Israelis protest after Tel Aviv police chief resigns
Video showed thousands of Israelis blocking a Tel Aviv highway on Wednesday (July 5) after the city’s police commander said he was quitting the force, citing political intervention by members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right cabinet.
Tel Aviv's police commander said on Wednesday he was quitting the force, citing political intervention by members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right cabinet whom he said wanted excessive force used against anti-government protesters.
Tel Aviv District Commander Ami Eshed did not name the far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir who had demanded tough action against protesters blocking roads and highways in unprecedented demonstrations against the government's contentious push to overhaul the justice system.
Soon after Eshed's announcement, hundreds of protesters carrying Israeli flags and chanting "democracy" marched through Tel Aviv. Some blocked a main highway, lit fires and faced off with police on horseback.
In a televised statement, Eshed said he couldn't live up to the expectations of what he called "the ministerial echelon", which he said had broken all rules and had blatantly interfered in professional decision making.
"I could have easily met these expectations by using unreasonable force that would have filled up the emergency room of Ichilov (Tel Aviv hospital) at the end of every protest," Eshed said.
An aerial view shows protesters blocking Tel Aviv's main access road during a demonstration after Tel Aviv police chief quit citing government meddling against anti-government protesters, in Tel Aviv, Israel July 5, 2023. REUTERS/Or Adar NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
"For the first time in three decades of service I encountered an absurd reality in which ensuring calm and order was not what was required of me but precisely the opposite," he said.
Ben-Gvir, who in March had informed Eshed that he will be assigned to a new role on the force, a move seen as dashing his chances to be made police chief, said in a televised statement that Eshed had crossed a dangerous line.
"Politics has seeped into the most senior ranks in Israel and a uniformed officer has caved to senior politicians on the left," he said.
Ben-Gvir, a hardliner with past convictions for support for terrorism and incitement, had sought greater authority over the police force when he was tapped to serve as its overseeing minister, prompting concerns about police independence.
Having recanted some of his views, Ben-Gvir joined Netanyahu's new coalition in December, alarming liberals at home and abroad. The leader of the Jewish Power party has since rebuked police for its treatment of protesters.
Other members of Netanyahu's nationalist-religious coalition have echoed Ben-Gvir, saying police have shown favourable treatment to the protesters who have filled Tel Aviv streets weekly since January, compared with what they see as far harsher treatment of settlers and ultra-Orthodox protesters.
The US government and federal agencies are unlikely to face consequences for infringing the First Amendment on social media platforms, Google whistleblower Zach Vorhies told Sputnik.
US District Court Judge Terry Doughty ruled on July 4 that the Biden administration had gone too far by censoring "unfavorable views" on social networks.
The federal judge prohibited federal officials and agencies, employees of the Justice Department and FBI, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre from communicating with social media giants for further censorship practices.
"Big Tech, especially Twitter, but presumably all of them, were taking direct cash payouts from the government in a partnership to classify the validity of information and online discussion. The partnership involved a lot of agencies but the worst offender (according to Elon Musk) seems to be State Department's 'Global Engagement Center'," Google whistleblower Zach Vorhies told Sputnik when asked why major social media companies bent to the White House's censorship demands.
According to Vorhies the US military and spies have long instrumentalized major social media networks. He said that in 2012 Obama signed the Smith-Mundt modernization act thus allowing the US government to "direct propaganda" at domestic audiences. The Google whistleblower argued that US military and domestic intelligence operatives also interfered heavily in the 2020 election by engaging in Big Tech censorship of damning information concerning Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. Hunter's infamous "laptop from hell" was downplayed as a Russian disinformation operation despite the FBI concluding it was genuine.
"The release of the 'Twitter Files' earlier this year exposed some of the depth of domestic narrative control employed against the American public, with ex-FBI agents hired in droves who were classifying which information was 'misinformation'," Vorhies said.
Doughty was overseeing the suit filed by the attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana last year. The two claimed that the Biden administration's pressure on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube could be qualified as censorship and, thus, violate the First Amendment.
The US mainstream press has already reported that the Biden administration is likely to appeal the federal judge's decision. For their part, the critics of the decision argue that it complicates the government's ability to regulate tech companies over the content shared by their users. According to Vorhies, the Biden administration, US military and spies wouldn't face any serious consequences for censorship.
"I don’t imagine that the government will face serious consequences due to the sheer size of the US military and their legal budget and the legal system which has granted 'sovereign immunity' to the US military which has further increased the barrier to seek redress from misinformation pushed by the military," the whistleblower concluded.
Ukraine provides a unique testing ground for NATO-grade weapons. According to Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov, they have by far proven better than Russia's arms. Is this true?
The Financial Times' latest piece claims that Western weapons delivered by the US and its NATO allies and partners to Kiev have been performing excellently on the battlefield. By way of illustration, the op-ed compared NATO-grade weaponry to Mercedez-Benz, and Russia's arms to an outdated Soviet-era car.
As if that were not enough the authors of the article included an already debunked claim that Ukraine's MIM-104 Patriot, a US-made surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, managed to intercept the Kinzhal hypersonic missile. According to the newspaper, Kiev has already downed over a dozen of these.
The outlandish claims and the triumphant tone of the article demonstrate that it's nothing but a PR stunt aimed at entertaining Western readers while Kiev's well-advertised counteroffensive stalls, according to Russian military expert Viktor Litovkin.
"In reality, we see that the Patriot is destroyed," Litovkin told Sputnik. "The vaunted air defense system is destroyed with a single blow of the Kinzhal. Five batteries were destroyed at once, the radar station was destroyed. [Many] Leopard tanks were destroyed by our gunners, our pilots, and helicopter pilots. The Americans are afraid to send their Abrams because they understand that they too will be destroyed by Russian artillery, Russian helicopters, and Russian troops. M777 howitzers are generally 'crap'. They can't handle the intensity of the gunfire. Well, and so on and so forth. One can enumerate many types of military equipment that have shown themselves, to put it mildly, not in the best way on the territory of Ukraine," he said.
Litovkin is by no means surprised why Reznikov is hailing Western weapons: the Ukrainian defense minister needs more and more equipment, otherwise he would have nothing to fight with: "He has no other choice but to bend before the West and praise Western military equipment," the Russian military expert noted. "However, the crux of the matter is that [Reznikov] cannot boast of any real victories on the battlefield."
How Kinzhal Destroyed US-Made Patriot
The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced that Ukraine's Patriot system had been hit and destroyed by the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic ballistic missile in Kiev on May 16. Video footage emerged online purportedly showing Russia's Kinzhal strike. It demonstrated the Patriot crew's vain effort to down the hypersonic weapon by firing over three dozen missiles.
In the video, the extremely dense work of the batteries of the American MIM-104 Patriot air defense system can be seen. As soon as the air defense system runs out of missiles, a powerful explosion occurs at the place where the launches were made. The Western mainstream media had to admit the strike but rushed to claim that the US-made system had not been completely taken down, but only "damaged." However, it was clear that just one strike made the Patriot non-operational.
Footage purportedly shows Russia's Kinzhal missile hitting the Patriot air defense system in Kiev
In the video, the extremely dense work of the batteries of the American MIM-104 Patriot air defense system can be seen. As soon as the air defense system runs out of missiles, a powerful explosion occurs at the place where the launches were made.
Have NASAMS Helped Ukrainians on the Front Lines?
Two NASAMS medium range air defense systems, were first delivered to Ukraine in October 2022. All in all, the Pentagon promised to provide Kiev with eight NASAMS systems and an unspecified amount of ammunition.
It was reported that the estimated completion date would be November 28, 2025. There is little evidence to suggest that the two NASAMS systems provided to Ukraine by the US have offered much of a boost on the battlefield, especially given that one of them was destroyed by Russia in early February.
With an effective firing range of about 30 km, the NASAMS is meant to primarily target enemy drones, aircraft and cruise missiles. According to Russian military experts, the limited number of NASAMS does not allow Ukrainians to shield their troops. Presumably, the air defense system was meant to provide cover for the other US-made weapons systems, such as the HIMARS battery.
Are British Storm Shadows and US HIMARS Invincible?
Reznikov is not the only minister exaggerating the successes of NATO-grade weaponry in Ukraine. Last week, UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace asserted to British lawmakers that Storm Shadow missiles given to Kiev have had "a significant impact" on the battlefield. The Storm Shadow is a long-range cruise missile boasting a striking range in excess of 250 kilometers (155 miles).
However, as of yet, Storm Shadows have made some splash by hitting Russia's Chongar bridge on the administrative border between the Kherson region and Crimea, but have failed to anyhow tip the balance in Kiev's favor on the military theater. Following the Ukrainian military strike on the bridge, the Russian armed forces destroyed a depot with Storm Shadow cruise missiles in Ukraine's Khmelnitsky region, as per the Russian Ministry of Defense. According to Sputnik's interlocutors, the Russian military regularly shoots down the British wonder-weapon.
Likewise, Russian forces frequently intercept missiles launched by the US-made M142 HIMARS, light multiple rocket launchers. As per the Russian MoD, the Ukrainian forces often use HIMARS against civilian areas of the regions joining the Russian Federation last year.
"Kiev is trying to compensate for its inability to ensure success on the ground through terrorist attacks on civilian targets and thus achieve a propaganda effect," Sergei Shoigu noted on July 3.
Have Leopard Tanks and Bradley IFVs Proved Effective?
Ukraine's losses in terms of military equipment caught the headlines after the beginning of the well-advertised counteroffensive. Russia destroyed 16 German-made Leopard tanks, i.e. 100% of the vehicles supplied to Kiev by Poland and Portugal, the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced on July 3.
Earlier, on June 26, the New York Times admitted that at least 17 out of 113 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles had been damaged or destroyed in the fighting so far. All in all, Russian forces managed to destroy some 920 Ukrainian armored vehicles in Donbass and in Zaporozhye regions last month, as per Shoigu.
"We have T-72, T-80, T-90 tanks, which are head and shoulders above any Western tanks," the Russian military expert said.
"For instance, we have three crew members and an automatic loader, while none of [Western tanks] have an automatic loader. And they have a loading fourth crew member, who has to load the gun during the battle, when the tank goes forward and sways on the uneven ground. Their tanks are 3 meters high, and ours are 2.2 meters high. Their tank weighs over 60 tons while ours is 46 tons, and so on. When it comes to the caliber: we have 125mm, and they have 120mm. On top of that our tank can fire not only shells, but also laser-guided anti-tank guided missiles."
Earlier, Sputnik's interlocutors drew attention to the fact that the military theater with its frozen, river floods, mud, swamps and other critical weather conditions became a serious challenge for the NATO military equipment. The Ukrainian military has faced a plethora of logistical problems, including that the German 60-ton battle tanks could not cross some of Ukraine's bridges.
As of July 5, the Russian military had destroyed 10,535 tanks and other armored fighting vehicles belonging to Ukraine since the beginning of the special military operation. The Russian MoD also rubbished an assessment recently made by UK Admiral Sir Tony Radakin about Russia losing "half of its combat effectiveness and some 2,500 tanks in Ukraine."
"The FT-published estimates of the losses of Russian armored vehicles by UK Admiral Radakin, coupled with the alleged loss of ‘half of its combat effectiveness’ by the Russian Armed Forces. It is characterized by the universal scale of lies," the ministry said, adding that Radakin's claims stemmed from the latter's desire to receive more funding to purchase new military equipment for the UK armed forces to replace the equipment delivered to Ukraine
How is the Ukrainian Counteroffensive Going?
The most glaring proof that Western weapons don't surpass their Russian analogs is that the Ukrainian military has so far failed to outperform on the ground. Furthermore, the Kiev regime's forces have sustained heavy losses in terms of both equipment and manpower, Litovkin pointed out.
"In two weeks of fighting in the Zaporozhye and Krasnolimansky direction, in Avdeevksky direction and Artemovsky direction, we destroyed 259 [Ukrainian] tanks, including Western-made ones," the Russian military expert said. "We have smashed 700 armored fighting vehicles; [lots of] unmanned aerial vehicles. Does this mean anything? Whose technologic advantage does this speak of? Secondly, it also speaks of the advantage of our professionals, masters of our military art. Given all of the above, all this chatter about the advantage of Western technology and the advantage of the Western army is just [propaganda] for those Ukrainians and Westerners who have been brainwashed by their press."
Irjen Firman Shantyabudi, Kakorlantas (Kepala Korps Polisi Lalu Lintas) Polri, mengusulkan agar pemesanan pelat nomor kendaraan menggunakan nama seseorang dihargai Rp 500 juta.
Menurutnya, hal itu jauh lebih realistis daripada menambah penerimaan negara bukan pajak (PNBP) dari pembuatan surat izin mengemudi (SIM).
Firman mulanya ingin menambah PNBP dari pembuatan pelat nomor dengan nama seharga Rp 500 juta. Hal ini menindaklanjuti penggunaan pelat RF untuk pejabat yang tak tepat sasaran.
Firman menyebutkan hal itu sebagai usulan ke pemerintah. Jika ada beberapa nama yang sama, menurut Firman, mereka yang menawarkan harga paling tinggi berhak mendapatkan pelat.
“Besok kita harapkan pemerintah bisa menerbitkan suatu keputusan, nomor itu bisa saya pakai contoh itu mobil ‘Yusri 1’, Pak. Kalau dia berani bayar Rp 500 juta untuk lima tahun kenapa tidak, tapi masuk PNBP, Pak,” kata Firman, seperti dikutip detikNews, hari Rabu, 05/07/2023.
“Itu jauh lebih realistis, bebas ganjil genap kita tawarkan. Kalau nama Yusri-nya ada 16 orang yang mengajukan, kita lelang Pak sampai paling mahal tertinggi siapa, (dananya) masuk negara lagi, Pak,” sambungnya.
Menurut dia, hal itu jauh lebih realistis daripada pemasukan PNBP dari SIM yang mekanismenya, masih ditemukan oknum nakal. Ia berharap pembuatan SIM tak lagi dijadikan target pemasukan.
“Jauh lebih realistis, ketimbang mohon maaf, kami mohon maaf sekali lagi, SIM jangan dijadikan target Pak. Kami khawatir Kasatlantas kami jualan lagi, nggak lulus, dilulus-lulusin, Pak. Sudah terjadi, yang belum waktunya pindah golongan, dipindahkan Pak ngejar PNBP,” ungkapnya.
Usul Pelat Nomor Nama Bayar Rp 500 Juta
Selanjutnya Irjen Firman mengusulkan pemesanan pelat nomor kendaraan menggunakan nama seseorang dihargai Rp 500 juta. Menurutnya, hal itu jauh lebih realistis untuk menambah penerimaan negara bukan pajak (PNBP).
“Nomor yang kita ingin perjuangkan untuk menambah PNBP bukan dengan ‘jual RF’. Mohon maaf kalau kami menggunakan istilah jual pak, selama ini terkesan begitu mengejar target,” kata Firman dalam rapat dengar pendapat (RDP) bersama Komisi III DPR RI, Senayan, Jakarta, hari Rabu, 05/07/2023.
Firman menyebut hal itu sebagai usulan ke pemerintah. Jika ada beberapa nama yang sama, kata Firman, mereka yang menawarkan harga paling tinggi berhak mendapatkan pelat.
“Besok kita harapkan pemerintah bisa menerbitkan suatu keputusan, nomor itu bisa saya pakai contoh itu mobil ‘Yusri 1’, Pak. Kalau dia berani bayar Rp 500 juta untuk lima tahun kenapa tidak, tapi masuk PNBP, Pak,” kata Firman.
“Itu jauh lebih realistis, bebas ganjil genap kita tawarkan. Kalau nama Yusri-nya ada 16 orang yang mengajukan, kita lelang Pak sampai paling mahal tertinggi siapa, masuk negara lagi, Pak (dananya),” sambung dia.
Menurut Firman, pemasukan untuk PNBP lebih realistis dari penjualan pelat nomor nama. Ia berharap pembuatan SIM tak lagi dijadikan target pemasukan.
“Jauh lebih realistis, ketimbang mohon maaf, kami mohon maaf sekali lagi, SIM jangan dijadikan target Pak. Kami khawatir Kasat Lantas kami jualan lagi, nggak lulus, dilulus-lulusin, Pak. Sudah terjadi, yang belum waktunya pindah golongan, dipindahkan Pak ngejar PNBP,” ungkapnya.
Tanggapan Pimpinan Komisi III DPR
Wakil Ketua Komisi III DPR Habiburokhman mengatakan usulan itu ide bagus. Namun, ia mewanti-wanti adanya pemalsuan tanda nomor kendaraan bermotor (TNKB) untuk mengejar gengsi semata.
“Itu ide bagus karena bisa menambah PNBP secara sah, uangnya masuk negara. Yang perlu diantisipasi adalah pemalsuan, karena TNKB custom tersebut nilai prestisenya tinggi,” ujarnya.
Dikonfirmasi terpisah, Wakil Ketua Komisi III Ahmad Sahroni mengatakan hal senada. Namun, tak semua menerima tawaran dengan mudah.
“Boleh juga dan bagus untuk PNBP Polri dan saya yakin tidak semua orang pasti mau akan hal tersebut,” tutur Sahroni.
“Nah itu secara otomatis gampang ngawasinnya dan dari Polri tinggal noted orang-orang yang memang sudah berbayar untuk atas nama orang lain,” lanjutnya.
An assailant dressed in a ski mask and body armor killed five people and injured two others, the authorities said, in what officials are treating as a random attack
Two of the five people killed in an apparently random shooting in Philadelphia on Monday night were remembered by their families as a man who would try to help anyone he could and a lovable teenager who died trying to get his wounded friend aid.
The five victims have been identified as Lashyd Merritt, 22; Dymir Stanton, 29; Ralph Moralis, 59; Daujan Brown, 15; and Joseph Wamah Jr., 31
Two people — a 13-year-old boy and a 2-year-old boy — were shot in the legs and were listed as stable. The 2-year-old’s twin brother had injuries to an eye from shattered glass after the attacker shot a vehicle they were in with their mother. And a 33-year-old woman was also injured by glass, police said.
What happened?
The assailant, dressed in a ski mask and body armor, opened fire in the Kingsessing neighborhood of southwest Philadelphia sometime after 8 p.m. Monday, the authorities said.
The shooting is believed to have begun at a home and moved to the street, where the attacker fired a barrage of shots at cars and people in the neighborhood. One woman’s car was hit while she was driving her family home, injuring her children.
The attack ended when the police chased the assailant into an alley and made an arrest.
The shooting, which unfolded on the eve of Independence Day, cast a shadow over celebrations and added to the nation’s growing apprehension over mass shootings, including a deadly attack at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Ill., last year.
Who were the victims?
The five people killed in Philadelphia had been out running errands, were on their way home from work or lived in the neighborhood. They ranged in age from 15 to 59.
The youngest, Dajuan Brown, 15, was a rising sophomore at the Jules E. Mastbaum High School, a career and technical school in Philadelphia. He was staying at his grandmother’s house for the summer.
The teenager “had his own little spice on his dancing,” said his mother, Nyshyia Thomas, 34, who said that her son’s death would be especially hard on his siblings.
Ms. Thomas said she was still processing that she would never again see her “baby,” who had lifted the spirits of those around him. “You were sad around him, he wasn’t letting you be sad,” she said.
Lashyd Merritt, 20, had been on his way to the store when he was shot and killed. He had recently graduated from high school and was working for the Internal Revenue Service, according to his brother-in-law, Dominique Evans.
“He was a kind person,” Mr. Evans said. “Very caring, smart.”
Dymir Stanton, 29, was “good with people,” said Willa Mae Dill, an aunt who lives in the neighborhood and enjoyed frequent visits with her nephew. A sports fan, he had a girlfriend and a 4-year-old daughter.
Ralph Moralis, 59, who worked in restaurants, was on his way home from work and had been chatting with a friend moments before gunfire broke out, said the friend, Omar Davis. “Good dude,” Mr. Davis said. “He grew up in this community, everybody knows him.” Mr. Moralis had been scheduled to walk a daughter down the aisle at her wedding this weekend, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Joseph Wamah, Jr., 31, who lived in the neighborhood, was also killed. Police have said they believe he was home alone at the time of the shooting and was perhaps the first victim.
Two children, aged 2 and 13, were hospitalized with injuries from the shooting and were in stable condition.
Who is the suspect?
The suspect, Kimbrady Carriker, 40, was arraigned on Wednesday morning on more than 30 counts, including murder, attempted murder, assault and reckless endangerment.
The Philadelphia Police Department released the booking photo for Kimbrady Carriker.
There was some confusion initially about Mr. Carriker’s gender identity, and in a news conference on Tuesday, authorities used the pronouns “they/them” to describe him. But on Wednesday, officials from the district attorney’s office said they had no information indicating that the suspect considered himself anything but male.
Mr. Carriker appeared in a courtroom on Wednesday via video. He was represented by a public defender, and offered one-word answers from a chair in the corner of a cinder-block room, his arms tightly crossed across a white jumpsuit. He was ordered held without bond on the murder charges, and a hearing was set for July 24.
The authorities have released few details about a possible motive.
The district attorney, Larry Krasner, said the shooting had “the characteristics of a lot of random mass shootings that occur in the United States.” He added: “This does not appear to be a whole bunch of people who knew each other very well.”
