The Full Belmonte, 3/21/2024
The Justice Department is considering whether to allow Julian Assange to plead guilty, according to people familiar with the matter.
“That could lead to a deal releasing the WikiLeaks founder from a British jail. Assange is fighting extradition to the U.S. to face trial for publishing thousands of confidential U.S. military records and diplomatic cables around 2010. Assange has spent some five years behind bars, after seeking asylum in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London in 2012. U.S. prosecutors face diminishing odds that he would serve much more time even if he were convicted stateside.” [Wall Street Journal]
Judge clears way for Trump to appeal ruling keeping Fani Willis on Georgia 2020 election case
“The judge overseeing the Georgia election interference case is allowing Donald Trump to appeal a ruling allowing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to remain on the prosecution.” Read More at AP News
Alabama becomes latest state to pass bill targeting diversity and inclusion programs
“Alabama became the latest state on Wednesday to pass a measure targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Authored by Republican state Sen. Will Barfoot, the bill prohibits certain public agencies from maintaining offices of diversity, equity and inclusion, sponsoring DEI programs and promoting, endorsing and affirming certain "divisive concepts" in certain public settings. It also requires higher education institutions to "designate restrooms on the basis of biological sex."
At least six other states have signed anti-DEI bills into law, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported, and over a dozen states are considering similar measures.
Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed the Alabama bill into law Wednesday.
‘My Administration has and will continue to value Alabama’s rich diversity, however, I refuse to allow a few bad actors on college campuses – or wherever else for that matter – to go under the acronym of DEI, using taxpayer funds, to push their liberal political movement counter to what the majority of Alabamians believe,’ Ivey said.
Alabama bill
The Alabama Senate gave final approval to SB129 on Tuesday, a bill restricting the teaching and funding of topics deemed ‘divisive concepts’ in workplaces and educational settings.
It also allows for penalties for violations, but specific penalties were not listed.
The bill does not prohibit institutions of higher education from ‘performing research, collecting data, engaging in recruiting and outreach programs, offering academic support services, engaging in clinical trials, or providing medical or mental health care targeted to support individuals of any specific demographic.’
Students, advocates decry new measure
Students from universities across the state have opposed the legislation, even holding a rally against the bill March 6 outside of the Statehouse. They say the bill was anti-DEI and went against progress in the state.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama denounced the bill in a statement Tuesday….Read more at USA Today
Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, praises 'very valuable' potential of Gaza's 'waterfront property'
“Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s former White House adviser and his son-in-law, praised the ‘very valuable’ potential of Gaza’s ‘waterfront property’ in an interview dated Feb. 15, posted earlier this month on the YouTube channel of the Middle East Initiative, a program of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.” Read More at AP News
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar says he’s quitting for personal and political reasons
“Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who made history as his country’s first gay and first biracial leader, announced Wednesday that he is stepping down for reasons that he said were both personal and political.” Read More at AP News
Israel killed a top Hamas commander in Gaza five months into the war.
“An airstrike took out Marwan Issa, the No. 3 official in the militant group’s hierarchy. One of Israel’s key military objectives in Gaza was eliminating the high-ranking Hamas leaders responsible for the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the conflict. Israeli military officials say they have killed many of the U.S.-designated terrorist organization’s midlevel commanders. Issa’s death could hamper the militant group’s ability to fight Israeli forces at a crucial time in the war, but doesn’t represent a decisive blow, according to analysts.” [Wall Street Journal]
Advanced Missile Threats
A woman walks past a television showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test at a railway station in Seoul on March 18.Anthony Wallace/AFP
“Pyongyang successfully tested an engine for its intermediate-range hypersonic missile at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in northwest North Korea on Tuesday, state media reported Wednesday. The weapon reportedly used a solid-fuel engine, which lasts longer than liquid-propelled missiles and makes launches more difficult to detect, among other benefits. Defense experts believe that the missile was designed to hit faraway U.S. targets, including military bases in the U.S. territory of Guam; areas of Alaska; and U.S. military installations in Okinawa, Japan.
The ‘military strategic value of this weapon system is appreciated as important as’ the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that can target the mainland United States, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said. Pyongyang did not provide a concrete timeline for completing the weapon.
The test came one day after Kim supervised a live-fire drill with nuclear-capable multiple rocket launchers designed to target South Korea’s capital. And on Monday, Pyongyang fired three short-range ballistic missiles into North Korea’s eastern waters, coinciding with Seoul hosting this year’s Summit for Democracy and the end of U.S.-South Korean military drills, which Kim called an invasion rehearsal. This week’s launches were North Korea’s first known missile tests in a month.
Pyongyang vowed in 2021 to manufacture hypersonic missiles and other high-tech weapons systems and has since test-fired new weapons to combat alleged U.S. hostility. Last year alone, North Korea tested 33 missiles, according to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation—a massive hike from the eight missiles that North Korea tested in 2021.
North Korea’s tests ‘threaten the peace and safety of Japan, the region, and the international society,’ Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, adding that Pyongyang is violating United Nations Security Council resolutions that bar North Korea from engaging in ballistic activities. Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo have all expanded their joint military exercises in response.
Solid-fuel hypersonic missiles ‘can potentially neutralize the South Korea-U.S. missile defense system,’ Yang Moo-jin, the president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told Agence France-Presse. Last year, North Korea claimed to have successfully tested its first solid-fueled ICBM, signaling a major advance in the nation’s nuclear capabilities. And in January, it flight-tested a solid-fuel ballistic missile with a hypersonic, maneuverable warhead. Experts predict Pyongyang will increase its missile tests ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November.” [Foreign Policy]
Political shake-ups. Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong resigned on Wednesday for allegedly violating Vietnamese Communist Party rules. He is the second Vietnamese president to step down in two years amid a widespread anti-corruption campaign that has seen hundreds of officials arrested and high-ranking politicians resign. The government said in a statement that Thuong’s “shortcomings had negatively impacted public opinion, affecting the reputation of the Party, State and him personally,” though it did not say what the shortcomings were. Although the presidency is largely a ceremonial role in Hanoi, Thuong was seen as the potential successor for party leader Nguyen Phu Trong, who is 79 years old and in poor health.
Also on Wednesday, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar unexpectedly announced his plans to resign as prime minister and as leader of the Fine Gael party as soon as a successor is chosen. He requested that a new leader be selected on April 6. Varadkar said his reasoning for leaving was “both personal and political,” adding that he believes Fine Gael will perform better in upcoming elections if he is not at its helm. Varadkar was the youngest elected, first biracial, and first openly gay Irish prime minister.
A looming Rafah offensive. On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated plans to launch a military operation into the southern Gaza city of Rafah in the near future despite foreign leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, urging Israel to show restraint. “A major ground operation there would be a mistake,” said U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. “It would lead to more innocent civilian deaths, worsen the already dire humanitarian crisis, deepen the anarchy in Gaza, and further isolate Israel internationally.”
Netanyahu, however, argued on Tuesday that a ground offensive is necessary to defeat Hamas. “We are determined to complete the elimination of these battalions in Rafah, and there is no way to do this without a ground incursion,” he said. Netanyahu promised to send an Israeli delegation to Washington in the coming days to hear Biden’s concerns, but he did not agree to an alternative approach to target Hamas operatives in Rafah. At the meeting, the Biden administration reportedly intends to present several other options, including a plan to secure Egypt’s side of the border with Gaza to prevent arms smuggling into the enclave.
Bolsonaro charged. Federal police formally indicted former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and 16 other people on Tuesday for conspiring to falsify COVID-19 vaccination records, including those for Bolsonaro and his then-12-year-old daughter. The police report alleges that Bolsonaro and his aides altered their vaccination status to receive certificates enabling them to “cheat current health restrictions,” including allowing Bolsonaro to travel to the United States following his electoral defeat in 2022. At the time, Washington denied entry to unvaccinated foreigners.
The far-right leader repeatedly rallied against global vaccination campaigns. In June 2023, he was barred from running for office until 2030 for falsely claiming that Brazil’s voting systems were prone to fraud. And he has repeatedly been accused of corruption, abuse of power, and inciting an insurrection. If Bolsonaro is convicted, he could face multiple years in prison.
Odds and Ends
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and the town council in Footloose may have more in common than you’d think. On Monday, Hun Manet ordered a nationwide ban on musical horns after videos surfaced online of people dancing in the streets to trucks blaring funky tunes. The Cambodian leader argued that dancing poses a threat to public order and is a traffic hazard. Some provincial authorities have already barred the practice.
L.A. Dodgers fire MLB star Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter as theft and gambling allegations send a shockwave through the sport
Los Angeles Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani, left, attends an introductory press conference with interpreter Ippei Mizuhara on December 14 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Kyodo News/Getty Images
“The Dodgers, who are opening their season in South Korea, confirmed in a statement that they had terminated Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s close friend and interpreter, but offered no further comment. Media reports surfaced alleging Mizuhara stole millions from the MLB superstar, but the degree to which Mizuhara was involved and other details remained unclear.”
Read more at New York Times