All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

‘That’s why she’s one of our leaders’ Belarusian oppositionist Maria Kolesnikova rips up own passport to avoid being forced abroad — Meduza

the authorities deposited Kravtsov and Rodnenkov in a minibus and drove them to the Ukrainian border. Kravtsov’s car was waiting for them in the neutral territory between the two nations’ checkpoints and the men were placed inside the vehicle. Their passports were also in the car. Officers later arrived with Kolesnikova and shoved her into the car, as well. “The moment she was inside and saw her passport there, she immediately grabbed it and tore it into many small pieces. Then she grabbed these pieces and threw them out the window at the unidentified men surrounding the car,” Rodnenkov says.

When the officials realized Kolesnikova wouldn’t be admitted to Ukraine without an intact passport, Kravtsov says they tried to arrest him and Rodnenkov in the neutral zone, but they failed to catch up to his car. Kolesnikov exited the vehicle before they reached the Ukrainian side of the border.

Inside his car, Kravtsov says he also found a coronavirus testkit, plane tickets, and a medical insurance policy for him and Rodnenkov to visit Turkey and the same documents for Kolesnikova to travel to Vienna and then to Munich. He says he believes these items were planted in the car with the intention of photographing them and then reporting their supposed plans to flee abroad.

Asked why he and Kravtsov didn’t rip up their documents like Maria Kolesnikova, Rodnenkov told reporters in Kyiv that they simply lacked her resolve. “She decided on a powerful gesture. That’s why she’s one of the opposition’s leaders and I’m [just] the press secretary,” he said.

Neither Kravtsov nor Rodnenkov say they plan to request political asylum in Ukraine.

 

Source: ‘That’s why she’s one of our leaders’ Belarusian oppositionist Maria Kolesnikova rips up own passport to avoid being forced abroad — Meduza

Why did the US justice department let Purdue off the hook for the opioid crisis? | Maggie Hassan and Sheldon Whitehouse

3500.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=8

Prosecutors believed Purdue was implicated in mail and wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy. Yet the firm got a slap on the wrist

The opioid epidemic is not over. Even as Covid-19 rages, opioid-related deaths continue to devastate communities across our states. In New Hampshire, overdose deaths rose in April and May over last year’s levels. In the first four months of 2020, Rhode Island overdose deaths jumped 29% from the same period last year and 38% from the same period in 2018. Opioid addiction remains a persistent, lethal menace.

Related: Bleak new record as 71,000 Americans died from drug overdoses last year

Continue reading…

UK’s top legal civil servant quits ‘over Brexit deal changes’

854.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85

Jonathan Jones resigns after plans emerge to alter legally binding Northern Ireland protocol

The head of the UK government’s legal department has become the latest prominent civil servant to quit, reportedly over its decision to override parts of the Brexit deal on Northern Ireland.

A spokesman for the attorney general’s office confirmed Sir Jonathan Jones had resigned but refused to comment further.

Continue reading…