The fascinating, horrifying history behind Steven Soderbergh’s new heist movie

<p>Three small-time criminals in 1950s Detroit are hired by somebody to steal something. What is it? Who wants it? They have no idea, but they need the cash, so they don masks — only on the top half of their faces, a novel sight — and head out to do the job.</p> <p>But the crooked path to a quick payday never goes smoothly, at least in the movies.</p> <p>Steven Soderbergh has made another heist movie, his sixth after <em>Out of Sight</em> (1998), the <em>Oceans</em> trilogy (2001, 2004, 2007), and <a href="https://www.vox.com/summer-movies/2017/8/17/16150634/logan-lucky-review-soderbergh-tatum-driver-craig"><em>Logan Lucky</em></a> (2017). But you could argue a lot of his other movies are heists too; <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/8/18/16150632/steven-soderbergh-explained-brockovich-knick-mike-logan-oceans-unsane">the director is always making films</a> about how money and capitalism find their way into every part of our lives, from politics and sex to sports and mental health care.</p> <p>So it is no huge surprise that <em>No Sudden Move</em> — a rippling, brilliant story about trusting nobody — has some seemingly banal but actually fascinating economic and cultural underpinnings pulsing in its historical backdrop. Soderbergh developed the idea with screenwriter Ed Solomon (who wrote the <em>Men in Black</em> and <em>Bill & Ted</em> series, among others), and Solomon focused on <a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/movies/2021/06/29/heist-movie-no-sudden-move-makes-sure-detroits-history-not-stolen/5370287001/">getting the history of mid-century Detroit right</a>.</p> <p>A note: If you haven’t yet watched <em>No Sudden Move</em>, now streaming on HBO Max, you should, probably before you read any further. I won’t spoil the twists, but it’s worth enjoying the movie on its purely pleasurable heist-movie surface before you dig into the background.</p> <p>Soderbergh was slated to shoot the film in spring 2020 — we know how that went — and was able to pull it off in fall 2020 with almost the entire original cast, save for George Clooney (who <a href="https://theplaylist.net/george-clooney-dropping-out-of-soderbergh-film-no-sudden-move-20201123/">dropped out over safety concerns</a> for his young asthmatic son; we don’t know which role he had been cast to play). It’s one of two movies Soderbergh shot amid the pandemic, during which he also led the Directors Guild of America in developing and implementing Covid-safe protocols for production.</p> <p>The movie, as it stands, is delightful. I’m a little mad it won’t play on movie screens, but don’t let that keep you from watching it on your TV. Its cast is mind-bending: Don Cheadle, Benicio del Toro, David Harbour, Brendan Fraser, Jon Hamm, Amy Seimetz, Julia Fox, Ray Liotta, Kieran Culkin, Noah Jupe, Frankie Shaw, Bill Dude, and Craig muMs Grant (and a few surprises too). But more fun than watching the cast act is the feeling of being in good hands, of watching a confidently directed movie that has something to say but doesn’t sacrifice style for substance. Soderbergh shot on modern cameras but used period wide-angle lenses, creating a strange fish-eye effect at times and never letting you forget that <em>No Sudden Move</em> is a <em>movie</em>. It’s a pure thrill to watch.</p> <p>Plot-wise, however, <em>No Sudden Move</em> is twisty — and to be honest, it can be pretty confusing. I saw it twice, and there are still a few bits I haven’t ironed out. In addition to the plot twists (which I won’t cover here in detail), there are all the historical things happening in the background. And identifying them can help make the film’s point even clearer.</p> <figure class="e-image"><span class="e-image__inner"><span class="e-image__image" data-original="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694095/nosuddenmove3.jpeg"><picture class="c-picture" data-cid="site/picture_element-1625176491_6152_316127" data-cdata='{"asset_id":22694095,"ratio":"*"}'><source srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/eR1yH30rHBMkrcgilYU62naL4kk=/0x0:1200x800/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:1200x800):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694095/nosuddenmove3.jpeg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/kVTZ-UTT2pwPUJXPixKlJoxY3H0=/0x0:1200x800/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:1200x800):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694095/nosuddenmove3.jpeg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/RdjYAzCoKpzgT-ZCxfOSF9QZMuM=/0x0:1200x800/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:1200x800):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694095/nosuddenmove3.jpeg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/gIgR5gyrh34T0w87ydhDECGx6Gc=/0x0:1200x800/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1200x800):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694095/nosuddenmove3.jpeg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5nvlvuoSfj2X_IgifFdPfCDIbE8=/0x0:1200x800/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:1200x800):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694095/nosuddenmove3.jpeg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/gPikmFoWxffH7c1cxyWpO-fON44=/0x0:1200x800/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:1200x800):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694095/nosuddenmove3.jpeg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/U6hFIBfWfAfCPQgF7pZ3d2MU_kA=/0x0:1200x800/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:1200x800):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694095/nosuddenmove3.jpeg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/O3JHzwLLQl05VBqzy_mCqaKSzho=/0x0:1200x800/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:1200x800):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694095/nosuddenmove3.jpeg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jR_lsgag3bF09JPwmSAO35Pe3-k=/0x0:1200x800/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1200x800):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694095/nosuddenmove3.jpeg 1920w" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" type="image/webp" /> <img alt="A picture of David Harbour wearing a hat from the 1950s." data-upload-width="1200" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rx8IovxHNJ7GCHpMZZdK6bOJhEg=/0x0:1200x800/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1200x800):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694095/nosuddenmove3.jpeg" srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2jdaUDH8kRJqaY67uYBmr_gjR-g=/0x0:1200x800/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:1200x800):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694095/nosuddenmove3.jpeg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/isYl9IU_Wy5FbFCmz6IDV9X6qPQ=/0x0:1200x800/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:1200x800):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694095/nosuddenmove3.jpeg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_yB-v1td32BrSG-Fbk9xQNrS01c=/0x0:1200x800/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:1200x800):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694095/nosuddenmove3.jpeg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/i_ZyVdc6HBEvpm1_sVG02_2CU1s=/0x0:1200x800/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1200x800):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694095/nosuddenmove3.jpeg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Ay4QdrS9LazzizMe7R6xmS4MGcc=/0x0:1200x800/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:1200x800):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694095/nosuddenmove3.jpeg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/l7R8SR6LMThl25E-vGNiN9KhKkM=/0x0:1200x800/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:1200x800):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694095/nosuddenmove3.jpeg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Mrknxvh9djVmpJ42DJnfZ0UVBpE=/0x0:1200x800/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:1200x800):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694095/nosuddenmove3.jpeg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/o_HZ9DMrSjz_UxV_F5mdRJpocfQ=/0x0:1200x800/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:1200x800):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694095/nosuddenmove3.jpeg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/y_KKHB4f5-YC1BeK34wbYAbid7U=/0x0:1200x800/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1200x800):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694095/nosuddenmove3.jpeg 1920w" /></picture></span></span> <figcaption><span class="e-image__meta">David Harbour in <em>No Sudden Move.</em></span></figcaption> <span class="e-image__meta"><cite>HBO Max</cite></span></figure> <p>Detroit in the 1950s was a city in the midst of upheaval. <em>No Sudden Move</em> is situated in the nexus of multiple political and social shifts, in 1954, with characters who are conspiring with, benefitting from, or trying to outrun the changes.</p> <p>Important to <em>No Sudden Move</em> is Detroit’s history as <a href="https://theweek.com/articles/461968/rise-fall-detroit-timeline">the 20th-century capital of automotive manufacturing</a>, America’s “Motor City.” Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler, among others, were all founded in Detroit. By 1950, a few years before <em>No Sudden Move</em> is set, Detroit was the fourth-largest city in America, with 296,000 jobs in manufacturing.</p> <p>So cars are front and center in the film. People are always getting into and out of them, committing crimes and plotting crimes in those big, wide vehicles with their big, wide seats. The camera lingers on them, reminding us that cars are on everyone’s minds.</p> <p>But much more important is the mid-1950s racial history of Detroit. Several characters hint at the racist underpinnings of everyday life, notably Curt Goynes (Don Cheadle), who faces casual racism from several other characters and knows to only really trust the Black characters he encounters in a few key situations.</p> <p>There are two main topics the film covers in this regard: the practice of redlining, and the imminent razing of two Black communities.</p> <p>Redlining is the very common practice in the US (and Canada) of essentially creating artificially segregated communities by denying services such as banking and insurance to residents of specific neighborhoods, usually those where Black people live. Some house deeds specified that the property could only be sold to whites. The US government got in on the act; in the 1930s, the Federal Housing Administration refused to insure mortgages near Black neighborhoods, and also subsidized builders who produced whites-only neighborhoods. Black families were frequently denied mortgages that were granted to white homebuyers with lower incomes. The practice wasn’t officially outlawed until 1968, when the Fair Housing Act was passed — though investigative reporting has confirmed residents’ suspicions that <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/redlining-what-is-history-mike-bloomberg-comments/">it</a> <a href="https://interactive.wbez.org/2020/banking/disparity/">effectively</a> <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-modern-day-redlining-20180215-story.html">continues</a> today, including in <a href="https://www.michiganradio.org/post/data-analysis-modern-day-redlining-happening-detroit-and-lansing">Detroit</a>.</p> <p>As a result, property values in white neighborhoods <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/6/6/11852640/cartoon-poor-neighborhoods">would be higher than those in Black communities</a>, and the demarcation lines were sharply drawn. Redlining had long-term effects. <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22245223/black-middle-class-racism-reparations">Upward mobility was limited</a> for Black Detroiters, whose money couldn’t buy the same houses and services as that of white Detroiters. Black families who owned homes were denied <a href="https://detroit.curbed.com/2019/4/26/18516744/economic-segregation-detroit-redlining-home-values">the ability to pass along generational wealth</a> in the same ways as their <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/22320272/inheritance-money-wealth-transfer-estate-tax">white counterparts</a>. And when the legality of redlining practices was reversed and white people fled to the suburbs, Black people found they faced the same discrimination in the new suburban communities.</p> <p>At the time when <em>No Sudden Move</em> is set, redlining is common practice, supported by whites — something the characters discuss. There’s also a related looming threat: When Curt visits an old friend’s house to retrieve an item hidden there, he makes small talk with her husband by discussing the upcoming destruction of a neighborhood. What he’s talking about actually happened: <a href="https://www.michiganradio.org/post/how-razing-detroit-s-black-bottom-neighborhood-shaped-michigan-s-history">the razing of Black Bottom</a>.</p> <figure class="e-image"><span class="e-image__inner"><span class="e-image__image" data-original="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694116/lafayette_park.jpeg"><picture class="c-picture" data-cid="site/picture_element-1625176491_552_316128" data-cdata='{"asset_id":22694116,"ratio":"*"}'><source srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zgViWHwOgjN8VGfVtEbQehbiN3o=/0x0:2401x1580/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:2401x1580):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694116/lafayette_park.jpeg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/LlEtpreOmiX-Hu4SxqJIO7dDYBM=/0x0:2401x1580/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:2401x1580):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694116/lafayette_park.jpeg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_TzGJRgYaOM9UCcDkmOqbDJgX0o=/0x0:2401x1580/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:2401x1580):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694116/lafayette_park.jpeg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/hFR2DmzAFbboBN12fRLUNYA7qJY=/0x0:2401x1580/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:2401x1580):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694116/lafayette_park.jpeg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/GyBQZ27oxEiS43aMd9o47oVuT_k=/0x0:2401x1580/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:2401x1580):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694116/lafayette_park.jpeg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QEcjtmJvtv1iL6uh90FpGqePHns=/0x0:2401x1580/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:2401x1580):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694116/lafayette_park.jpeg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/kuKCXwnMnPOcZfZ24b7izEXpsFs=/0x0:2401x1580/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:2401x1580):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694116/lafayette_park.jpeg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/UVeRKTXkOXT542LdVJJ0ZDMvkIs=/0x0:2401x1580/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:2401x1580):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694116/lafayette_park.jpeg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Y7qIHwi-VpWRsl3m4xolXlYWJ-8=/0x0:2401x1580/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:2401x1580):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694116/lafayette_park.jpeg 1920w" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" type="image/webp" /> <img alt="An image of several trees;." data-upload-width="2401" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cauMFlKZvH1PKxQwyP_SeJWW0Lk=/0x0:2401x1580/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:2401x1580):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694116/lafayette_park.jpeg" srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qoX-izTFFCc8br-xymRKWFP2cJk=/0x0:2401x1580/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:2401x1580):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694116/lafayette_park.jpeg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/H8KqievAZg4aCteIQ4v899T0TJ4=/0x0:2401x1580/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:2401x1580):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694116/lafayette_park.jpeg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ceOUn5quF_ONFiZMh137QCJxGjw=/0x0:2401x1580/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:2401x1580):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694116/lafayette_park.jpeg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/dg9jqd1oDRir4wuy9JO1Ygfv01Y=/0x0:2401x1580/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:2401x1580):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694116/lafayette_park.jpeg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Zr-uZo2I7nQdgsk0KIetxt0mzgM=/0x0:2401x1580/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:2401x1580):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694116/lafayette_park.jpeg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/9hGL4AcGvI8Sl6RP3zaWOxJ_bIc=/0x0:2401x1580/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:2401x1580):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694116/lafayette_park.jpeg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zfBx1Jobqr2gBqg1vFeJ_gZC2TY=/0x0:2401x1580/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:2401x1580):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694116/lafayette_park.jpeg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/iOktz9BD8xeIrJWc4IWIeWIVW-8=/0x0:2401x1580/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:2401x1580):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694116/lafayette_park.jpeg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/e3cs3sT__57_cE7FtkxURFjrWAY=/0x0:2401x1580/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:2401x1580):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694116/lafayette_park.jpeg 1920w" /></picture></span></span> <figcaption><span class="e-image__meta">The Lafayette Park redevelopment stands where Detroit’s Black Bottom community once did.</span></figcaption> <span class="e-image__meta"><cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lafayette_Park_Detroit_redevelopment_over_Black_Bottom.jpg" target="_blank">Mike Russell via Wikimedia Commons</a></cite></span></figure> <p><a href="https://detroithistorical.org/learn/encyclopedia-of-detroit/black-bottom-neighborhood">Black Bottom</a> was a vibrant neighborhood on Detroit’s East Side, home to mostly Black residents and a handful of other European immigrant communities. Most of the residents worked in manufacturing and were poor. Redlining practices, which restricted residents’ access to the New Deal housing benefits that were granted to others, made it hard to leave Black Bottom and created less-than-ideal housing conditions. But it was known as a lively neighborhood with a notable music scene, and musicians who lived there contributed to the development of jazz, big band, and the blues. The nearby neighborhood Paradise Valley was in a similar situation, and it was the center of Black business in the city.</p> <p>In 1944, Detroit Mayor Edward Jeffries and the town council proposed that the city start to remove “old structures” around town. In their sights: Black Bottom and Paradise Valley. Black communities made gallows-humor jokes about “urban renewal” actually being “Negro removal.”</p> <p>The city finally got the money it needed to do the job in 1949 with the passage of the National Housing Act. Two months later, demolition began. Black Bottom was slowly torn down into the 1950s. There were promises of affordable housing being made available, but Black residents were often barred from moving into it. If you had enough money, you might be able to move to another neighborhood — but only if you could somehow get around redlining.</p> <p>Then the situation got even more serious. In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s National Highway Act was passed, funding the construction of Interstate 75, which would render not just Black Bottom but nearby Paradise Valley completely destroyed. Any structures that had avoided the “urban renewal” razing were gone.</p> <p>The passage of that act is still two years out in <em>No Sudden Move</em>, but the destruction of Black Bottom has been underway for several years. So when Curt jokes about it, he’s doing so with frustration. And the fact that the whole community will eventually be wiped out, thanks to the federal government’s decision to run a highway for America’s burgeoning car culture — and to facilitate suburban flight — is a big part of what’s happening in <em>No Sudden Move</em>.</p> <p>The highway’s impending arrival and Detroit’s heyday as America’s car manufacturing capital play another big role in a <em>No Sudden Move</em> plot point — or, really, in the film’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin#:~:text=In%20fiction%2C%20a%20MacGuffin%20(sometimes,unimportant%2C%20or%20irrelevant%20in%20itself.&text=The%20MacGuffin%20technique%20is%20common%20in%20films%2C%20especially%20thrillers.">MacGuffin</a> (though it turns out to be more important than we might have expected).</p> <p>(If you don’t want to know any spoilers about the film, then really, this is where you should stop reading.)</p> <p>At the very end of the film, when text begins to scroll across the screen, viewers might find themselves confused. The text explains that a few years after the film’s end, the federal government sued the major car manufacturers for conspiring to hide evidence that cars were causing pollution and suppressing catalytic-converter technology that could help combat the problem.</p> <p>There’s a good chance it wasn’t clear <em>that’s</em> what <em>No Sudden Move</em> is about, unless you were paying very close attention. But such a lawsuit did happen, in the horrible but amusingly named “smog conspiracy” case of 1969. (You can read about <a href="https://www.pophistorydig.com/topics/tag/smog-conspiracy-1960s/">the whole thing in detail</a>, should you wish.) But in brief, the Department of Justice alleged that the “Big Four” automobile manufacturers in Detroit — American Motors, Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors — <a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2015/10/28/automakers-and-their-dark-deadly-conpiracies/">conspired from 1953 to 1969</a> to delay both the manufacturing of pollution-control devices and their installation in cars. Pollution was a real and obvious problem (especially in Los Angeles, where smog was causing huge issues for residents), but the companies dragged their feet on fixing it and agreed none of them would install the devices in their vehicles until they all did. It was, in essence, a cost-saving measure, at the expense of human lives and environmental health.</p> <figure class="e-image"><span class="e-image__inner"><span class="e-image__image" data-original="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694129/542259800.jpg"><picture class="c-picture" data-cid="site/picture_element-1625176491_618_316129" data-cdata='{"asset_id":22694129,"ratio":"*"}'><source srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Y_FFm0yKb5Wydaj5QNgPOkPlLmc=/0x0:1493x948/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:1493x948):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694129/542259800.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_VHNE5tl1o4AynxguTmZGHnxEcA=/0x0:1493x948/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:1493x948):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694129/542259800.jpg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/DfZfo5gaD3hTewMerr_oq35bYh8=/0x0:1493x948/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:1493x948):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694129/542259800.jpg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/3QJ66bpNfEE-NfCdeMC-DdiAgLM=/0x0:1493x948/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1493x948):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694129/542259800.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ehef2HR8FutwvXT3T-KIjFC1QGc=/0x0:1493x948/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:1493x948):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694129/542259800.jpg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/a3KZLTjw-81PULORMtUAEPCwjWg=/0x0:1493x948/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:1493x948):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694129/542259800.jpg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/avUU-jLsHkV2BNX6T-4WHKfQMr0=/0x0:1493x948/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:1493x948):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694129/542259800.jpg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Habnskp5yD3MkhfXCSVrDs9e6Y0=/0x0:1493x948/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:1493x948):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694129/542259800.jpg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/gK_u32JmT1QclEe-dXvSrz0NbdQ=/0x0:1493x948/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1493x948):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694129/542259800.jpg 1920w" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" type="image/webp" /> <img alt="DETROIT: GENERAL MOTORS, CATALYTIC CONVERTER" data-upload-width="1493" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ESxpx3ZWvCP01eWvCqqsqInxmYE=/0x0:1493x948/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1493x948):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694129/542259800.jpg" srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/NixVBlGUgz7YfcDcmNLkd7jgXQY=/0x0:1493x948/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:1493x948):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694129/542259800.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/FvQ6hzZvsDkRihgJRyqxEaZME3c=/0x0:1493x948/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:1493x948):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694129/542259800.jpg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/xsocy3J0VTaYJMErTvURvn-vj6c=/0x0:1493x948/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:1493x948):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694129/542259800.jpg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Hxm7_TlBkXqss_odxCulbL8Wr2w=/0x0:1493x948/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1493x948):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694129/542259800.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IKxUfGDMD_HFR7rs0VVAlyEjs64=/0x0:1493x948/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:1493x948):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694129/542259800.jpg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Zcqhxy7GrvIz1JWZvgZz--8brjA=/0x0:1493x948/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:1493x948):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694129/542259800.jpg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1pH_uyUQeL58cCvHXAHrxV5HmUg=/0x0:1493x948/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:1493x948):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694129/542259800.jpg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vTKw31EgyJ2SSYL8UifMd123rys=/0x0:1493x948/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:1493x948):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694129/542259800.jpg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0-lOJiMQ69vsUIFT-eZJLH3zek4=/0x0:1493x948/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1493x948):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694129/542259800.jpg 1920w" /></picture></span></span> <figcaption><span class="e-image__meta">A catalytic converter manufactured by General Motors.</span></figcaption> <span class="e-image__meta"><cite>Reuter Raymond/Sygma via Getty Images</cite></span></figure> <p>The document that the trio of small-time crooks is hired to steal in <em>No Sudden Move</em> contains the plans for one of those devices. The goal is to keep the plans out of the wrong hands (which, from an air-breathing-person’s perspective, are the right hands). The contents of the document, and the purpose of stealing it, are kept opaque in the film, both from most of the characters and from the audience. All we know, and all the characters really know, is that the document is very valuable to someone. Who that person is, and why it’s so valuable to them, is left up to interpretation, and it’s never really spelled out until the end.</p> <p>That context — as well as the racist practices in the historical background of the story — feed into <em>No Sudden Move</em>’s broader theme. It’s a movie about everyone getting double-crossed, how you can’t trust anyone, and how nobody is looking out for anyone else’s best interest unless it’s also their own. (There are arguably a couple of trustworthy characters in the movie, but even they have a transactional relationship more than anything else.)</p> <p>The brilliance of <em>No Sudden Move</em> — apart from the terrific direction, performances, and movie-watching experience it serves up — is in how it layers all this history into a twisty crime tale that keeps the audience guessing. You wouldn’t have to know any of this history to follow what it’s doing. But the attention to detail only increases my admiration for the film and how subtly it weaves its social message into its snaky, bendy plot.</p> <p>That the biggest car companies, the insurance companies, the banks, and the federal government are just as untrustworthy as any one character in the movie is, of course, all part of the game. Keep your eye on the ball, <em>No Sudden Move</em> says, because history tells us nobody else is going to look out for you.</p> <p>No Sudden Move <em>is currently streaming on HBO Max.</em></p> <br /> <br /> source <a href="https://www.vox.com/22555915/no-sudden-movie-hbo-review-soderbergh-redlining-smog-conspiracy">https://www.vox.com/22555915/no-sudden-movie-hbo-review-soderbergh-redlining-smog-conspiracy</a>

vox The fascinating, horrifying history behind Steven Soderbergh’s new heist movie

Three small-time criminals in 1950s Detroit are hired by somebody to steal something. What is it? Who wants it? They have no idea, but they ...

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The indictment of the Trump Organization and its CFO Allen Weisselberg, explained

<div><img class="ff-og-image-inserted" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/w4MKWykXuoG5ycrQxZeZYaIpdys=/0x279:4096x2424/fit-in/1200x630/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22693673/GettyImages_1318886363.jpg" /></div> <p>New York state prosecutors on Wednesday indicted the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg for tax fraud, the first charges brought as part of Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance’s investigation into the former president’s company. The <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/20982368/new-york-v-trump-org-allen-weisselberg.pdf">indictment</a> was unsealed Thursday.</p> <p>This isn’t just your run-of-the-mill tax case. Prosecutors said in court that their investigation is ongoing, and they’re reportedly trying to make an even broader case against the company or even the former president himself (Trump has not been charged).</p> <p>So to understand it, it’s useful to think about it through three separate lenses — the charges themselves, what they mean for the larger ongoing investigation, and the potentially massive consequences for American politics.</p> <p>The charges allege that Weisselberg and the Trump Organization did not properly pay taxes related to $1.7 million worth of “fringe benefits” Weisselberg received as part of his salary — most notably apartment and car leases for Weisselberg and private school tuition for his grandchildren. The specific charges also include conspiracy and grand larceny, but those too are related to these fringe benefits. Both Weisselberg and the company <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-company-cfo-plead-not-guilty-criminal-charges-2021-07-01/">pleaded not guilty</a>.</p> <p>But reports in recent months have made clear that Vance’s investigation is focused on more than just corporate perks. He has also been probing matters close to the heart of the Trump Organization’s business practices, examining whether the company overvalued certain properties to score favorable loan terms while undervaluing them to pay less in property taxes. He even <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/02/25/971391389/manhattan-prosecutor-receives-trump-tax-returns-after-lengthy-legal-battle">obtained Trump’s tax returns</a> after a battle that went to the Supreme Court.</p> <p>It’s this broader investigation that may be the true danger to Trump — if Vance can make a case, that is. And prosecutors have <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-bodyguard-matthew-calamari-11624308000">been trying for months</a> to “flip” Weisselberg and turn him into a cooperating witness. They have not succeeded in doing so, and that’s the background to Thursday’s charges.</p> <p>The stakes here are far higher than in any ordinary corporate tax fraud case, because the possibility that Trump will run for president again in 2024 looms. Charges against his company and, potentially, future charges against him would pose an obstacle to a future campaign. Trump’s many critics view him as a danger to the country and feel certain he’s a habitual lawbreaker, and therefore are hoping he gets “brought to justice” somehow — whatever the details.</p> <p>Trump and his defenders, meanwhile, have decried Vance’s investigation as a politically motivated witch hunt (Vance is a Democrat, though he chose not to run for reelection this year). And there are indeed questions about whether these charges would be brought against any company other than Trump’s. According <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/28/nyregion/trump-organization-charges.html">to the New York Times</a>, it is “highly unusual” for prosecutors “to indict a company for failing to pay payroll taxes on fringe benefits alone.” Then again, the evidence here appears strong — it includes that the Trump Organization kept internal spreadsheets tracking some of Weisselberg’s expenses.</p> <p>Allen Weisselberg is Trump’s longtime money man. He has worked for the Trump family since the early 1970s, first as an accountant for Donald Trump’s father Fred, and eventually rose to his current post as CFO of the Trump Organization. When Trump assumed the presidency, he handed over management of that company to three people — Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Weisselberg.</p> <p>“He knows where all the financial bodies are buried,” Trump biographer Tim O’Brien <a href="https://twitter.com/timobrien/status/1366574996282310658?lang=en">tweeted recently</a>. Indeed, Trump lawyer Michael Cohen testified before Congress in 2019 that Weisselberg had <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/30/nyregion/trump-organization-cfo-allen-weisselberg.html">worked with him</a> to arrange hush-money payments to women alleging affairs with Trump.</p> <p>As CFO of the Trump Organization, Weisselberg received an official salary. But he also received various lucrative perks on top of that — “fringe benefits.” These included:</p> <ul> <li><strong>An apartment lease:</strong> Trump’s company paid the lease and utility bills for an apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side that prosecutors say has been Weisselberg’s primary residence since 2005.</li> <li><strong>Car leases:</strong> Trump’s company paid the leases on two Mercedes-Benz cars used by Weisselberg and his wife.</li> <li><strong>Private school tuition:</strong> From 2012 to 2017, either Trump or a Trump trust paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in tuition to a New York City private school for two of Weisselberg’s grandchildren.</li> </ul> <p>Though fringe benefits such as these aren’t technically part of an employee’s salary, they have monetary value and as a result should be considered taxable income paid by the employer. (Certain types of fringe benefits, like employer-provided health insurance, <a href="https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/how-does-tax-exclusion-employer-sponsored-health-insurance-work">are excluded from taxation</a>, but most aren’t.)</p> <p>Prosecutors allege that both the Trump Organization and Weisselberg participated in a scheme to avoid paying taxes on these perks. They argue that the Trump Organization should have paid payroll taxes, and that Weisselberg — whom they allege also hid his New York City residency — evaded more than $500,000 in federal taxes, more than $100,000 in state taxes, and more than $200,000 in New York City taxes.</p> <p>The charges against Weisselberg also include “grand larceny,” but by that prosecutors mean that he didn’t pay a large amount of taxes.</p> <p>The public defense from Trump so far has basically been that “everyone does it.” In an earlier statement, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-organization-lawyers-make-last-ditch-effort-to-avoid-new-york-charges-11624919170?mod=e2tw">Trump said</a> he was being investigated for practices that are “standard practice throughout the U.S. business community, and in no way a crime.” Yet neglecting to pay taxes on fringe benefits like these does seem to be a criminal act, even if it is rarely enforced so aggressively.</p> <p>In isolation, the fringe benefits tax charges may not seem particularly consequential. But they are reportedly one part of a broader probe of the Trump Organization that prosecutors have been conducting.</p> <p>Investigators — led by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance’s office, with <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-attorney-general-probe-of-trump-organization-now-a-criminal-investigation-11621398567?mod=article_inline">some participation</a> from New York Attorney General Tish James’s office — have reportedly focused on two other topics.</p> <p><strong>1) Hush money:</strong> Vance initially opened <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/16/nyregion/trump-tax-returns-cy-vance.html">his investigation in 2019</a> and originally focused on those <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/12/7/18131259/michael-cohen-trump-illegal-hush-money">hush-money payments</a> Cohen had arranged. Cohen pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign finance law with these payments, but Trump himself wasn’t charged by federal prosecutors. Vance then looked into whether any state laws were broken. There has been no recent news of this aspect of the investigation, suggesting it may be dormant.</p> <p><strong>2) Real estate valuation practices:</strong> Instead, in recent months, leaks <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/01/nyregion/trump-vance-investigation.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article">have suggested</a> Vance was focusing on matters close to the heart of the Trump Organization’s business practices: how it valued real estate. The theory here is that Trump overvalued certain properties when he sought loans and insurance policies but undervalued those assets for tax purposes (so he’d owe less in property taxes). Cohen <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-inflated-his-total-assets-when-it-served-his-purposes-cohen-alleges-in-his-hearing-citing-financial-documents/2019/02/27/4c41d4e2-3ab3-11e9-a2cd-307b06d0257b_story.html">alleged such behavior</a> in his congressional testimony in early 2019.</p> <p>The crimes here, in theory, would be tax fraud, bank fraud, or insurance fraud. This is widely believed to be the case Vance is trying to make in his attempt to flip Weisselberg. Whether he’d have a case if Weisselberg refuses to flip is unclear. Some legal experts believe it would be difficult to prove Trump’s knowledge of company financial crimes without Weisselberg’s testimony.</p> <p>The biggest unknown hanging over all this is whether Trump himself will face charges — and what that might mean for the 2024 election.</p> <p>Trump’s attempt to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in last year’s presidential contest confirmed the long-running fears of many that he was a menace — a uniquely dangerous figure posing an authoritarian threat and imperiling the United States’ system of free and fair elections.</p> <p>So the question of whether Trump will run for office again in 2024 is of major importance, and lately he’s <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/06/30/trump-has-made-a-decision-on-whether-to-run-in-2024/">been hinting</a> that he will.</p> <p>The current charges are unlikely to have any significant impact on Trump’s 2024 decision-making. But further charges, including charges against Trump himself, may weigh on him more heavily and, theoretically, could even land him in prison, where it would be difficult to hold rallies. (Though he <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2019/09/22/socialist-who-ran-president-prison-won-nearly-million-votes/">could theoretically follow</a> Eugene Debs’s model and run from prison.) Trump is not yet facing any charges, though, and it’s not clear if he ever will.</p> <p>Liberals who dislike and fear Trump, and Republicans who dislike his influence and hope to return their party to some semblance of normalcy, have been dearly hoping that he’ll be … taken out of the equation somehow. That perhaps he’ll choose not to run again for his own reasons, or perhaps his health will intervene (or perhaps criminal charges will).</p> <p>Many Trump critics are so convinced he is such a blatant criminal that “getting” him on even small-ball charges would be laudable — akin to taking down Al Capone for tax evasion. The former president’s estranged niece Mary Trump <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/03/22/can-cyrus-vance-jr-nail-trump">told the New Yorker,</a> “It’s incredibly urgent that Vance prosecutes Donald now.”</p> <p>But to do that, they’d need a case. And Trump and his defenders have cried foul, claiming Vance has been fishing about for whatever case he can find and ended up with a weak one, and that it’s a sign the whole investigation was politically motivated all along — that it was just an effort to “get Trump.”</p> <p>It’s hard to say for sure without knowing the full picture of what Vance has found. Perhaps this really is the best he’s got. Or perhaps he has strong evidence of further criminality and is building toward a bigger case that we just haven’t seen yet.</p> <br /> <br /> source <a href="https://www.vox.com/22555751/allen-weisselberg-indictment-trump-grand-larceny">https://www.vox.com/22555751/allen-weisselberg-indictment-trump-grand-larceny</a>

vox The indictment of the Trump Organization and its CFO Allen Weisselberg, explained

New York state prosecutors on Wednesday indicted the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg for tax fraud, th...

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SCOTUS just made Citizens United even worse

<div><img class="ff-og-image-inserted" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/f3MbKBsJgG5oTMenK02C2VZOQ-c=/0x60:3672x1983/fit-in/1200x630/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/20058756/1204097769.jpg.jpg" /></div> <p>In its infamous decision in <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/08-205.ZO.html"><em>Citizens United v. FEC</em></a> (2010), the Supreme Court tossed a bone to lawmakers seeking to regulate money in politics. With a few exceptions, <em>Citizens United</em> stripped the government of its power to limit the amount of spending on elections, especially by corporations. But the decision also gave the Court’s blessing to nearly all laws requiring campaigns and political organizations to disclose their donors.</p> <p>They’ve now stripped most of the lingering meat off that bone.</p> <p>On Thursday, the Court handed down a 6-3 decision in <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/19-251_p86b.pdf"><em>Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta</em></a>, which flips <em>Citizens United</em>’s approach to disclosure laws on its head.</p> <p>Before Thursday, the Court <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/4/17/22384256/supreme-court-citizens-united-disclosure-americans-for-prosperity-rodriquez-thomas-more">treated most disclosure laws as valid</a>, and it typically only allowed plaintiffs who objected to such a law to seek an exemption from it — not to seek a court order striking down the law altogether. After <em>Americans for Prosperity</em>, there is now a presumption that all such laws are unconstitutional — although this presumption might be rebuttable in some cases.</p> <p>As Justice Sonia Sotomayor writes in a dissenting opinion, “today’s analysis marks reporting and disclosure requirements with a bull’s-eye.” The upshot is that wealthy donors now have far more ability to shape American politics in secret — and that ability is only likely to grow as judges rely on the decision in <em>Americans for Prosperity</em> to strike down other donor disclosure laws.</p> <p><em>Americans for Prosperity</em> was brought by two conservative organizations — the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, a conservative advocacy group <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/26/koch-brothers-americans-for-prosperity-rightwing-political-group">closely associated with the billionaire Koch brothers</a>; and the Thomas More Law Center, a conservative law firm that claims it was formed to promote “<a href="https://www.thomasmore.org/about-the-thomas-more-law-center/">America’s Judeo-Christian heritage</a>” — against a California regulation requiring charities that wish to raise tax-deductible funds in California to disclose their largest contributors to the state attorney general’s office. So the actual law at issue in this case is fairly far afield from actual campaigns for political office.</p> <p>But Chief Justice John Roberts’s opinion for himself and his fellow conservative justices has broad implications for all donor disclosure laws. It writes a new legal standard that will allow many future challenges to those laws to succeed, and that also will likely lead to sweeping victories for many of the plaintiffs in such suits.</p> <p>Not that long ago, there was broad consensus that disclosure laws aren’t just permissible but essential in a democracy. As Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in a <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/09-559.ZC4.html">2010 opinion</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>Requiring people to stand up in public for their political acts fosters civic courage, without which democracy is doomed. For my part, I do not look forward to a society which, thanks to the Supreme Court, campaigns anonymously ... and even exercises the direct democracy of initiative and referendum hidden from public scrutiny and protected from the accountability of criticism. This does not resemble the Home of the Brave.</p> </blockquote> <p>That consensus is now dead. Much of the Court’s right flank spent the oral argument in <em>Americans for Prosperity</em> rejecting Scalia’s “civic courage” in favor of a kind of <a href="https://www.vox.com/22404001/supreme-court-cancel-culture-americans-for-prosperity-bonta-california-alito-thomas-gorsuch">paranoia over cancel culture</a>. Justice Neil Gorsuch warned that the government could demand to see your “Christmas card lists” or to disclose your “dating history” to state regulators. Justice Samuel Alito spoke of “vandalism, death threats, physical violence, economic reprisals, [and] harassment in the workplace” directed against donors to an anti-LGBTQ campaign.</p> <p>Under the previous consensus — the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/4/17/22384256/supreme-court-citizens-united-disclosure-americans-for-prosperity-rodriquez-thomas-more">one announced in <em>Citizens United</em></a> — disclosure laws would be upheld so long as there is “a ‘substantial relation’ between the disclosure requirement and a ‘sufficiently important’ governmental interest.” Moreover, while some disclosure laws might be vulnerable to challenge, the Court typically only permitted “as applied” challenges, meaning that the plaintiff could seek an exemption from a particular disclosure law, but the law would still apply to other individuals or organizations. In other words, most disclosure laws were valid, and the onus was on the donors who wanted secrecy to prove they individually deserved it.</p> <p>The Court’s previous decisions, moreover, suggested that the bar for bringing such an as-applied challenge is fairly high. The seminal decision establishing that some organizations must be exempted from disclosure laws is <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=4515566352758049665&hl=en&as_sdt=6&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr"><em>NAACP v. Alabama ex rel. Patterson</em></a> (1958), which was an attempt by the state of Alabama to force the NAACP — then the nation’s preeminent civil rights organization — to disclose its membership.</p> <p>Had the NAACP done so, Alabama <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/4/17/22384256/supreme-court-citizens-united-disclosure-americans-for-prosperity-rodriquez-thomas-more">could have turned those names over to the Ku Klux Klan</a>, among other things.</p> <p>The plaintiffs in <em>Americans for Prosperity</em> do allege that they were the victims of death threats and other sorts of inexcusable activity — Roberts points a statement from someone working in the same building as the AFP Foundation, who said that he could “easily walk into [the CEO’s] office and slit his throat” — but nothing that even approaches the constant threat of terroristic violence that civil rights activists faced in the Jim Crow South.</p> <p>In any event, as Sotomayor writes in her dissent, she “would be sympathetic” to a decision that “simply granted as-applied relief” to these plaintiffs, because of the threats they’ve faced. But the Court goes much further, striking down California’s disclosure rules on their face — meaning that they are now invalid for everyone.</p> <p>As mentioned above, <em>Citizens United</em> held that disclosure laws would be upheld so long as there is “a ‘substantial relation’ between the disclosure requirement and a ‘sufficiently important’ governmental interest.” Roberts’s opinion abandons that standard, holding that disclosure laws must be “narrowly tailored” to advance the government’s interest in requiring disclosure.</p> <p>Most first-year law students will immediately recognize the significance of these two words, “narrowly tailored,” as it is part of the test the Supreme Court applies when it wishes to impose a <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/11/25/20974025/supreme-court-guns-second-amendment-new-york-state-rifle">very high presumption that certain laws are unconstitutional</a>. The Court, for example, imposes a narrow tailoring requirement on laws that discriminate on the basis of race.</p> <p>Though <em>Americans for Prosperity</em> does not go quite as far as it could have — it does not apply a test known as “strict scrutiny,” the most skeptical test the Court applies in constitutional challenges — it comes pretty damn close.</p> <p>When the Court applies a narrow tailoring requirement, it signals that a law will typically be struck down if the government could have advanced its goal in some other way. The practical impact of <em>Americans for Prosperity</em> is that all disclosure laws, including campaign disclosure laws, are now vulnerable if a plaintiff can think of some other hypothetical way that the government might have fostered the goal of transparency.</p> <p>Roberts justified such a result because he claims that “disclosure requirements can chill association ‘[e]ven if there [is] no disclosure to the general public.’” He fears, in other words, a world in which donors will choose not to donate to groups like the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, out of fear that their names will be disclosed.</p> <p>And then, of course, there is the shift from as-applied to facial challenges. Rather than simply doling out exemptions to disclosure laws, courts are now much more likely to strike them down in their entirety.</p> <p>The decision is, simply put, a disaster for anyone hoping to know how wealthy donors influence American politics.</p> <br /> <br /> source <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/7/1/22559318/supreme-court-americans-for-prosperity-bonta-citizens-united-john-roberts-donor-disclosure">https://www.vox.com/2021/7/1/22559318/supreme-court-americans-for-prosperity-bonta-citizens-united-john-roberts-donor-disclosure</a>

vox SCOTUS just made Citizens United even worse

In its infamous decision in Citizens United v. FEC (2010), the Supreme Court tossed a bone to lawmakers seeking to regulate money in polit...

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Florida’s social media free speech law has been blocked for likely violating free speech laws

<div><img class="ff-og-image-inserted" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/gqqgB-YCpEDTS4T_UOYE57GPRek=/0x38:3000x1609/fit-in/1200x630/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22694062/GettyImages_1322344154.jpg" /></div> <p>A controversial Florida law that would have prohibited certain social media platforms from banning political candidates or “journalistic enterprises” from their services has been blocked, hours before it was set to take effect. The law, which was largely seen as a response to perceived censorship of conservative politicians and media, was the first of its kind to be signed.</p> <p>“We’re pleased the court ensured that social media can remain family-friendly by delaying Florida’s law from taking effect on July 1,” Steve DelBianco, president of NetChoice, an industry group that was one of the plaintiffs suing to overturn the law, <a href="https://netchoice.org/unconstitutional-social-media-bill-circumvents-rights-afforded-under-the-constitution/">said in a statement</a>. “This order protects private businesses against the state’s demand that social media carry user posts that are against their community standards.”</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=_s7072er.DOCX&DocumentType=Bill&BillNumber=7072&Session=2021">law</a> was proposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis <a href="https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2021/04/27/florida-lawmakers-advance-bill-to-penalize-social-media-companies/">in January</a>, shortly after then-President Trump was banned or suspended from <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/1/10/22223356/every-platform-that-banned-trump-twitter-facebook-snapchat-twitch">multiple social media platforms</a> — most notably Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube — for encouraging the January 6 insurrection of the Capitol building. The law also came after years of unfounded <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/7/29/21347128/big-tech-antitrust-hearing-facebook-zuckerberg-amazon-bezos-apple-cook-google-pichai">complaints from conservatives</a> that Big Tech companies unfairly moderate their speech, and after the failure of Trump’s own <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/5/28/21273241/section-230-explained-trump-social-media-twitter-facebook">multi-pronged attack</a> on Section 230, a federal law that allows online platforms to moderate user content how they see fit. Research, however, has shown that platforms do not discriminate against conservative content. If anything, they do the <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/8/15/20806384/social-media-hate-speech-bias-black-african-american-facebook-twitter">exact opposite</a>.</p> <p>The Stop Social Media Censorship Act easily passed Florida’s Republican-majority House and Senate. DeSantis signed it into law in May, a move he celebrated on the same <a href="https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1396840027322212359">social media</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RonDeSantisFlorida/posts/4074066929326709">platforms</a> he claims are unfairly censoring conservative politicians and made such a law necessary.</p> <p>Among other things, the law would have fined social media platforms $250,000 per day for banning candidates for statewide office, and $25,000 for candidates for lower offices, and allowed the state and individuals to sue platforms if they feel the law had been violated. Additionally, any content that was “by or about” a candidate could not be “shadow banned,” or hidden or suppressed from the view of other users. The law only applied to social media platforms that did business in the state (basically, had users in Florida) and had an annual revenue of $100 million or at least 100 million monthly active users globally. Platforms owned by a company that also owned a theme park in the state were exempt.</p> <p>Many experts said from the start that the law was on shaky legal ground. Industry groups that represent the Big Tech companies affected — NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) — <a href="https://www.ccianet.org/2021/05/ccia-netchoice-file-lawsuit-against-unconstitutional-florida-law/">sued the state</a> to overturn the law a few days after DeSantis signed it, claiming it violated those companies’ First and 14th Amendment rights and that content moderation was allowed under Section 230.</p> <p>The plaintiffs requested a preliminary injunction preventing it from taking effect before a court could decide its constitutionality. Both sides argued their case in front of federal judge Robert Hinkle on June 28. Hinkle <a href="https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/fl-ne-nsf-social-media-law-challenge-20210629-qt7aescdpjgvjolssxumrbuuey-story.html">made little effort</a> at the hearing to hide his disdain for the law, saying it was “poorly drafted” and questioning why it offered an <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/1/22413934/florida-bill-restrict-social-media-politicians-twitter-facebook-disney-trump">exemption</a> for companies that operated theme parks in Florida — a seemingly naked attempt to give the state’s biggest tourist attractions special treatment even though none of them own social media platforms that the law would apply to.</p> <p>So it wasn’t much of a surprise when Hinkle <a href="https://netchoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/NetChoice-v.-Moody-PI-decision.pdf">granted the plaintiff’s request</a> for a preliminary injunction, saying that the law was “an effort to rein in social media providers deemed too large and too liberal” and “not a legitimate government interest.” It was also discriminatory and potentially violated the First Amendment free speech rights of Big Tech platforms, as it did not apply to the smaller platforms or any platforms owned by a company with a theme park in Florida.</p> <p>“Discrimination between speakers is often a tell for content discrimination,” Hinkle wrote. That is, a law supposedly designed to prevent content discrimination may itself be practicing content discrimination.</p> <p>Finally, the judge said the law “expressly” violated Section 230, which allows for platforms to moderate content and says no state may make a law that is inconsistent with Section 230.</p> <p>The plaintiffs were pleased with the decision.</p> <p>“This decision upholding the Constitution and federal law is encouraging, and reaffirms what we have been saying: Florida’s statute is an extraordinary overreach, designed to penalize private businesses for their perceived lack of deference to the government’s political ideology,” CCIA President Matt Schruers <a href="https://www.ccianet.org/2021/06/judge-grants-preliminary-injunction-blocking-unconstitutional-florida-law/">said in a statement</a>. “The court’s ruling is a win for internet users and the First Amendment.”</p> <p>Their case will now make its way through the legal system, but social media companies won’t be beholden to it in the meantime — unless, of course, the injunction is successfully appealed by the state. The governor’s office told Recode that it plans to appeal “immediately” and was “disappointed” by the decision.</p> <p>“As Judge Hinkle seemed to indicate during this week’s hearing on preliminary injunction, this case was always bound for the 11th Circuit and the appeals court will ultimately make its own decision on legal conclusions,” Christina Pushaw, DeSantis’s press secretary, said. “Governor DeSantis continues to fight for freedom of speech and against Big Tech’s discriminatory censorship.”</p> <p>Regardless of what ultimately happens to DeSantis’s law, he got to take his shot at Big Tech and repeat unfounded claims popular with many in the Republican Party — and in the process, he gained political capital for his anticipated 2024 presidential run.</p> <br /> <br /> source <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/7/1/22558980/florida-social-media-law-injunction-desantis">https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/7/1/22558980/florida-social-media-law-injunction-desantis</a>

vox Florida’s social media free speech law has been blocked for likely violating free speech laws

A controversial Florida law that would have prohibited certain social media platforms from banning political candidates or “journalistic en...

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Tucker Carlson’s NSA spying claims are evidence-free. Republicans are running with them anyway.

<div><img class="ff-og-image-inserted" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/B2YqI1s7TAj4IivoLo2btVSEWZY=/0x355:4966x2955/fit-in/1200x630/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22693965/1139127466.jpg" /></div> <p>Tucker Carlson has repeatedly made a bombshell allegation on his Fox News show this week: that the National Security Agency (NSA) is spying on him as part of a Biden administration plot to get his show canceled.</p> <p>Longtime watchers of Carlson probably won’t be surprised to learn that the evidence for this claim is lacking, and on Tuesday the NSA took the unusual step of releasing a carefully worded statement denying it.</p> <p>The NSA’s record on civil liberties is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/nsa-surveillance-xkeyscore-privacy/2021/06/29/b2134e7a-d685-11eb-a53a-3b5450fdca7a_story.html">hardly spotless</a>. But Carlson offered no evidence to support his more insidious claim that the agency planned to “leak [his communications] in an attempt to take this show off the air.” Still, the most fervent Trump supporters in the House Republican caucus seized on a fact-free narrative about the Biden administration abusing its powers.</p> <p>During a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Jim Jordan (R-OH) tried to give Carlson’s latest wild conspiracy theory a boost by suggesting the NSA’s statement denying it is actually evidence of its truth.</p> <p>“Amazingly, the NSA has issued a statement that is so couched it is functionally an admission,” said Gaetz, who went as far as to call for an investigation of Carlson’s allegations.</p> <p>Meanwhile, The Daily Caller — a popular right-wing media outlet founded by Carlson — created a fracas out of an anodyne statement by press secretary Jen Psaki, who had refused to engage at length with a question about Carlson’s claims during a press gaggle on Tuesday:</p> <p>The situation escalated further on Wednesday, when House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy released a statement calling on Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Devin Nunes — who distinguished himself during the Trump years by working with the White House in a desperate, <a href="https://www.wired.com/2017/04/devin-nunes-white-house-trump-surveillance/">failed effort</a> to gin up evidence that then-President Barack Obama spied on the Trump campaign — to investigate Carlson’s claims.</p> <p>“There is a public report that NSA read the emails of Fox News host Tucker Carlson,” McCarthy claimed, apparently referring to comments Carlson made on his show. “Although NSA publicly denied targeting Carlson, I have serious questions regarding this matter that must be answered ... the NSA cannot be used as a political instrument.”</p> <p>Notably, McCarthy is calling for a congressional investigation of Carlson’s flimsy claims while simultaneously <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2021/07/01/mccarthy-says-it-would-be-unprecedented-for-liz-cheney-to-keep-committee-seats/?sh=1913f0a2586b">strenuously opposing</a> any congressional investigation into the January 6 insurrection.</p> <p>Carlson’s dubious claims percolating so quickly from Fox News to right-wing media to the mouths of members of Congress to Republican leadership embodies how the right-wing manufactures — and then amplifies — controversies that serve their political ends and stoke anger in supporters. It also illustrates a rhetorical device Carlson has mastered: making wild, far-fetched inferences based on nothing more than a shred of rumor, a single supposed unnamed source, and innuendo.</p> <p>Carlson on Monday claimed he learned of the alleged spying on his show thanks to “a whistleblower within the US government who reached out to warn us that the NSA, the National Security Agency, is monitoring our electronic communications and is planning to leak them in an attempt to take this show off the air.”</p> <p>To back this up, Carlson said the whistleblower “repeated back to us information about a story that we are working on that could have only come directly from my texts and emails.”</p> <p>“The Biden administration is spying on us. We have confirmed that,” he added.</p> <p>Before we get to these claims themselves, it’s worth remembering Carlson’s track record. Suffice it to say, it would be easier to take stuff like this seriously if he didn’t have a long history of basically making stuff up.</p> <p>Consider claims Carlson made late last October about being in possession of “documents that are directly relevant to the presidential campaign just six days from now” that would incriminate the Bidens — documents he first suggested were intentionally misplaced by the Postal Service as part of a conspiracy theory to protect Biden, but that he never ended up covering on his show <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tucker-carlson-gave-no-details-hunter-biden-docs-damning-2020-10">even after they were found</a>. Or accusations he made recently about the US’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, being involved in a criminal coverup of the origins of Covid-19 that he <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/06/16/two-weeks-later-tucker-carlsons-attack-fauci-has-quietly-collapsed/">quietly dropped</a> after an examination of the emails in question indicated Fauci was involved in no such thing. Just two weeks ago Carlson pushed a conspiracy theory about the January 6 insurrection that <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/6/23/22544084/tucker-carlson-january-6-insurrection-fbi">couldn’t withstand cursory investigation</a>.</p> <p>So there’s a pattern of Carlson saying headline-grabbing stuff, then just moving on to the next thing as people figure out he’s full of it. What’s more, in this case the news side of Fox News, which regularly covers comments Carlson makes on his show as if they’re news, has completely <a href="https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/1410031907694338050">ignored</a> his allegation that the government is spying on him — which likely says something about how much credibility it has. (Fox News didn’t immediately return an inquiry from Vox seeking comment as to whether the network stands by Carlson’s claims.)</p> <p>Nonetheless, right as Carlson’s show started on Tuesday, the NSA itself saw fit to rebut the allegations in a tweet it posted “regarding recent allegations.” It says:</p> <blockquote> <p>On June 28, 2021, Tucker Carlson alleged that the National Security Agency has been ‘monitoring our electronic communications and is planning to leak them in an attempt to take this show off the air.’ This allegation is untrue. Tucker Carlson has never been an intelligence target of the Agency and the NSA has never had any plans to try to take his program off the air.</p> <p>NSA has a foreign intelligence mission. We target foreign powers to generate insights on foreign activities that could harm the United States. With limited exceptions (e.g. an emergency), NSA may not target a US citizen without a court order that explicitly authorizes the targeting.</p> </blockquote> <p>As alluded to earlier, the careful wording of the NSA’s statement prompted the Matt Gaetzs and Jim Jordans of the world to proclaim it actually confirms Carlson’s conspiracy theory. But in reality, given the nature of the foreign intelligence work the NSA does, the agency had to parse words.</p> <p>It can’t be ruled out that the NSA collected data on Carlson when he was in touch with a foreign national who was under surveillance. In fact, as Philip Bump <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/06/30/tucker-carlson-is-credibility-battle-with-nsa-so-far-hes-losing/">detailed</a> for the Washington Post, there have been a couple of occasions already this year where it’s feasible such a thing may have happened.</p> <blockquote> <p>Earlier this year, [Carlson] <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/el-salvador-president-tucker-carlson-funding-defund-police-solution-ms-13-nayib-bukele">traveled</a> to El Salvador to interview that country’s president. It’s almost certain that a foreign leader and his aides would be under surveillance. Or, perhaps, Carlson’s been in contact with individuals in other countries — like, say, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/06/03/1002858655/how-russia-used-an-overt-agent-to-attack-joe-biden-in-the-2020-election">Ukraine</a> — as part of his reporting.</p> </blockquote> <p>But that sort of incidental collection is lawful. Bump has a good walk-through of what’s in the realm of possibility — including potential illegal overreaches by the NSA — and what’s not.</p> <p>It should be mentioned that the NSA doesn’t necessarily have the most sterling reputation for truth-telling either. James Clapper’s tenure as Obama’s director of national intelligence was marred by a <a href="https://fas.org/blogs/secrecy/2014/01/clapper-ssci/">statement</a> he made during a 2013 congressional hearing that the NSA doesn’t willfully collect data on millions of Americans — one that was quickly refuted by the Edward Snowden revelations. So none of this is to say that the NSA’s word should be taken as gospel.</p> <p>But Carlson isn’t just making a claim that the NSA is incidentally collecting too much of Americans’ data, or that it’s providing that data to the FBI in <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/secret-court-fbi-warrantless-searches-were-illegal">warrantless searches</a>, or that <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-WB-40005">individual agents are improperly spying on certain people</a> — in other words, claims that could track with history. He’s claiming the NSA is spying on him to serve a partisan purpose.</p> <p>Considering Carlson’s track record and his lack of evidence, it’s likely his NSA allegations are just the latest instance of him saying incendiary stuff for attention — and getting a boost from Republicans like Gaetz and Jordan who are similarly eager to portray the Biden administration as out to get Trump supporters.</p> <p>Predictably, during his show on Thursday, Carlson echoed the line used by Jordan and Gaetz earlier in the day and falsely claimed the NSA’s statement “effectively conceded” the agency is reading his emails.</p> <div> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p lang="en" dir="ltr" xml:lang="en">Tucker Carlson lies that the NSA "effectively conceded, yes, they read our emails." In fact the NSA said in a statement on Tuesday that it's "untrue" it has monitored Tucker's electronic communications. <a href="https://t.co/hasbcBeH8J">pic.twitter.com/hasbcBeH8J</a></p> — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) <a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1410394259757412353?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 1, 2021</a></blockquote> </div> <p>Meanwhile, Carlson allies such as Glenn Greenwald <a href="https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1410593207553953804">spun</a> outlets like the Washington Post fact-checking Carlson’s NSA claims as evidence “the corporate media is taking the side of the highly secretive and pernicious US security state in a public controversy.” But until Carlson backs up the specific allegations he’s making, there’s no reason to believe this occasion is different from the many others when Carlson distorted the truth for the sake of good TV.</p> <p>As is always the case when something Tucker Carlson says is in the news, it’s worth keeping in mind that even Carlson’s employer thinks he’s more or less full of it.</p> <p>Consider a September 2020 <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/09/29/917747123/you-literally-cant-believe-the-facts-tucker-carlson-tells-you-so-say-fox-s-lawye">opinion</a> written by Trump-appointed US District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil dismissing a slander case brought by Karen McDougal, a woman who received a hush payment during the 2016 presidential campaign in exchange for keeping quiet about an alleged affair with Trump, who Carlson accused of engaging in “a classic case of extortion.”</p> <p>The “‘general tenor’ of the show should then inform a viewer that [Carlson] is not ‘stating actual facts’ about the topics he discusses and is instead engaging in ‘exaggeration’ and ‘non-literal commentary,’” Vyskocil wrote, referencing arguments made by Fox News lawyers. “Fox persuasively argues, that given Mr. Carlson’s reputation, any reasonable viewer ‘arrive[s] with an appropriate amount of skepticism’ about the statement he makes.”</p> <p>So Fox News lawyers have acknowledged that Carlson’s show is full of “exaggeration” and “non-literal commentary.” That sort of thing may drive ratings, but in evaluating his claim that the Biden administration is abusing its power to get his show canceled, using “an appropriate amount of skepticism” suggests this episode is political theater instead of something Congress should spend time investigating.</p> <br /> <br /> source <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/7/1/22557453/tucker-carlson-nsa-emails-spying">https://www.vox.com/2021/7/1/22557453/tucker-carlson-nsa-emails-spying</a>

vox Tucker Carlson’s NSA spying claims are evidence-free. Republicans are running with them anyway.

Tucker Carlson has repeatedly made a bombshell allegation on his Fox News show this week: that the National Security Agency (NSA) is spying...

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Philippines Threatens Covid Vaccine Decliners With Jail Time or Ivermectin

<div class="wp-block-image"> <figure class="aligncenter"><img alt="Rodrigo Duterte instructs Philippines army to shoot him if ..." src="https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.independent.co.uk%2Fs3fs-public%2Fthumbnails%2Fimage%2F2017%2F09%2F13%2F09%2Frodrigo-duterte-0.jpg%3Fwidth%3D982%26height%3D726&f=1&nofb=1" /> <figcaption>Source: <strong><em>Independent</em></strong><br /> President Rodrigo Duterte said on live TV that Filipinos will face jail time if they refuse to get the Covid-19 jab.</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p><strong>Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened Filipinos who refuse to get the Covid-19 vaccine with jail time or an injection of Ivermectin, an alternate treatment for Covid.</strong></p> <p>Ivermectin is an anti-parasite drug that is often used to treat animals but has been touted as an alternative treatment for Covid-19, however, the World Health organisation (WHO) and other U.S and European regulators have recommended against it.</p> <p>On live TV, President Duterte told the nation: “You choose, vaccine or I will have you jailed.</p> <p>“But for as long as you are here and you are a human being, and can carry the virus, get vaccinated.</p> <p>“Otherwise, I will order all the village captains to have a tally of the people who refuse to be vaccinated. Because if not, I will have Ivermectin meant for pigs injected into you.</p> <p>“Don’t get me wrong, there is a crisis in this country. I’m just exasperated by Filipinos not heeding the government.”</p> <p>The recent remarks contradict those of his health officials, who have said receiving the Covid-19 vaccine is entirely voluntary.</p> <p>It is believed that Duterte made the threats following a low turnout at several vaccination sites in the capital Manila.</p> <p>As of June 20^th, only 2.1 million people have been fully vaccinated in the Philippines out of the 70 million targeted for the end of the year.</p> <p>Duterte, who has been criticised for his tough approach to managing the pandemic, also stood by his decision not to reopen schools.</p> <p>It is disturbing to see that people are being threatened with incarceration for refusing to get an experimental gene therapy, which has been wrongfully labeled as a vaccine.</p> <p>When are the masses going to question why governments and those in power are pushing so hard for people to get the Covid jab? We have not seen any other drug being treated with such desperation…</p> <p>Currently, in the UK, the Covid vaccine is mandatory for care home staff “to protect residents”, and ministers are considering making the jabs compulsory for those who work in the NHS.</p> <p>This means that employers can legally fire staff who refuse to get the jab, however, many care home workers have already signaled their intention to resign once the measure comes into effect.</p> <p><strong>Hearing that other countries are making the jab mandatory for all its citizens is terrifying and shows that it could happen, even here in the UK.</strong></p> <div class="wp-block-group" readability="3.4818611987382"> <div class="wp-block-group__inner-container" readability="4.6424815983176"> <hr class="wp-block-separator" /> <p class="has-text-align-center has-custom-font"><strong><a href="https://dailyexpose.co.uk/2021/07/01/july-fundraising-campaign/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span 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data-slick='{"slidesToScroll":1,"arrow":true,"slidesToShow":3,"infinite":true,"adaptiveHeight":false,"draggable":true,"rtl":false,"responsive":[{"breakpoint":1024,"settings":{"slidesToShow":3}},{"breakpoint":600,"settings":{"slidesToShow":2}},{"breakpoint":480,"settings":{"slidesToShow":1}}]}'> <div class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__item" readability="17.163636363636"> <div class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__content" readability="18.236363636364"><time datetime="2021-07-01T10:44:52+01:00" class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__date">July 1, 2021</time><a href="https://dailyexpose.co.uk/2021/07/01/fully-vaccinated-man-who-received-moderna-covid-19-booster-shot-reports-more-severe-side-effects/" alt="Fully Vaccinated Man Who Received Moderna Covid-19 Booster Shot Reports ‘More Severe’ Side Effects">Fully Vaccinated Man Who Received Moderna Covid-19 Booster Shot Reports ‘More Severe’ Side Effects</a> <p>Source: Business InsiderPictured: Study volunteer virologist, Joseph Hyser receiving his booster shot; …</p> </div> </div> <div class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__item" readability="23.091836734694"> <div class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__content" readability="23.836734693878"><time datetime="2021-07-01T00:04:43+01:00" class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__date">July 1, 2021</time><a href="https://dailyexpose.co.uk/2021/07/01/july-fundraising-campaign/" alt="July Fundraising Campaign">July Fundraising Campaign</a> <p>The Daily Expose was set up due to a lack of alternatives …</p> </div> </div> <div class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__item" readability="14.608695652174"> <div class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__content" readability="15.304347826087"><time datetime="2021-06-30T23:37:04+01:00" class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__date">June 30, 2021</time><a href="https://dailyexpose.co.uk/2021/06/30/devi-sridhar-lies-to-the-public-again-by-claiming-not-a-single-child-has-died-due-to-the-covid-19-vaccine/" alt="Devi Sridhar lies to the public again by claiming “not a single child has died due to the Covid-19 vaccine”">Devi Sridhar lies to the public again by claiming “not a single child has died due to the Covid-19 vaccine”</a> <p>Devi Sridhar, the qualified nutritionist who is masquerading as a public health …</p> </div> </div> <div class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__item" readability="13.096256684492"> <div class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__content" readability="13.51871657754"><time datetime="2021-06-30T22:56:47+01:00" class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__date">June 30, 2021</time><a href="https://dailyexpose.co.uk/2021/06/30/world-economic-forum-releases-guide-on-how-to-coerce-and-manipulate-public-into-getting-the-covid-19-vaccine/" alt="World Economic Forum releases guide on how to coerce and manipulate public into getting the Covid-19 Vaccine">World Economic Forum releases guide on how to coerce and manipulate public into getting the Covid-19 Vaccine</a> <p>The World Economic Forum have had a bigger part to play during …</p> </div> </div> <div class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__item" readability="16.719101123596"> <div class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__content" readability="17.258426966292"><time datetime="2021-06-30T13:28:47+01:00" class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__date">June 30, 2021</time><a href="https://dailyexpose.co.uk/2021/06/30/greece-bribing-young-people-to-get-covid-19-vaccine-with-money-and-free-phone-data/" alt="Greece Bribing Young People To Get Covid-19 Vaccine With Money and Free Phone Data">Greece Bribing Young People To Get Covid-19 Vaccine With Money and Free Phone Data</a> <p>Source: ABC NewsTo challenge vaccine hesitancy and encourage more people to get …</p> </div> </div> <div class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__item" readability="18.69512195122"> <div class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__content" readability="19.585365853659"><time datetime="2021-06-30T10:58:48+01:00" class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__date">June 30, 2021</time><a href="https://dailyexpose.co.uk/2021/06/30/did-hancock-jump-or-was-he-pushed-under-a-bus/" alt="Did Hancock jump or was he pushed … under a bus?">Did Hancock jump or was he pushed … under a bus?</a> <p>After a week of the media building up to it, on Saturday …</p> </div> </div> <div class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__item" readability="16.703883495146"> <div class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__content" readability="17.242718446602"><time datetime="2021-06-30T10:06:51+01:00" class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__date">June 30, 2021</time><a href="https://dailyexpose.co.uk/2021/06/30/who-quietly-removes-section-advising-against-children-receiving-covid-19-vaccine-on-its-website/" alt="WHO Quietly Removes Section Advising Against Children Receiving Covid-19 Vaccine On Its Website">WHO Quietly Removes Section Advising Against Children Receiving Covid-19 Vaccine On Its Website</a> <p>Source: World Health OrganisationWHO has removed a section advising against children receiving …</p> </div> </div> <div class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__item" readability="13.651376146789"> <div class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__content" readability="14.091743119266"><time datetime="2021-06-29T14:16:05+01:00" class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__date">June 29, 2021</time><a href="https://dailyexpose.co.uk/2021/06/29/lisbon-court-rules-that-only-0-9-of-verified-cases-died-of-covid-19-not-17000-as-portuguese-government-claimed/" alt="Lisbon Court Rules That Only 0.9% of ‘Verified Cases’ Died of Covid-19 – Not 17,000 As Portuguese Government Claimed">Lisbon Court Rules That Only 0.9% of ‘Verified Cases’ Died of Covid-19 – Not 17,000 As Portuguese Government Claimed</a> <p>Source: Andre-DiasThe court revealed that only 0.9% of 'verified cases' dief of …</p> </div> </div> <div class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__item" readability="12.094170403587"> <div class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__content" readability="12.484304932735"><time datetime="2021-06-29T13:31:20+01:00" class="wp-block-coblocks-post-carousel__date">June 29, 2021</time><a href="https://dailyexpose.co.uk/2021/06/29/feel-sorry-for-chris-whitty-then-you-must-not-know-what-whitty-and-hancock-did-to-the-elderly-and-vulnerable-from-march-2020-onwards/" alt="Feel sorry for Chris Whitty? Then you must not know what Whitty and Hancock did to the elderly and vulnerable from March 2020 onwards…">Feel sorry for Chris Whitty? Then you must not know what Whitty and Hancock did to the elderly and vulnerable from March 2020 onwards…</a> <p>There's a video doing the rounds in the mainstream media today showing …</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <h3 class="jp-relatedposts-headline"><em>Related</em></h3> <br /> <br /> source <a href="https://dailyexpose.co.uk/2021/07/01/philippines-threatens-covid-vaccine-decliners-with-jail-time-or-ivermectin/">https://dailyexpose.co.uk/2021/07/01/philippines-threatens-covid-vaccine-decliners-with-jail-time-or-ivermectin/</a>

revolution Philippines Threatens Covid Vaccine Decliners With Jail Time or Ivermectin

Source: Independent President Rodrigo Duterte said on live TV that Filipinos will face jail time if they refuse to get the Covid-19 jab. ...

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