Vice President Kamala Harris is being increasingly alienated in the White House as her approval ratings plummet xe2x80x94 as the first female veep feels shexe2x80x99s not getting the same support President Biden gives to white male politicians, according to a detailed new report.
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Despite their public show of unity, Biden and his right-hand woman have a dysfunctional relationship that has reached an xe2x80x9cexhausted stalemate,xe2x80x9d CNN said based on interviews with nearly three dozen insiders.
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At a time when the president would usually be expected to promote his vice president as a future replacement in the White House, Biden has instead been sidelining Harris as a potential liability, the report said.
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She is increasingly being pushed aside into inconsequential jobs and left out of key meetings as her poll numbers sink even lower than the presidentxe2x80x99s and the Democratic base appears to be giving up on her, the report said.
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Her alienation is so clear, her defenders told CNN they have even passed around an Onion story headlined, xe2x80x9cWhite House Urges Kamala Harris To Sit At Computer All Day In Case Emails Come Through.xe2x80x9d
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Harris xe2x80x94 the first woman as well as first woman of color as vice president xe2x80x94 is also becoming more and more frustrated at the lack of support she gets from the White House during her numerous PR nightmares, the insiders said.
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That became abundantly clear when the White House sprang to publicly defend the paternity leave taken by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a potential challenger to Harris for the next Democratic presidential nomination, the insiders told CNN.
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xe2x80x9cItxe2x80x99s hard to miss the specific energy that the White House brings to defend a White man, knowing that Kamala Harris has spent almost a year taking a lot of the hits that the West Wing didnxe2x80x99t want to take themselves,xe2x80x9d a former Harris aide told the outlet.
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However, White House insiders insisted that the vice president has brought the alienation upon herself because of a series of bungles and self-made problems that Biden wants nothing to do with.
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The administration has been particularly bothered by her doomed handling of the border crisis xe2x80x94 including her cackling response when asked about it xe2x80x94 which is still ongoing, the insiders said.
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Fernando Garcxc3xada, executive director of Border Network for Human Rights, told CNN that he was optimistic Harris would take action, but she instead just xe2x80x9cdisappeared.xe2x80x9d
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xe2x80x9cWe havenxe2x80x99t heard any substantive messaging push for better immigration policies,xe2x80x9d he told CNN. xe2x80x9cWe havenxe2x80x99t seen her leadership.xe2x80x9d
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Eleni Kounalakis, the lieutenant governor of California and a longtime friend of Harris, confirmed there is irritation.
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xe2x80x9cIt is natural that those of us who know her know how much more helpful she can be than she is currently being asked to be,xe2x80x9d Kounalakis told CNN. xe2x80x9cThatxe2x80x99s where the frustration is coming from.xe2x80x9d
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Harrisxe2x80x99 chief of staff, Tina Flournoy, denied being one of those taking sides against her boss.
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xe2x80x9cIf someone is accusing me of being loyal to Joe Biden, Ixe2x80x99ll take that. If someone is accusing me of being disloyal to Kamala Harris, I wonxe2x80x99t take that,xe2x80x9d Flournoy told CNN. xe2x80x9cShe doesnxe2x80x99t believe there is a conflict between being loyal to her and being loyal to Joe Biden.xe2x80x9d
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Harrisxe2x80x99 spokeswoman Symone Sanders dismissed the insidersxe2x80x99 griping to the notoriously left-leaning outlet.
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xe2x80x9cIt is unfortunate that after a productive trip to France in which we reaffirmed our relationship with Americaxe2x80x99s oldest ally and demonstrated US leadership on the world stage, and following passage of a historic, bipartisan infrastructure bill that will create jobs and strengthen our communities, some in the media are focused on gossip xe2x80x94 not on the results that the President and the Vice President have delivered,xe2x80x9d Sanders said.
xe2x80x9cIxe2x80x99m sorry, the Russian Mafia is after me.xe2x80x9d While this statement sounds like itxe2x80x99s straight out of a 1960s Bond movie, it was actually uttered by disgraced NFL defensive lineman Justin Bannan on October 16th after non-fatally shooting a woman in a building he partly owned. The validity of Bannonxe2x80x99s claim is for prosecutors to decide, but the news headlines surrounding the incident raises the question: how prolific is the Russian mafia today?
While the Russian mafia is a favorite antagonist of Hollywood screenwriters, it is thought to be all-but-defunct in reality. After all, when was the last time anybody in the U.S. heard about major Russian mafia activity?
The criminal underworld is thriving like never before in Europe. The individuals and groups are not random; they are highly organized, well-funded and responsible for rising levels of cyberterrorism, money laundering and murder. Fortune Magazinelists the Solntsevskaya Bratva, alternately known as the Russian mafia, as the largest organized crime group in the world and it ranks above both the Japanese Yakuza and the Mexican Sinaloa cartel in terms of overall revenue. More interesting than its current standing is how it achieved its status. From a culture that encouraged crime to a government that aided and abetted it, the Russian Federation has become a hotbed for a growing criminal underworld.
Soviet-era repression has given way to a marriage between kleptocracy and organized crime. Among industrialized nations, Russiaxe2x80x99s relationship with crime is uniquely symbiotic. Organized crime in Russia has blossomed as an outgrowth of the political machine. Mafia cells have undertaken assassination attempts, facilitated coercion and acted as tools for the assorted and sundry dirty jobs the Russian elites require.xc2xa0xc2xa0
Russian vory, thieves, have been a staple since Stalinxe2x80x99s U.S.S.R. Mark Galeotti, a Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and author of The Vory: Russiaxe2x80x99s Super Mafia writes in the 2018 book that Joseph Stalin incentivized the collaboration between criminals and the government during the 1917 Bolshevik revolution. The soon-to-be Soviet leader utilized gangsters to rob banks and commit piracy to fund the revolution and sow chaos amongst the establishment. Once the Communist Party took power, the government allowed those trapped in gulags xe2x80x93 Soviet forced labor camps housing all ranges of criminals xe2x80x93 to attain an easier life in exchange for acting as enforcers for the government.xc2xa0
These newly established enforcers formed the seedy underbelly of Russian society that expanded upon the collapse of the U.S.S.R. and the move towards free-market practices. Since his rise, Vladimir Putin has incentivized gangsters to do his bidding in a new way. Rather than overt collusion, the Russian government, as ABCputs it, xe2x80x9cmake[s] its views knownxe2x80x9d and allows gangs to operate within the guidelines set forward by Putin.xc2xa0
As the European Council on Foreign Relations notes, more and more crime networks tangentially linked to Russian actors have appeared all over Europe. Multiple politically convenient assassinations or assassination attempts have been made on anti-Russia figures by gang members who have been accused of being Russian assets. The Russian government, via the Russian mafia, has dabbled in ventures ranging from hacking to money laundering.xc2xa0
In February of 2018, 18 Russian nationals were accused of money-laundering xe2x82xac50m through Spanish real estate. Among those accused was one Vladislav Reznik, a member of Putin-loyalist party United Russia. An attempted assassination of Chechen Adam Osmayev, a staunchly anti-Putin freedom fighter, was allegedly orchestrated by Russian mafia members in 2017. Since then, the Interior Ministry of Ukraine has pinpointed Russian intel that called for Osmayevxe2x80x99s murder. Leaked secret diplomatic cables from US Diplomats outright called Russia a xe2x80x9cmafia statexe2x80x9d. In 2019, Europol and Italyxe2x80x99s Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate met to assess the state of organized crime in the European Union. The conclusions were striking, leading the body to declare organized crime as xe2x80x9cthe highest riskxe2x80x9d to E.U. security.
Organized crime is arguably just as difficult a task to wrangle today as it was in the Prohibition era in the United States, with the E.U. scrambling to contain the spread. The exact degree to which the vory impact international organized crime statistics is up for debate, mostly owing to the somewhat decentralized nature of how the Solntsevskaya Bratva operates. Research indicates that many cells of organized crime, especially those in Eastern Europe, are directly connected to the Bratva, including many Chechen mafia-affiliated groups.xc2xa0
This decentralization makes it incredibly difficult to take down, and the Russian governmentxe2x80x99s implicit support of the vast array of organized crime means that the surge of activity across the European Union wonxe2x80x99t be going away any time soon. As demonstrated by its handling of political dissidents and freedom fighters, Russia and Vladimir Putin have little care for the opposition voices to their harsh tactics, whether such opposition comes domestically or from the international community.xc2xa0
The validity of Ex-NFL lineman Justin Bannanxe2x80x99s claims of being the target of the Russian mafia may be in question. After all, with the evident ruthlessness of the many organized crime cells operating in Russia, it seems unlikely that Bannan would have made it as far as he did. Regardless, Bannanxe2x80x99s story spotlights the very real problems facing Europe. Organized crime is frying bigger fish than ever before without any end in sight. What the international community can or will do remains to be seen. For now, take some solace in your safety here in the United States, at least while you still can.
Featured Image Source: Wikimedia / Presidencia de la Repxc3xbablica Mexicana
Vice President Kamala Harris told French reporters that America remains ‘very concerned’ about Russiaxc2xa0outside of a shop in Paris on Saturday after buying pots and skillets.
As the Biden administration warned of an imminent threat in Eastern Europe over fears of axc2xa0Ukrainexc2xa0invasion amid an escalating crisis at the Belarus-Poland border, Harris strolled through Paris with her husbandxc2xa0Doug Emhoff.
When asked about the Russia-Ukraine conflict the vice president said: ‘I cannot talk to you about classified information’ and went on to express her concerns on the crisis.xc2xa0
But it wasn’t the first time Harris has voiced worries about Russian military movements amid the tense immigrant crisis in Belarus that has the potential to spill over into other countries in Europe.
Harris said the ‘eyes of the world’ are on the Belarus border as the Biden administration waded into the chaos in Eastern Europe.xc2xa0
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The vice president spoke to French reporters as she left a Parisian shop with her husband Doug Emhoff (right) after buying pots and skillets
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Fears are growing of an imminent conflict in Eastern Europe as Russia and Belarus carry out snap military drills close to where a migrant crisis is playing out on Poland’s border, while Washington warns Vladimir Putin is preparing to invade Eastern Ukrainexc2xa0
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Kamala Harris told French reporters that America remains ‘very concerned’ about Russia just days after saying she was worriedxc2xa0about Russian military movements amid a tense immigrant crisis in Belarus that has the potential to spill over into other countries in Europe
The vice president spoke on the situation at a press conference in Paris – a trip she said was about ‘making clear the long-standing relationship but also that we go into a new era for the world that our work will continue’xc2xa0while strolling the city on Saturday.xc2xa0xc2xa0
Her five-day trip was aimed at undoing some of the damage caused by a series of blunders the White House made in its dealings with the French, including the AUKUS submarine deal.
The deal – a $66 billion submarine contract between Australia and France – put relations between France and the US at an all-time low when Australia bailed on the contract to work with the United States and UK instead.
In an enraged response, France recalled its ambassadors to the US and Australia.xc2xa0
The vice president is the highest-ranking member of the Biden administration to visit France as a USA TODAY/Suffolk poll last week revealed that her approval rating is at a dire 28 percent.
When asked about how her trip to France – which began on Tuesday – has been so far, she said it was ‘a very productive and good trip,’ presumably nodding to her two-hour meeting withxc2xa0with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace on Wednesday.xc2xa0
‘The partnership between the United States and France remains and will continue to be a very strong one,’ she added on Saturday – her last day in Paris.
On Friday, she had stood alongside Macron at a press conference where she referenced her seemingly growing fears of an imminent conflict in Eastern Europe as Russia and Belarus carry out snap military drills close to where a migrant crisis is playing out on Poland’s border.xc2xa0xc2xa0
President Joe Biden issued his own expression of concern as he left the White House for Camp David on Friday.
‘Itxe2x80x99s of great concern. Wexe2x80x99ve communicated our concern to Russia. Wexe2x80x99ve communicated our concern to Belarus. We think itxe2x80x99s a problem,’ he said in response to a shouted question from a reporter.xc2xa0
Meanwhile, Washington has warned that Putin is preparing to invade Eastern Ukraine.xc2xa0
‘On the issue of Belarus and what is happening at the border with Poland, we are very concerned about that and closely paying attention to it,’ Harris said at the press conference in Paris on Friday.
Harris made the statementxc2xa0after Russia conducted bombing exercises with Belarusian forces and built up troops along its border with Ukraine xe2x80x93 prompting the US to assert its ‘ironclad’ commitment to Ukrainian security.xc2xa0
Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Russian President Vladimir Putin he would be making a ‘serious mistake’ if he invaded Ukraine while speaking with Ukraine’s foreign minister on Wednesday.xc2xa0xc2xa0xc2xa0xc2xa0
VP Harris: US ‘very concerned’ about Poland-Belarus situation
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Amid the tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Belarus is pressuring Europe over migrants and has threatened to cut off gas supplies to the continent by shutting the Yamal-Europe pipeline that runs through its territory (pictured)xc2xa0
Blinken discusses concerns about Russia and Ukraine’s borders
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Harris also gave a warning to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s government.xc2xa0xc2xa0
‘The Lukashenko regime, I believe is engaged in very troubling activity. It is something that I discussed with President Macron, and the eyes of the world and its leaders are watching what is happening there,’ she said.
Amid the chaos on Europe’s doorstep, the White House warned Brussels to brace for a Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine on Thursday night.
The CIA briefed European officials about a possible Russian assault to capture territory in eastern Ukraine similar to the 2014 annexation of the Crimean peninsula.
The EU said it is alarmed by Russian military activities close to Ukraine, which is watching the situation closely and ‘looking at further steps’ along with the United States and Britain.
The situation escalated on Friday with developments including:
xc2xa0The EU said it is alarmed by Russian military activities close to Ukraine, is watching the situation closely and ‘looking at further steps’ along with the United States and Britain
xc2xa0Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Russia is waging ‘hybrid warfare’ on Europe using migrantsxc2xa0
xc2xa0US and European delegations accused Minsk of endangering lives for political ends at UN Security Council
xc2xa0Former UK defense minister Tobias Ellwood called Russia’s moves ‘deeply concerning’ and a ‘test of resolve’
Turkey barred citizens from Iraq, Syrian and Yemen from flying to Belarus amid fears they will head to borderxc2xa0xc2xa0
Blinken on Wednesday warned Moscow against making another ‘serious mistake’ in Ukraine, in reference to its 2014 invasion.
He addressed the situation once again on Friday.
‘We are also very concerned by efforts by Belarus to use migration as a political weapon. I am not going to preview any possible sanctions, but we are looking at various tools that we have,’ he said, speaking at a press conference with Qatari officials.
At the White House, press secretary Jen Psaki reiterated administration concerns about Russia’s military moves as well as ‘harsh rhetoric.’
Kremlin spokesman blames EU for not upholding ‘humanitarian values’
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Poland has deployed some 15,000 troops to its eastern border where they have spent much of this week trying to hold back thousands of migrants that Lukashenko’s regime is accused of forcing into the region
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Poland, along with the leaders of nearby Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, has been warning that the crisis has the potential to spill over into a full-blown conflict
She said the administration has made clear in discussions with Russian officials that ‘escalatory aggressive actions would be of great concern to the United States.’
Russia is carrying out snap military drills in Belarus just a few miles from the Polish border today, as fears grow that Putin is preparing for an invasion in eastern Europe.
The US and European allies accuse Lukashenko of seeking to destabilize its neighbors by deliberately massing migrants from the Middle East and North Africa along the Polish border and seeking to push them across.
Thousands of migrants have been brought into Belarus, and are lined up along the border with Poland and Lithuania but are blocked from entering. The European Union calls it a ‘hybrid attack’ and is preparing sanctions on Minsk.
Russia has defended its ally and has denied Belarus is using the immigrants as a ‘tool of war’ to pressure European countries.
‘Russia doesnxe2x80x99t threaten anyone,’ said Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov. ‘The movement of troops on our territory shouldnxe2x80x99t be a cause for anyonexe2x80x99s concern,’ he told reporters, the Associated Press reported.
Russia’s defense ministry said the unannounced drill involved paratroopers from both countries dropping at the Gozhsky range, just 20 miles from where thousands of migrants are gathered at the Polish border, where they practiced capturing bridges as well as hunting down and destroying enemy patrols.
Belarus said the drill was in response to the ‘build-up of military activity’ at the Polish border, where 15,000 troops have been stationed to hold back the migrants, while Russia said it was to test the ‘combat readiness’ of its troops.
Laughing Kamala embraces Emmanuel Macron at the xc3x89lysxc3xa9e Palace
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Harris and Macron held talks for around two hours, which their aides described as constructive
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Harris and Macron were seen on Wednesday at the Elysee Palace in Paris
‘Very happy’ US VP Harris welcomed by French President Macron
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At the same time, Polish defense minister Mariusz Bxc5x82aszczak revealed that British military engineers have been deployed to help strengthen the border defenses, amid warnings from all sides that the crisis risks spilling over into an armed conflict. The MoD confirmed a ‘small team’ has been sent to provide engineering support.
The troops are likely from the light cavalry squadron that the UK currently has stationed in Poland as part of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence, which includes soldiers from the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers.
Amidst the tensions, RAF Typhoons from Lossiemouth & Coningsby were also scrambled to escort two Russian nuclear-capable bombers which flew over the North Sea and towards the English Channel today. They were joined on the mission by a Voyager Tanker from RAF Brize Norton, the RAF said.
Separately, Washington warned its European allies that Putin could be preparing for an invasion of Ukraine’s eastern borders – hundreds of miles from where the migrant crisis is playing out – after satellites spotted troops, tanks and artillery pieces massing there.
Ukraine – which has been fighting a proxy-war against Russian-backed separatists in its eastern regions for years – has moved 8,500 more troops to the region in response.
Addressing the crisis today, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denounced what he called ‘increased provocations’ against Russia, saying his country ‘can’t stay indifferent to that; we must be on our guard.’
‘We take measures to ensure our security when opponents take defiant action near our borders,’ Peskov added.xc2xa0xc2xa0
Meanwhile, Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defense minister, warned his French counterparts that the military situation in Europe ‘continues to deteriorate’ while slamming NATO for ‘building up its military presence’ near Russia’s border.xc2xa0
Speaking after a meeting with French officials in Paris, Shoigu insisted that Russia is working to ‘increase predictability and reduce the risk of incidents’ in the border region.
Kamala Harris ‘uses French accent’ while talking to scientists
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The Quebec-educated vice president, who speaks some French, spoke on Tuesday of her love for scientific principals – but was mocked for appearing to put on a French accent
Besides facing a possible impending war, Harris was also met with fierce backlash after she appeared to put on a French accent to speak to scientists at a Covid lab in Paris on Tuesday.xc2xa0
She was at the Institut Pasteur science lab, where Americans are working alongside Europeans to tackle Covid-19 and where her Indian-born mother researched breast cancer.
Shexc2xa0spoke about her love of science and her dismay at how politics could not be as methodical and logical as their experiments.xc2xa0
‘In government, we campaign with ‘The Plan,’ Harris said, with what some said was a French accent to discuss ‘the plan.’
‘Uppercase T, uppercase P, ‘”The Plan!”
‘And then the environment is such we’re expected to defend “The Plan” even when the first time we roll it out there may be some glitches and it’s time to reevaluate and then do it again.’xc2xa0
Mike Pompeo, former President Donald Trump’s secretary of state, said Harris was humiliating the United States.
‘The clip from Vice President Harris is more than embarrassing on the world stage,’ he told Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity on Wednesday night.
‘Our adversaries watch that and see weakness. They see people who aren’t serious, they see people who aren’t determined – precisely the opposite of what we did for four years.’xc2xa0xc2xa0
A North Carolina man who spent 24 years behind bars for a murder he has long said he did not commit has been pardoned by the statexe2x80x99s governor.
Dontae Sharpe has been out of prison since 2019 and the pardon allows him to apply for compensation of up to $750,000 for his wrongful conviction.
xe2x80x9cMr Sharpe and others who have been wrongly convicted deserve to have that injustice fully and publicly acknowledged,xe2x80x9d the governor, Roy Cooper, said.
In 1995, Sharpe was given a life sentence at age 19 for the first-degree murder of 33-year-old George Radcliffe, whom he was accused of killing a year earlier during a drug deal. Sharpe had maintained his innocence throughout and said in a 2019 interview that his faith and knowledge he was innocent guided his refusal to accept offers of a lighter sentence in exchange for a guilty plea.
At a virtual news conference on Friday just an hour after Cooperxe2x80x99s announcement, Sharpe said he was in disbelief when his lawyer called him with the news. He said he was still processing it and also was thinking of those who had taken to the streets and held vigils on his behalf.
xe2x80x9cIxe2x80x99m still in a haze, kind of,xe2x80x9d Sharpe said. xe2x80x9cWhen youxe2x80x99re dealing with us human beings, it can go any way, yes and no. I didnxe2x80x99t know what to expect. I was believing for a pardon.xe2x80x9d
The governmentxe2x80x99s case against Sharpe relied in part on testimony from a 15-year-old girl at the time who claimed she saw Sharpe kill Radcliffe but later recanted and said she wasnxe2x80x99t present at the time of the shooting. She later said her claims were made up, based on what investigators told her.
Sharpe was unsuccessful in his repeated efforts for a new trial until a former state medical examiner testified that the statexe2x80x99s theory of the shooting was not medically or scientifically possible. A judge subsequently ordered more evidence to be heard. Sharpe was released from prison in August 2019 after the prosecutor said the state wouldnxe2x80x99t pursue a retrial.
The NAACP had long pushed for Sharpexe2x80x99s release. In recent months, racial justice groups have demanded the governor grant Sharpe the clemency needed in order to apply for compensation for his wrongful conviction. They held vigils in front of Cooperxe2x80x99s state residence in downtown Raleigh for several weeks.
Anthony Spearman, a longtime North Carolina NAACP leader who was among those who participated in a vigil outside the governorxe2x80x99s mansion, said: xe2x80x9cThis should have happened a long time ago.xe2x80x9d
Sharpe said he will continue to press for other inmates to receive justice.
xe2x80x9cMy freedom is still incomplete as long as therexe2x80x99s still people going to prison wrongfully, if therexe2x80x99s still people in prison wrongfully and therexe2x80x99s still people that are waiting on pardons,xe2x80x9d he said.
Mossad chief David Barnea at a ceremony marking his taking the helm of the agency, on June 1, 2021. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)
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Three senior officials in the Mossad espionage agency have resigned overxc2xa0 decisions made by the organizationxe2x80x99s new director, David Barnea, according to a Thursday report.
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The resignations took place in the past few weeks, Channel 13 reported.
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Barnea took over as director of the intelligence agency from Yossi Cohen in June.
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The officials who left the agency were three of its most senior officials, holding the comparative rank of major-general in the military, the report said.
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Those said to have quit include the head of the technology division, the head of operations and the head of the branch dealing with the anti-terror war. A fourth senior official is reportedly considering quitting as well.
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The resignation of the officials was said to be directly linked to organizational decisions made by Barnea to divide up responsibilities in the spy agency and split existing branches.
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Barnea, who is also known by his nickname Dedi, served as a combat soldier in the elite Sayeret Matkal commando unit and has been in the Mossad for the past 25 years, including in prominent operational roles that saw him rise to lead the branch that handles the organizationxe2x80x99s agents worldwide. He was appointed Cohenxe2x80x99s deputy in 2019.
Cohen had served as head of the Mossad since January 2016. He was considered a close confidante to Netanyahu, reportedly served as the former prime ministerxe2x80x99s special envoy for various tasks, and was said to be seen by Netanyahu as his preferred successor as prime minister.
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Cohen played a prominent role in last yearxe2x80x99s deals to normalize ties with Arab countries. He traveled to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as the US brokered deals between them and Israel.
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This month, we’re learning phrases on the topic of strength and power. Ready to get tough with us?xc2xa0
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Michael_Novakhov shared this story
from Inside Putin’s ‘torture conveyor belt’ prisons where inmates are ‘raped and mutilated’.
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Warning: Graphic content
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Horrific new footage appears to show inside Russiaxe2x80x99s xe2x80x9ctorture conveyor beltxe2x80x9d jails where itxe2x80x99s claimed inmates are raped and mutilated.
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The new video was leaked to campaigners and allegedly shows prisoners being terrorized and subject to degrading treatment in Vladimir Putinxe2x80x99s jails.
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The videos show at least five inmates being urinated on, raped and violated with blunt objects.
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They are the latest in a series taken by a Belarussian man jailed in Saratov and leaked to campaignersxc2xa0Gulagu.net.
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According to the group, the abuse took place in OTB-1, a prison the Saratov region, close to the border with Kazakhstan.
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Vladimir Osechkin,xc2xa0who runs the group, wrote on its website: xe2x80x9cWe continue our independent investigation against the conveyor belt of torture in the institutions of the Federal Penitentiary Service.xe2x80x9d
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The group claims gangs of rapists were employed at the prison hospital to provide cover for them if their presence was questioned.
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But itxe2x80x99s alleged their actual job was the routine sexual abuse of inmates as part of a xe2x80x9ccriminal conspiracyxe2x80x9d operating within the jail.
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The rapes were filmed and the footage sent to the security services so it could be archived and then used as blackmail.
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It comes after the Gulaguxc2xa0revealed sickening videoxc2xa0showing a naked man screaming in pain as he is tied to a bed and violated with a mop handle at a tuberculosis hospital in the jail.
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The video was taken by Sergei Savelyev, who was used by the authorities to collate their sickening collection of torture videos filmed on prison issue camcorders, says the group.
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The IT programmer was xe2x80x9cbeaten and tortured himselfxe2x80x9d before he was deployed as a xe2x80x9cprofessionalxe2x80x9d to file the collection of abusive videos from several regions, it was claimed.
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Savelyev xe2x80x93 now released and seeking political asylum in the West xe2x80x93 copied the material and carried it out of Russia.
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Brutal treatment
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Osechkin says prisoners xe2x80x9cthemselves become part of the torture machinexe2x80x9d by snitching on other inmates or by signing false testimonies prepared by investigators.
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The footage has reportedly led to the head of Russiaxe2x80x99s FSIN prison service quitting.
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Tanya Lokshina, of Human Rights Watch, said her organization could not verify the videos but the footage xe2x80x9cgave grounds for strong concern.xe2x80x9d
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xe2x80x9cThe problem of torture in Russian penitentiaries is very acute and the government is not doing enough to ensure effective investigation, security of victims and whistleblowers and accountability for perpetrators,xe2x80x9d she said.
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Russian prisons are notoriously brutal andxc2xa0reports surfaced earlier this yearxc2xa0detailing how prisoners were subject to electric shocks and had clamps attached to their penises.
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A Putin-backed sadist dubbed The Maniac allegedly ran a prison in war-torn Ukrainexc2xa0which had dungeonsxc2xa0where victims were mutilated with surgical tools.
Lee Brown | New York Post.
Berkeley Political Review.
The News And Times.
РИА Новости.
News | Mail Online.
The Brooklyn News And Times.
The Guardian.
The Times of Israel.
Inside Putin’s ‘torture conveyor belt’ prisons where inmates are ‘raped and mutilated’.
