Lawrence Wilkerson is a retired United States Army Colonel who held key roles in government, including serving as Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell from 2002 to 2005. Wilkerson played a role in preparing US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s presentation in 2003 at the United Nations in making the case for [...]
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Russia charges former US consulate contractor with high treason
The Federal Security Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation announced a high treason charge on Monday against Robert Shonov, a former US consulate contract employee in Moscow. High treason carries a possible sentence of 12 to 20 years’ imprisonment. The charge falls under Article 275 of Russia’s Criminal Code. The code forbids Russian citizens from [...]
Putin orders members of Wagner Group to swear oath of allegiance to Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin issued an executive order on Friday ordering military units to swear an oath of allegiance to the Russian state. The oath, contained within the order, requires individuals to “strictly follow the orders of commanders and superiors.” Under Article 87 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the President is the “supreme [...]
Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of powerful Russian mercenary group Wagner, died in a plane crash on Wednesday, alongside the group’s alleged founder Dmitry Utkin. “The Wagner leadership has confirmed the deaths of Prigozhin and Utkin,” according to the Wagner Group Telegram channel, which for several hours prior had urged the public to “not panic” as rumors [...]
Marjorie Cohn is a professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California. She has authored publications arguing against the legality of the 2003 US military intervention in Iraq as well as the US-led NATO interventions into Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia. Professor Cohn is also a national board member of Assange [...]
Massachusetts Rideshare Drivers Fight for Improved Legal Protections
Recent years have marked the ascendancy of the ridesharing industry in Massachusetts. Companies like Uber and Lyft have expanded, now controlling the multi-million industry in the state, according to recently published reports. But drivers, who are a vital part of this market, are not satisfied; increasingly, a chorus of drivers are complaining they are not [...]
Russia's Wagner Group suspected of smuggling arms to Ukraine via Mali
In the wake of a damning UN report linking Russian mercenaries to a Malian massacre, the US State Department has said the Wagner Group may be using Mali as a secret arms depot to bolster Russian forces in Ukraine. The Wagner Group, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian nationalist firebrand and longtime associate of President [...]
Minnesota Senate passes bill ensuring minimum wage and benefits for rideshare drivers
The Minnesota Senate passed a bill mandating rideshare companies to provide their drivers a minimum wage and other benefits on Sunday in a narrow vote of 35-32. The bill requires that all drivers be compensated $1.45 per mile within the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area and $0.34 per minute while transporting a rider. It also requires [...]
Papua New Guinea PM potentially linked to Australia businessman facing corruption investigation
Papua New Guinea police launched an investigation into the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape after an international investigation on Wednesday exposed his potential links to Don Matheson, an Australian Businessman being investigated for corruption. The inquiry into Matheson centers around a joint report from Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and [...]
DOJ announces five criminal cases over China- and Russia-led efforts to steal US technologies
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Tuesday five new criminal cases and four arrests in connection with a multi-agency US task force, known as the Disruptive Technology Strike Force, to keep sensitive technology away from “hostile nation-states.” The criminal cases focused on foreign actors connected with Russia and China who, the DOJ claims, [...]