THE MAGE IN THE KREMLIN

A Hit French Novel Tries to Explain Putin. Too Well, Some Critics Say.

Constant Méheut
Sat, January 21, 2023 

"The Wizard of the Kremlin" by Giuliano da Empoli, on display in Paris, Jan. 10, 2023

 (Dmitry Kostyukov/The New York Times)

PARIS — There are “two things that Russians require from the state: internal order and external power.”

So says a fictional President Vladimir Putin in “Le Mage du Kremlin,” or “The Wizard of the Kremlin,” a novel exploring the inner workings of his government that has captivated France, winning prizes and selling more than 430,000 copies.

Published shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine last February, the novel has become a popular guide for understanding Putin’s motives. It has also turned its Swiss Italian author, Giuliano da Empoli, into a coveted “Kremlinologist,” invited to lunch with the French prime minister and to France’s top morning news show to analyze the war’s developments.

The success has illustrated the continued power of literature in France, where novels have long shaped public debate. Élisabeth Borne, the prime minister, said through a spokesperson that she “really enjoyed his book, which mixes fiction and reality and echoes international current events and the war in Ukraine.”

But in a country where literary hits are a kind of Rorschach test, the novel’s success has also raised concerns about whether it is shaping France’s views on Russia. Its detractors say the book conveys a largely sympathetic portrayal of Putin that may influence policy in a country that is already chastised as too forgiving of the Russian leader.

“The Wizard of the Kremlin,” which at times reads like an essay, is built around a fictionalized account of a powerful longtime Putin aide musing on Western decadence, the U.S.’ goal of bringing Russia to “its knees” and Russians’ preference for a strong leader — typical Kremlin talking points that critics say go unchallenged throughout the pages.

At best, the book’s popularity echoes what Gérard Araud, the former French ambassador to the United States, called “a kind of French fascination with Russia” fueled by a shared history of revolution, empire and cultural masterpieces.

At worst, critics say, it signals lenient views of Putin that are enduring in France and may shape the country’s stance on the war, as reflected in President Emmanuel Macron’s calls not to humiliate Russia.

“The book conveys the clichés of Russian propaganda, with a few small nuances,” said Cécile Vaissié, a political scientist specializing in Russia at Rennes 2 University. “When I see its success, that worries me.”

Dissecting politics was nothing new to da Empoli. A former deputy mayor of Florence, Italy, and adviser to an Italian prime minister, he has already published a dozen political essays in Italian and French, including one on Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential run.

But da Empoli wanted to try fiction and had a “fascination” with the way Russian power is projected. So he modeled his debut novel’s narrator on one of the country’s most intriguing figures, Vladislav Surkov.

“The challenge of the book is to take the devil’s point of view,” da Empoli said.

Until recently, Surkov was Putin’s chief ideologist and one of the architects of the extreme centralized control exerted by Putin, earning him a reputation as a puppet master and the title “Putin’s Rasputin.”

“The character’s rather novelistic nature struck me,” said da Empoli, a soft-spoken, restrained 49-year-old who now teaches at Sciences Po university in Paris. He added that he had visited Russia four times and had read numerous essays on the country’s politics and the Putin regime during his research.

The narrator chronicles the inner workings of Putin’s government. He crosses paths with real-life Kremlin players like Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the infamous Wagner mercenary group, with whom he sets up troll farms to spread disinformation and division in the West.

Da Empoli handed in his manuscript to Gallimard, his publisher, two years ago. He said he did not expect much for his first attempt at fiction.

Then came Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The novel, which had long been scheduled for publication in the spring, was one of the first new looks at Putin. It soon became the talk of the town.

“I don’t go to a dinner or a lunch without offering the book,” said Hélène Carrère d’Encausse, a specialist in Russian history who has condemned the war but who has also previously defended Putin. “It’s a key to understanding Putin.”

Hubert Védrine, a former French foreign minister, said that “the word-of-mouth was so good” that he felt compelled to read the novel, which he described as “incredibly credible.”

“The Wizard of the Kremlin” was the fifth bestselling book in France in 2022. It received a prize from the Académie Française and fell short of the Goncourt, France’s most prestigious literary award, by only one vote after an extraordinary 14 rounds of voting.

Top politicians and diplomats publicly praised the novel. Édouard Philippe, a former prime minister, hailed it as a great “meditation on power.” Da Empoli was invited on every talk show to analyze the current conflict.

“Circumstances have obviously changed the way the book was received,” said da Empoli, who sees his novel more as political fiction than as a guide to understanding Russia. “I didn’t necessarily expect that.”

He was not the only one surprised.

Several Russia experts have expressed dismay at the novel’s enthusiastic reception. They say the book is mostly indulgent about Putin, portraying him as fighting oligarchs for the good of the people and “putting Russia back on its feet” in the face of Western contempt.

In one passage, the narrator describes the pride of Russians upon learning that Putin had paid a surprise visit to troops fighting in Chechnya on Jan. 1, 2000, his first day as president. “There was a leader in charge again,” he says.

Françoise Thom, a professor of Russian history at the Sorbonne, said these descriptions “completely conceal the sordid dimension of the Putin reality” and are “very close to the Russian propaganda image.”

Vaissié, the political scientist, put it more bluntly. “It’s a bit like Russia Today for Saint-Germain-des-Prés,” she said, referring to the Kremlin-funded television channel and the Paris redoubt of the French literary elite.

Several French diplomats disagreed, arguing that the novel, if anything, is a useful look into the thinking of the Putin government.

“We have to hear this speech, too,” said Sylvie Bermann, a former French ambassador in Moscow. “It doesn’t mean that we agree with it.”

French right-wing groups have long sung Putin’s praises. And prominent intellectuals, like Carrère d’Encausse, have endorsed the Kremlin’s view that the West humiliated Russia after the end of the Cold War.

Under normal circumstances, “The Wizard of the Kremlin” might have fueled a harmless literary quarrel of the sort that periodically grips France.

But not in a time of war.

The arguments over the book are occurring just when divisions persist in Europe over how to deal with Putin. While Eastern European countries like Poland say he must be defeated outright, Western European nations like France have wavered between unequivocal financial and military support of Ukraine and reaching out to Putin.

“This book has become almost a textbook of history and politics for French leaders,” said Alexandre Melnik, a former Russian diplomat who opposes Putin. He pointed to Macron’s remarks that appeared sympathetic to Russia’s grievances.

Three presidential advisers declined to say, or said they did not know, whether Macron had read the novel.

Védrine, the former foreign minister, who has sometimes advised Macron on Russia, acknowledged that if the French president read the book, it would not lead him to adopt an aggressive stance toward Russia. He added that he saw a medium-term benefit to the book’s popularity: making the case for reaching out to Putin, “when it will be acceptable.”

“The Wizard of the Kremlin” was released in Italian this past summer, selling about 20,000 copies and earning praise in Italy as a great novel. Nearly 30 translations have been released or are on their way, including into English, but not into Russian or Ukrainian, so far.

Da Empoli said that his only aim was to write a “credible” novel, nothing more. “The book, once it’s out,” he said, “has its own life.”

© 2023 The New York Times Company

AKA SWAZILAND

Gunmen kill Eswatini opposition politician: spokesman

Sun, January 22, 2023 


Gunmen in Eswatini killed a prominent opposition politician and human rights lawyer at his home, a spokesman told AFP on Sunday, hours after the country's absolute monarch challenged activists opposed to his rule.

Thulani Maseko was shot dead on Saturday night by unknown attackers in Luhleko, around 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the capital Mbabane, opposition spokesman Sikelela Dlamini said.

He was told that "assassins shot him through the window while he was inside (the) house with his family", he said.

"Details are still scant (and), owing to the trauma his family members are undergoing, they are not yet ready to speak," Dlamini added.

The government sent condolences to the family, saying Maseko's death was a "loss for the nation" and that police were searching for the killers.

Maseko was a leading human rights lawyer and columnist in Eswatini who had a pending court battle with King Mswati III over the monarch's decision to rename the country Eswatini by decree.

The country's name was changed from Swaziland to Eswatini to mark the 50th anniversary of its independence from Britain in 2018.

Maseko's position was that the king had not followed the constitution in the process.

- 'No surprise' -

In 2014, he and the editor of The Nation magazine, Bheki Makhubu, were jailed for contempt of court over articles critical of the government and judiciary.

Maseko was the founder of MSF, a coalition of opposition parties, associations and churches.

His death comes just hours after the king challenged activists fighting to end Africa's last absolute monarchy.

"People should not shed tears and complain about mercenaries killing them," King Mswati had said.

"These people started the violence first but when the state institutes a crackdown on them for their actions, they make a lot of noise blaming King Mswati for bringing in mercenaries," he said.

Last week, the Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN) alleged that the king had hired mercenaries, mainly white Afrikaners from neighbouring South Africa, to help Eswatini's security forces suppress rising opposition to his regime.

But government spokesman Alpheous Nxumalo said "no hitmen have been hired".

Rights group Freedom Under Law, which operates across southern Africa, pointed a finger at the government.

"Somehow the stunning news that Thulani Maseko has been gunned down in cold blood comes as no surprise," it said in a statement.

"A ceaseless and fearless human-rights lawyer, an outspoken critic of the regime in his beloved Eswatini, Thulani had all too long suffered at the hands of a heedless regime."

- 'Powerful voice' -

"No-one can be misled by the cynical message of condolence put out on behalf of the government," it added.

The US Embassy at Mbabane expressed its "profound sadness" and extended "deepest condolences to Mr. Maseko's family, friends and admirers around the world".

"Eswatini and the world have lost a powerful voice for non violence and human rights," the US Embassy statement added.

King Mswati, who has ruled since 1986, is regularly accused of human rights violations.

The king, who can dissolve parliament, the government and appoint or dismiss judges, also commands the police and army.

In June 2021, pro-democracy protests descended into violence resulting in several deaths.

str-ger/ea/jj

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eswatini

Eswatini - Wikipedia 

Eswatini officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland (/ˈswɑːzilænd/ SWAH-zee-land; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country ...

https://www.britannica.com/place/Eswatini

Eswatini | Culture, History, & People - Encyclopedia Britannica 

Eswatini, officially Kingdom of Eswatini, Swati Umbuso weSwatini, previously called Kingdom of Swaziland, landlocked country in the eastern flank of South ...

https://www.state.gov/countries-areas/eswatini

Eswatini - United States Department of State 

The official name of the Kingdom of Swaziland was changed to the Kingdom of Eswatini, or Eswatini, in April 2018. The U.S. and Eswatini have had good bilateral ...

IT WAS SOMEONE WITH THE INITIALS; V.T.
Inside the Supreme Court Inquiry: Seized Phones, Affidavits and Distrust

Jodi Kantor
Sun, January 22, 2023 

The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, on Friday, Jan. 20, 2022. 

(Shuran Huang/The New York Times)

Last spring and summer, employees of the Supreme Court were drawn into an investigation that turned into an uncomfortable awakening.

As the court marshal’s office looked into who had leaked the draft opinion of the decision overturning the constitutional right to abortion, law clerks who had secured coveted perches at the top of the judiciary scrambled for legal advice and navigated quandaries including whether to surrender their personal cellphones to investigators.

The “court family” soon realized that its sloppy security might make it impossible to ever identify the culprit: 82 people, in addition to the justices, had access to the draft opinion. “Burn bags” holding sensitive documents headed for destruction sat around for days. Internal doors swung open with numerical codes that were shared widely and went unchanged for months.

Perhaps most painful, some employees found themselves questioning the integrity of the institution they had pledged to serve, according to interviews with almost two dozen current and former employees, former law clerks, advisers to last year’s clerkship class and others close to them, who provided previously undisclosed details about the investigation.

Inside the court, justices are treated with such day-to-day deference that junior aides assist them in putting on their black robes. As staff members were grilled, some grew concerned about the fairness of the inquiry, worried that the nine most powerful people at the court were not being questioned rigorously like everyone else.

The investigation was an attempt by Chief Justice John Roberts to right the institution and its image after a grievous breach and slide in public trust. Instead, it may have lowered confidence inside the court and out.

On Thursday, the court issued a 20-page report disclosing that the marshal’s monthslong search for the leaker had been fruitless, and detailing embarrassing gaps in internal policies and security. While noting that 97 workers had been formally interviewed, the report did not say whether the justices or their spouses had been.

Public reaction was scathing: “Not even a sentence explaining why they were or weren’t questioned,” tweeted Sean Davis, co-founder of The Federalist, a conservative magazine.

A day later, the court was forced to issue a second statement saying that the marshal had in fact conferred with the justices, but on very different terms from others at the institution. Lower-level employees had been formally interrogated, recorded, pressed to sign affidavits denying any involvement and warned that they could lose their jobs if they failed to answer questions fully, according to interviews and the report.

In contrast, conversations with the justices had been a two-way “iterative process” in which they asked as well as answered questions, the marshal, Gail Curley, wrote. She had seen no need for them to sign affidavits, she said.

Instead of putting the matter to rest, Friday’s statement heightened concerns about a double standard for justices.

“They weren’t subjected to the same level of scrutiny,” said one court worker on Friday, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the court’s confidentiality rules. “It’s hard to imagine any of them suffering meaningful consequences even if they were implicated in the leak.”

Internal examinations can build or sap an organization’s authority, said Glenn Fine, a former inspector general for the Justice Department who has conducted such inquiries, and more recently, has argued that the court needs a similar figure.

“Leak investigations are a double-edged sword,” Fine said in an interview. A thorough investigation can be a deterrent, but “an investigation that doesn’t solve a leak may embolden more leakers in the future.”

Failing to fully scrutinize the justices “just completely undermines the court’s credibility,” said Mark Zaid, a lawyer who often handles government investigations. “It sends a message of superiority that does not exist under the eyes of the law.”

Besides, “justices have a long history of being the ultimate source of leaks,” Aaron Tang, a law professor and former clerk to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, wrote in an Opinion essay in The New York Times.

In interviews, some employees said the leak and investigation further tainted the atmosphere inside a court that had already grown tense with disagreement. The leak spurred finger pointing, they said, with many conservatives convinced that a liberal had engineered the breach and vice versa. Just as the justices have grown more divided, so has their staff, eroding trust. Voices are more hushed now, the employees said, and doors that used to be open are closed.

Interrogating the Staff

In December 2021, after an early vote by the justices, word of the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization began to circulate in the court. The new conservative supermajority was about to overturn Roe v. Wade, removing a right in force for nearly a half-century. Wrenching for some on the staff and welcome for others, the outcome would have to be closely guarded by the court for six months.

In February, the draft opinion was emailed to a list of 70 clerks and employees; it eventually was seen by a dozen more, the report said. Some employees discussed the results with confidants in the building, and a few later admitted that they told their spouses, according to the report.

But the publication of the full draft opinion in Politico on May 2 was a shock felt almost physically at the court: Protesters roared outside the building, so loud they could be heard from some bathrooms. Over the years, information had occasionally dribbled out about pending decisions. But the court’s opinion was not yet final, and the leak seemed calculated to interfere with deliberations: “a grave assault on the judicial process,” as the marshal’s report would put it.

By the time the chief justice summoned the three dozen clerks for a mandatory meeting about the breach, many of the pedigreed young lawyers were worried. On the internet, accusers on the right were attacking the liberal justices’ clerks, posting names and photos and wild whodunit theories. One clerk had been quoted in a Politico article years before. Another had a master’s degree in gender studies, had written about reproductive rights and was married to a reporter. The tweets went viral, with tens of thousands of likes. (Later the court’s investigators found “nothing to substantiate” those accusations.)

The chief had assigned the investigation to Curley, the marshal, whose best-known task was crying “Oyez, oyez, oyez!” as justices entered the courtroom. She was a respected former Army lawyer, but her division had little of the investigative muscle of other government agencies, no subpoena power and a staff only partly devoted to security. Others on her team dealt with court administrative tasks such as staffing events and handling mail.

But Roberts was a staunch defender of the court’s independence, reluctant to let outsiders interfere. “The Judiciary’s power to manage its internal affairs,” he had written months before, “insulates courts from inappropriate political influence and is crucial to preserving public trust in its work as a separate and co-equal branch of government.”

As interviews of clerks began, a dilemma emerged. No one wanted to seem uncooperative, as if they had something to hide. The court’s written code of conduct states that the justices “expect and require complete loyalty from their own law clerks and the clerks of all other Justices.” Rifts between a clerk and his or her justice could have immediate and lasting implications, according to interviews with those who have held the one-year positions as well as advisers to last year’s class. The job rested on intimacy with justices, the ability to channel the bosses’ voices and views in drafting opinions.

The advantages accrued in one year at the court can compound for decades. For those who move on to law firms, the signing bonuses can be as high as $450,000, according to several lawyers at firms that recruit and hire them. The justices have powerful alumni networks that include reunions. A justice’s endorsement can be decisive for a federal judgeship or a law professor post. Many clerks join appellate practices, where, after a mandatory short break from court business, they spend the rest of their careers being paid handsomely to read and influence the justices’ minds.

But the marshal’s search was broad. The interview questions, and the affidavits the clerks were asked to sign, were sweeping, and lying to federal investigators was a crime. Investigators collected the clerks’ court-issued electronic devices and requested their personal ones. The group feared what one person called “spillage” — outed details, such as stray comments about justices or cases, that had nothing to do with the leak but could prove damaging.

The request to hand over personal cellphones caused some to seek legal counsel. It is unclear the degree to which clerks agreed to share the physical devices. But the report said that employees “voluntarily provided call and text detail records and billing statements,” suggesting that at least some may have reached a compromise: Investigators could view records and numbers but did not have access to other personal material.

The Inquiry Expands, and Deflates

In June and July, the inquiry proceeded to other workers, few of whom had the connections or potential earning power of the clerks. Some were long-serving employees who had protected the court’s secrets for years; others were just out of college.

As they sat for interviews, a stenographer and an audio technician captured every word. Some conversations were short and cursory, according to some who were questioned; others were far more detailed. A few employees were brought back for repeat interrogations, according to the report. The marshal’s office interviewed almost 100 workers in all, the report noted. Even the marshal’s aides, junior employees who have limited access to draft opinions, were questioned.

In the course of the investigation, the marshal’s office and other employees realized just how lax the court’s rules and protections had been. The question of whether court material could be brought home was fuzzy. Though employees weren’t supposed to tell anyone about the justices’ decisions, some told their spouses. For all its majesty, the Supreme Court is a porous and somewhat antiquated organization, lacking the armor of other government bodies that handle sensitive information.

In a May 2022 speech, Justice Clarence Thomas described how the leak had changed the atmosphere at the court. “You begin to look over your shoulder,” he said. “It’s like kind of an infidelity. You can explain it, but you can’t undo it.”

But in interviews, employees raised questions about whether the justices themselves have contributed to a decline in trust inside and outside the court.

Periodically, employees receive a stern memo reminding them that they may not participate in partisan political activities — no events, fundraising, bumper stickers or statements on social media. So some bristled when four justices attended a 40th anniversary dinner for the Federalist Society, an influential conservative group that focuses on the judiciary, in November.

Last spring, Thomas declined to recuse himself from cases involving attempts to overthrow the 2020 election, even though Virginia Thomas, his wife, had been involved in those efforts. Months later, a former leader of the anti-abortion movement wrote to the chief justice to report an alleged earlier breach, of a 2014 contraception decision, that he said stemmed from a donor’s meal with Justice Samuel Alito and his wife. The court never responded.

In recent months, as the court has completed its report, new clerks have taken their places in the chambers. Security is tightening. Further protocol changes are promised. And with the release of the report, a growing recognition has taken hold, some employees say: The best chance of understanding who leaked the most consequential decision in generations, and what that person was trying to achieve, is fading away.

© 2023 The New York Times Company

HITLERS GERMANY HAD ELECTIONS

Turkish elections to be held on May 14 -Erdogan

Turkish President Erdogan addresses lawmakers of his AK Party during a meeting at the parliament in Ankara

Sun, January 22, 2023 

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would hold elections on May 14, a month earlier than scheduled, setting up a tight test of his leadership after two decades in power.

The president's office released video footage on Sunday of Erdogan announcing the date during a meeting with young voters in the northwestern province of Bursa late on Saturday.

"I am grateful to god that we will be walking side by side with you, our first-time voting youth, in the elections that will be held on May 14," Erdogan told the group.

Opinion polls show the parliamentary and presidential elections will be tight, and will mark Erdogan's biggest test in his two decades at the reins of the regional military power, NATO member and major emerging market economy.

Turkey's presidential and parliamentary elections were scheduled to be held on June 18 but President Erdogan previously signalled that the vote could be brought forward. An official of his AK Party has previously said that an election in June would coincide with the summer holiday season when people are travelling.

(Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun and Omer Berberoglu; Editing by Susan Fenton)

 

 

 

 

THAT SUMS IT UP
In Mexico, a reporter published a story. The next day he was dead

Sat, January 21, 2023 
By Sarah Kinosian

MEXICO CITY, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Just after sunset on Thursday, February 10th, two men in a white Dodge Ram pickup pulled up in front of Heber Lopez Vasquez's small radio studio in southern Mexico. One man got out, walked inside and shot the 42-year-old journalist dead. Lopez's 12-year-old son Oscar, the only person with him, hid, Lopez's brother told Reuters.

Lopez was one of 13 Mexican journalists killed in 2022, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a New York-based rights group. It was the deadliest year on record for journalists in Mexico, now the most dangerous country for reporters in the world outside the war in Ukraine, where CPJ says 15 reporters were killed last year.

A day earlier, Lopez–who ran two online news sites in the southern Oaxaca state–had published a story on Facebook accusing local politician Arminda Espinosa Cartas of corruption related to her re-election efforts.

As he lay dead, a nearby patrol car responded to an emergency call, intercepted the pickup and arrested the two men. One of them, it later emerged, was the brother of Espinosa, the politician in Lopez's story.

Espinosa has not been charged in connection with Lopez's killing. She did not respond to multiple requests for comment and Reuters could not find any previous comment she made about her role in corruption or on Lopez's story.

Her brother and the other man remain detained but have yet to be tried. Their lawyer did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

"I already stopped covering drug trafficking and corruption and Heber's death still scares me," said Hiram Moreno, a veteran Oaxacan journalist who was shot three times in 2019, sustaining injuries in the leg and back, after writing about drug deals by local crime groups. His assailant was never identified. "You cannot count on the government. Self-censorship is the only thing that will keep you safe."

It is a pattern of fear and intimidation playing out across Mexico, as years of violence and impunity have created what academics call "silence zones" where killing and corruption go unchecked and undocumented.

"In silence zones people don't get access to basic information to conduct their lives," said Jan-Albert Hootsen, CPJ's Mexico representative. "They don't know who to vote for because there are no corruption investigations. They don't know which areas are violent, what they can say and not say, so they stay silent."

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's spokesman did not respond to a request for comment about attacks on the media.

Since the start of Mexico's drug war in 2006, 133 reporters have been killed for motives related to their work, CPJ determined, and another 13 for undetermined reasons. In that time Mexico has registered over 360,000 homicides.

Aggression against journalists has spread in recent years to previously less hostile areas–such as Oaxaca and Chiapas–threatening to turn more parts of Mexico into information dead zones, say rights groups like Reporters Without Borders and 10 local journalists.

Lopez was the second journalist since mid-2021 to be murdered in Salina Cruz, a Pacific port in Oaxaca. It nestles in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a skinny stretch of land connecting the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific that has become a landing spot for precursor chemicals to make fentanyl and meth, according to three security analysts and a DEA source.

Lopez's last story, one of several he wrote about Espinosa, covered the politician's alleged efforts to get a company constructing a breakwater in Salina Cruz's port to threaten workers to cast their vote for her re-election or else be fired.

The infrastructure was a part of the Interoceanic Corridor–one of Lopez Obrador's flagship development projects in southern Mexico.

Jose Ignacio Martinez, a crime reporter in the isthmus, and nine of Lopez's fellow journalists say since his murder they are more afraid to publish stories delving into the corridor project, drug trafficking and state collusion with organized crime.

One outlet Reuters spoke to, which asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, said it had done an investigation on the corridor, but did not feel safe to publish after Lopez's death.

Lopez Obrador's spokesman did not respond to a request for comment about corruption accusations related to the corridor.

THE MECHANISM

In 2012 the government established the Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists.

Known simply as the Mechanism, the body provides journalists with protections such as panic buttons, surveillance equipment, home police watch, armed guards and relocation. Since 2017, nine Mechanism-protected reporters have been murdered, CPJ found.

Journalists and activists may request protection from the Mechanism, which evaluates their case along with a group of human rights defenders, journalists and representatives of nonprofits, as well as officials from various government agencies that make up a governing board. Not all those who request protection receive it, based on the analysis.

At present there are 1,600 people enrolled in the Mechanism, including 500 journalists.

One of those killed was Gustavo Sanchez, a journalist shot at close range in June 2021 by two motorcycle-riding hitmen. Sanchez, who had written critical articles about politicians and criminal groups, enrolled in the Mechanism for a third time after surviving an assassination attempt in 2020. Protection never arrived.

Oaxaca's prosecutor at the time said Sanchez's coverage of local elections would be a primary line of investigation into his murder. No one has been charged in the case.

Sanchez's killing triggered Mexico's human rights commission to produce a 100-page investigation into authorities' failings. Evidence "revealed omissions, delays, negligence and breach of duties by at least 15 public servants," said the report.

Enrique Irazoque, head of the Interior Ministry's department for the Defense of Human Rights, said the Mechanism accepted the findings, but highlighted the role local authorities played in the protection lag.

Fifteen people within government and civil society told Reuters the Mechanism is under-resourced given the scope of the problem. Irazoque agreed, though he noted its staff of 40 increased last year to a staff of 70. Its 2023 budget increased to around $28.8 million from $20 million in 2022.

In addition to the shortage of funding, Irazoque said that local authorities, state governments and courts need to do more, but there was a lack of political will.

"The Mechanism is absorbing all the problems, but the issues are not federal, they are local," he said in an interview with Reuters.

More convictions are what Irazoque believes are most needed, saying the lack of legal repercussions for public officials encourages corruption.

Impunity for journalist killings hovers around 89%, a 2021 report from the Interior Ministry, which oversees the Mechanism, showed. Local public servants were the biggest source of violence against journalists, ahead of organized crime, the report found.

"You would think the biggest enemy would be armed groups and organized crime," said journalist Patricia Mayorga, who fled Mexico after investigating corruption. "But really it's the ties between those groups and the state officials that are the problem."

Many Mexican journalists killed worked for small, independent, digital outlets that sometimes only published on Facebook, noted Irazoque, saying their stories dug deep into local political issues.

Mexico's National Association of Mayors (ANAC) and its National Conference of Governors (CONAGO) did not respond to requests for comment about the role of state and local governments in journalist killings or allegations of corrupt ties to crime groups.

President Lopez Obrador frequently pillories the press, calling out reporters critical of his administration and holding a weekly segment in his daily news conference dedicated to the "lies of the week." He condemns the murders, while accusing adversaries of talking up the violence to discredit him.

Irazoque says he has no evidence the president's verbal attacks have led to violence against journalists. Lopez Obrador's spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

"What type of life is this?," journalist Rodolfo Montes said, eyeing security footage from inside his home where the Mechanism, in which he first enrolled in 2017, had installed cameras with eyes on the garage, street and entryway.

Years earlier, a cartel rolled a bullet under the door as a threat, and he has been on edge ever since. An entire archive box of threats spread over a decade sat in the corner. Looking down at his phone after a cartel threatened his 24-year-old daughter just a few days before, he said, "I'm living, but I'm dead, you know?"

(Editing by Claudia Parsons and Dave Graham; Additional reporting by Pepe Cortes in Oaxaca)

ANTIFA IN ISRAEL
Israelis press on with protests against new government
 

 

BIBI BIG BROTHER

Israelis gather ahead of a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government, in Tel Aviv, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023. Last week, tens of thousands of Israelis protested Netanyahu's government that opponents say threaten democracy and freedoms.

 (AP Photo/ Oded Balilty)

Sat, January 21, 2023

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday night to protest plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government to overhaul the judicial system, measures that opponents say imperil the country's democratic foundation.

Israeli media, citing police, said some 100,000 people were out protesting.

The protest followed another demonstration last week that also drew tens of thousands in an early challenge to Netanyahu and his ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox government — the most right-wing in Israeli history.

The government says a power imbalance has given judges and government legal advisers too much sway over lawmaking and governance. Netanyahu has pledged to press on with the changes despite the opposition.

Protesters filled central streets in the seaside metropolis, raising Israeli flags and banners that read “Our Children will not Live in a Dictatorship” and “Israel, We Have A Problem.”

“This is a protest to defend the country,” said opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who joined the protest. “People came here today to protect their democracy.”

“All generations are concerned. This is not a joke,” said Lior Student, a protester. "This is a complete redefinition of democracy.”

Other protests took place in the cities of Jerusalem, Haifa and Beersheba.

   

In addition to the protests, pressure has built up on Netanyahu’s government after the country’s attorney general asked Netanyahu to fire a key Cabinet ally following a Supreme Court ruling that disqualified him from holding a government post because of a conviction of tax offenses.

While Netanyahu was expected to heed the court ruling, it only deepened the rift in the country over the judicial system and the power of the courts.

Earlier this week, Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, vowed to continue with the judicial overhaul plans despite the protests. Opponents say the changes could help Netanyahu evade conviction in his corruption trial, or make the court case disappear altogether.

On Friday, Netanyahu's coalition was put for a new test after a disagreement between Cabinet members over the dismantling of an unauthorized settlement outpost in the West Bank.

Defense Minister Yoav Galant, a member of Netanyahu's Likud party, ordered the removal of the outpost, upsetting a pro-settlement Cabinet member who had issued a directive to postpone the eviction pending further discussions.

Israel's Netanyahu fires Cabinet ally, heeding court ruling

 

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. 

(AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo, Pool)

TIA GOLDENBERG
Sun, January 22, 2023 

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired a key Cabinet ally on Sunday, heeding a Supreme Court ruling commanding him to do so and deepening a rift over the power of the courts.

Netanyahu announced he was firing Aryeh Deri, who serves as Interior and Health Minister, at a meeting of his Cabinet. Israel's Supreme Court decided last week Deri could not serve as a Cabinet minister because of a conviction last year over tax offenses.

The court ruling came as Israel is mired in a dispute over the power of the judiciary. Netanyahu’s far-right government wants to weaken the Supreme Court, limit judicial oversight and grant more power to politicians. Critics say the move upends the country’s system of checks and balances and imperils Israel’s democratic fundamentals.

According to his office, Netanyahu told Deri he was removing him from his post with “a heavy heart and great sorrow.”

“This unfortunate decision ignores the people's will,” Netanyahu told Deri. “I intend to find any legal way for you to continue to contribute to the state of Israel.”

Deri said he would continue to lead his party and assist the government in advancing its agenda, including the legal overhaul.

Deri’s firing is also expected to shake Netanyahu’s governing coalition, a union buoyed by ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox parties, including Deri’s Shas, which is the third largest party in the government. While some Shas lawmakers threatened to bolt the fledgling coalition in the aftermath of the court ruling, it is expected to survive Deri’s absence and to attempt to craft legislation that would pave the way for his swift return.

Netanyahu is now expected to appoint other Shas members to replace Deri, at least temporarily.

Deri has long been a kingmaker in Israeli politics and has become a key ally of Netanyahu’s who has relied on him repeatedly to join his governments and back his agenda.

Netanyahu’s government, the most right-wing in Israeli history, has made overhauling the country’s judiciary a centerpiece of its agenda. It says a power imbalance has given judges and government legal advisers too much sway over lawmaking and governance. Critics say the overhaul could help Netanyahu, himself on trial for corruption charges, evade conviction or see his trial disappear entirely.

The plan has drawn fierce criticism from top legal officials, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, former lawmakers and tens of thousands of Israelis who have come out repeatedly to protest the overhaul.

In a move that was seen as crucial to bringing the governing coalition together, Israeli legislators last month changed a law that prohibited a convict on probation from being a Cabinet minister. That cleared the way for Deri to join the government but prompted the Supreme Court challenge.

Deri has faced legal problems in the past. He was sentenced to three years in prison for bribery, fraud and breach of trust in 2000 during a stint as interior minister in the 1990s. He served 22 months in prison but made a political comeback and retook the reins of Shas in 2013.

 

 

Voters have clearly told Republicans to change their ways. So far GOP has said, 'Nope.'

Rex Huppke, USA TODAY
Sun, January 22, 2023 

In the short months since Republicans suffered midterm electoral dysfunction, sitting slack-jawed as the “Red Wave” they envisioned failed to rise, the party and its lawmakers surveyed the clear message voters sent and responded with a thunderous: “Meh.”

Midterm election exit polls showed a populace uninterested in GOP election denialism and the culture-war grievances that animate Fox News viewers. Hot-button right-wing issues like drag shows or critical race theory or the bottomless conspiracy pit into which Hunter Biden’s laptop has fallen didn’t register a blip. If anything, it turned voters off – particularly younger ones better at separating fact from fiction – leading them to buck historical trends and vote for the party of an unpopular president during a time of high inflation.

To make matters worse for the GOP, it was the third straight national election that didn't quite go the way they'd hoped, following the 2018 midterms and the 2020 presidential election.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., takes a selfie with the newly elected House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Jan. 6, 2023.

It was a historic stumble and a strong signal that the cruelty-first, MAGA-era version of the Republican Party may be galloping toward political irrelevancy. But the party’s response since November has been to gallop faster, in the same direction, like a slice of lemmings eager to reach the cliff.

Gen Z voted and it was a W for democracy: We can no longer be a political afterthought.
You're angry about abortion restrictions? OK, we'll try to restrict more abortions

Voters were angry about the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and restrictions on women’s access to reproductive health care. In the five states that had abortion-related initiatives on the ballot, voters resoundingly supported abortion rights.

Swiftly after being sworn in this month, Republicans who narrowly won control of the U.S. House of Representatives passed abortion-related bills that put restrictions on federal funding for abortions (something that wasn’t happening anyway because of the Hyde Amendment) and imposing new regulations on how abortion providers handle infants born alive after abortions, something exceedingly rare and already covered by federal law.

Abortion-rights advocates in Philadelphia protest the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe V. Wade on Friday, June 24, 2022.

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina responded to that early legislative push by saying: “We learned nothing from the midterms if this is how we're going to operate in the first week. Millions of women across the board were angry over overturning Roe v. Wade.”

Voters supported abortion rights. Here's what anti-abortion leaders should learn from it.

GOP attacking inflation by making life easier for the rich

But that has been the tip of the not-reading-the-room iceberg.

Inflation was a top concern for voters, and Republicans campaigned heavily on saving hard-working Americans from the tyranny of President Joe Biden’s economic policies, or some such thing.

U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) hits the gavel after being elected Speaker in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 07, 2023 in Washington, DC.

So naturally, one of the first moves GOP House lawmakers made was voting to cut tens of billions of dollars in IRS funding intended to help the agency go after wealthy tax cheats. That move by the always-deficit-conscious Republicans would add $114 billion to the deficit over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The bill will go nowhere, of course, but it shows voters how little the party respects their concerns.

How about a 'fair tax' that's really fairer to the wealthy?

In order to get enough votes to become House Speaker, Rep. Kevin McCarthy agreed to bring a whack-a-doodle thing called the “Fair Tax” up for a vote on the House floor. This legislation would do away with the IRS and effectively wipe out the U.S. tax code and replace it with a monstrous 30% national sales tax on everything. It’s a great way to make sure the average American voter worried about inflation gets to shoulder more of the tax burden than the wealthy donors who line the pockets of Republicans willing to pretend this is a good idea.

Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store.

War on Woke wasn't wanted, GOP fights on

Along with ignoring the financial concerns of non-millionaires, Republicans are aggressively going after the “woke” culture-war issues that younger voters – the ones who will determine elections to come and lean heavily toward diversity and inclusion – made clear they find repellent.

A demonstrator holds up a sign during a march to mark International Transgender Day of Visibility in Lisbon, March 31, 2022. At least 32 transgender and gender-nonconforming people have been killed in the United States in 2022, the Human Rights Campaign announced Wednesday, Nov. 16, in its annual report ahead of Transgender Day of Remembrance on Sunday, Nov. 20. (AP Photo/Armando Franca, File)More

GOP legislators across the country have continued attempts to ban drag queen shows, take away access to gender-affirming care and target transgender people. The American Civil Liberties Union found that since the start of the year, more than 120 bills restricting LBGTQ rights have been introduced in statehouses across the country.
African American studies? That sounds woke, better ban it

Nowhere is the culture-war drum being beaten louder than in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis, widely considered a frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, is transforming the state into a beacon of intolerance.

This past week, he sent a survey to all state universities requesting numbers and demographic data on students who sought or received treatment for gender dysphoria, an obvious attempt to intimidate transgender students and those who provide them support and care.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis reacts after publicly signing HB7, "individual freedom," also dubbed the "stop woke" bill during a news conference in April.

Florida’s State Board of Education released a statement in conjunction with the the Florida College System presidents that “rejects the progressivist higher education indoctrination agenda, and commits to removing all woke positions and ideologies by February 1, 2023.” For most normal people in this country, that quote is a bunch of loony-sounding mumbo-jumbo.

My daughter found her perfect campus: Now Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to destroy it.

DeSantis’ administration even blocked a new high school Advanced Placement course on African American studies, because apparently learning non-white stuff is just too darn woke.

Republicans tell voters to pound sand

If you look at all of this, it’s a stunning rebuke of the broader American public.

I’ll leave the cogent political analysis to others and just say this to elected Republican leaders: Have you lost your damn minds? (Don’t respond, I know the answer.) Because you’re well on your way to losing future elections.

There are, without question, conservative ideas that are more broadly palatable, and America, despite what right-wing hysteria spouters might say, is not on the verge of becoming a radical leftist nation. There’s a big ol’ middle out there that will gladly tilt toward whichever side happens to be making more sense.

That’s the problem, really. Far-right Republicans have stopped making sense to anyone who doesn’t inhabit their tight, weirdly conspiratorial, constantly agitated bubble.

To paraphrase the great cartoonist Walt Kelly, “They have seen the enemy, and it is them.”

And apparently they like what they see.



Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Twitter @RexHuppke and Facebook facebook.com/RexIsAJerk, or contact him at rhuppke@usatoday.com

More from Rex Huppke:

House GOP heard the American voters. They definitely want Hunter Biden investigations!

Noted political loser Donald Trump announces plan to lose presidential race again.

After the 'red wave' flop, we need new male political experts who are always wrong. I'm in.

GOP ANTI-PROGRESSIVE RACE WAR ON RIGHTS

Tennessee cuts HIV program with Planned Parenthood ties

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee answers questioning during a panel discussion at the Republican Governors Association conference on Nov. 15, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. According to a letter from Planned Parenthood, Tennessee's Department of Health in November alerted the organization that it would no longer receive HIV prevention grants starting in 2023, as well as warn that the state was terminating its partnership with the organization to provide HIV testing. Planned Parenthood declared that Lee's administration was choosing the “nuclear option” in order to avoid having to work with the organization. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File) 

KIMBERLEE KRUESI
Fri, January 20, 2023 at 2:17 PM MST·5 min read

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Top Tennessee health officials attempted to oust Planned Parenthood from a program designed to prevent and treat HIV before eventually deciding to forgo federal funding for the program, despite warnings that doing so will have a devastating impact on marginalized communities, documents show.

The decision is the latest development in a ruby red state where abortion is already banned. Republicans leaders, however, have actively tried to cut off public ties with the organization for any other services, due to its long history of offering and defending abortion care.

According to a letter from Planned Parenthood, Tennessee's Department of Health in November alerted the organization that it would no longer receive HIV prevention grants starting in 2023, as well as warn that the state was terminating its partnership with Planned Parenthood to provide HIV testing.

The letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press, was sent to the health agency's general counsel, Mary Katherine Bratton, on Nov. 16.

The document states that United Way — which distributes the HIV federal funding grant on the health agency's behalf — said the department wanted to sever ties with Planned Parenthood “for reasons wholly unrelated to the purpose of the program.”

“As United Way reported: ‘TDH said given the current political climate we are not moving forward with funding Planned Parenthood,’ and TDH 'can no longer directly or indirectly fund (Planned Parenthood),'” wrote Planned Parenthood's attorney Alan E. Schoenfeld.

Schoenfeld added that Planned Parenthood wanted to avoid litigation and requested a meeting later that month. The issue was eventually dropped until this week, when the Department of Health announced it was choosing to walk away from the federal HIV prevention, detection and treatment funding and instead would rely on state funding for such efforts starting June 1. The Commercial Appeal was the first to report the announcement.

The department’s move was a shock to many of the participating organizations tasked with providing vital HIV services across the state. Planned Parenthood, which has worked with the state to distribute free condoms for more than a decade, declared that Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s administration was choosing the “nuclear option” in order to avoid having to work with the organization.

“This is yet another public health crisis manufactured by Gov. Lee,” said Ashley Coffield, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi. “They are using Planned Parenthood as the entry way to take down the whole sexual and reproductive health care system. We’re often the most public target, but this affects so many groups.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Health declined to directly answer questions about why they attempted to cut Planned Parenthood from the HIV program in November. Instead, they provided a Jan. 17 letter explaining that “prior administrations” had decided to accept the federal funding for HIV surveillance but the state has determined “it is in the best interest of Tennesseans for the State to assume direct financial and managerial responsibility for these services.”

“The funding for this HIV prevention program is very important and it’s important that it is spent effectively and efficiently in the ways that best serve Tennessee,” Lee told reporters Friday. “We think we can do that better than the strings attached with the federal dollars that came our way and that’s why we made that decision.”

Tennessee’s health agency’s website says the CDC grant helps fund: “HIV counseling, testing and referral, HIV partner counseling and referral services, HIV health education and risk reduction programs, HIV prevention for positive individuals, public information programs, a toll-free HIV/STD hotline, capacity building programs, and a quality assurance and evaluation component.”

The website goes on to say that state funding provides additional support for HIV testing, but it does not give an amount.

Separately, Lee appointed Ralph Alvarado as the new health commissioner in late November. Alvarado is a former Kentucky state senator who has publicly opposed most abortion access. Alvarado officially took over the role on Monday, just two days before the department announced it would cut off the HIV federal funding.

Planned Parenthood has since been removed from the health agency’s website that lists community organizations that distribute free condoms.

“There’s nothing pro-life about punishing people who are living with HIV and enabling this virus to spread undetected,” said Democratic state Sen. London Lamar of Memphis.

Lamar added that public health efforts have helped slow the spread of HIV in Tennessee and that cutting off federal funding “endangers the lives of Tennesseans.”

Planned Parenthood has partnered with Tennessee’s Department of Health to provide HIV testing since 2008, when Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen was in office. Four years later, under then Republican Gov. Bill Haslam’s administration, the health agency attempted to remove Planned Parenthood from the program — a move that was ultimately challenged in court.

A district court later found that the department had targeted Planned Parenthood “based upon their First Amendment activity for advocating abortion” and issued a permanent injunction preventing the state from dissolving any partnership with the organization because of their abortion care advocacy. That injunction is still in place.

Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood has been forced to stop all abortion services ever since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion last year.

___

Associated Press writer Jonathan Mattise contributed to this report.

Tennessee says it's cutting federal HIV funding. Will other GOP states follow?



Erika Edwards
Fri, January 20, 2023 

Health officials in Tennessee say they will reject federal funding for groups that provide services to residents living with HIV.

Earlier this week, the Tennessee Department of Health announced it would no longer accept grant money from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earmarked for testing, prevention and treatment of HIV.

In an email reviewed by NBC News, the Department of Health told certain nonprofit organizations that provide these services that the state would turn down the federal funding as of June, relying only on state funds afterward. "It is in the best interest of Tennesseans for the State to assume direct financial and managerial response for these services," the email read.

When asked for comment by NBC News, a spokesperson for the Department of Health said that "the letter speaks for itself."


An estimated 20,000 people in Tennessee are living with HIV, though not all would be affected by the cuts. There was no further guidance on how the state planned to fund such programs on its own.

The move stunned HIV experts.

"I can't understand why the state would give back funds targeted toward health care," said Diane Duke, president and chief executive officer of Friends for Life, a Memphis group that provides services to people living with HIV. Friends for Life was among the groups that received notice from the state. "It's outrageous," she said.

Shelby County, where Memphis is located, is among the nation's counties with the highest rates of HIV and AIDS. In 2020, 819 per 100,000 Shelby County residents had HIV, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

And those were only the people who'd received an official diagnosis.

"A lot of people are walking around with HIV, and they don't even realize it," Duke said. Providing testing for the virus is a major part of the work Friends for Life carries out. "Once somebody has tested positive, we are able to get them into care immediately," she said.

Greg Millett, director of public policy for the nonprofit group amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, called the decision "devastating." He is concerned that Tennessee health officials are setting a dangerous precedent.

"If other states follow suit," Millett said, "we're going to be in trouble."

Millet said that the CDC provides Tennessee as much as $10 million in HIV funding. It remains unclear how much of that money will be turned away.

He said he worries that the state's directive will lead to discrimination against marginalized groups most at risk for HIV.

"The overwhelming majority of new HIV cases are among gay and bisexual men, transgender populations, heterosexual women, as well as people who inject drugs," he said.

"We have the tools needed to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in terms of prevention and care," Millett said. "If Tennessee is not using those tools, not using CDC funding and not focusing on the groups most at risk for HIV, we have the possibility of an outbreak."

The CDC provides millions of dollars each year to states for HIV testing kits, condoms and medications to prevent infection, called PrEP.

In a statement provided to NBC News on Friday, the CDC said that it was unaware that Tennessee — or any other state — planned to stop accepting the grant money.

"We have not received any official notification from the Tennessee Department of Health withdrawing from CDC's HIV prevention funding," the CDC said. Without such notice, the CDC will automatically continue payments to the state.

The federal agency also said that it would "certainly be concerned if the services people in Tennessee need to stay healthy were interrupted or if public health capacity to respond to HIV outbreaks and bring an end to this epidemic were hindered."

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This article was originally published on NBCNews.com