Donald
Trump is due to be fingerprinted and photographed in a New York
courthouse next week as he becomes the first former U.S. president to
face criminal charges in a case involving a 2016 hush money payment to
porn star Stormy Daniels.
Hong
Kong on Saturday "firmly rejected" findings in a new U.S. government
report that said U.S. interests had been threatened and that Beijing
continued to "undermine" the rule of law and freedoms in the territory
under a national security crackdown.
A
fierce tornado blasted through Little Rock, Arkansas, and neighboring
towns on Friday, killing at least two people and injuring dozens as it
sheared roofs and walls from many buildings, flipped over vehicles and
downed trees and power lines, officials said.
Young German mercenaries appear at Zaporozhye frontline, says regional official
Vladimir Rogov also stated that that Polish
speech is often heard during interceptions of radio talks at the
Zaporozhye line of engagement
MELITOPOL,
April 1. /TASS/. German mercenaries were reported to appear along the
Zaporozhye frontline, Vladimir Rogov, chairman of the We Are Together
With Russia public movement, told TASS.
"Germans appeared at the Zaporozhye frontline, they are young, literally 20-something years old," he said.
Rogov also stated that that Polish speech is often heard during
interceptions of radio talks at the Zaporozhye line of engagement.
On March 27, he told TASS that the Armed Forces of Ukraine had
assembled up to 75,000 people in the Zaporozhye Region following the
attempted offensive on March 23 that was repelled by Russian forces,
which eliminated up to 400 militants.
Earlier,
Rogov told TASS that Ukrainian forces are preparing an offensive on
Melitopol in order to reach the Sea of Azov and sever the land corridor
to Crimea from the supply routes for Russian forces and the population
of the peninsula. According to the politician, the Armed Forces of
Ukraine will be ready for active operations in the Zaporozhye Region in
late March or early April.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov said in an interview with
the Polish news outlet Gazeta Wyborcza that was published on March 29
that the Armed Forces of Ukraine were wrapping up preparations for
several "counterstrikes," but would be unable to carry them out now
partly due to weather conditions."
Russian diplomat urges G7 countries to assess global damage they caused in past 25 years
TASS
2 minutes
MOSCOW,
February 28. /TASS/. Members of the Group of Seven (G7) need to assess
the damage they caused to the world in the past 24 hours, Russian
Foreing Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the Rossiya-1 TV
channel.
When commenting on the G7’s statement that Russia would be
responsible for any damage caused to Ukraine, Ukrainian nationals and
international organizations, the diplomat pointed out that G7 countries
should start with themselves. "It is high time the G7 assessed the
damage that its members caused to the world in the past 20-25 years, and
offset it with its own money rather than with someone else’s,"
Zakharova noted. These countries created damage "on several continents,"
she stressed.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special
military operation based on a request from the heads of the Donbass
republics. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans to
occupy Ukrainian territories and the goal was to demilitarize and
denazify the country. Russia’s Defense Ministry reported later that the
Russian Armed Forces were not delivering strikes against Ukrainian
cities. The ministry emphasized that the Ukrainian military
infrastructure was being destroyed by precision weapons and there was no
threat to civilians.
Russian forces wipe out two Ukrainian subversive groups in Kupyansk area
The forces of the battlegroup West in the
Kupyansk area used UAVs, Msta-S self-propelled howitzers as well as D-20
and D-30 howitzers to detect and then eliminate two
subversive/reconnaissance groups, Western Battlegroup Spokesman Sergey
Zybinsky said
MOSCOW,
April 1. /TASS/. Russian forces eliminated two Ukrainian
subversive/reconnaissance groups in the Kupyansk area, Western
Battlegroup Spokesman Sergey Zybinsky told TASS on Saturday.
"The forces of the battlegroup West in the Kupyansk area used UAVs,
Msta-S self-propelled howitzers as well as D-20 and D-30 howitzers to
detect and then eliminate two subversive/reconnaissance groups,"
Zybinsky said.
Russian center reports provocations by US troops in Syria’s Al-Hasakah province
Rear Admiral Oleg Gurinov, Deputy Head of
the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties in Syria,
said that the Russian side had protested
MOSCOW,
March 31. /TASS/. Provocative actions by the US Armed Forces have been
reported in the Syrian province of Al-Hasakah, the Russian side has
voiced its protest against them, Rear Admiral Oleg Gurinov, deputy chief
of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in
Syria, said on Friday.
"Provocative actions by units of the US Armed Forces have been
recorded in the Al-Hasakah Province. During joint Russian-Turkish
patrols, the movement of two patrols conducted by the so-called
anti-terrorist coalition were tracked along the non-deconfliction routes
near Deiruna-Aga and Saramsak. The Russian side has protested to the
coalition," Gurinov said.
According to the top brass, the violation of the deconfliction
agreements by the coalition jeopardizes the fragile balance of power,
which has been achieved through Russia’s efforts, in the region, and
also has a negative impact on the development of the situation.
According to Gurinov, over the past 24 hours, four cases of shelling
from the positions of Jabhat al-Nusra and Turkistan Islamic Party
terrorist groups (both are banned in Russia) were recorded in the Idlib
de-escalation zone. He added that a Syrian soldier had been wounded in
sniper fire opened against government forces.
Russia protests over ‘provocative actions’ by US forces in Syria
Syrian
and Russian soldiers in Damascus, Syria in 2018. Russia has protested
over 'provocative actions' by US forces in northeastern Syria [File:
Omar Sanadiki/Reuters]
Published On 1 Apr 20231 Apr 2023
“The extension of the George HW Bush Carrier Strike Group, inclusive
of the USS Leyte Gulf, the USS Delbert D. Black, and the USNS Arctic,
allows options to potentially bolster the capabilities of CENTCOM to
respond to a range of contingencies in the Middle East,” US Central
Command (CENTCOM) spokesperson Colonel Joe Buccino said in a statement.
News of the extended deployment first emerged a day after the
Pentagon doubled its number of US troops wounded in the drone attack in
Syria to 12.
The Pentagon estimated that eight people were killed during the
retaliatory US air attacks against targets it claimed had links to Iran.
In a statement last week, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson
Nasser Kanani said the US “terrorist” attacks hit civilian targets and
constituted a violation of international law and Syrian sovereignty.
“The US claims that it is present in Syria to fight Daesh [ISIL] that
itself had a major role in creating is just an excuse to continue its
occupation and loot Syria’s national wealth, including its energy
resources and wheat,” he said.
Kanani also said Iran only has military advisers on the ground in Syria at the request of its government.
The Syrian foreign ministry criticised the “brutal” US attacks that
it said killed several people and amounted to a violation of its
territorial integrity and promised to “end the American occupation”.
The White House has said the attacks on its forces would not force a pullback of the US from Syria.
Al Jazeera
5 - 6 minutes
Russian rear Admiral Oleg Gurinov said the protest was made to the US-led coalition in Syria over actions by US troops.
Russian forces in Syria
have protested over what Moscow described as “provocative actions” by
United States forces also deployed in the country, Russia’s state news
agency TASS has reported.
TASS cited a senior Russian military official on Friday saying that
“provocative” incidents had occurred in Syria’s northeastern province of
Hassakeh where US forces have been deployed for several years, leading a coalition of local Kurdish troops battling against ISIL (ISIS) and its remnants.
“Provocative actions on the part of US armed forces units have been
noted in Hassakeh province … the Russian side lodged a protest with the
coalition,” Russian Rear Admiral Oleg Gurinov, head of the Russian
Centre for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria, told TASS.
Gurnivo said US troops had twice been spotted by Russian forces in
areas that lay outside their agreed zones of operation, without giving
details of timing.
“During joint Russian-Turkish patrols, the movement of two patrols
conducted by the so-called anti-terrorist coalition were tracked along
the non-deconfliction routes near Deiruna-Aga and Saramsak. The Russian
side has protested to the coalition,” Gurinov said, according to TASS.
Russia – which together with Turkey is carrying out joint patrols in
northern Syria – has agreed on special zones where the US-led coalition
can operate as it takes on hundreds of ISIL fighters camped in desolate
areas of Syria where neither the coalition nor the Syrian army exerts
full control.
The US-led coalition has been engaged in Syria for almost eight years
while Russia intervened in the Syrian Civil War in 2015, tipping the
balance in President Bashar Al-Assad’s favour. Moscow has since expanded
its military facilities in Syria with a permanent air and naval base.
Russian soldiers, on armoured vehicles, patrol a street in Aleppo, Syria in 2017 [File: Ali Hashisho/Reuters]
Last week, the US carried out multiple air attacks
in Syria against what it said were Iran-aligned armed groups, which the
Pentagon blamed for a previous drone attack. US officials said the
attack by the armed group killed a US military contractor, injured
another, and wounded about a dozen US soldiers at a coalition base in
the northeast of the country near Hassakeh city.
US military officials announced on Friday that the deployment of the
George H W Bush carrier strike group would be extended after the drone
by the Iranian-backed groups.
The decision likely means that the US strike group and its more than
5,000 US personnel, which are currently in the European Command
operational area, will not be returning to the home port as scheduled. . .
“The extension of the George HW Bush Carrier Strike Group, inclusive
of the USS Leyte Gulf, the USS Delbert D. Black, and the USNS Arctic,
allows options to potentially bolster the capabilities of CENTCOM to
respond to a range of contingencies in the Middle East,” US Central
Command (CENTCOM) spokesperson Colonel Joe Buccino said in a statement.
News of the extended deployment first emerged a day after the
Pentagon doubled its number of US troops wounded in the drone attack in
Syria to 12.
The Pentagon estimated that eight people were killed during the
retaliatory US air attacks against targets it claimed had links to Iran.
In a statement last week, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson
Nasser Kanani said the US “terrorist” attacks hit civilian targets and
constituted a violation of international law and Syrian sovereignty.
“The US claims that it is present in Syria to fight Daesh [ISIL] that
itself had a major role in creating is just an excuse to continue its
occupation and loot Syria’s national wealth, including its energy
resources and wheat,” he said.
Kanani also said Iran only has military advisers on the ground in Syria at the request of its government.
The Syrian foreign ministry criticised the “brutal” US attacks that
it said killed several people and amounted to a violation of its
territorial integrity and promised to “end the American occupation”.
The White House has said the attacks on its forces would not force a pullback of the US from Syria."
Russian jets have flown over U.S. base in Syria nearly every day in March
By Courtney Kube
5 - 6 minutes
Lt.
Gen. Alexus Grynkewich told NBC News that Russian jets have violated
the airspace of At Tanf Garrison roughly 25 times this month, including
Wednesday.
Armed
Russian jets have flown over a U.S. military garrison in Syria nearly
every day in March, violating a 4-year-old agreement between the U.S.
and Russia and risking escalation, according to the U.S. general in
charge of air operations in the region.
Lt. Gen. Alexus
Grynkewich, combined forces air component commander for U.S. Central
Command, told NBC News on Wednesday that the most recent Russian
overflight of At Tanf Garrison (ATG) happened just a few hours earlier,
and that Russian jets have violated the airspace roughly 25 times so far
this month, compared to zero times in February and 14 in January.
“It
is a substantial increase,” he said, explaining that at this rate they
are “on track to be double what it has been in the past.”
“They’re
regularly flying directly overhead of our units, and I’ve defined
directly overhead, as within about a mile, no more than a mile offset
one side or the other, while we’ve got forces right there on the ground
at ATG,” said Grynkewich. “So it’s an uncomfortable situation.”
The
Russian aircraft include Su-34 jets. Some aircraft carry air-to-air
weapons and others carrying air-to-ground munitions; weapons include
radar-guided and heat-seeking missiles and bombs.
This disclosure comes in the wake of an incident over the Black Sea last week
in which two Russian Su-27 fighter jets flew aggressively around a U.S.
MQ-9 Reaper drone, dumping fuel on the drone and eventually colliding
with it, forcing the U.S. to down the drone in the water.
(Reuters) -Russia has protested to the American-led
coalition against the Islamic State militant group about "provocative
actions" by U.S. armed forces in Syria, Tass news agency said on Friday.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States has decided to
extend the deployment of the George H.W. Bush carrier strike group to
provide options to policymakers after last week's deadly attacks in
Syria by Iran-backed forces, U.S. military officials said on Friday.
DAMASCUS/DUBAI (Reuters) -An Israeli attack in Syria on
Friday killed an officer in Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the Guards
said, as the second strike near Damascus in two days pointed to
intensifying Israeli efforts to counter Tehran's foothold in the
country.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Six U.S. troops in Syria suffered
traumatic brain injuries during two attacks last week by Iran-backed
militants, the Pentagon said on Thursday, adding they were diagnosed
during routine screenings in recent days.
DAMASCUS (Reuters) -Syria's foreign ministry on Thursday
condemned an overnight Israeli missile attack that hit near the capital
Damascus, wounding two soldiers and causing material damage.
(Reuters) -The United States on Tuesday imposed new
sanctions against six people, including two cousins of Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad, for their role in the production or export of captagon,
a dangerous amphetamine, a Treasury Department statement said.
The deputy foreign ministers of Syria, Turkey, Iran
and Russia will meet in April in Moscow, Turkish and Iranian officials
said on Tuesday, building on contacts between Ankara and Damascus after
years of hostilities during the Syrian war.
DeSantis May Be Learning What The Copyright World Has Always Known: Disney’s Lawyers Don’t Fuck Around
" We’ve already covered how Florida man Governor Ron DeSantis flipped out that Disney, the largest employer in his state, offered some mild criticism over one of his unconstitutional censorship bills, and decided to retaliate by (1) removing the stupid questionable “theme park exemption” his office had directly worked with Disney to insert into his unconstitutional
social media bill and (2) move to take control over the special board
that that had been set up decades ago, giving Disney effective control
over everything around Disney World...
But, in a move that will surprise absolutely no one who has been
following Disney’s legal shenanigans for decades (i.e., anyone who
follows copyright…), Disney’s lawyers don’t fuck around.
Earlier this week it came out that right before the handover in power, the old (Disney controlled) board effectively voted to strip itself of nearly all of its power… and to give it to Disney, effectively forever.
I mean, it’s evil, but also somewhat brilliant in its audacity.
As Joe Patrice, over at Above the Law, notes, Disney’s lawyers are better than Ron DeSantis’ lawyers.
And, part of it is in the way that they tried to make this transfer of
power last: they say it will be “effective in perpetuity.”
But! One of those legal terms that gets thrown here and there more
for being “legalistic sounding” rather than something that actually
comes up all that often is the “rule against perpetuities”
which is pretty much what it says on the tin: says you can’t create a
perpetual interest in property that outlives anyone living at the time
of the deal. Wikipedia’s summary is actually pretty good here:
The rule against perpetuities is a legal rule in the common law that prevents people from using legal instruments (usually a deed or a will) to exert control over the ownership of private property
for a time long beyond the lives of people living at the time the
instrument was written. Specifically, the rule forbids a person from
creating future interests (traditionally contingent remainders and executory interests)
in property that would vest beyond 21 years after the lifetimes of
those living at the time of creation of the interest, often expressed as
a “life in being plus twenty-one years”. In essence, the rule prevents a
person from putting qualifications and criteria in a deed or a will
that would continue to affect the ownership of property long after he or
she has died, a concept often referred to as control by the “dead hand”
or “mortmain“.
The new agreement Disney cooked up more or less first tries to ignore
that, but then says that if it comes up, the deal basically lasts right
up until the latest date possible under the rule of perpetuities...
There are no winners here, only assholes and losers.
But, it’s pretty rich to see DeSantis lose his mind over being outplayed like this.
Of course, this isn’t over yet.
DeSantis’ lackey, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is already demanding records from the February 8th meeting where all this went down with no one noticing.
We have no love for Disney over here at Techdirt. The company has
long been terrible and problematic, in part because of it’s ridiculously
aggressive lawyering. This really seems like one of those situations
where it would be nice if both of them could lose in the most
embarrassing manner possible.
Still, all this makes me wonder what kind of bullshit Disney’s lawyers are going to pull on December 31st as the clock ticks down to Mickey Mouse entering the public domain…
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