human rights – Michmutters

Tag: human rights

Categories
Australia

Sydney news: ‘Proactive NSW policing’ in place after two women fatally shot

Sydney news: 'Proactive NSW policing' in place after two women fatally shot

Here’s what you need to know this morning.

‘Proactive policing’ in place after double homicide

Detectives say “proactive policing” is underway to prevent retaliation attacks after a double murder in Sydney’s south-west.

Two women, aged 48 and 39, were killed when their car was sprayed with bullets in Revesby on Saturday night.

Yesterday, Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said the case had been allocated with significant resources, including officers from gangs squad, Strike Force Raptor.

“And it’s always concerning: What’s the repercussions of all this? But we’re going to be doing our best to try [to] suppress that,” he said.

Police say the older woman was known to them and believe she was targeted because of her “past relationships with other known identities.”

A 16-year-old girl and a 20-year-old man, who were also in the car during the attack, were uninjured and are cooperating with police.

Detectives are working to determine if several burnt-out cars found nearby are linked and are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.

NSW Labor leader did not investigate bullying allegations

a man standing outside and talking
The Opposition Leader says Labor has an independent complaints-handling system.(Facebook: Chris Minns)

Opposition Leader Chris Minns did not investigate allegations of workplace bullying by his frontbencher, Walt Secord, saying that’s in line with the Labor Party’s complaints-handling policy.

On Friday, Mr Secord “unreservedly apologized” for his conduct and stated that he could be “too blunt and too direct”, after an ABC investigation revealed several of his current and former colleagues alleged he had engaged in bullying behaviour.

The Opposition Leader says the Labor Party has an independent complaints-handling system.

“It is critical that the process remains independent and, therefore, above the review of any parliamentary or party official,” Mr Minns said.

“Any grievances pursued outside this risks supplanting the independent process and the objectives for which it was designed: to protect complainants and to handle their complaints with care, respect and without prejudice.”

The allegations leveled at Mr Secord coincided with the release of the Broderick Review, which found bullying is systemic in the New South Wales parliament.

Barilaro internal review into appointment due today

John Barilaro gestures with his hand
John Barilaro was due to front the inquiry again on Friday but was unable due to sickness. (AAP: Bianca De Marchi)

An internal review into John Barilaro’s controversial appointment to a lucrative trade role in New York is expected to be released today.

That review — by New South Wales Public Service Commissioner Graeme Head — was announced by the Premier, Dominic Perrottet, in late June and is separate to the parliamentary inquiry into the appointment.

The Head review has already led to the resignation of Stuart Ayres from cabinet and as leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party after it “raised concerns” about his conduct around Mr Barilaro’s appointment.

Calls for more visas for Afghans

Two men stand in the tray of a green ute labeled POLICE. They are holding weapons and watching the street
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the fall of Kabul to the Taliban.(Reuters: Ali Khara)

A Sydney human rights lawyer is calling on the federal government to provide 20,000 emergency humanitarian visas for people trapped in Afghanistan.

Today marks one year since the capital, Kabul, fell to the Taliban.

In that time, scores of civilians have been killed or injured, women’s rights have been scaled back and food insecurity has risen, according to a recent Amnesty International report.

Refugee Advice and Casework Service’s Arif Hussein said that increased protections needed to be prioritized.

“Allowing people, refugees from Afghanistan currently in Australia living on temporary visas, to remain here permanently, and allowing for family reunification visas to be processed quicker,” he said.

City2Surf a boost for businesses

people dressed up in costumes taking part in a run
About 60,000 people took part in this year’s City2Surf, which returned to Sydney’s streets after a two-year COVID-19 hiatus.(ABC News: Helena Burke)

The greater Waverley in Sydney’s east is hopeful this year’s City2Surf has given the local economy a boost.

About 60,000 people took part in the 14-kilometre fun run, which has been held virtually for the past two years.

People traveled from around Australia to take part in the event.

Mayor Paula Masselos said Bondi businesses were bouncing back.

“The cafes, the shops were absolutely packed. It really was fabulous to see the vibe that was there,” she said.

“It was happy. It was positive. COVID has had a significant impact. The City2Surf and other events like this are really important in helping the local economy.”

.

Categories
US

Restructuring officer for Alex Jones’ business questioned about tens of millions withdrawn from company

Restructuring officer for Alex Jones' business questioned about tens of millions withdrawn from company



CNN Business
—

The accountant now in charge of overseeing right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ company Free Speech Systems through its bankruptcy was questioned Wednesday by attorneys for families of Sandy Hook shooting victims over $62 million in funds Jones has drawn from the company over the years.

Free Speech Systems, which runs Jones’ conspiratorial outlet Infowars, filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday, amid proceedings in two states to determine how much Jones owes in damages to families of Sandy Hook victims over his false claims that the shooting was a hoax and they had not actually gone through the experience of losing a child in it.

Marc Schwartz testified he signed a contract to take over as Chief Restructuring Officer for the company in June and now controls all bank accounts, payroll and hiring decisions. Schwartz testified that Jones withdrew about $62 million dollars from the company over 14 years, and testified that $30 million of those withdrawals was paid to the IRS.

Schwartz also testified during the hearing, which ran for more than six hours, that Infowars received about $9 million in cryptocurrency donations and that “they went directly to Mr. Jones.”

Schwartz said during his testimony that Free Speech Systems should be allowed to use cash it has on hand to be able to pay vendors, saying otherwise it will have to shut down.

“If we can’t pay the critical vendors then we will be shut down,” Schwartz said. “The company’s in a situation right now where there’s not a whole lot of breathing room.”

US Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez said Wednesday he would not allow more withdrawals moving forward and that he found some of Schwartz’s testimony “troubling.”

Court documents filed Friday as part of Free Speech Systems’ bankruptcy showed the company has between $10 million and $50 million in estimated assets and between $50 million and $100 million in estimated liabilities. An attorney for Free Speech Systems said at the hearing Wednesday that the company has about $1.3 million cash on hand.

Schwartz stressed the importance of being able to pay vendors that allow the company to broadcast and sell products online, saying that when Jones is not on the air discussing products he sells, the company sees a 30% drop in sales.

“If we can’t broadcast, we can’t sell,” Schwartz said.

Schwartz testified the management structure of Free Speech Systems was not set up the way a successful business should be managed.

“There is Alex and then there is everybody else,” Schwartz testified.

Schwartz said accounting controls were, as far as he could tell after taking control of the company, “nonexistent,” that the people responsible for maintaining the company’s books did not have accounting degrees and that there had been no financial reports produced in at least 18 months when he took over.

Lawyers homed in on Jones’ salary under the bankruptcy plan, saying documents showed Jones’ salary before the bankruptcy was $625,000 a year, and under a restructuring plan, it would amount to about $1.3 million. Schwartz said Jones’ salary could be considered reasonable because of his value to the company.

“Who is more valuable? Nobody,” Schwartz said. Lopez authorized a lower salary for Jones to be paid, of about $20,000 every other week.

When asked how much the company had spent on legal expenses related to the Sandy Hook lawsuits, Schwartz said company records show at least $4.5 million have been spent between 2018 and 2021, but that he does not believe that number is accurate.

Schwartz also testified that Jones used a company-associated American Express card to pay for personal expenses, including housekeeping charges, regularly in the past 18 months. The card had $300,000 a month in charges, but Schwartz said accounting staff did not label what the charges were for.

“We can’t tell you whether it’s for electricity, entertainment or electronic supplies for the production studio,” Schwartz said.

Lopez said he would not authorize the current American Express bill of about $172,000 to be paid.

Schwartz said he didn’t know who Jones was before being hired, and that he doesn’t agree with many of Jones’ views but occasionally consults with him on matters involving the business.

Three smaller companies tied to Jones declared bankruptcy earlier this year, briefly pausing the suits against Jones. But the families suing him dropped those companies from their lawsuits so that the cases could move forward against only Jones and Free Speech Systems. Shortly after, the companies exited bankruptcy protection.

.

Categories
US

Alex Jones on trial: Sandy Hook parents testify about the ‘hell’ he has caused

Alex Jones on trial: Sandy Hook parents testify about the 'hell' he has caused


New York
CNN Business
—

The parents of a child who was murdered during the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting delivered emotional testimony in a Texas court on Tuesday, telling a jury that the lies pushed by right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones have stained the legacy of their son and tormented them for years.

The jury hearing the case will determine how much in damages Jones will have to pay the parents, Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, who won a default judgment against him earlier this year. An attorney representing Heslin and Lewis asked the jury last week to award Heslin and Lewis $150 million.

Fighting back tears at times, Heslin told the jury that Jones, through his conspiratorial media organization Infowars, “tarnished the honor and legacy” of his son. Heslin said that he couldn’t “even begin to describe the last nine-and-a-half years of hell” he has endured because of Jones.

“There’s got to be a strong deterrent that shall prevent him from peddling this propaganda,” Heslin said, adding that through his testimony he wanted “to restore my credibility, my reputation, and Jesse’s legacy that he so much deserves.”

As Heslin testified, a television screen in the court showed a photograph of his murdered son, six-year-old Jesse Lewis. Jones, who is expected to testify in his own defense later on Tuesday, was absent from the courtroom during Heslin’s testimony and the first part of Lewis’ testimony. Heslin called that absence “a cowardly act.”

“I’ve been here for a week and a half and [during] my final testimony Mr. Alex Jones does not have the courage to sit in front of me or face me,” Heslin said.

An attorney representing Heslin and Lewis told CNN the two have needed to be in isolation and under the protection of professional security during the trial.

Heslin also said on the stand that the lie pushed by Jones “resonates around the world” and that he has realized “how dangerous” it is.

Heslin described being repeatedly confronted by those who believed Jones over the last ten years, saying such interactions occur “right up to this day.”

“My life has been threatened,” Heslin said. “I fear for my life. I fear for my safety and my family’ safety and their life.”

Lewis also testified in court that she has been harassed and received death threats, including at her own home, all of which she said reopens the wounds surrounding her son’s murder.

“The fear and anxiety and unsafeness … keeps me from healing,” Lewis said. “It definitely negatively impacts the healing process.”

Lewis described the conspiracy theories about Sandy Hook as “deeply unsettling.”

“I feel compromised,” Lewis said, describing how she feels about her own personal safety.

Roy Lubit, a forensic psychiatrist who was hired to conduct an examination of Heslin and Lewis, testified to the court on Monday how terrified and worried for their personal safety the two parents are.

Neil Heslin, the parent of a Sandy Hook victim, took the stand today in the Alex Jones defamation trial taking place in Texas.

Lubit told the court that Lewis and Heslin “are very, very frightened.” When asked to specify who they are frightened of, Lubit responded, “Some follower of Jones trying to kill them.”

Lubit elaborated that Lewis sleeps with a gun, a knife, and pepper spray on her night stand. Lubit added she won’t even turn on the air conditioning during hot days for fear of not being able to hear an intruder possibly coming to hurt her.

Lewis testified Tuesday that she owns a gun to keep her other son safe, telling the jury that she failed to keep one son safe and will do everything in her power to ensure that no harm happens to her other child.

Jury selection for a similar trial involving Jones and Sandy Hook families commenced on Tuesday in Connecticut, where Jones was also found liable for damages earlier this year.

Jones has lashed out at the judicial proceedings taking place, baselessly claiming last week that he was being tried in Texas before a “kangaroo court.” Infowars has also published content attacking the judges overseeing the cases in viscous terms.

Jones’ media company, Free Speech Systems, which is the company that operates Infowars, filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday.

Attorneys representing some Sandy Hook families have accused Jones of having drained Free Speech Systems of assets in recent years as part of an effort to protect himself from potential judgments he may be ordered to pay.

One of the attorneys, Avi Moshenberg, told CNN on Tuesday that the bankruptcy filing made by Free Speech Systems indicated that $62 million in assets had been withdrawn from the company in 2021 and 2022.

“If you look at the bankruptcy filing, leading up to the declaration of bankruptcy, Alex Jones, the sole owner [of Free Speech Systems], took $62 million in draws in 2021 and 2022,” Moshenberg told CNN. “Just straight up draws. That’s why the company has few assets.”

A lawyer representing Jones did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday morning. But a hearing is scheduled on Wednesday in which W. Marc Schwartz, the chief restructuring officer for Free Speech Systems, is expected to testify.

.

Categories
Sports

Greg Norman’s LIV Tour forces PGA Tour’s $590m prizemoney first

Greg Norman's LIV Tour forces PGA Tour's $590m prizemoney first

Faced with a growing challenge from the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series, the US PGA Tour announced a 2022-23 season schedule on Monday offering a record $AUD590 million in prize money.

The PGA increased the prize money at eight invitational tournaments, with The Players Championship set to pay out $35m, and will offer $206m in bonus money, including $107m for the FedEx Cup playoffs, which will be trimmed to 70 players from the current 125.

Watch LIVE coverage from The USPGA Tour with Fox Sports on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >

The move comes as the LIV Golf Series — spearheaded by Aussie legend Greg Norman — has offered the highest purses in history to lure big-name talent from the PGA to its upstart tour, which is set to rise from eight events in 2022 to 14 in 2023.

LIV Golf has drawn protests and claims of “sportwashing” from critics citing Saudi human rights issues but such stars as Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson, Bryson DeChambeau, Paul Casey and Patrick Reed have jumped to the rebel series that debuted in June.

The US PGA, which will return to a season that coincides with the calendar year starting in 2024, tightened its playoffs and boosted select purses after comments from fans, PGA commissioner Jay Monahan said.

“The overwhelming sentiment was they wanted more consequences for both the regular season and the playoffs and to further strengthen events that traditionally feature top players competing head-to-head,” Monahan said. “We feel strongly we’ve accomplished all of these objectives.”

The 2022-23 PGA season will have 47 tournaments, including three playoff events next August with a field of 70 at the St. Jude Championship in Memphis, 50 at the BMW Championship in Chicago and the top 30 in points advancing to the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta.

After the season ends, late 2023 will feature events for those outside the top 70 to earn status for the 2024 PGA campaign plus a series of “international events” featuring the PGA top 50 in a limited field, no-cut format. No other details were revealed about those events.

The St. Jude and BMW will see a jump in prize money from $21 million to $28 million.

The January Tournament of Champions will see its purse rise from $12 million to $21 million next year. It will become the lead-off event of the PGA season when the schedule changes in 2024.

Four events will see prize money jump from $17 million to $28 million — the Genesis Invitational in February hosted by Tiger Woods, the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in March, the Jack Nicklaus-hosted Memorial in June and the WGC Match Play in March.

Prize money will jump from $28 million to $35 million for The Players Championship in March.

The Scottish Open, Barbasol Championship and Barracuda Championship will remain co-sanctioned with the DP World Tour.

The 2022-23 campaign will begin on September 15-18 with the Fortinet Championship at Napa, California, with the Presidents Cup the following week at Quail Hollow.

The CJ Cup has been moved from South Korea to South Carolina and will be played in October with the Bermuda Championship the following week.

The Rocket Mortgage Classic, won Sunday by Tony Finau, will start June 29 next year while the 3M Open moves to the end of July.

.