Biden Administration Paying Americans Thousands of Dollars to Upgrade Their Homes

William Dahl

Wed, January 25, 2023 

On Aug. 16, President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, directing billions of dollars to Americans looking to upgrade their homes, businesses and cars.

One provision of the law allows Americans making less than $150,000 a year to claim a $7,500 tax credit for buying an electric car.

The law also provides $9 billion in rebates to help people electrify their home appliances and make their houses more energy-efficient. It’s also allowing Americans to claim a tax credit for installing heat pumps in their homes.

Altogether, the Inflation Reduction Act is showering $369 billion on clean energy programs and businesses throughout America.

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And clean energy investors already have something to celebrate. In the months since the act was signed into law, renewable energy companies like NextEra Energy Inc. (NYSE: NEE) have handily outperformed the S&P 500.

The law is controversial, as is any law sweeping enough to decarbonize 40% of America’s economy over the next eight years as this law purports to do. But from an investing perspective, one thing is clear: History shows that clean energy catalysts on this level can give investors the chance to multiply their money many times over.

You might remember President Barack Obama’s 2009 stimulus package, which gave billions of dollars to clean energy companies and “created Tesla as we know it,” according to Bloomberg. Tesla shares have returned almost 10,000% since — even after their recent downturn. Other clean energy companies that received loans or grants like Brookfield Renewable Partners LP have returned well over 1,000%.

Potential benefits to solar investors are especially enticing. In the years after the 2009 stimulus package, America’s solar industry grew by 2,500% — and Biden’s clean energy bill is much larger than that.

In 2023, the White House plans to assist 7.5 million Americans in putting solar panels on their rooftops — and that could be a major opening for YouSolar, a startup that helps its customers transition to the electric grid painlessly and seamlessly.

As Bloomberg has pointed out, the global cost to decarbonize power grids could amount to more than $28 trillion. That’s a big deal for one company that could bring countless consumers toward an all-electric life.

© 2023 Benzinga.com

Tiny Texas County Doubles Wealth In Two Years With Revolutionary Technology

William Dahl
Wed, January 25, 2023


You probably haven’t heard of Coke County, Texas. Out of thousands of counties in America, it’s one of the smallest, with just 3,300 residents.

But it enjoyed the biggest economic boom of any county from 2019 to 2021, according to an analysis from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In those two years, Coke County’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 83%, from $128 million to $235 million.

The growth is being credited to a surge in wind farm construction. New wind farms are paying landowners in Coke County annual royalties of up to $10,000 while creating jobs and lowering energy costs. These twin economic benefits have helped the county’s GDP per capita rise from $39,000 a year to $71,000. The explosion in wealth has led one county judge to describe the locals as “tickled pink about this.”

But it’s not just Coke County. Of the 10 American counties with the biggest spikes in GDP from 2019 to 2021, seven have seen major wind farm construction in that time frame.

For now, Coke County must decide how to spend the annual payments of $787,000 it’s receiving from the Aviator Wind Farm over the next decade. An official says the money will be spent on roads, bridges, senior centers and other projects benefiting the public.

What’s striking is that this boom, which is already transforming dozens of U.S. counties economically, started well before President Joe Biden signed the $369 billion clean energy stimulus package into law last August. The law is lavishing tens of billions of dollars on wind and solar energy projects through tax credits or direct spending.

In particular, the law extends a tax credit for solar power production facilities, providing they begin construction before January 2025. This will encourage a wave of new solar power manufacturing facilities throughout America — especially when paired with the $8 billion the federal government is spending to help households install solar panels.

Between these tax credits, $8 billion in direct spending and Biden’s order to decarbonize hundreds of thousands of buildings owned by the federal government, it’s clear that millions of buildings in America will be installing solar panels in the next few years.

One way to play this trend is through the startup YouSolar, which is pioneering an advanced solar nano-grid to allow customers to go solar with minimal inconvenience or disruption. The company’s fully-integrated power grid will allow households to retain power even amid blackouts of the conventional power grid.

For now, YouSolar mainly serves high-income households in Northern California. But that could quickly change as massive incentives for solar power generation transform households, businesses and government agencies throughout America.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga.com

CRIMINAL CRYPTO CAPITALI$M

FTX wants to ask Sam Bankman-Fried's parents and brother if they received any money from the crypto exchange

Phil Rosen
Thu, January 26, 2023 

Sam Bankman-FriedPhoto by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Court documents show FTX aims to question Sam Bankman-Fried's parents and brother about their personal wealth, per Bloomberg.

The family should provide financial documents about any money they may have received from the company, FTX lawyers said.

The bankruptcy judge still has to approve the request before FTX lawyers can move forward.

FTX wants to question Sam Bankman-Fried's family members about whether they received any funds from the bankrupt crypto exchange, court filings show, per Bloomberg.

As part of the company's mission to recover funds that could be used to pay back creditors, FTX lawyers said in the filing that Bankman-Fried's parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, as well as brother Gabriel Bankman-Fried, should answer questions under oath and also provide financial documents about their personal wealth.

Before FTX can move forward with any questioning, US Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey must approve the request.

Federal prosecutors have charged Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the FTX empire, with fraud amid allegations that FTX transferred billions of dollars in clients' funds to prop up his Alameda Research trading arm. He has pleaded not guilty.

Both of Bankman-Fried's parents have been involved with the company. Joseph Bankman, a Stanford law professor, reportedly gave tax advice to FTX staffers and helped recruit the company's lawyers.

Barbara Fried is said to have founded a political action committee that took money from FTX. Like her husband, she is also a law professor at Stanford.

In addition, Reuters reported in November that a $16.4 million house in the Bahamas listed Bankman-Fried's parents as signatories and was described in property records as a "vacation home." He later said it was actually meant to be company property.

As for Gabriel Bankman-Fried, he founded a nonprofit focused on pandemics that lobbied politicians, and a $3.28 million house in Washington DC that it bought last year has just been put on the market.

Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried remains under house arrest at his parents' home in Palo Alto, California, as he awaits trial.

FTX opposes new bankruptcy investigation as it probes Bankman-Fried connections




Thu, January 26, 2023 
By Noele Illien, Tom Wilson and Dietrich Knauth

ZURICH/LONDON (Reuters) - FTX has objected to a U.S. Department of Justice request for an independent investigation into the once-prominent crypto exchange's collapse, saying it is already conducting a wide-ranging probe that includes family members of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.FTX said in a court filing in Wilmington, Delaware, late on Wednesday that the DOJ's proposed review would only add cost and delay to its bankruptcy case. FTX acknowledged "fraud, dishonesty, incompetence, misconduct, mismanagement, and irregularity" in its past conduct, but said that its previous wrongdoing is already being probed by the company's new management, its creditors and law enforcement agencies.

As part of its own investigation, FTX asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey, who is overseeing its Chapter 11 proceedings, to help it secure documents from Bankman-Fried, members of his family and other insiders with information about FTX transactions that used "misappropriated and stolen" funds. These transactions, it said, include a $16.7 million Bahamian real estate purchase under the name of Bankman-Fried's parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried.

FTX is also seeking information about political donations connected to Bankman-Fried, asking wide-ranging questions about Mind the Gap, a political action committee founded by Barbara Fried, and Guarding Against Pandemics, an advocacy organization founded by Sam Bankman-Fried and his brother, Gabriel Bankman-Fried. FTX said Guarding Against Pandemics' multimillion-dollar Washington, D.C., headquarters was purchased with misappropriated funds.

Bankman-Fried and members of his family could not immediately be reached for comment.

A spokesperson for Mind the Gap said it did not receive direct contributions from Sam Bankman-Fried, although Bankman-Fried made donations to some political causes it recommended to its donor network.

FTX, once among the world's top crypto exchanges, shook the sector in November by filing for bankruptcy, leaving an estimated 9 million customers and other investors facing total losses in the billions of dollars.

The U.S. Department of Justice's bankruptcy watchdog has called for an independent investigation into its collapse, a request that received backing from a bipartisan group of U.S. senators.

FTX’s new CEO, John Ray, who worked with court-appointed examiners while leading Enron Corp and Residential Capital through bankruptcy, is prepared to testify that examiners in those two cases cost a combined $150 million and provided "minimal" benefits to creditors, FTX said.

FTX's official committee of creditors joined the company in opposing the appointment of an examiner.

FTX also on Wednesday night filed a new list of creditors in bankruptcy court, which included financial watchdogs and government agencies from the United States, Japan and Switzerland, as well as companies including Airbnb Inc and crypto giant Binance.

Airbnb and Binance did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are among those on the new list of creditors. It did not give details of the nature or amount of monies owed.

FTX said on Thursday that the list was meant to ensure the broadest possible outreach to potential stakeholders in its bankruptcy, and that FTX does not necessarily owe money to each name on the creditor list.

FTX said last year it owed its 50 biggest creditors nearly $3.1 billion. Dorsey in January allowed FTX to keep secret the names of 9 million of its individual customers for three months.

Sam Bankman-Fried, who has been accused of stealing billions of dollars from FTX customers to pay debts incurred by his crypto-focused hedge fund, has pleaded not guilty to fraud charges. He is scheduled to face trial in October.

(Reporting by Noele Illien in Zurich, Tom Wilson in London and Dietrich Knauth in New York; Editing by Kirsten Donovan, Alexia Garamfalvi and Matthew Lewis)

Sam Bankman-Fried’s Mother and Brother Not Cooperating With Financial Probe, FTX Lawyers Say

Jack Schickler
Thu, January 26, 2023 at 10:22 AM MST·2 min read

At least some of Sam Bankman-Fried's immediate family aren't cooperating with the probe into the collapsed crypto exchange FTX and should be cross-questioned in court, the company’s lawyers have said in a legal filing made Wednesday.

The FTX founder’s brother, mother and father were his “advisors,” and should be subpoenaed alongside former company executives as the company’s new management seeks to find out what happened to allegedly misappropriated funds, the filing said.

“The Debtors and their advisors have been working tirelessly and nonstop over the last 70 plus days … to implement controls, recover and protect estate assets,” said the legal filing made jointly by FTX and creditor representatives. “Key questions remain, however, concerning numerous aspects of the Debtors’ finances and transactions," the filing continued.

FTX wants to know who received potentially stolen funds from FTX, and what communications they had with its executives – but alleges that some potential witnesses aren't playing ball despite requests to cooperate voluntarily.

Sam Bankman-Fried’s mother, Barbara Fried, “has ignored the requests altogether,” the attorneys say, while “the debtors have not received meaningful engagement or any response from [former chief engineer Nishad] Singh or Mr. Gabriel Bankman-Fried,” Sam’s brother.

Discussions with lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried's father, Joseph Bankman, are "ongoing" and were expected to lead to a consensual outcome, the filing said.

FTX, known in bankruptcy proceedings as the Debtor, alleges that Gabriel Bankman-Fried’s lobbying organization, Guarding Against Pandemics, “purchased a multimillion-dollar property a few blocks from the United States Capital [sic], which the debtors believe was purchased using misappropriated customer funds.”

Fried’s mother's political action committee, Mind the Gap, also allegedly received donations from Sam Bankman-Fried and other FTX staffers, and both parents “resided in a $16.4 million [Bahamas] house titled in their names, despite understanding that the house was ‘intended to be the company’s property’,” the filing said.

Sam Bankman-Fried should also be subpoenaed by the court, the filing said, as should FTX co-founder Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison, chief executive of trading firm Alameda Research, who, the filing said, “expressly declined to provide the requested information.”

The request will be discussed at a Feb. 8 hearing in the U.S. bankruptcy court in Delaware. A spokesperson for Sam Bankman-Fried did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

AMLO EGO TRIP

Mexico’s Maya Train Threatens Artifacts and Pristine Environments

Angely Mercado
Wed, January 25, 2023 at 11:21 AM MST·4 min read

A bulldozer clears an area of forest that will be the line of the Maya Train in Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo state, Mexico, Tuesday, August. 2, 2022.

Mexico’s government is building a new train project that could have big economic benefits, but the tracks are going to be laid at the expense of fragile ecosystems and indigenous artifacts, alarming the country’s environmentalists.

The train system, which is known as Tren Maya (or Maya Train), will cut through pristine environments that have barely changed in hundreds of years, Reuters reports. The more than 900 miles of tracks are going to carry both electric and diesel trains around the Yucatán Peninsula, connecting tourist hotspots like Cancún to the ancient Maya temples of Palenque and Chichen Itza.

The goal for this project is to bring tourism money to poorer towns across the peninsula, creating what President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) described as opportunities for the region. “It will bring education, health and housing actions to the communities where the train passes,” AMLO said in a press release last year. “It will bring infrastructure, culture, sports, internet connectivity and economic development.”

But archaeologists and conservationists worry that those economic wins come at too high a cost for the Yucatán. Section 5, one of the routes in the proposed train system that will connect Cancún and Tulum, will come dangerously close to cenotes, Bloomberg reported. These are the beautiful, natural water-filled caverns with an opening in the ceiling. You’ve probably seen images of people swimming around in these lake caves on travel websites. Some experts worry that the roofs of the cenotes are not strong enough to withstand the weight of the trains that will travel over them or train rumbling that will come too close.

Mexican President, AMLO, during a 2022 presentation on the Maya Train project.

And despite being named in honor of the Maya people who have inhabited the peninsula for more than thousands of years, hurting the cenotes will hurt the indigenous people who still live there. The train route will cut through a town called Vida y Esperanza (life and hope), disrupting the daily routine in the area. The Maya people in that town rely on the water from the cenotes for everyday needs like bathing, the Associated Press reported.

The train’s construction might also damage pre-Hispanic relics. Construction crews working on the project have uncovered various Maya artifacts, like a tomb with ornate offerings and Maya cottages, the Washington Post reported. Archaeologists working on assessments since 2020 have reportedly been given unreasonable deadlines. In one stretch of the train construction, officials from the tourism development agency gave experts less than a month to excavate 37 miles of jungle. “They’re trying to do it overnight,” Antonio Benavides, an archaeologist who oversees the assessment in the state of Campeche, told the Washington Post. “There’s been no planning.”

The construction has also sparked conservation concerns. The Yucatán jaguar’s numbers have increased in recent years, a sign that conservation efforts in the region have worked, the New York Times reported. But experts worry that the train’s construction will reverse the progress made for the species in the region. The train route will also be close to the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, according to Reuters. The region is the largest forest reserve in the country and a “Mixed World Heritage Site,” according to UNESCO.

The jungle is also home to Mexico’s jaguars. The iconic big cats were important to the Maya empire and were worshiped as deities for thousands of years. Deforestation and urban development shrank their hunting range, and many were killed by hunters after European colonialism reached the Americas. Their numbers increased from a little over 4,000 jaguars in 2010 to 4,766 in 2018. The government agreed to create wildlife passes to allow animals to move around safely and to expand the reserve as a solution for having the train run so close to the area, the New York Times reported.

Since construction began in 2020, there’s been major pushback. In 2020, opponents of the train project were able to get a temporary injunction against the project, pausing it for a bit. But the government resumed construction in 2021, per the New York Times. Other elected officials have tried to bring in more outside expert judgement on the project. Mexican official Kenia López Rabadán sent a letter to Frédéric Vacheron, a UNESCO representative in Mexico, asking the agency to intervene in the project, El Universal reported. In a press conference last year, she acknowledged the importance of economic development in the region, but not at the expense of the peninsula’s archaeological history or ecological wellbeing. The train is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year, according to Reuters.

Tourism in general has negative impacts on ecosystems all over the world. Unlike in Mexico, elected officials in other popular vacation destinations around the world are setting up quotas to protect the local environment. In hopes of combatting huge crowds and the litter they leave behind, Venice’s mayor announced an entrance fee for tourists starting this year.

The island of Koh Tao, which is in the Gulf of Thailand, has also enacted a visiting fee for tourists. Those who wish to visit the island will pay the equivalent of about 55 cents in U.S. dollars, which will go to waste management and conservation initiatives, the New York Times reported.

Gizmodo

INTERSECTIONALITY
'There'd be no climate crisis if it wasn't for racism,' Jane Fonda claims on talk show


by ZACHARY ROGERS | The National Desk

Thursday, January 26th 2023




In this video grab issued Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021, by NBC, Jane Fonda accepts the Cecil B. deMille Award at the Golden Globe Awards. (NBC via AP)


WASHINGTON (TND) — Saying "everything’s connected," actress Jane Fonda blamed the "climate crisis" on "racism" during an appearance on "The Kelly Clarson Show" this week.

Fonda was on the talk show to promote her new movie "80 for Brady." She appeared alongside her new movie's co-stars: Sally Field, Lily Yomlin and Rita Moreno.

All four discussed what got them into social activism, and Fonda recalled the Vietnam War. Fonda was given the infamous nickname "Hanoi Jane" after she posed for a photo atop an anti-aircraft gun when she visited North Vietnam in 1972.
For me, it was learning about the Vietnam War,” Fonda recalled. “And when I really understood what that was about, I couldn’t not do anything except try to join the movement to stop it."

The show's host, American singer/songwriter Kelly Clarkson, then asked Fonda how she branched out from anti-Vietnam war activism to other causes. The famous actress responded by saying "everything's connected."

Well, you know, you can take anything... sexism, racism, misogyny, homophobia... whatever... the war,” Fonda responded. “And if you really get into it, and study it and learn about it and the history of it and everything’s connected. There’d be no climate crisis if it wasn’t for racism.”

Rita Moreno asked Fonda to clarify what she meant. Fonda answered by claiming "they," as in the powers that be, pollute poorer countries and areas because those people don't fight back as hard as well-off people and communities.

Where would they put the s**t? Where would they put the poison and the pollution?" Fonda asked in response. "They’re not gonna put it in Bel Air. They’ve got to find some place where poor people or indigenous people or people of color are living. Put it there. They can’t fight back. And that’s why a big part of the climate movement now has to do with climate justice."

Fonda has been arrested multiple times for her roles in climate protests. She was famously arrested in October 2019 at a climate change rally on the Capitol steps in Washington D.C. and was charged with "crowding, obstructing or incommoding"

In September 2022, Fonda publicly announced she had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and had started chemotherapy treatments. She later announced that, thanks to her treatments, her cancer was in remission.

Fonda is a two-time Academy Award Winner for her roles in 1971's "Klute" and 1978's "Coming Home."

She's also famously known for her roles in 1977's "Fun With Dick and Jane" and 1968's "Barbarella."

Jane Fonda is a celebrated actress and has been awarded with several accolades over her career. Her newest film, "80 for Brady," hits theaters on February 3.

New York Rep. George Santos and Drag Race Legend Trixie Mattel Battle It Out on Twitter

Virginia Chamlee
Tue, 24 January 2023 

UNITED STATES - JANUARY 10: Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., is seen outside a House Republican Conference meeting in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, January 10, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images); NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 17: Drag queen Trixie Mattel attends "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars" Meet The Queens on January 17, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images)More

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty; Bennett Raglin/Getty

Republican Rep. George Santos has waded into a back-and-forth with musician and RuPaul's Drag Race alum Trixie Mattel, with the drag star shading the controversial lawmaker after he mocked those impersonating him.

"I have now been enshrined in late night TV history with all these impersonations, but they are all TERRIBLE so far," Santos wrote on Twitter Monday. "Jon Lovitz is supposed to be one of the greatest comedians of all time and that was embarrassing— for him not me! These comedians need to step their game up."

Mattel, who won season three of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, responded with: "Maybe the source material was weak."


Santos then responded: "Clearly you know all about weak acting skills @trixiemattel," adding a gif of the drag queen impersonating RuPaul Charles on her season of All Stars, for which she was nearly eliminated from the competition.

Mattel then brought up Santos' own past history of drag, writing: "I am not an actor! I was young and I had fun at a festival!"

That's the same line Santos used when footage of him donning drag in Brazil recently surfaced. While the New York congressman admitted the footage was of him, he denied being a "drag queen," telling reporters: "No, I was not a drag queen in Brazil, guys. I was young and I had fun at a festival. Sue me for having a life."


Santos got the last word in the snarky Twitter exchange, telling Mattel, "It's all good! I won my race against the fan favorite too." (Mattel beat competitor Kennedy Davenport in season 3 of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars; Santos beat Democrat Robert Zimmerman in a blue-leaning district.)

RELATED: Fact-Checking the George Santos Claims: From Goldman Sachs Employee to College 'Volleyball Star'

Santos — who was elected in November to represent New York's 3rd Congressional District— has been the subject of numerous headlines after The New York Times found that many the claims he made on the campaign trail and on his resume were unsubstantiated.

Santos has since admitted he lied about some things, such as working at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, as he had previously asserted (he never worked at either), and attending Baruch College and New York University (he attended neither).

And while the Republican admitted that he had "embellished" some portions of his resume, more mysteries have lingered, like the source of his income, which has seemingly grown by hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of dollars in recent years.

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Santos is currently the subject of probes by both the Nassau County District Attorney's Office and federal investigators who have opened an inquiry into his financial disclosures.

Santos has said he won't resign from office, even as some Republicans in Congress and in his own district have called on him to do so.

Earlier this month, a group of Nassau County, New York, Republicans called on Santos to resign in a press conference, with chairman Joseph Cairo telling reporters: "Today, on behalf of the Nassau County Republican Committee, I am calling for his immediate resignation. George Santos' campaign last year, 2022, was a campaign of deceit, lies, fabrication."

Cairo continued: "He deceived voters. His lies were not mere fibs. He disgraced the House of Representatives … He's not welcome here at Republican headquarters."

Nvidia CEO says AI will need regulation, social norms

Supantha Mukherjee
Tue, 24 January 2023

Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, shows the Drive Pegasus robotaxi AI computer a

By Supantha Mukherjee

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Nvidia Corp Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang on Tuesday said that the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence will create powerful tools that require legal regulation and social norms that have yet to be worked out.

Huang is one of the most prominent figures in artificial intelligence because Nvidia's chips are widely used in the field, including in a supercomputer that Microsoft Corp built for startup OpenAI, in which Microsoft said Monday it was making a multibillion-dollar investment.

Huang was speaking at an event in Stockholm, where officials said Tuesday they were upgrading Sweden's fastest supercomputer using tools from Nvidia to, among other things, develop what is known as a large language model that will be fluent in Swedish.

"Remember, if you take a step back and think about all of the things in life that are either convenient, enabling or wonderful for society, it also has probably some potential harm," Huang said.

Lawmakers such as Ted Lieu, a Democratic from California in the U.S. House of Representatives, have called for the creation of a U.S. federal agency that would regulate AI. In an opinion piece in the New York Times on Monday, Lieu argued that systems such as facial recognition used by law enforcement agencies possibly can misidentify innocent people from minority groups.

Huang said engineering standards bodies would need to establish standards for building safe AI systems, similar to how medical bodies set rules for the safe practice of medicine. But he also said laws and social norms would play a key role for AI.

"What is the social norm for using it? What the legal norms (are) for using it have to be developed," Huang said. "Everything is evolving right now. The fact that we're all talking about it puts us in a much better place to eventually end up at a good place."

(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; writing by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; editing by Stephen Coates)

UK

‘Legal gangsters’ who try to silence critics exposing wrongdoing ‘should face £1m fines’

Amy Gibbons
Tue, 24 January 2023 

Bob Seely says firms offering strategic lawsuits against public participation (Slapps) 'are becoming a fifth column' - Paul Grover for The Telegraph

Expensive law firms that threaten free speech by using “legal gangsterism” to silence critics should face £1 million punishments, an MP has warned.

Bob Seely, the Conservative MP for the Isle of Wight, tabled proposals to curb the use of “noxious” lawsuits by “bad actors” to intimidate journalists and campaigners.

Firms that engage in strategic lawsuits against public participation (Slapps), utilised by the "enemies of law-governed states", are offering a "one-stop shop to spy, to snoop, to smear and to sue", he said.

Slapps usually involve wealthy elites using legal action to try to stop journalists or campaigners from exposing wrongdoing under defamation and privacy laws.

Mr Seely said the legal industry is "justifiably a prized part of London and our soft power". However, he claimed the "Slapps culture" undermines that "great tradition".

He suggested lawyers who engage in these "appalling" actions could be hit with a £1 million penalty to quickly "send this industry packing".

'Fifth column'

"In terms of our free media, freedom of speech, these high-priced law firms - through naivety, poor judgement or simple greed - are becoming a fifth column," he said.

The Government announced proposed reforms in July 2022 to give the courts new powers to throw out meritless claims quicker and put a cap on costs. However, they have to yet to make progress in Parliament.

Mr Seely introduced his own proposals via his Defamation, Privacy, Freedom of Expression, Data Protection, Legal Services and Private Investigators Bill in the Commons on Tuesday.

"Firms who offer Slapps have made themselves wealthy, effectively attacking a free media, freedom of speech and legitimate corporate due diligence," he told MPs.

"I think this, as a business model, is a form of legalised intimidation - effectively legal gangsterism."

Mr Seely warned that the Government itself is being "cowed" by Slapps, with investigators including the Serious Fraud Office and National Crime Agency sometimes threatened with judicial review.

He said his Bill would "limit the financial and psychological costs of a meritless Slapps claim which can be imposed on a defendant", introduce sanctions against those who "abuse our courts" and dismiss such claims before costs accrued.

"If we fine lawyers engaged in Slapps - dare I call them slappers? - if we fine them £1 million every time a slapper brought in a Slapp, I think we would be able to send this industry packing within a very short period," he said.

Lebanon judge probing Beirut blast charges top prosecutor


Tue, 24 January 2023 


Lebanon's judge Tarek Bitar, who is investigating the deadly 2020 Beirut port blast, has charged Lebanon's top prosecutor and seven others with probable intent to murder, arson and other crimes, an official said Tuesday.

Bitar had sparked surprise in Lebanon a day before when he charged eight top security and judicial officials, reviving a probe that was suspended for over a year amid vehement political and legal pushback.

It emerged on Tuesday from a judicial source who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity that Prosecutor General Ghassan Oueidat was among those charged, joining those who had already been announced on Monday including the head of General Security, Abbas Ibrahim, and State Security agency chief Tony Saliba.

The Beirut port blast of August 4, 2020 -- one of history's biggest non-nuclear explosions -- destroyed most of Beirut port and swathes of the capital, killing more than 215 people and injuring over 6,500.

Authorities said the mega-explosion was sparked by a fire in a portside warehouse, where a vast stockpile of the volatile industrial chemical ammonium nitrate had been haphazardly stored for years.

Relatives of the dead have been holding monthly vigils, seeking justice and accountability over the disaster, which they blame on an entrenched ruling class widely seen as inept and corrupt.

A US State Department spokesperson said Tuesday that "we support and urge Lebanese authorities to complete a swift and transparent investigation into the horrific explosion at the Port of Beirut".

- 'Like he doesn't exist' -

Lebanese state institutions have been reluctant to cooperate with the probe, which began the same month as the explosion.

The prosecution service rejected the resumption of the probe, according to a document seen by AFP Tuesday.

"We were only informed of Bitar's decision through the media," Oueidat, the top prosecutor, told AFP.

"Since he considers that the general prosecution doesn't exist, we will also act like he doesn't exist."

The arm-wrestling between Oueidat and Bitar is the latest of crisis-torn Lebanon's mounting woes, as the value of the national currency hit a new record low against the US dollar on Tuesday.

Protesters blocked roads in Beirut and other regions in the evening to voice anger over the weakened Lebanese pound and deteriorating living conditions, the state National News Agency reported.

Bitar's probe has been met with strong opposition from government figures and the powerful Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah, which has accused him of political bias.

Iran-backed Hezbollah and its ally Amal called for demonstrations to demand his dismissal in October 2021, when a gun battle broke out at a Beirut rally and seven people were killed.

"Port investigation: Tarek Bitar has gone mad," ran the headline of the pro-Hezbollah daily Al-Akhbar, which also accused him of acting "on the basis of American orders and with European judicial support".

Bitar last week met with two French magistrates, who came to Beirut as part of the country's own investigation into the explosion that killed and injured French nationals.

- Delays and pushback -

The judge was forced to suspend his probe for more than a year after a barrage of lawsuits, mainly from politicians he had summoned on charges of negligence.

Bitar now plans to question 14 suspects next month, including five officials whom he indicted earlier -- among them ex-prime minister Hassan Diab and former ministers.

According to the unnamed judicial official, Oueidat had in 2019 overseen a security services investigation into cracks in the warehouse where the ammonium nitrate was stored.

In February 2021, Bitar's predecessor as lead judge was removed from the case after he had charged several high-level politicians.

The interior ministry has also failed to execute arrest warrants issued by Bitar, further undermining his quest for accountability.

Rights group Amnesty International charged Monday that "Lebanese authorities have shamelessly and systematically obstructed the pursuit of justice" and called on them to "ensure that the domestic investigation can proceed without political interference".

str-rh/aya/dv

Even with a bump to $14 an hour, Walmart workers won't make nearly as much as some activists say they should

Story by dreuter@insider.com (Dominick Reuter,Ben Tobin) • 

Walmart is raising its minimum wage from $12 an hour to $14, but some activists have called for a lot more. 

Walmart on Tuesday said it would raise its minimum wage to $14, affecting thousands of US workers.

Activists have been pushing for a $15 minimum wage for over a decade, and now say at least $20 is needed.
The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 since 2009, even as the cost of living has soared.

Thousands of Walmart workers are set to see a pay raise this March as the company said Tuesday it will increase its minimum wage from $12 an hour to $14.

But although the move brings the retailer one step closer to rivals like Target and Amazon, the number remains shy of the $15 figure that labor activists have been calling for since 2012.

Indeed, during the past decade, housing costs have nearly doubled while health and education costs have ticked up by 40% and 20%, respectively, according to Rick Wartzman, the author of "Still Broke," a book released in late 2022 that traces Walmart's societal impact.

"Do the math and you're compelled to ask: Shouldn't it be the Fight for $18 or maybe the Fight for $27 at this point?" Wartzman writes.

For his part, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon has said that the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour (where it's been since 2009) is too low, and that retail wages would likely go beyond $15 in time. McMillon has also defended a lower starting wage as a way to provide a "ladder of opportunity" within the company.

Wartzman advocated in his book for a federal minimum wage of $20 per hour: "As big a leap as it would take, a federal minimum of $20 an hour is where we need to get — and as swiftly as possible — if we want Americans who work hard to not merely eke out an existence."

Related video: Walmart Raises Minimum Wage To $14/Hour (Cheddar News)

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The company has previously said the average worker clocks in about 37 hours per week, which would give them an annual income of just under $27,000. The federal poverty level for a family of four in 2022 was $27,750.

Up until the middle of last decade, Walmart's minimum wage had matched the federal level at $7.25. The retailer's minimum rose to $9 per hour in 2015, to $11 an hour in 2018, and then to the current $12 an hour in 2021.

With these changes, Walmart US President and CEO John Furner wrote in a memo to employees Tuesday that the average hourly worker in the United States will make more than $17.50 per hour, a dollar an hour more than they earned last year.

"As you continue to focus on your customers, we're focused on investing in you – our store associates – through higher wages and new opportunities to gain the skills to serve tomorrow's customers and grow a career with Walmart," Furner said.

Still, Walmart's starting wage falls below that of several of its competitors.

Amazon raised its minimum wage for all US employees to $15 per hour in 2018. One year later, Target also announced it would be raising its minimum wage to $15 per hour. And in 2021, Costco announced that its employees would be paid a minimum of $17 per hour.

Against that backdrop, $20 may not seem like such a stretch.

Walmart lifts wages at US stores again amid tight labor market

Tue, 24 January 2023 


Walmart announced Tuesday it will again raise pay for hourly staff, an indication of persistent tightness in the labor market for front-line employees despite layoffs in the tech sector.

The retail giant, the biggest private employer in the United States, is boosting the pay range at US stores to between $14 and $19 an hour from the prior $12 to $18 an hour.

That lifts Walmart's minimum wage to $14 an hour, well above the $7.25 federal minimum wage, but below California and some other states and jurisdictions that have set the level at $15 or greater.

Rival chains such as Amazon and Target also currently have a $15 minimum wage.

Walmart said its latest hike lifts its national wage average to more than $17.50 an hour beginning March 2.

The company also announced other perks for employees, including new job-training opportunities and an expansion in a program that helps supply chain workers obtain a commercial driver's license.

The retailer's announcement is a sign that the job market remains tight for hourly staff, even as tech giants such as Google parent Alphabet and Facebook parent Meta announce significant job cuts.

Walmart has undertaken a series of wage hikes during the pandemic, including in September 2021 when the starting wage was boosted to $12 to $17 an hour.

US unemployment dipped to 3.5 percent in December as employers added a surprisingly robust 223,000 jobs, according to government data.

Rishi Sunak told to ditch plans to overhaul UK human rights laws

STATE RIGHTS MORE LIKE IT
Caroline Davies
Wed, 25 January 2023 

Photograph: Jessica Taylor/Reuters

Rishi Sunak is being urged to abandon the government’s controversial attempt to overhaul human rights legislation after a warning that the bill of rights appears to “tip the balance” in favour of the state and seriously damages people’s ability to enforce their rights.

A cross-party committee of MPs and peers said the bill, which would replace the Human Rights Act, which enshrines the European convention on human rights in the UK, showed a “disregard” for the UK’s international legal obligations and would lead to more cases going to the European court of human rights in Strasbourg.

Ministers have said the bill is intended to curb the abuses of the current system. However, the parliamentary joint committee on human rights said it would create fresh barriers, making it harder for people to enforce their rights inside and outside the courts.

“The government should not proceed with this bill,” the committee said. “It weakens rights protections, it undermines the universality of rights, it shows disregard for our international legal obligations; it creates legal uncertainty and hinders effective enforcement; it will lead to an increased caseload in Strasbourg, and will damage our international reputation as guardians of human rights.”

Originally introduced under Boris Johnson by the deputy prime minister and justice secretary, Dominic Raab, the bill of rights was dropped by Liz Truss when she became prime minister and sacked Raab, only to be revived when Sunak entered No 10 and Raab was reappointed to his previous role.

When Sunak appeared before the Commons liaison committee last month he refused to commit to a parliamentary timetable to bring it into law.

The human rights committee said there appeared to be little wider support for the proposed changes, with victims of violence against women, care home residents and those whose family members had lost their lives due to the actions of the police or other state actors among those raising objections.

It expressed concern the bill would require courts to ignore safeguards that protect people in “urgent situations” when there is a credible risk to life or of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment.

It would also have an impact on the requirement on public bodies to take action to protect rights, such as conducting effective investigations into the loss of life – as in the Hillsborough inquests.

The committee chair, Joanna Cherry, said the bill “removes and restricts certain human rights protections that the government finds inconvenient and prescribes a restrictive approach to the interpretation and application of the European convention on human rights in the courts of our domestic legal systems”.

If enacted in its current form, it would result in “more barriers to enforcing human rights, more cases taken to Strasbourg and more adverse judgments against the UK”, she said.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “The bill of rights builds on the UK’s proud tradition of liberty by strengthening freedom of speech, re-injecting a healthy dose of common sense to the system and ending abuse of our laws.”