camp.” They promised Baca would “be held accountable for his actions and receive the needed services to foster positive development to keep him from committing future offenses.”

A receptionist at Camp Glenn Rockey, where Baca served his sentence, told the Washington Free Beacon that it could not disclose when the juvenile offender had been released. The Los Angeles Times reported that Baca was last seen at the camp in October, four months after he pleaded guilty to the hit-and-run.

Baca’s attempted murder of the mother and her baby kickstarted a recall campaign last year against Gascón, which the prosecutor narrowly dodged after signatures for its petition were rejected at a “shockingly” high rate, according to its organizers. The mother, who on the recall group’s website chooses to go by her first name, Rachel, said she turned on Gascón over his handling of her case.

“The criminal who tried to kill me and my baby was only sentenced to five months in a juvenile camp,” she says in a video featured on the Recall DA George Gascón website. “What he’s doing is pro-criminal and anti-victim.”

“I was also told that his record would be wiped clean when he turns 18,” the mother also told Fox. “How on earth can that be? He tried to murder two innocent pedestrians. Murder. And we have video evidence. My child would be dead if I hadn’t been there to protect him.”

The recall campaigners sued the Los Angeles County Registrar’s Office in October for discarding what they claimed were enough valid signatures to trigger a recall.

The post Street Justice: Los Angeles Has Become Wild West Under Soft-on-Crime Prosecutor appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

The Justice Department is mulling more searches of properties linked to President Joe Biden after FBI officials found another batch of classified documents during a 13-hour search of his Wilmington, Del., home, according to CBS News.

The next search could take place at the president’s Rehoboth Beach, Del., vacation home, where Biden’s attorneys claimed they found no classified documents. At least 25 classified documents have been found at the Biden Penn Center and at the president’s Wilmington home, CBS reported.

The potential expanded search comes days after Biden told reporters he has “no regrets” about his handling of the documents, some of which included classified material. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Jan. 12 appointed Robert Hur as special counsel to investigate the scandal.

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee on Monday asked the Secret Service to release information on visitors to the Wilmington house that contained classified documents. While the Biden administration said there are no visitor logs for the residence, Secret Service officials said last week they would release information if requested by Congress.

Hunter Biden spent years at the Wilmington property and had access to the garage where several documents were found, the Washington Free Beacon reported.

Facing mounting scrutiny, the Biden administration told congressional Republicans that it would cooperate with “legitimate oversight” of the documents scandal. White House counsel Stuart Delery said in a letter on Monday that the administration can only share so much, however, because of the “critical need to protect the integrity and independence of law enforcement investigations.”

The post Report: Feds Mull Search of Other Biden-Owned Properties appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

President Joe Biden’s Democratic allies have started turning on him in light of his classified documents scandal, with Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) saying the president should be “embarrassed,” Bloomberg reported Sunday.

FBI agents on Friday found another batch of mishandled classified documents during a more than 12 hour search of Biden’s Wilmington, Del., home. The slow drip of scandal has left high-ranking Democrats irritated at the president.

Biden “should be embarrassed by the situation,” Durbin, the Senate’s number-two Democrat and a longtime ally of the president, told CNN on Sunday. Mishandling documents as the president did is “just unacceptable,” Durbin said.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) told NBC that Biden “should have a lot of regrets,” calling the president’s actions “irresponsible.”

Durbin’s and Manchin’s words are a sharp contrast from Biden’s comments on the scandal.

“I have no regrets,” Biden said Thursday, one week after his attorney general announced the creation of a special counsel to investigate the mishandled documents.

News broke this month that Biden’s lawyers had found classified documents in the president’s think-tank office. More documents then surfaced at his Wilmington residence, likely prompting the FBI search that found the latest batch.

Biden in recent days has faced other bad news: His already low poll numbers have plummeted amid the scandal, while his powerful chief of staff, Ron Klain, is planning to resign.

While Democrats distance themselves from the president, Republicans have started wondering where the documents imbroglio will lead, Politico reported.

“Watergate started as a very small burglary,” House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul (R., Texas) told ABC on Sunday, “and it led to the president of the United States resigning.”

The post Biden Says He Doesn’t Have Any Regrets Over Document Scandal. Other Dems Say He Should. appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.