Ben & Jerry's For West Bank Sales of Ice Cream Sued Unilever Which Refuses Counsel Service

 

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell Book
BBC-Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN NY Mag

SDNY COURTHOUSE, Oct 31 – Ben & Jerry's sued its corporate parent Unilever for declaring that its ice cream WILL be sold in the West Bank, despite B&J's independent board's decision not to.  

The case has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York where Inner City Press immediately found it in the docket.  Complaint on Patreon here.

 Ben & Jerry's says "from its stands on migrant justice to LGBTQ+ right to BLM and climate change, the Ben & Jerry's brand is synonymous with social activism... the Independent Board of Director determined that it would be inconsistent with the essential elements of Ben & Jerry's brand integrity for Ben & Jerry's to be sold in the West Bank."  

 Then they cite a press release "Unilever reaches new business arrangements for Ben & Jerry's in Israel."

A preliminary then permanent injunction was sought, along with attorney's fees. Ben & Jerry's is represented by Cohen & Gresser LLP.

The PI hearing was set for July  14 at 3:45 pm. At 3:25 pm, Ben & Jerry's lawyers wrote it to cancel it, "in order for the parties to pursue an agreement to attempt to resolve their dispute through expedited formal mediation."

Later Judge Carter ordered, "ORDER granting [41] Letter Motion to Adjourn Conference. The order to show cause hearing scheduled for today is adjourned. The parties shall submit a joint status report."

On September 6, the parties informed Judge Carter that while Defendant "contents that the Complaint was inappropriately brought... it does not object to Plaintiff's request to amend."

After defendants submitted a pre-motion letter seeking to move to dismiss, Ben & Jerry's on October 31 says it is meritless - and noted that "somewhat surprisingly, Unilever plc and UIP refused to authorize their counsel to accept service, particularly since a Unilever executive already submitted a declaration in this proceeding (See ECF 31, Declaration of Matt Close)." Steps are being taken to (soft?) serve them in the UK and Netherlands.

The case is Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc. v. Conopco, et al., 22-cv-5681 (Carter) 

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In Trump Org Trial SVP McConney Says Weisselberg Got W2s and 1099s, Jurors Sleepy

 

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell book
BBC - Honduras - CIA Trial book - NY Mag

FOLEY SQUARE, Oct 31 – On opening day of the Trump Organization trial, controller Jeffrey McConney was on the witness stand. Inner City Press went and live tweeted here:

OK - now in Trump Org trial as questioning turns to 2007 O'Brien case, to witness doing Trump world payroll processing for decades.  Q: Would you say that gross payroll is pre-tax and net payroll is post-tax?

A: Yes...

Q: Are you familiar with tax withholding and was it your job to ensure withholdings were appropriate?

A: That was up to PayChex.

Q: But you input the info, right? A: I did.

Q: What is the difference between W2s and 1099s?

A: W2 withholds taxes, 1099 doesn't. W2 is for an employee, 1099 for an independent contractor. 

Q: Was it part of your job for the Trump Organization to make sure its W2s were correct? A: Yes.

Q: I'm going to show you a thumb drive. Do you recognize it?

Jeffrey McConney: The handwriting on it, yes. 

Counsel: I'm going to read this stipulation about... spreadsheets, business records. "The people have agreed to remove the first names of Trump children."

 Defense: Objection! On relevance. Sidebar is called - then 10 minute break.

 With jury out of courtroom (and witness too, through the same door up in the front of the courtroom), the argument about relevance is not at sidebar, but open.

Counsel: These are Trump Corporation general ledgers and they do contain many transactions...

 Counsel: These records go to how camouflaged these transactions were.  Judge: The objection is noted and overruled.  Now a real break: Judge leaves the bench, some in gallery go out.

 Judge is back. He says, Usually I try to go straight through the afternoon, but I notice that several of the jurors were looking a little tired.

[Inner City Press: generic testimony about W2s and 1099s can to that.]

Jury entering!

 Q: Mr. McConney, did you notice on the thumb drive there are files, then A or B that is a PDF of an Excel spreadsheet? McConney: Yes.

 Q: Let's look at TO-18, a general ledger produced by the Trump Organization to the grand jury. Do you recognize DANY #'s? A: Yes

 Q: Let's turn to TO-43 - a payroll run for Allen Weisselberg, correct? McConney: Yes. (Coughs). Q: And this was a $100,000 payment to Allen Weisselberg on January 1, 2016 as part of his bonus for the previous year? McConney: Right.

 Q: And are these W2s from Trump Payroll to Allen and Barry Weisellberg from 2005 and 2020? McConney: Let me see. (Counts each name, each name). Yes.

Q: And do you remember the original question? McConney: No. [Some jurors laugh seemingly sympathetically]

Judge: OK, I'm going to call it a day. Don't read anything about the case, jurors. Don't receive any payment about the trial. Do not communicate or Google about the case

[Extra: afterward, Inner City Press stopped in 1st floor courtroom, two tweets on three cases here

Defendant getting conditional discharge as long as he doesn't go (return) to NY Punlic Library on 5th Ave. RoR on Brooklyn warrants.  Next defendant is in a skeleton shirt, for Halloween presumably...

Skeleton man, after three previous arrests for robbery, 4 open cases, stole from Nordstrom. Judge is asking about open warrants. Defendant is handcuffed behind his back with winter parka half off. Halloween evening nears, the sun sets before 6 pm, soon 5 pm...

Earlier the jury was selected in the New York criminal case about the Trump organization(s). Inner City Press live tweeted on October 25, here:

Prospective juror Ms. Coolibaly is asked if she take fairly listen to cooperator Weisselberg.

She says yes. 

Ms. Coolibaly is asked if her mother working in Accounts Receivable will be a problem. Seems not. 

Next up: an adjunct at NYU, in "advanced archival" -- No conflicts seen.

Next man says he likes to write political criticism. Uh oh 

Prospective juror: It's not that I have a problem with propaganda. I just need to know what it is. I am interested in income disparities, some people pay different interest rates... "what happened in 2008, what the Federal government did for some and not others"  

Con't: "I lived in a dictatorship for a while... When I lost my freedom overseas, I saw you don't have any type of protection. The system needs work."

 Counsel: "Thank you for those remarks... Could you be fair?"

A: I wouldn't bring my idealism to this. 

 Prosecutor: The defendants here are corporations, but it must be beyond a reasonable doubt. Can you hold us to that standard? Can you call it like you see it? 

Last juror in (this) pool: Yes I could do it.

Centre street video here. 

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Moshe Pleads Guilty To Immigration Fraud Using Blog Posts Ghost Written In Ukraine

 

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell book
BBC - Honduras - CIA Trial book - NY Mag

SDNY COURTHOUSE, Oct 31 –    Yuri Moshe was charged with others with immigration fraud through "Russian America" with offices in Brooklyn and Manhattan, in a case Inner City Press has been covering. 

 Moshe and his co-defendants filed false asylum claims based on their clients blog posts and political opinions. But, the indictment alleged, the clients "did not have the desire, topical knowledge, journalistic ability and/or technical expertise to write blogposts."

So Moshe referred them to Tymur Shcherbyna, a Ukraine-based purported journalist, to ghost-write them. 

 On October 31, 2022, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Magistrate Judge Barbara C. Moses held a change of plea proceeding. 

   Moshe pled guilty to count 1 of the superseding indictment, Conspiracy to Commit Immigration Fraud. It will now be up to District Judge J. Paul Oetken to accept the plea, or not. There are five other co-defendants.

The case is US v. Moshe, et al., 21-cr-92 (Oetken / Moses)

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UN Staffer Got 15 Years For Raping 13 Women 1 While at State Dept Now With Empty Claims

 

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell book
BBC - Honduras - CIA Trial book - NY Mag

SDNY COURTHOUSE, Oct 29 – Into a courthouse periodically enflamed by sex abuse scandal cases, from Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to the quieter echo of Kevin Spacey, UN rapist Karim Elkorany came in quietly, indicted and quickly released on bond. 

  On October 27, 2022, after a soft plea deal and the testimony of victims including about how Elkorany while a UN "Communications Specialist" drugged and raped them, including in the US, Elkorany was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Inner City Press live tweeted it, here - and immediately sought comment, again, from the UN and its spokespeople Stephane Dujarric and Melissa Fleming. None has been received, days later.

But the US State Department, where Elkorany was working during at least one of his rapes, has issued an empty policy statement, including a claim Antony Blinken and Linda Thomas - Greenfield do nothing on: "The United States expects the leadership of the United Nations and other International Organizations to take meaningful action to support accountability and transparency through, among others, the following: the conduct of timely and survivor-centered investigations; response efforts driven by the needs, experiences, and resiliencies of those most at risk of SEAH; clear reporting and response systems, including to inform Member States of allegations or incidents; and accountability measures, including termination of employment or involvement of law enforcement, as needed" - this while Guterres covers up rapes, refuses Press question and in fact bans the Press that asks. The State Department is lying, including to itself.

 Any objective review of the case - at least 13 forcible rapes after drugging - make it clear it deserved more attention.

Was it the victims, aid workers in far away Iraq?

Or that the perpetrator was himself ostensibly an aid worker, or Communications Specialist, for the United Nations under Melissa Fleming?   

Fleming, who had been Elkorany's boss, refused repeatedly to answer email questions about the case, as did UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric. They banned the questioner, and refused to answer even a letter from pro bono law firm Quinn Emanuel.   

 Like Elkorany, who flashed his blue UN - and US -- passports to get security to allow his to keep raping, they had immunity. That Elkorany, allowed to return to the US by UNSG Antonio Guterres, raped Victim 2 here too made no difference to them.  

 Despite the graphic description of penetration and surgeries, the text messages with a big-name journalist / UN Correspondent bragging about grinding up Zanax and causing pain, little was done. Outside of Inner City Press, and musing pieces involving Kurt Wheelock, there was little coverage.

A plea deal to a mere 33 months, when Maxwell got 20 years, and R.Kelly 30 years.

What went wrong? More on Patreon here.

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UN Guterres Covers up Ukraine War Now His 1 Claim Black Sea Grain Deal Stalls, Trammo

 

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell Book
BBC-Guardian UK - Honduras - NY Mag Song

UN GATE, Oct 29 – As he slowly kills the UN, Antonio Guterres has failed on Ukraine at every stage.

He assured that there would be no invasion, then through Melissa Fleming's Department of Global Communications ordered UN officials to not call it an invasion or a war. UN DGC email here.

After behind chided, below, Guterres tried to get back in the game through food. He's now been trying to raise money for commodities firm Trammo, involved in litigation in US courts for poisoning the water in Puerto Rico.

On October 29, Guterres lone claim to action on Ukraine teetered, as his spokesman Stephane Dujarric refused Inner City Press questions about UN rapist Karim Elkorany: "We’ve seen the reports from the Russian Federation regarding the suspension of their participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative following an attack on the Russian Black Sea Fleet. We are in touch with the Russian authorities on this matter."

Later, more formally: "UN Coordinator for the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Amir Abdulla, was notified today by the delegation of the Russian Federation to the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) of its concerns about the safety of movements of merchant vessels under the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Mr. Abdulla brought this to the attention of the Turkish and Ukrainian delegations to the JCC.   Earlier today (29 October), nine vessels (five outbound and four inbound) transited safely the maritime humanitarian corridor established by the JCC. There are more than ten vessels both outbound and inbound waiting to enter the corridor.  A joint agreement has not been reached at the JCC for the movement of inbound and outbound vessels on 30 October.  The JCC is reviewing recent developments, assessing the impact on JCC’s operations and is discussing next steps."

 What a failure. Oct 29 song here.

 We'll have more on this.

Predictably and some would say intentionally, Guterres got played. Because he's spend six years (so far) calling Putin papacito. Week 21 song here; Week 22 song (on Odesa) here.

 Week 23 song (on POWs) here.

   Week 33 song (including Trammo) here.

      Week 36 song including Elkorany, grain here

 Today's UN is worse that the League of Nations, which never had personnel raping children in Africa and Haiti and then flying home with impunity, while the head man and his censor (here, Melissa Fleming) ban the Press that asks what is being done for the Organization's victims. Banned Inner City Press will have more on this, as well. 

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