Priests & Politicians — The Mafia of The Soul — February 2022 Edition
February 28, 2022
Why Vladimir Putin has already lost this war
“The Russians may yet conquer Ukraine. But Ukrainians have shown in the past few days that they will not let them hold it.” — The Guardian
February 28, 2022
Many predicted Nato expansion would lead to war. Those warnings were ignored
“It has long been clear that Nato expansion would lead to tragedy. We are now paying the price for the US’s arrogance.” — The Guardian
February 27, 2022
Trayvon Martin anniversary: Up to 18,000 killed under ‘racist’ stand-your-ground laws since 2012. Why has nothing changed?
“In 10 years since shooting of teenager, the laws, purported to protect the public, have done the opposite. Hundreds of Americans, a disproportionately high number of them Black people, are being shot and killed as a result of controversial “stand your ground” laws that have swept across the nation since the killing of Trayvon Martin, activists say.” — Independent
February 27, 2022
Reviled, harassed, abused: Narendra Modi’s most trenchant critic speaks out
“The Indian journalist Rana Ayyub speaks about the campaign to silence her that has led to charges of sedition and ‘defaming Hindus’…. As a journalist, Ayyub has been repeatedly warning that the Modi government’s hostility to Muslims will tip into violence. And as a Muslim journalist, she knows it already has. She is not just reporting on India’s dangerous slide into authoritarianism and violent extremism, she is living it. In the past few weeks she has had police charges filed against her in multiple states and been subjected to a vicious propaganda campaign accompanied by horrific online abuse.” — The Guardian
February 26, 2022
El Salvador’s former president charged over 1989 massacre of six Jesuit priests
“Alfredo Cristiani and former military officers to face trial in long process to bring killings’ masterminds to justice…. Prosecutors also announced charges against a dozen other people, including former military officers, over the massacre. The list of charges will apparently include murder, terrorism and conspiracy.” — The Guardian
February 24, 2022
Trump and his supporters praise Putin and dismiss Biden as crisis unfolds
“A vocal group of Republicans and right-leaning commentators is expressing praise and admiration for the president’s strength and shrewdness. President Vladimir Putin, that is.” — Washington Post
February 23, 2022
U.S. Maternal Mortality Rate Among Black Women Is Nearly Triple That of White, Hispanic Peers
“In 2020, 861 women died of maternal causes in the U.S., up from 754 in 2019, according to a new CDC report…. That puts the 2020 maternal mortality rate at 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births, a figure that is more than double the rate in countries including the U.K., Canada or France.” — Bloomberg
February 23, 2022
Why a New Era of War is Dawning — And What Putin Really Wants
“What Russia’s Invasion Really Means For the World and the Future.” — Eudaimonia and Co
February 23, 2022
How many people died believing vaccine misinformation?
“What kind of message is sent when Fox News host Tucker Carlson compares coronavirus vaccine mandates to medical experiments conducted by Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, as he didJan. 21? Or Mr. Carlson’s many previous broadcasts raising questions in a haphazard way and relying on dubious sources?… How many of the 551,168 covid deaths in the United States since Jan. 1, 2021, could have been averted with vaccines? Too many.” — The Washington Post
February 22, 2022
The West Is Sleepwalking Into War in Ukraine
“With some notable exceptions, opinion and commentary in the West have solidified around a black-and-white view of the situation in Ukraine. The near-total consensus is it’s all Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fault; Russia’s stated grievances have no legitimate basis whatsoever; and the only conceivable Western response is to refuse to make any concessions, stand up to Moscow, send more U.S. troops to Europe (though not to Ukraine itself), and proceed with tough economic sanctions if Russia invades.” — Foreign Policy
February 22, 2022
UN expert raps China, Russia for arming Myanmar despite ‘atrocity crimes’
“In a report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva: “Despite the evidence of the military junta’s atrocity crimes being committed with impunity since launching a coup last year, UN Security Council members Russia and China continue to provide the Myanmar military junta with numerous fighter jets, armored vehicles, and in the case of Russia, the promise of further arms,… During this same period, Serbia has authorized rockets and artillery for export to the Myanmar military,” — Radio Free Asia
February 22, 2022
Ukraine crisis: Russia orders troops into rebel-held regions — BBC
February 22. 2022
South Koreans overwhelmingly want nuclear weapons to confront China and North Korea, poll finds — The Washington Post
February 21, 2022
An Obscure Corner of Wall Street Is Making Billions Trading Inflation
“The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. partner is a leading practitioner of the obscure art of inflation trading, a niche business that’s exploded — very lucratively — for some of the world’s major banks and hedge funds…. At JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York, global head of non-linear rates Gil Holmes helped generate about $300 million from inflation trading last year, while traders at Barclays Plc and Morgan Stanley also profited, people familiar with the situation said. In all, the biggest Wall Street banks shared some $2.3 billion from the business in 2021, more than double what they made in 2019, according to data from Vali Analytics Ltd.” — Bloomberg
February 21, 2022
Uttar Pradesh: India’s Muslim victims of hate crimes live in fear
“As Uttar Pradesh, one of India’s most polarised states, votes for a new government, the spotlight is on its 40 million Muslims. BBC Hindi’s Kirti Dubey tracked the status of four cases involving hate crimes against Muslims during Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s tenure…. Lynchings and hate speech targeting Muslims have regularly made headlines since 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to power. — BBC
February 21, 2022
Online “auctions” of women are just the latest attacks on Muslims in India
“Reports of Islamophobia and misinformation against Muslims, particularly women, are rife. Something has to change…. Muslim women in particular, many of whom have been vocal about the rising tide of Hindu nationalism since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014.” — MIT Technology Review
February 20, 2022
Revealed: Credit Suisse leak unmasks criminals, fraudsters and corrupt politicians
“A massive leak from one of the world’s biggest private banks, Credit Suisse, has exposed the hidden wealth of clients involved in torture, drug trafficking, money laundering, corruption and other serious crimes…. They include a human trafficker in the Philippines, a Hong Kong stock exchange boss jailed for bribery, a billionaire who ordered the murder of his Lebanese pop star girlfriend and executives who looted Venezuela’s state oil company, as well as corrupt politicians from Egypt to Ukraine. One Vatican-owned account in the data was used to spend €350m (£290m) in an allegedly fraudulent investment in London property that is at the centre of an ongoing criminal trial of several defendants, including a cardinal.” — The Guardian
February 20, 2022
Benedict XVI and the German Church He Served Seek Forgiveness in Very Different Ways
“The Church hierarchy has been signalling a new openness to change, but a plea from the Pope emeritus, following the release of a report on abuse, follows an old path. The tone of his letter seems to indicate that age and solitude have mellowed the once high-handed prefect. But a close reading suggests that, instead of admitting any guilt, he took care not to, using the passive voice and the plural pronouns (‘we ourselves’) to avoid saying what he himself had done and what he had failed to do. He confesses only that he, like every believer, stands in need of God’s mercy. The letter is a ‘mea maxima culpa’ with minimal ‘culpa’ and no ‘mea’ to speak of. ‘At no time does he ask for personal forgiveness for any actions of his own!’ the prominent Irish clerical-abuse survivor Marie Collins told the Catholic news site Crux. As if to make that clear, the letter’s release included an “addendum” from Benedict’s legal team, which sought again to clear him of any responsibility.” — The New Yorker
February 17, 2022
More Polish opposition figures found to have been targeted by Pegasus spyware
“Analysis by Amnesty International linked them to Pegasus Project leak of more than 50,000 phone numbers.” — The Guardian
February 17, 2022
Kashmir men spend over 100 days in jail for cheering Pakistan win
“Three Kashmiri students languish in jail for celebrating Pakistan’s win against India at the T20 cricket World Cup in October. …Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath — known for anti-Muslim bigotry — had warned sedition law would be slapped against people who celebrated the Pakistan cricket team’s victory against India.” — Aljazeera
February 16, 2022
Why the panic among Boris Johnson’s allies? Because they know Brexit is unravelling — Michael Heseltine
“I’m the president of European Movement — Andrew Adonis is chair…. ‘If Boris goes, Brexit goes’ said it clearly enough. Adonis duly tweeted it, to the horror of the pro-Brexit press…. If the prime minister is found to have lied to parliament and to the people, what defence is there to the allegation that the Brexit cause — mired in similar controversy over lies and dissembling — was conducted with the same disregard for the truth?” — The Guardian
February 16, 2022
Money That Won Melania Trump NFT Came From Melania Trump Wallet
“The source of funds for the winning bid in Melania Trump’s first NFT auction appears to be the creators of the project themselves. A series of blockchain transactions show that the cryptocurrency used to purchase Trump’s nonfungible token came from a wallet that belongs to the entity that originally listed the project for sale.” — Bloomberg
February 16, 2022
On the Edge of a Polish Forest, Where Some of Putin’s Darkest Fears Lurk
“A U.S. missile facility in Poland is at the heart of an issue animating the Kremlin’s calculations over whether to go to war against Ukraine…. Mr. Putin has been fuming about American missiles near Russia’s border since the Romanian site went into operation in 2016, but the Polish facility, located near the village of Redzikowo, is only about 100 miles from Russian territory and barely 800 miles from Moscow itself…. Are we deploying missiles near the U.S. border? No, we are not. It is the United States that has come to our home with its missiles and is already standing at our doorstep,’ Mr. Putin said in December at his annual news conference.” — The New York Times
February 15, 2022
Qandeel Baloch: Pakistan court frees brother for the killing
“A Pakistani appeals court on Monday acquitted the brother of social media star Qandeel Baloch of her murder, a 2016 killing that sparked national outrage and changes in laws covering so-called ‘honour killings.’… Hundreds of women are killed each year in Pakistan by family members over perceived offences to honour, including elopement, fraternisation with men outside marriage or other infractions against conservative Muslim values on female modesty.” — Aljazeera
February 15, 2022
A history of the anti-vax movement and how it’s been tackled through the ages, from Elvis to Covid vaccines
“Dr Paula Larrson, a researcher at the University of Oxford, found that anti-vaccine activists at the time sought to minimise the threat of smallpox, decried the vaccine as part of a wider conspiracy theory, and claimed inoculation causes other illnesses — all of which have been used in connection with Covid-19…. One 1885 Canadian anti-vaccination pamphlet read: ‘Fathers and mothers of Montreal, you are committing a crime against your innocent and helpless children by forcing this filthy, useless and dangerous rite upon them.’” — iNews
February 15, 2022
U.S. ‘excess deaths’ during pandemic surpassed 1 million, with covid killing most but other diseases adding to the toll, CDC says — The Washington Post
February 11, 2022
Pressure on Italian Catholic church to face child sexual abuse reckoning
“Unofficial estimates say country may have highest number of victims of paedophile priests in world.” — The Guardian
February 10, 2022
El Salvador frees woman jailed for murder after a miscarriage
“The woman has already served 10 years of a 30-year sentence on charges of killing her baby. Authorities in El Salvador have freed a woman who had been jailed on charges of killing her baby after suffering a miscarriage, according to a local rights group.” — Aljazeera
February 9, 2022
China’s Anti-Graft Show Is Educational, With Unintended Lessons
A documentary created to celebrate the success of China’s anti-corruption campaign instead has aired the dirty laundry of the Communist Party…. It felt like watching Mafia dons recounting their most glorious criminal acts in a reality show. Except these were former officials of the Chinese Communist Party playing themselves in an anti-corruption documentary series. The documentary work, produced by the state, was meant to celebrate the success of China’s top leader Xi Jinping’s signature anti-corruption campaign. But the series seemed to prove the opposite: The party hasn’t figured out a way to stamp out corruption. — The New York Times
February 8, 2022
Revenge of the Patriarchs — Why Autocrats Fear Women
“It is not a coincidence that women’s equality is being rolled back at the same time that authoritarianism is on the rise…. Aspiring autocrats and patriarchal authoritarians have good reason to fear women’s political participation: when women participate in mass movements, those movements are both more likely to succeed and more likely to lead to more egalitarian democracy.” — Foreign Affairs
February 8, 2022
Evidence police in Belfast colluded with loyalists in the Troubles, report finds
“Evidence of ‘collusive behaviour’ between police and loyalist paramilitary groups related to murders during the Troubles have been uncovered by a watchdog investigation. Marie Anderson, the police ombudsman for Northern Ireland, said she was ‘deeply concerned’ by the ‘significant failures’ she had uncovered in her investigation into murders and attempted murders carried out by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) in south Belfast in the 1990s.” — The Guardian
February 8, 2022
As Officials Look Away, Hate Speech in India Nears Dangerous Levels
Activists and analysts say calls for anti-Muslim violence — even genocide — are moving from the fringes to the mainstream, while political leaders keep silent…. ‘You have persons giving hate speech, actually calling for genocide of an entire group, and we find reluctance of the authorities to book these people,’ Rohinton Fali Nariman, a recently retired Indian Supreme Court judge, said in a public lecture. ‘Unfortunately, the other higher echelons of the ruling party are not only being silent on hate speech, but almost endorsing it.’” — The New York Times
February 8, 2022
Erik Prince Helped Raise Money for Conservative Spy Venture
“New details reveal the ambitions of an operation intended to infiltrate opponents of Donald Trump, including moderate Republicans as well as progressives and Democrats…. Mr. Prince took on the role of celebrity pitchman, according to interviews and documents, raising money for Mr. Seddon’s spying operation, which was aimed at gathering dirt that could discredit politicians and activists in several states. After Mr. Prince and Mr. Seddon met in August 2018 with Susan Gore, a Wyoming heiress to the Gore-Tex fortune, Ms. Gore became the project’s main benefactor.” — The New York Times
February 7, 2022
How Ethiopia used a Turkish drone in a strike that killed nearly 60 civilians
“With a flash in the dark, the building was struck by a drone-delivered bomb, killing at least 59 people and gravely injuring dozens more.” — The Washington Post
February 5, 2022
Amnesty says Israel is an apartheid state. Many Israeli politicians agree
“Groups that made little criticism of Israel’s military collaboration with South Africa’s white minority regime now profess concern that Amnesty’s report diminishes the suffering of black Africans under apartheid.” — The Guardian
February 5, 2022
Kashmir journalist arrested amid widening crackdown
“Police in Indian-administered Kashmir have arrested a prominent journalist under stringent “anti-terror” law and sedition, accusing him of ‘glorifying terrorism’ and ‘spreading fake news.’ in an intensifying crackdown on press freedom in the Himalayan region.” — Aljazeera
February 5. 2022
GOP censures Cheney, Kinzinger as it assails Jan. 6 probe
“The Republican National Committee censured two GOP lawmakers on Friday for participating on the committee investigating the violent Jan. 6 insurrection and assailed the panel for leading a ‘persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.’… The censure accuses Cheney and Kinzinger of ‘participating in a Democrat-led persecution.’” — AP News
February 4, 2022
Former German chancellor Schroeder nominated to join Gazprom board
“…amid tensions between Moscow and the West over whether Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine. Gazprom said it had proposed Schroeder, who was Germany’s chancellor during the early years of Vladimir Putin’s presidency in Russia, as one of 11 candidates to be appointed at its annual shareholder meeting on June 30, 2022. Schroeder is also a board member at Russia’s top oil producer Rosneft and head of the shareholders’ committee of Nord Stream, the Gazprom-controlled pipeline bringing gas from Russia to Germany.” — Reuters
February 4, 2022
‘The First Thing You Need to Know About Boris Johnson Is He’s a Liar
“The video contains strong language and adult humor you wouldn’t normally see in The Times, but after being taken for fools, the British public is through being polite.” — The New York Times
February 4, 2022
‘Dear White Staffers’: Anonymous testimonials about workplace culture grip Capitol Hill
“Concerns about low pay, hostile work environments and racial and gender discrimination have gripped Capitol Hill over the past week as an Instagram account called “Dear White Staffers” has posted hundreds of testimonials from current and former aides that tell a dispiriting story about what it’s like to work in the halls of Congress.” — The Washington Post
February 4, 2022
The Exploitation of ‘Freedom’ in America
“From the start of the American experiment the language of freedom applied only to a privileged few. At the time of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, only 2 percent of the city’s population were qualified to vote…. This freedom for the white master extended to torture, rape and lifelong control over the humans he (or she) owned. In early American history, claims for men’s freedom permitted domestic violence against women, and a husband’s prerogative and privacy allowed him to beat his wife….” — The New York Times
February 3, 2022
Amnesty International, joining other human rights groups, says Israel is ‘committing the crime of apartheid’
“London-based Amnesty International said Israel’s ‘system of oppression and domination against the Palestinian people,’ both in the occupied Palestinian territories and within its internationally recognized borders, fit the legal definition of apartheid and constituted ‘a crime against humanity.’” — The Washington Post
February 3, 2022
Former Joe Manchin aides lobbied his office, Congress on Build Back Better during lead-up to senator rejecting bill
Former aides to Sen. Joe Manchin lobbied his office and others in Congress on behalf of several corporate giants in the runup to his announcement that he wouldn’t support President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion climate and social spending bill. The former Manchin aides lobbied on behalf of companies like Unilever, T-Mobile, Best Buy, Kinder Morgan, Perpetua Resources and Gevo…. They’ve previously lobbied for industries such as coal, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, tobacco and finance. Manchin himself has seen an uptick in contributions and corporations throughout the past year.” — CNBC
February 3, 2022
‘Nobody can say anything’: China cracks down on dissent ahead of Olympics
“A chill is blowing through Chinese civil society as activists, journalists and academics report receiving police warnings and censorship of their social media platforms in recent weeks as Beijing prepares to host the Winter Olympics beginning on Friday. In mid-January, the Beijing-based human rights activist Hu Jia said in a tweet that China’s state security apparatus was summoning activists around the country to question them and warn them to stay silent.” The Guardian
February 2, 2022
How The 2nd Largest Armed Force In The World Is Attacking America
“America has both the #1 and #2 armed force in the world. The first is devoted to terrorizing the world. The second is devoted to terrorizing themselves. That’s right, America has more men at arms occupying its own citizens than the entire military strength of its nearest competitor, China.” — Indi.Ca
February 2, 2022
Wealth Inequality Is the Highest Since World War II
“The tool, which calculates how economic growth is distributed across income and wealth groups, is called Realtime Inequality. It’s valuable for two reasons: It gives fresh insight into what has happened to various strata of the U.S. population during the pandemic; and it’s effectively a prototype for a measure that could someday be officially calculated and published by the federal government.” — The New York Times
February 2, 2022
Indian health workers allege widespread vaccine certificate fraud
“Health workers on the frontline of India’s Covid vaccination programme say people are being officially registered as double vaccinated without receiving both doses because of pressure to meet government targets.” — The Guardian
February 2, 2022
Fury over early release of Chicago officer convicted of Black teenager’s murder
“Jason Van Dyke, who was convicted of murder in 2018, was sentenced to six years and nine months for the murder of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, after video showed Van Dyke shooting the teenager 16 times. Van Dyke is now set to be released on 3 February, almost three years ahead of schedule…. ‘He served just a fraction of the 18 years prosecutors originally sought, let alone the maximum 96 years Van Dyke could have received for his charges…. In October 2014, Van Dyke and another officer responded to calls of a teenager carrying a knife and allegedly damaging cars in the South Side area of Chicago. Within six seconds of exiting his police vehicle, Van Dyke shot McDonald 16 times as the teenager was walking away. Many of the bullets hit McDonald as he fell to the ground.” — The Guardian
February 1, 2022
Bomb Threats Reported At Historically Black Colleges For Second Day
“For the second day in a row, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) were the target of bomb threats across the country, with this latest wave coming on the first day of Black History Month. Campuses were shut down and classes moved to remote learning following the threats impacting more than a dozen schools as of Tuesday morning.” — HufPost
The Unfolding Story is Updated Regularly in The Osho Times
