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Jamie Raskin buries GOP lawmakers using the 2nd Amendment to justify the Jan 6 insurrection
September 27, 2022
In a blistering op-ed for the New York Times, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) set the record straight with GOP lawmakers who are playing the 2nd Amendment card to justify the Jan 6 insurrection.
Raskin, who taught constitutional law before entering Congress, began by calling out Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) before singling out Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) for what he called their championing of the "insurrectionist theory of the Second Amendment."
Quoting Gaetz proclaiming the 2nd Amendment, "is about maintaining within the citizenry the ability to maintain an armed rebellion against the government, if that becomes necessary,” Raskin shot back that the Florida Republican is stretching the truth.
"This purported right to overthrow the government means that the people must enjoy access to weapons that are wholly unnecessary for hunting or self-defense, such as military-style assault weapons," the Democratic lawmaker warned before citing Boebert's claim "that the Second Amendment 'has nothing to do with hunting, unless you’re talking about hunting tyrants, maybe.'"
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According to Raskin, "Statements such as these were irresponsible enough before Jan. 6. Today, such talk courts disaster. It valorizes the brutality of the worst insurrectionary domestic attack at the Capitol in U.S. history, freezes our ability to pass reasonable gun safety legislation and justifies even more deadly political violence."
"It is essential to reject the myth that frustrated citizens have a Second Amendment right to raise arms against the government — an outrageous betrayal of our Constitution," he added.
Raskin went on to point out that the Constitution already has provisions for insurrections.
"The Constitution treats insurrection and rebellion as political dangers, not protected rights," he argued. "Article I gives Congress the power to 'provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions.' The guarantee clause in Article IV tells the United States to guarantee a republican form of government to the states and protect them 'against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence.' These provisions followed Shays’ Rebellion, an armed uprising in Massachusetts in the 1780s."
He also noted, in a pointed barb at GOP lawmakers who continue to excuse the assault on the Capitol in an effort to overturn Donald Trump 2020 presidential election loss, that the 14th Amendment contains a provision that bans from "... public office anyone who had sworn an oath to support the Constitution but then participated in 'insurrection or rebellion' against the United States."
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Mystery leaks hit Russian undersea gas lines, raising European suspicions
September 27, 2022
The two Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia and Europe have been hit by unexplained leaks, Scandinavian authorities said Tuesday, raising suspicions of sabotage.
The pipelines have been at the centre of geopolitical tensions in recent months as Russia cut gas supplies to Europe in suspected retaliation against Western sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine.
While the pipelines, which are operated by a consortium majority-owned by Russian gas giant Gazprom, are not currently in operation, they both still contain gas but the environmental impact appeared limited so far.
One of the leaks on Nord Stream 1 occurred in the Danish economic zone and the other in the Swedish economic zone, while the Nord Stream 2 leak was in the Danish economic zone.
A leak was first reported on Nord Stream 2 on Monday.
"Authorities have now been informed that there have been another two leaks on Nord Stream 1, which likewise is not in operation but contains gas," Danish climate and energy minister Dan Jorgensen told AFP in a statement on Tuesday.
"It is too early to say anything about the causes of the incidents," the Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities said in a statement.
Denmark's energy agency has, however, called for "higher levels of preparedness in the electricity and gas sector" in the country, Jorgensen said.
Russia said it was "extremely concerned" about the situation.
Asked by reporters whether it could be an act of sabotage, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that at the moment "it is impossible to exclude any options".
'Extremely rare'
The Danish energy agency said only the area where the gas plume is located will be affected by the leak, but methane escaping into the atmosphere has a "climate-damaging effect", according to the Ritzau news agency.
"Gas pipeline leaks are extremely rare and we therefore see a reason to increase the level of preparedness following the incidents we have witnessed over the past 24 hours," director of the Danish Energy Agency Kristoffer Bottzauw said in a statement.
"We want to ensure thorough monitoring of Denmark's critical infrastructure in order to strengthen security of supply in the future," he added.
Ola Westberg, spokesman for the Swedish Energy Agency, told AFP on Tuesday that no decision had been taken yet and that they "were in dialogue with Denmark."
Built in parallel to the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, Nord Stream 2 was intended to double the capacity for Russian gas imports to Germany.
But Berlin blocked newly-completed Nord Stream 2 in the days before the war.
Germany, which has been highly dependent on imports of fossil fuels from Russia to meet its energy needs, has since come under acute stress as Moscow has dwindled supplies.
Russian energy giant Gazprom progressively reduced the volumes of gas being delivered via Nord Stream 1 until it shut the pipeline completely at the end of August, blaming Western sanctions for the delay of necessary repairs to the pipeline.
'Targeted attack'
Germany has rebuffed Gazprom's technical explanation for the cut, instead accusing Moscow of wielding energy as a weapon amid tensions over the war in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, German daily Tagesspiegel reported that "the Nord Stream pipelines may have been damaged by targeted attacks and leaked as a result".
According to a source close to the government and relevant authorities, quoted in the newspaper, "everything speaks against a coincidence".
"We cannot imagine a scenario that is not a targeted attack," the source said.
The Nord Stream 1 leaks were first spotted Monday evening, hours after a drop in pressure was reported in Nord Stream 2, according to the Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA).
"Around 8:00 pm (1800 GMT) we received a report from a passing ship saying they saw something on their radar a little further north of the island of Bornholm," Fredrik Stromback, spokesman for the SMA, told AFP.
As a result of the leaks, navigational warnings have been issued for a distance of five nautical miles and a flight height of 1,000 meters (3,280 feet).
"The incidents on the two pipelines have no impact on the supply to Denmark," Jorgensen said.
(AFP)
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Spanish court orders Shakira to stand trial in tax fraud case
September 27, 2022
A Spanish court has ordered Colombian music superstar Shakira to stand trial on charges of fraudulently failing to pay 14 million euros in tax, filings showed Tuesday.
Prosecutors in Barcelona said in July they would seek a prison sentence of more than eight years against the singer and a fine of nearly 24 million euros ($24 million), after she rejected a plea deal over accusations of tax evasion.
They accuse the 45-year-old "Hips don't Lie" songstress of defrauding the Spanish tax office of 14.5 million euros ($14.7 million) on income earned between 2012 and 2014.
Prosecutors say Shakira moved to Spain in 2011 when her relationship with FC Barcelona defender Gerard Pique became public, but maintained official tax residency in the Bahamas until 2015.
The couple, who have two children, announced their separation in June.
On September 19, a Barcelona court ordered the singer to stand trial for six alleged tax crimes, according to a court ruling made public on Tuesday.
Shakira has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and claims she owes nothing to the Spanish tax office.
"I'm confident that I have enough proof to support my case and that justice will prevail in my favor," she said in an interview published in Elle magazine last week.
"While Gerard and I were dating, I was on a world tour. I spent more than 240 days outside Spain, so there was no way I qualified as a resident," she added.
"The Spanish tax authorities saw that I was dating a Spanish citizen and started to salivate. It's clear they wanted to go after that money no matter what."
The case centers on where Shakira lived during 2012-14.
Shakira's lawyers have said that until 2014 she earned most of her money from international tours, moved to Spain full time only in 2015 and has met all her tax obligations.
The singer says she has paid 17.2 million euros to Spanish tax authorities and has no outstanding debts.
She argues Spanish prosecutors are trying to claim money she earned during her international tour and from her participation on the show "The Voice".
She was a judge on the show in the United States, when she says she was not yet resident in Spain.
'Darkest hours'
A Barcelona court in May dismissed an appeal from the singer to drop the charges.
Shakira told Elle that the combination of her looming tax fraud trial, separation from Pique and custody battle for their children and the illness of her father meant this was "probably one of the most difficult, darkest hours of my life".
The singer was named in one of the largest ever leaks of financial documents in October 2021, known as the "Pandora Papers", among public figures linked to offshore assets.
With her mix of Latin and Arabic rhythms and rock influence, three-time Grammy winner Shakira has scored major global hits with songs such as "Hips don't Lie", "Whenever, Wherever" and "Waka Waka", the official song of the 2010 World Cup.
Spain has in recent years cracked down on football stars like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for not paying their full due in taxes.
Both players were found guilty of evasion and received prison sentences that were waived for first-time offenders.
© Agence France-Presse
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