Archive for the ‘Fifth Amendment’ Category

Analysis | Hefazat-e Islam, the group behind anti-Modi protests in Bangladesh – The Hindu

Narendra Modi was in Bangladesh to attend the countrys Golden Jubilee celebrations of independence.

At least 11 people were killed in Bangladesh over the weekend as protesters clashes with police during demonstrations called by Islamist groups against Prime Minister Narendra Modis Dhaka visit. Mr. Modi was in Bangladesh to attend the countrys Golden Jubilee celebrations of independence. After Mr. Modis visit, violence spread across the country with protesters attacking a train in the eastern district of Brahmanbaria and targeting several Hindu temples. The main group behind the violent protests was Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, an umbrella organisation of radical Islamists that had in the past clashed with the Awami League government.

Hefazat-e-Islam, literally protector of Islam, was formed in 2010 when the country was taking gradual measures to undo the Islamisation of its polity by the military rulers in the late 1970s and 1980s. In 2008, the military-backed caretaker government had proposed the Draft National Womens Development Policy Bill, promising equal rights to women in property through earnings, inheritance, loan, land and market management. In the December 2008 election, the secular Awami League, led by Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Mujibur Rahmans daughter, was brought to power. The secualrists had demanded repealing the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, which had made sweeping changes to the countrys original secular Constitution during the years of military rule (Later in the year the Supreme Court ruled the amendment was illegal). The Islamist groups saw these developments, along with the shrinking space of clergy politics, as a threat to their core interests, and came together on one platform to form Hefazat-e-Islam. In February 2010, Hefazat called a demonstration in Chittagong against the Womens Bill and the bid to cancel the Fifth Amendment. They clashed with police, injuring over a dozen, and announcing the arrival of a new Islamist group in Bangladeshs political landscape.

Headquartered in Chittagong, Hefazat is a platform of the Sunni clerics of the countrys vast Quami madrassa network and their students. The Economist reported in 2017 that Hefazat madrassas were financed by the Salafi-Wahabi Islamists in Saudi Arabia. If in 2010, they demonstrated their street power by staging the anti-Womens Bill protests, in 2013, they would expand their demands to a 13-point agenda and hold massive rallies in the capital Dhaka. Their demands included enactment of an anti-blasphemy law with provision for death penalty, cancellation of the womens development law (which Ms. Hasinas government passed), a ban on erecting statues in public places (because thats idolatry), a ban on mixing man and woman in public and declaration of Bangladeshs Ahmadiyas, a persecuted minority in Islam, as non-Muslims (like in Pakistan).

The Awami League government initially ignored the protests. But Hefazat members organised many marches to the capital, in what they called the siege of Dhaka, to push for their demands. When the pressure mounted, the government acted swiftly and ruthlessly. In the early hours of May 6, 2013, security forces launched a crackdown on Hefazat activists to oust them from Dhaka. At least 11 people were estimated to have been killed in the operation.

Since the failed Dhaka siege, Hefazat was careful not to run into a direct showdown with the government or the ruling party. But it remained an important hardline voice that often put pressure on the government with its Islamist agenda. For example, when the Fifth Amendment was repealed, the government restored secularism and some other articles of the original Constitution but Islam continued to remain the state religion. Hefazet had threatened violent struggle against the government if Islam is removed as the state religion. The government had also made changes in school texts under pressure from Hefazat and other Islamists. In 2015-16, when Bangladesh was gripped by violence against secular bloggers and activists, Hefazet had demanded action against the writers who insult Islam. In 2017, giving in to Hefazats demands, the government removed the statue of the Greek Goddess Themis from the premises of the Supreme Court. In 2018, the Hasina government passed a Bill recognising DawraeHadith, a top degree of Hefazat-controlled Quami madrassas, as equivalent to a Masters degree in Islamic studies and Arabic, a long-pending demand of Hefazat clerics.

Ms. Hasinas government may have found Hefazat a lesser problem than Jamaat e Islami, the militant religious party whose leaders were put on trial for war crimes committed in 1971 by the war tribunal. The government did not give in to Hefazats key demands that would alter the secular character of the state, but offered small concessions to the group to avoid trouble. These concessions, however, appeared to have made them stronger over the years. And the protests they carried out against the visit of the Indian Prime Minister, at a time when both India and Bangladesh are trying to deepen their ties, pose a new challenge to both Dhaka and New Delhi.

Visit link:
Analysis | Hefazat-e Islam, the group behind anti-Modi protests in Bangladesh - The Hindu

Federal Appeals Court Says Government Can Put Americans on Terror Watchlist without Notice or Chance to Rebut – Law & Crime

A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled that the federal governments database of possible terror suspects, also known as the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB) or the terror watchlist, does not violate the constitutional rights of American citizens who are included on the list even if they are not notified or allowed to rebut the governments underlying reason for adding their names to the list.

A three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit all of whom were appointed by Republican presidents unanimously ruled to overturn a lower district court decision which held that a group of 23 Muslim-American citizens suffered a range of adverse consequences in violation of the Fifth Amendment right to due process once they were put on the list.

Speaking for the lower district court, U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga, an appointee of President George W. Bush, ruled in 2019 that the governments justification for placing certain people on the watchlist was too vague and required more specific and concrete parameters. He noted that people listed in the TSDB even inadvertently cannot refute the designation and are often prevented from obtaining certain government benefits and contract opportunities, are restricted in their abilities to travel, and are subjected to intense and sometimes invasive scrutiny at airports across the globe.

But in an opinion penned by Ronald Reagan appointee J. Harvey Wilkinson III, the Fourth Circuit held that the consequences did not unlawfully burden the plaintiffs civil rights, particularly in light of the governments compelling interest in national security.

The appellate panel disagreed with the lower district courts rationale surrounding the plaintiffs ability to challenge their inclusion on the list:

Equating the APA and procedural due process claims, which alleged that plaintiffs were not given notice of their TSDB status nor a meaningful opportunity to refute the information on which the status was based, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs.

[ . . . ]

The court acknowledged that the government had a compelling interest in preventing terrorist attacks and in maintaining secrecy over the underlying intelligence. It thus concluded that such interests precluded any claim to pre-deprivation notice. But the court held plaintiffs were entitled to post-deprivation process and that the current DHS TRIP procedures were inadequate.

The district court was poised to, in essence, demand an overhaul of the system to give the plaintiffs the right to challenge their inclusion on the TSDB list after the fact. The Court of Appeals stepped into the case before the district court had the chance to fashion a remedy.

What history suggests, precedent confirms: the right to travel is qualified, not absolute. Neither plaintiffs nor anyone else have a constitutionally protected interest in being able to travel domestically or internationally without incurring some burdens, Wilkinson wrote.The experiences alleged by plaintiffs do not rise to the level of constitutional concern. Most plaintiffs complain of minor delays in airports of an hour or less. These burdens are not dissimilar from what many travelers routinely face, whether in standard or enhanced screenings, particularly at busy airports. After all, most travelers who face lengthier enhanced screenings are not in the TSDB but are instead chosen randomly. Plaintiffs cite a few instances where the delays took up to three hours, but those are atypical.

The court also rejected the plaintiffs assertion that the inconveniences suffered by those listed on the TSDB deterred them from air travel and in many cases forced them to drive extremely long distances, saying that individuals do not have a protected liberty interest in using a particular mode of transportation.

The court also said it found the claim that additional screenings deterred plaintiffs from traveling outside the country even less persuasive.

[I]t is clear that plaintiffs do not possess a protected liberty interest in being free from screening and delays at the border. No plaintiff alleges he was unable to cross an international border, Wilkinson wrote. The plaintiffs complain of extra delays ranging from a few minutes to twelve hours, with most being on the shorter end of that spectrum. Such delays are not atypical for travelers, particularly at busy ports of entry at land borders. Given the governments broad power to control movement across the nations borders, the burdens experienced by plaintiffs are not infringements of liberty within the meaning of the Due Process Clause.

Read the full ruling below.

4th Circuit TSDB Order by Law&Crime on Scribd

[image via KSHB-TV]

Have a tip we should know? [emailprotected]

Read this article:
Federal Appeals Court Says Government Can Put Americans on Terror Watchlist without Notice or Chance to Rebut - Law & Crime

Girardi Keese CFO Takes The Fifth To Avoid Testifying – Law360

Law360 (April 1, 2021, 3:35 PM EDT) -- Girardi Keese's chief financial officer intends to invoke the Fifth Amendment to avoid testifying about the defunct firm's finances because he might be a target in the federal investigation of the firm's theft from client trust accounts, he told a Los Angeles bankruptcy judge Thursday.

Chris Kamon had allegedly prepared checks for a plundered Girardi Keese client trust account, making his right to avoid incriminating himself "self-evident," he said in a court filing prepared by his white-collar defense attorney Richard Steingard.

Kamon, who has been named in court documents as one of the few people privy to the firm's finances besides...

In the legal profession, information is the key to success. You have to know whats happening with clients, competitors, practice areas, and industries. Law360 provides the intelligence you need to remain an expert and beat the competition.

TRY LAW360 FREE FOR SEVEN DAYS

Go here to read the rest:
Girardi Keese CFO Takes The Fifth To Avoid Testifying - Law360

5 women that shaped women’s history The Sundial – Daily Sundial

As Womens History month comes to a close, the Daily Sundial has created a list of women who helped shape not just the history of women, but the history of women in the LGBTQ community.

Marsha P. Johnson (Aug. 24,1945 July 6,1992)

Marsha P. Johnson was an activist and drag queen. She was greatly focused on gay rights leading her to become a founder of one of New Yorks safe spaces for transgender and homeless youth. She was one of three people during the Stonewall riots to push back police officers. Later, Johnson and fellow activist Sylvia Rivera established the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries house, a shelter for queer and transgender children in 1972. Johnson worked in order to provide shelter, food, clothing and emotional support for queer, transgender women and gender-nonconforming children living on the streets.

Sylvia Rivera (July 2, 1951 Feb. 19, 2002)

Rivera was a transgender and gay rights activist who worked side by side with Johnson. She was part of the Gay Liberation Front, which was formed right after the Stonewall riots. Rivera was an active member of the Metropolitan Community Church of New York, where she provided food for the hungry. In 2002, civil rights activist and attorney Dean Spade created the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, which provides legal aid to transgender, intersex or gender non-conforming people of color.

Edith Edie Windsor (June 20, 1929 Sept. 12, 2017)

Edith Edie Windsor, an American LGBTQ activist, was the lead plaintiff of United States v. Windsor, which overturned Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, where marriage is defined as between one man and one woman.. On Feb. 5, 2009, her wife Thea Spyer died, making Windsor the sole beneficiary of her estate. Windsor had to pay $363,053 in federal taxes for inheriting her wifes estate, because the federal government didnt recognize their marriage. In 2010, she filed a lawsuit against the federal government. The lawsuit then went to the Supreme Court and in March 2013, the Supreme Court decided that the government benefiting from Spyers estate and trust was unconstitutional as a deprivation of the liberty of the person protected by the fifth amendment.

Frida Kahlo (July 6, 1907 July 13, 1954)

Frida Kahlo was a Mexican artist and prominent feminist figure who painted many self-portraits that depicted the female form and struggles. She was born July 6, 1907, in Mexico City. In 1925, a bus accident left her in critical condition, and broke her spinal column, collarbone, pelvis, ribs and her right leg. Due to her mobility limitations, she painted from her bed or from a wheelchair. However, her work and her contributions for Chicanos, the Feminist movement and the LGBTQ movement only gained recognition around 1990.

Barbara Jordan (Feb. 21, 1936 Jan. 17, 1996)

Barbara Jordan, a civil rights leader and activist, was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate in 1966. Jordan, also an attorney, was the first woman and African American since 1883 to be elected to Congress from Texas in 1972. Although she was not an openly queer woman, she had a lifelong partner for over 30 years, Nancy Earl.

Visit link:
5 women that shaped women's history The Sundial - Daily Sundial

SITEONE LANDSCAPE SUPPLY, INC. : Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement, Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an…

Item 1.01. Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.

SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc. (the "Company") announced that certain of itssubsidiaries have entered into the Fifth Amendment to Amended and RestatedCredit Agreement, dated as of March 23, 2021 (the "Fifth Amendment"), by andamong SiteOne Landscape Supply Holding, LLC ("Holding") and SiteOne LandscapeSupply, LLC, as borrowers (collectively, the "Borrowers"), JPMorgan Chase Bank,N.A. (the "New Agent"), as administrative agent and collateral agent, theseveral banks and other financial institutions party thereto and certain otherparties party thereto from time to time. The Fifth Amendment amends and restatesthe Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated as of April 29, 2016, among theBorrowers, the lenders from time to time party thereto and UBS AG, StamfordBranch (the "Existing Agent") as administrative agent and collateral agent (asamended prior to March 23, 2021, the "Existing Credit Agreement" and, as soamended and restated pursuant to the Fifth Amendment, the "Second Amended andRestated Credit Agreement") in order to, among other things, (i) incur $325million of term loans (the "New Term Loans"), (ii) replace the Existing Agent asadministrative and collateral agent with the New Agent and (iii) make such otherchanges in the Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement as agreed among theBorrowers and the lenders. Proceeds of the New Term Loans were used to, amongother things, (i) repay in full the Tranche E Term Loans outstanding under theExisting Credit Agreement immediately prior to effectiveness of the FifthAmendment (the "Existing Term Loans"), (ii) to pay fees and expenses related tothe Fifth Amendment and the Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement and(iii) for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

The New Term Loans bear interest, at Holding's option, at either (i) an adjustedLIBOR rate plus an applicable margin equal to 2.00% (with a LIBOR floor of0.50%) or (ii) an alternative base rate plus an applicable margin equal to1.00%. Voluntary prepayments of the New Term Loans are permitted at any time, inminimum principal amounts, without premium or penalty, subject to a 1.00%premium payable in connection with certain repricing transactions within thefirst twelve months after the date of the initial funding of the New Term Loans.The New Term Loans will mature on March 23, 2028.

The foregoing summary is qualified in its entirety by reference to the text ofthe Fifth Amendment and the Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, whichare filed as Exhibit 10.1 hereto and are incorporated herein by reference.

Item 2.03. Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangement of a Registrant

The information contained in Item 1.01 concerning the Company's direct financialobligations under the Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement is herebyincorporated herein by reference.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits

Exhibit No. Description10.1 Fifth Amendment to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, datedas of March 23, 2021, by and among SiteOne Landscape SupplyHolding, LLC, SiteOne Landscape Supply, LLC, JPMorgan Chase Bank,N.A., as administrative agent and collateral agent, and theseveral banks and other financial institutions party thereto.104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRLdocument)

Edgar Online, source Glimpses

See the rest here:
SITEONE LANDSCAPE SUPPLY, INC. : Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement, Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an...