Originally published at: https://peakprosperity.com/daily-digest/extradition-drama-global-assets-and-life-in-jail-for-hate-speech/
As the 2024 presidential election looms, political polarization in the US appears to be deepening. A recent poll conducted by The Generation Lab and Axios revealed that 33% of young adults would be unwilling to be friends with someone voting for the presidential candidate of the opposing political party. This trend is not new, with a 2016 Monmouth University poll finding that 7% of voters ended friendships over the contentious race between Trump and Clinton. As the primary season continues, both Biden and Trump are leading their respective party’s race, with the former president’s campaign predicting a nomination as early as mid-March.
In international news, Julian Assange’s lawyers have petitioned the High Court of Justice in London to appeal the home secretary’s extradition order. The defense argues that the indictment is politically motivated, based on WikiLeaks’ exposure of US war crimes, and that extradition would violate Assange’s human rights. The court is currently considering whether to allow the appeal.
Meanwhile, the debate over the handling of frozen Russian assets continues to divide international leaders. Canada’s Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland, and U.S. Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, have expressed agreement on the urgent need to confiscate these assets to aid Ukraine. However, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has challenged this view, emphasizing the need for international law support and G20 consensus. The issue has gained urgency due to blocked U.S. aid to Ukraine, with Yellen calling for the US and its allies to hand $300 billion in frozen Russian central bank funds to Ukraine.
In Canada, the government has introduced the Online Harms Act, a bill aimed at combating online hate and protecting children from online predators. The bill mandates major social media companies to quickly remove harmful content and increases the penalty for inciting genocide to life imprisonment. Critics argue that the bill’s broad language could potentially infringe on free speech rights and, more importantly, enforce life imprisonment as punishment for mere acts of saying something hateful.
Sources
Canada’s Online Harms Act Proposes Life Imprisonment for Hate Speech
The bill is about posting on the Internet: “…to communicate or cause to be communicated hate speech by means of the Internet.” And it proposes life imprisonment as a punishment.
Source | Submitted by AaronMcKeon
Yellen Calls for Frozen Russian Bank Funds to be Given to Ukraine
“It is necessary and urgent for our coalition to find a way to unlock the value of these immobilized assets to support Ukraine’s continued resistance and long-term reconstruction,” Yellen said in Brazil, where Group of 20 finance ministers are meeting this week, according to The Associated Press.
Source | Submitted by AaronMcKeon
French Finance Minister Challenges U.S. Treasury Secretary on Monetizing Frozen Russian Assets
“We don’t think this legal basis is sufficient,” he said. He said broad international consensus was needed.
Source | Submitted by 0007
Canada and U.S. Push for Confiscation of Frozen Russian Assets to Aid Ukraine
``We need to, now more than ever, show Putin that we are serious, that we are not flagging in our support for Ukraine," she said. “The work on the assets of the Russian Central Bank … would show that we quite literally have the assets to endure and keep on going.”
Source | Submitted by 0007
High Court Considers Appeal for Julian Assange’s Extradition Order
“These were the most important revelations of criminal U.S. state behavior in history,” Assange attorney Mark Summers argued to the High Court panel.
Source | Submitted by 0007
Young Adults Unwilling to Be Friends with Opposing Political Party Voters, Poll Finds
The US has increasingly become politically polarized in recent decades.
Source | Submitted by IrishPrince