Category Archives: Government Oppression

Do you believe coronavirus is caused by 5G? Are you afraid that Bill Gates wants to control your mind remotely using a 5G nano chip? Do you find yourself wanting to say wake up sheeple, to those claiming the coronavirus is dangerous?

If so, you may be experiencing symptoms of covidspiracy, a highly infectious outbreak of misinformation which has spread to thousands of internet users in recent weeks. Fear and uncertainty caused by coronavirus and compounded by social isolation has proved the ideal breeding ground for outlandish conspiracy theories implicating Covid-19 and 5G in a nefarious plot.

Even in an era defined by fake news, 5G conspiracy theories stand out for their ability to capture peoples imagination despite a lack of credible evidence. In June, opposition MPs held a debate on the adverse health effects of 5G in Parliament. Celebrities including Amanda Holden, Eamonn Holmes and Amir Khan have endorsed the idea that 5G is dangerous; and just last week more than 50 network masts were damaged in a spate of arson attacks across the UK.

Neither the fact that 5G radio waves are unable to penetrate cells, nor affect the spread of coronavirus to countries lacking 5G infrastructure, has been able to deter conspiracists. From the claim that 5G radio waves suppress the immune system, aiding the transmission of coronavirus, to the belief that Covid-19 is a media hoax designed to distract the public while the government rolls out dangerous 5G technology, its clear that public mistrust runs deep.

But who does the twitterati hold responsible? Well, by far the most popular theory online exposes a plan by Bill Gates to develop a coronavirus vaccine which will implant microchips into unsuspecting sheeple allowing him to turn humanity into a remote-controlled toy colony with the help of 5G command signals. To give a sense of the scale and tone of this particular theory, a recent YouTube video labelling Bill Gates the anti-Christ quickly racked up 1.8 million views before being taken down.

Pinpointing the origin and development of a conspiracy theory is a murky business. Nonetheless, it is likely that the present hysteria over 5G has its roots in older and more credible geopolitical concerns. Just to be clear: this is not to say that there is any basis to the belief that 5G technology is inherently dangerous. Rather, the current explosion of conspiracy theories is linked to longstanding government concerns that 5G infrastructure provided by Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications company, threatens UK security.

In 2019 British Telecoms removed infrastructure provided by Huawei from its 4G network over concerns that the company could pose a threat to UK cybersecurity. In January 2020, the government debated the role Huawei should play in the UKs 5G network deciding that Huaweis market share will be capped at 35 per cent and its equipment should not be used in sensitive parts of the UKs communications networks, including on nuclear and military sites.

While MI5 has determined that the threat to UK security remains low, ministers in the UK have been heavily lobbied by Washington to prohibit Huaweis involvement altogether, with one US official comparing Huawei to the mafia. President Trump, already a hero in alt-right internet circles where 5G conspiracies are now flourishing, has been the most forthright opponent of Chinese involvement in 5G and it doesnt take a genius to guess why. Trump has repeatedly stated that the US need to win the race to become the worlds leading provider of 5G infrastructure, even going so far as to blacklist Huawei in America late last year.

There are strong parallels between the high-level government concerns over 5G and the more speculative concerns to be found in shady internet forums. They both have a deep mistrust of a powerful institution at their core. Both recognise the potential of technology to facilitate intrusion and assert authoritarian control. Both channel their anxieties into aggressive mistrust, and seek to re-assert control over inalienable rights. The language of suspicion used by politicians regarding 5G lends credibility to the more fanciful theories circulating online.

The recent surge in covidspiracy theories is likely a reaction against the seizure of unprecedented powers by governments worldwide in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Civil liberties, so often taken for granted, have been called into question by the lockdown of some 3.9 billion people. Meanwhile, the growth in surveillance technologies used to trace the virus are a demonstration in government power casting doubt on whether former freedoms will be returned.

Anxiety over the rollout of 5G has the potential to separate itself from a troubling association with alt-right ideologies and become a signifier for concerns about government surveillance, monitoring and oppression. Setting network masts alight is misguided to say the least, but healthier forms of suspicion about the technology that will be introduced as we combat this crisis, alongside greater public scrutiny of government decision-making and increased vigilance in safeguarding civil liberties, may prove to be a vital check on power in the months ahead.

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Covidspiracy Uncovered: The truth about 5G - Shout Out UK

When I am asked about the land rights struggle in this country, I often liken the struggle to trying to build a sandcastle in a wind storm and how even when we get some foundational structure in comes the government to knock it down.

The struggle for land rights has been a long one and one that has been hard fought and continues to me so. One of the most pivotal protest chants is what do we want? Land Rights. When do we want them? Now! and this continues during protests to this day.

Why? Because the struggle continues.

Every step in the direction of meaningful reform to address the issue of theft of this land is then countered through government legislation and this mean spirited response to every small victory we have has become emblematic of the Australian government.

There are no shortage of examples of this greedy entitlement, but perhaps one of the most disgraceful examples is the government response to the case of TheWik Peoples v The State of Queensland in which, on this day in 1997, it announced its 10 point plan.

The Wik case was an incredibly important one not solely for the cultural importance of the Wik peoples being recognised but it was also important from a legal perspective in considering the discreet point of law regarding extinguishment because there had been so many cases where lands were being leased without regard to Indigenous people.

In summary, for those not across the detail of this case, the High Court rightly determined that the mere grant of a pastoral lease does not necessarily extinguish any remaining nativetitle rights. The High Court stopped short of stating that the leases were extinguished. They determined that if there was a conflict of rights, the native title holders came off second best. If there was noconflict, the rights of each co-exist.

Despite this nuanced legal decision, the government and its biggest constituents farming and mining scrambling for control. They set about on a propaganda campaign that vilified Aboriginal people and the response was devastating as reactionary behaviour showed the true nature of the greedy capitalist.

At all times the Wik people conducted themselves with dignity. They used the colonial legal structures to affirm what was known at a cultural level in order to make the government see and understand that the Indigenous peoples of this country are not interested in land grab or commoditisation of land we want the non-Indigenous community to understand the responsibility of caring for the land, of belonging to it and maintaining the synergistic relationship which gives life to our cultural, communities and ceremonies.

Instead, the government set out on a deliberate campaign to mislead the mainstream as they termed everyone other than Indigenous people. The Deputy Prime Minister, Tim Fisher, and Queensland Premier, Rob Bobridge, made claims that the High Court decision went beyond their duties and attacked the High Court for purported judicial activism against mainstream interests. Freshly elected Howard government went into battle for the mainstream and forged ahead with their 10 point plan to amend the Native Title Acta plan which led to one of the longest debates in the Australian Senates history.

The reason for the outcry from the political heavyweights was not the decision itself because the cost was nought. It was no great victory for Indigenous people, it was no civil rights victory, but merely a decision that the grant of a pastoral lease did not necessarily extinguish Native Title and in fact,wouldextinguish Native Title to the extent of any inconsistency. There was no loss in a capitalist sense, but this was an extraordinary loss of face for the government who were used to being in the drivers seat steering public opinion with respect to Indigenous people. The Indigenous people using the system in this manner for a moral victory with no interest in finance did not fit the narrative being pedalled since invasion.

Howard and his cohort spoke about the government fighting for the mainstream and trying to to protect land owners. Yes he said that. He then announced the Wik 10 point plan with full support from the mainstream public who believed the nonsense being circulated by the government and media that had no factual or legal basis.

The Wik 10 point plan undermined the nature of the native title legislation enacted under the Keating government. Although imperfect, the intent of the Keating enacted native title legislation was to confer a benefit whereas the Howard 10 point plan cut across this and acted more as a sanction or tool to extinguish.

In fact, those within the ranks of the Howard government were spruiking that the 10 point plan would bring bucketloads of extinguishment with the intent to undermine Indigenous people apparent from the outset.

Mick Dodson said at the time, By purporting to confirm extinguishment by inconsistent grants, the Commonwealth is purposely pre-empting the development of the common law not allowing sufficient time to integrate the belated recognition of native title into Australias land management system. This does not require the obliteration of indigenous interests so as to favour non-indigenous interests.

Exactly! And yet, they did it any way. They set about to obliterate the chances of native title claims for so many by ensuring inconsistency and fixing the laws to make it so and this has been the devastation we have been trying to claw back from since.

This behaviour from Howard, he has since reflected upon and said that he could have handled better but that it had unnerved us and I dont think I handled that next six months all that well.

Understatement but important when you consider this is about as close to a mea culpa as you could get from a man famous for refusing to apologise and digging his heels in. So as Howard spent many years undermining us and teaching his successors how to do the same, we know our fight continues.

TheWik 10 point plan set us back, demonstrated the lengths that the power structures in this country will go to in order to ensure that their power remains along with our oppression. What they didnt count on was that this serves only to solidify our resolve to keep going.

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Land rights sand castle in a wind storm | - IndigenousX

When medical experts warned us that this virus was especially dangerous for patients with underlying medical conditions, I was scared, given that this nation suffers from multiple comorbidities. Will our weak and overburdened healthcare system be able to contain the shock? Our socioeconomic reality also merits concern. Many of us have no social safety nets, reside in slum communities unfamiliar with social distancing, lack access to basic sanitation, and can't eat if we don't work. While some claim that the virus does not discriminate, it has proven otherwise. The virus brought here by those who can afford to travel will first kill the poor.

I am more afraid, however, that this crisis will end without fostering change in us. We may overcome this disease but remain blind to the causes of this nations social pathology. Patricia Licuanan postulated that one weakness of the Filipino character is our lack of self-analysis and reflection. More than a century ago, Rizal also reproached our weaknesses (i.e. lethargy and subservience), and such criticism is still relevant today.

Before this crisis, most of us lived our lives with little or no help from the government. We were too preoccupied with our own survival that we saw politics not as our concern. This distance made us forget the true meaning of public service. When we exercised our right to suffrage, we voted not to effect change, but rather to just fulfil our civic duty and/or receive our share of the spoils. (READ: Robredo hits 'growing culture of apathy, impunity, lies')

But now that we are locked up in our houses, we can see that governance can actually be a matter of life and death. The crisis exposed the incompetence of many elected officials, and the long-standing bureaucratic pathologies that have compromised our development. The same problems were there: rampant corruption, red tape, nepotism, patronage, incompetence, lack of coordination from government offices, selective justice, and the weaponization of the law, etc.

Nothing much has actually changed: red tape and politicization caused delays in the delivery of aid; brain drain deprived us of important professionals; our justice system was more apt at prosecuting the powerless; and our history of marginalization left our cultural minorities more vulnerable to crises. We failed to realize that this insurgency is a result of our inability to solve historical grievances and structural problems.

Adding insult to injury is how we condone oppression and become perpetrators ourselves. Nepotism floods the bureaucracy with incompetents. Corruption is sugarcoated as diskarte lang, and our participation in it as pakikisama. We tolerate mediocrity: Puwede na yan, Bahala na. Mediocrity is also disguised as contentment, fear, and subservience in the guise of respect.

It is disturbing that we have normalized oppression. It has become a potent anaesthetic that makes us indifferent to our own suffering and the suffering of others. We tolerate inefficiency, irregularities, and incompetence, and then call ourselves resilient. (READ: 'Those in power have long abused the Filipino's resiliency')

I am more afraid that this lack of critical reflection will go on. We will continue to vindicate a dictator, exonerate traitors, reinstate plunderers to power, elect warlords, recycle trapos, applaud demagogues, depend on the patronage of the same people who cause our suffering, tolerate inefficiency, embrace mediocrity, and listen to rubbish yet suppress valid dissent.

When this crisis ends, we need to treat governance as a matter of life and death. When we search for scapegoats, we have partly ourselves to blame. Rizal once said, after all, that there are no tyrants where there are no slaves. Rappler.com

Tobit P. Abao is a graduate of the AB Political Science program at Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT). He advocates for good governance, environmental protection, and youth engagement to effect social change.

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[OPINION] Our lack of critical reflection is the real disease in our midst - Rappler

On March 15, with 62 confirmed cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a state of national disaster.

This marked the first vast government response to the virus. No one anticipated where this pronouncement would lead us towards. Its almost as if some were in a state of denial for what was to come, and some were in a state of readiness for a nationwide lockdown to follow suit because they saw what was happening around the world.

South Africa was conditioned to understand the gravity of the situation at hand. A week later, a 21-day national lockdown was declared. Meaning, the old was gone and a rather different South Africa was about to materialise.

This, of course, hit the vulnerable the hardest and the people in relevant industries. Jobs were affected leading to salary/wage cuts or no payment at all. Household incomes were and are still shifted, and this almost crushed those who took to the streets to perform the little they could to put food on the table.

Privilege is when you think that something is not a problem because its not a problem for you personally.

David Gaider

However, the governments prime approach was people first, the economy later. The aim was to flatten the curve, reduce the spread of the virus and keep the people of South Africa safe. The Batho Pele concept was shifted onto a different state of affairs and the people of South Africa were literally put first their health was put first.

The spirit of ubuntu was one of the first things to come into light during this plight. Society thought of the vulnerable who would go hungry and one began to see the beginning of positive initiatives such as food parcel drives taken by government, individuals and foundations.

A video also emerged and trended on social media platforms of a man from the Mamelodi hostel in Pretoria, who asked a SABC journalist on live TV for R20 because he was hungry and depended on collecting scrap metal to put food on his table. This led to an outpour of donations to him and many more who took to many platforms to share their pain.

Canadian writer David Gaider said: Privilege is when you think that something is not a problem because its not a problem for you personally.

This was the case when the scenes of the queues, on the first day of lockdown, ensued. Many criticised them, while sitting in their comfortable homes, filled with food in the fridge, as if those fellow citizens chose to be stuck in such difficult lives.

Even when the social grants were provided and the long queues prevailed, some said that those were the ignorant South Africans who wanted to contract the virus.

The purpose of the national lockdown is not to maltreat and victimise South Africans, but it is to protect them and others.

Andisiwe Kumbaca

They were called all sorts of names, some called for their arrest while others portrayed them as oblivious people who undermined the rules of government. However, that was not the case. Firstly, this exposed the asperity of inequality in our nation.

The majority congested in queues were from the township and rural areas. It was not because they wanted to be, but this was their only choice because of the vulnerability they have been subjected to due to by our history. However, to others, this seemed like a ignoramus actions.

Then we reached level 4, thats when the skyf battalion ascended. This also bred many more other pseudo-revolts, such as the surfers accord. Those who were throwing their toys around, conducting social media protests on the ban of cigarettes, those who staged their disapprovals on the banning of water sports and many others failed to realise that their place of comfort was making them utter words such as those they indicated.

Then there is the ignorant division who seem to think that the lockdown regulations are synonymous to the apartheid-era.

Now, why would anyone compare regulations meant to curb the spread of a deadly virus to the brutal oppression of millions of marginalised groups, which has still life-lasting effects on these groups today. The socio-economic impact of apartheid is the reality you see in many black lives.

The purpose of the national lockdown is not to maltreat and victimise South Africans, but it is to protect them and others.

The strict regulations are set in place to condition South Africans on the seriousness of what Covid-19 entails. So the nescient statements which come from a place of privilege are unfortunate when we were doing so well as country by spreading the spirit of ubuntu and kindness during this trying time. Every life is more than important and we are all equal in the Covid-19 context. This is the fight to make sure everyone lives.

*Andisiwe Kumbaca is a Bachelor of Social Science graduate, a public servant and community activist.

Excerpt from:

Ubuntu, privilege and sheer ignorance thrive in the midst of Covid-19 - News24

A lawsuit brought by Republican lawmakers against Evers and Department of Health Secretary Andrea Palm seeking to strike down the order is now in the hands of the state's highest court. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON - Gov. Tony Evers and his administrationcame under fire Tuesday by conservative justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, one of whom compared his order to close businesses and schools amid the coronavirus outbreak to government oppression.

"Isn't it the very definition of tyranny for one person to order people to be imprisoned for going to work among other ordinarily lawful activities?" asked Justice Rebecca Bradley, who later questioned whether the administration could use the same power to order people into centers akin to the U.S. government's treatment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

Justice Rebecca Grassl Bradley listens during a 2018 Wisconsin Supreme Court session.(Photo: Michael Sears / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

A lawsuit brought by Republican lawmakers against Evers and Department of Health Secretary Andrea Palm seeking to strike down the order is now in the hands of the state's highest court, which is controlled by conservatives.

Evers and his attorney said Tuesday the lawmakers' lawsuit could upend life-saving measures and needlessly put more residents' health and their lives at risk.

"Everyone understands such an order would be absolutely devastating and extraordinarily unwise," DOJ attorney Colin Roth said. "If safer-at-home (order) is enjoined with nothing to replace it, and people pour out into the streets, that the disease will spread like wildfire and we'll be back in a terrible situation with an out-of-control virus with no weapon to fight it no treatments, no vaccine, nothing."

In response to Bradley's questioning, Roth said the order does not give Palm unlimited power. ButBradley questionedwhether the law set limits to the actions it allowed.

Live updates: The latest on coronavirus in Wisconsin

Daily digest: What you need to know about coronavirus in Wisconsin

Evers issued a public health emergency on March 12, a week after the coronavirus began to spread in the state following outbreaks in China, Europe, and on the coasts of the United States.

The governor in late March issued an order to shut down scores of businesses, bars and restaurants, and schools leading to more than 500,000 unemployment claims since then.

That order was set to expire in late April but Evers and Palm extended it by a month as cases of the virus continued to climb a move that prompted GOP lawmakers to sue.

Arguments in the suit were held virtually on Tuesday a rule adopted by the court because of the order it now will decide should continue.

The lawsuit is the latest battle between the Democratic governor and Republicans who control the state Legislature that could again reshape how state government works for Wisconsin.

At issue is whether Evers andDepartment of Health Secretary Andrea Palm acted lawfully when Palm signed the order extending restrictions on business operations and schools until May 26.

Palm signed the order using powers in state law that allow the health secretary to take sweeping actions to shutdown public lifeduring a virus outbreak like the current pandemic.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, who is running for Congress in the 5th District, and Speaker Robin Vos argue the Evers administration cannot act on its own in perpetuity and instead want a long-term plan to be crafted through the Legislature's rulemaking process.

"This case is not about whether a lockdown is a good idea,"Ryan Walsh, an attorney representing the lawmakers, said Tuesday. Instead, he argued, the case is about whether state law provides Palm with the ability to close down daily life.

Roth argued state law is clear and that if conservative justices or GOP lawmakers are unhappy with her powers, they should find a solution through legislation to change the law that he says provides those powers.

If the court sides with Fitzgerald and Vos, a legislative committee with three of the most critical lawmakers of the Evers administration's response to the virus outbreak will have veto power over the new rules.

The GOP leaders argue lawmakers should have a say in broad restrictions moving forward. Evers argues the process will bog down decision making that needs to be nimble to react to an unpredictable virus that has infected more than 8,000 people in Wisconsin in two months.

Walsh argued DHS had the authority to issue orders for certain areas of the state, but not the state as a whole, while Roth disputed that and said DHS' orders supersede less-stringent orders of local governments.

Roth noted while the majority of cases were once in Madison and Milwaukee, Brown County now has the second-highest number of cases a change that occurred within a couple weeks.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Patience Roggensack dismissed the idea that the outbreak was community-wide and could be replicated elsewhere.

"(The surge) was due to the meatpacking that's where Brown County got the flare," Roggensack said. "It wasn't just the regular folks in Brown County."

Three meatpacking plants in Brown County have been tied to outbreaks, pushing the county to have the second-highest number of cases in the state.

JBS Packerland shut down its Green Bay plant last weekafter the virus had sickened nearly 300 workers, about a quarter of the company's local employees.

Even with the microscope on food processing plants, Brown County officials have emphasized that those facilities aren't solely driving the increasein cases.

Claire Paprocki of Brown County Health and Human Services said the recent uptick stemsin part from people who don't practice social distancing, show up to work sick or continue to gather with family andfriends.

Haley BeMiller of the Green Bay Press-Gazette contributed to this report.

Contact Molly Beckat molly.beck@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MollyBeck.

Read or Share this story: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2020/05/05/lawsuit-block-tony-evers-order-stay-home-before-supreme-court/3083757001/

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GOP lawsuit to block Tony Evers' order to stay home in hands of Supreme Court - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Chinese Christians have welcomed a damning US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) report but said religious oppression in China is more severe than what is reported.Christian leaders say the space for religious freedom has severely shrunk in the past two decades, with the communist regime implementing a series of policies aiming to eradicate religion from society.The US State Department has considered China "a country of special concern" since 1999, following the USCIRF recommendation. The recent 2020 report of the commission kept China among the global worst performers in terms of religious freedom.But some religious scholars told UCA News that the most serious but often overlooked form of religious suppression in China is to make Christians sign a declaration rejecting religion under the threat of denying them government benefits such as pensions. Since 2018 in areas such as Zhejiang province, Christian teachers in schools and colleges have been forced to sign such documents, without which they are denied pensions. The oppression continues subtly, blocking people from practicing their faith, said a religious leader who requested anonymity.The USCIRF report, released on April 28, said that "the state of religious freedom in China has continued to deteriorate" over the last year, with authorities using facial recognition and artificial intelligence to monitor religious minority groups. Series of violationsIndependent experts estimate that between 900,000 and 1.8 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyzstans and other Muslims are being held in more than 1,300 concentration camps in Xinjiang, the report said.It also referred to attacks on Christians, saying that authorities had raided or seized hundreds of Christian house churches. They released members of the Autumn Rain Covenant Church in December 2018, but a court last December charged its priest, Reverend Wang Yi, with "subversion of state power" and sentenced him to nine years in prison.The report also explicitly mentioned Auxiliary Bishop Guo Xijin of Fujian Mindong Diocese and Coadjutor Bishop Cui Tai of Hebei Xuanhua Diocese. Authorities harassed and jailed them for refusing to join the official state-sanctioned church.It also alleges that various local governments, including Guangzhou, are offering cash incentives to people who report underground church groups.In addition, crosses from churches across the country have been removed, people under 18 are banned from participating in religious liturgies, and images of Jesus or Our Lady are replaced with those of President Xi Jinping.The report recommended that the US government again designate China as a country of special concern under the International Religious Freedom Act.It wanted the US to impose targeted sanctions on institutions and officials that commit serious violations of religious freedom by freezing the property of the individuals involved or barring them from entering the United States.They also suggested that if the Chinese government continues to suppress religious freedom, US government officials will not participate in the Winter Olympics hosted by Beijing in 2022.The report also asked for intensified efforts to fight back against the Chinese government's attempts to exert influence in the United States to suppress information or propaganda about religious freedom violations.'China defends freedom'Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang responded to the report at a regular press conference. He said the US committee was biased against China and has published reports over the years "denigrating China's religious policy."He claimed that China has nearly 200 million people of all kinds of religious communities, more than 380,000 religious staff, about 5,500 religious groups and more than 140,000 religious activity sites registered by law.Geng reiterated that China would never allow anyone to engage in illegal criminal activities under the guise of religion.He also urged the US to respect basic facts, reject arrogance and prejudice, stop the misguided practice of releasing reports year after year, and stop using religious issues to interfere in China's internal affairs.But a Chinese religious scholar who wished to remain anonymous argued that the report was "basically telling the truth."Chinese authorities have been increasingly cracking down on religion in recent years, with the worst crackdown on Christianity in Henan province in 2018.More severe than the demolition of crosses and churches is the "coercion of citizens to sign declarations rejecting religion under the threat of denying them benefits," he said."It is a serious violation of human rights and contempt for the law, causing regression of the legal system in society," he added. Religious oppression as cultural revolutionThe scholar said suppression in Henan province is like a rehash of the Cultural Revolution, which will cause major social trauma and great stimulation to people's minds, triggering mutual hatred and creating a social group psychological distortion."After all these years since the Cultural Revolution, people have just regained a little bit of sanity, but they didn't expect to go back all of a sudden, which is a disaster," he said.He pointed out that just 10 days before Geng Shuang responded to the report, the cross of Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Anhui province was removed. On the following day, the cross of Yongqiao Catholic Church in Suzhou City was also removed."But the Chinese communist authorities did not produce any legal documents for their action," said the scholar.Chinese official Geng Shuang was lying, said Cebu parishioner Paul Li. "The officials accused this US report of denigrating China's religious policy. Is it China's religious policy to tear down the crosses of churches? And to spend public money to demolish crosses despite churches' objections,?" Li asked.Father Thomas Wang, who has been following the developments, said authorities have never responded positively to these accusations of religious persecution, "either dodging them or outrightly evading them, or accusing others of interfering in internal affairs."Father Wang said the Chinese side sees it as a domestic fight. "I beat my wife and children behind closed doors; it has nothing to do with you, I just beat them to death, it's our family business, it's none of your business."Maria Li in Guangdong said China is no longer worried about international pressure and condemnation."They have bribed a lot of small countries and organizations; even international agencies like the World Health Organization defended it.So what are they worried about?" she asked.However, she wanted the international community to pay attention to the religious and human rights situation in China."If more countries unite and put pressure on China, authorities will desist from blatant oppressions, which will help the Church to breathe," she said.

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Chinese oppression 'worse than US reported' - UCAN

San Salvador, El Salvador: A soldier guards the city as part of preventive measures. Camilo Freedman/Zuma Press/PA Images

The big issue of the coronavirus in Latin America is hunger says the head of Cafods Latin America Department. Clare Dixon toldThe Tabletthis week that of course its a health crisis but it is also a social catastrophe one of hunger, and also human rights, inequality and violence against women.

Draconian clampdowns in El Salvador and Guatemala mean that people are allowed out only once a week to buy food but, as Clare reports, they say we dont live week by week but day by day and they would rather risk catching the virus on the streets and earn an income than die of hunger. In both countries, soldiers patrol barrios during strict lockdown, and thousands have been detained.

Cafod partners working with young people in an area of San Salvador afflicted by gang violence report families having trouble accessing food. Some subsidies are provided by the governments, but many poor people cannot access them because they do not have bank accounts.

In health terms, social distancing is difficult where several generations of the same family live in one or two rooms. El Salvadors hospitals are ill-equipped and Cafod supports a clinic set up by the Jesuit Refugee Service which has been co-opted into the national system to tackle the virus, and personal protection equipment has been provided. Cafod was already supporting the Church in challenging the government plans to privatise water which would push up its price and make it less accessible for poor communities. In Guatemala, Cafod supports community-based radio projects which provide virus information, an SOS service and information about food distribution.

In Brazil, Clare highlighted Cafod's support for the urban poor in Sao Paulo by funding womens groups taking the lead in distributing food.

It is also working with rural groups, such as the Pastoral Land Commission, to link farmers to city dwellers needing their produce.

In Manaus, the largest city in Amazonas where the virus is causing mounting deaths, Archbishop Leonardo Steiner of Manaus is spearheading calls of bishops of the Amazon region to protect the poor and indigenous communities. Cafod is providing food and health resources to the most vulnerable families and measures to help indigenous tribal people protect themselves from the virus brought into their traditional lands by loggers and mining companies. The urban poor are suffering the worst impacts of the virus through hunger and, in many countries such as Colombia and Bolivia, the crisis has brought human rights abuses Clare reports.

Columban missionaries in Peru also report that food security is a huge problem in the barrios during the eighth week of lockdown. From Lima, Fr Ed OConnell reports that while the governments response to the virus has been compassion and not repression measures taken to help the poor have left many hungry.

A lot of people not included in the censuses of 2013 and 2017 fell outside of the official lists and many of the municipalities have not had the capacity to distribute food stocks to the most needy. Seventy per cent of the people get their income in the informal sector but have no work.

Around 42 per cent of Limas families are without an income and the most desperate are leaving Lima and walking back to their home towns: along the coast both north and south; up to the Andes mountains and some down the other side into the jungle. Columbans are supporting San Benito, a barrio on the northern side of Lima, helping 60 families with essentials who have had no money and no work for seven weeks. Fr Ed says, it is a drop in the ocean but to those who do receive it it means everything. Meanwhile, there are rising numbers of virus infections, with hospitals already full, in a population already coping with TB, HIV, Dengue and Malaria.

Venezuelas prolonged social, political and economic crisis has only been compounded by the coronavirus pandemic, the archbishop emeritus of Caracas, Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino, said last week. While the cardinal acknowledged the lockdown has prevented the spread of the virus, he pointed out that informal workers are barely surviving, and only with the help of family members, social organisations and the Church. The cardinal felt the government has used the quarantine as an opportunity to strengthen its social and political control.

In South Africa, the government lockdown has been effectively observed, with support from religious leaders. Archbishop William Slattery, Emeritus of Pretoria, toldThe Tabletthis week that informal settlements or ghettos around townships have faced greatest health risks with the virus and lockdown. People are thrown together and it is hard to observe social distancing he said; and, yes, people are hungry and much of our work at the moment is trying to help them. He reported that, mobile phones are being utilised to identify those in need of food parcels and there is an emergency fund to draw on.

Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg toldThe Tabletthat although there have been just over 100 deaths recorded in South Africa until we ramp up very substantially the number of people being tested, we will not really know the extent of the infections in a country of 56 million people. He warned that prevention strategies also highlight the reality of South Africa. How can the millions of poor people who live in one-room shacks as in this Diocese be expected to maintain social distancing, stay at home, and wash their hands frequently when there is no readily available water?

The social situation in South Africa is increasingly tense, especially for both immigrants and South Africans living in townships", according to Scalabrinian missionary Fr Pablo Velasquez. I receive messages almost every day from desperate immigrant workers, with nothing to eat, among them Mozambicans who are victims of exploitation here in South Africa" he reports. Hundreds came daily to the gates of his parish of St Patrick, south of Johannesburg, to get food parcels, despite the police trying to disperse them. Fr Pablo reports that among the people queuing in front of the parish, many say "it is better to die of coronavirus than starvation".

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Zimbabwe, the coronavirus emergency exacerbates economic crisis. The government has sent the army to enforce lockdown but, according to Jesuit Fr Brian MacGarry, forcing people working in the informal sector to stay at home means condemning them to death and I fear there will be riots to which law enforcement agencies will respond with violence". The health system is collapsing, with a lack of personal protective equipment for health staff. Archbishop Robert Ndlovu of Harare has announced that 55 Catholic health institutions have been offered to the government for use in the fight against the pandemic. In Bulawayo, ongoing drought has depleted reservoirs and some neighbourhoods are facing months cut off from the municipal water supply. Regular washing of hands is impossible in a city of two mission people, despite cases of infection.

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Growing hunger and oppression face urban poor - The Tablet

Drug Topics: Hi, my name is Gabrielle Ientile with Drug Topics and today we're talking to Dr Devin English, [PhD], assistant professor at Rutgers School of Public Health. Dr Englishs research is focused on how forms of oppression lead to health inequalities in the United States, and today we're talking about how COVID-19 pandemic is affecting minorities. Dr English, thanks so much for joining us today.

English: Thank you so much for having me. And thank you for focusing on this this important topic.

Drug Topics: So before we get started, I'd love for you to provide a little bit of your professional background and your day-to-day during quarantine.

English: Absolutely. So as you mentioned, I'm assistant professor at Rutgers School of Public Health. My training is in clinical community psychology. And as you mentioned, my research focuses on how forms of prayer can lead to some of the health inequities that we see across race and sexual orientation such as those in major depression and HIV. During the pandemic, I've been teaching remotely, mentoring remotely, and trying to continue to shine the light on the ways in which structural oppression is playing out in the [United States]. But me being able to stay at home and do these things, I think is something tied into this as it's a privilege. Its something that I'm able to do that many of our neighbors are not able to do in New York and New Jersey.

Drug Topics: Thanks for shedding light on that. And this is kind of a complex topic, can you break down a little bit the issues that inform minority health and why we might be seeing disproportionately higher coronavirus cases in minority populations?

English: So bear with me a little bit because I'm going to get into a little bit of history. Because I believe to understand the inequities in COVID-19 that we're seeing, we must understand the history of the United States. In the example of racial inequities that we're seeing in COVID-19, we must see how the [United States] has become extremely racially and economically segregated. Because what we're seeing with COVID-19 is completely predictable, policies like redlining and systematic disinvestment have led to racial segregation that we see in black and Latinx communities today. Now, this matters because we know that your zip code often determines whether you have high levels of pollution and overcrowding and whether you have access to quality health care and economic opportunity. Right now, black and Latinx communities, where there are additional disproportionately high levels of pollution and overcrowding and low levels of access to health care and economic opportunity; there are also high levels of COVID-19 related risk factors: these include conditions like asthma, the inability to socially isolate or socially distance because there are lots of low paying yet essential jobs. And there's lower quality health care in overcrowded and under resourced local hospitals. Because of this, we are seeing that black and Latinx communities make up huge percentages of COVID-19 related deaths.

Drug Topics: And the New York Times reported that most cities and states aren't reporting race where they're confirmed cases and fatalities. Why do you think this might be?

English: That's a good question, and I understand that not all places and not all states and cities are race and ethnicity recorded at time of death. However, that is the failure at multiple levels of government, because this information should be required of hospitals and health care facilities. And this is a decision that governors and mayors can make today, so that we are collecting this information. And this information is essential because we know that one of the most profound forms of oppression is the erasure. It is saying that the experience is not happening that is actually there. If we're not collecting this data, then the federal government, state governments and city governments can say that it's not happening. So it is an absolute imperative that we are collecting race ethnicity data - that we're collecting data on sexual and gender identity, in addition to what many places already collecting around age, and other demographic factors.

Drug Topics: Dr English, thank you so much for shedding light on this super important topic today. And stay safe out there.

English: Thank you so much for having me.

Editors note: This interview transcription has been lightly edited for style and clarity.

Check back to drugtopics.com for part 2 of this interview and more expert interviews on COVID-19.

Originally posted here:

A Spotlight on Health Care Disparity During COVID-19 - Drug Topics

We live in the world that is forcedly controlled and dominated by economically elite in ways of institutionalized power exercised on the lives of working class. We see that the control of every move is in the hands of large state organizations, autocratic institutions, and governments. With the control of monopoly in the hands of the state and the impact of representative democracy on the economic sphere as well, working class in capitalist societies gain no control of the economy. This thought raises the questions, what it at the heart of democratic freedom? Which groups or organizations or thought system mainly governs the whole world? What would happen in a situation when common masses are controlled by the governing elite? What strategies these people come up to get rid from the rule of domination. The Spanish series, Money Heist is a radical insight towards the understanding of these questions.

Money Heist is a crime drama series created and written by Alex Pina, depicting the tale of heist against the Spanish government and its capitalistic ideology. The series was originally filmed as a Spanish series titled as La Casa de Papel. Later on Netflix in 2017 accepted the streaming of this series with English dub and renamed it as Money Heist to catch the attention of international audience. Focused on the idea of resistance, the series goes by the enigmatic character of the mastermind who goes by the name, The Professor (Avaro Morte). His idea is to plan something unique and incredible: to prepare for the biggest heist in history. For this, he recruits eight people with special abilities, and none of which has anything to lose, in a hope of carrying out the massive heist in recorded history. Following the ambitious plan set by Professor, the group of thieves with ring leader Berlin (Pedro Alonso) takes 67 hostages at the Royal Mint of Spain to aid in their negotiations with the authorities. Though the central idea of the series is the resistance towards the government, it, however, rests with full of action, intrigue, romance, humor, emotion and alliance.

In its essence, Money Heist presents an anarcho-centric attitude through the emotions of professor and primary characters towards the government. The series goes in accordance with the Noem Chomsky idea of anarcho-syndicalism. According to him, an anarchist society is one that is free from power structures and is made of organic social solidarity. Anarcho-syndicalism believes in the replacement of hierarchical structure of economic control with prime focus on the abolition of private property. Thus, in an anarchist world the confinement of power rests not only in the hands of state but also in common masses. With this anarcho-centric nature, the protagonist of the series, Money Heist, The Professor proves to come up with legal justification in his defiance while exposing the uneven practices of the Spanish government to whom he protest. He raised his stance after showing people the governments fiscal policies and its inhuman treatment towards Spanish people. Moreover, the Professor succeeded in overthrowing the social structure and hierarchical system while exemplifying the festive nature of the series.

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Although, the series Money Heist is filmed entirely with the heist as its primary plot, but the underlying theme seems to be the fight for resistance against fascist ideology. This is evident from the Professor`s hatred for any form of government, which he believes to hold power for its selfish interests and oppression. Exemplifying the fascist nature of Spanish government in the form of oppression, inequality, class structure and unemployment The Professor and his team come up to challenge all forms of power by the state through a movement identified in the series as The Resistance. It begins with the resistance to the government by The Professor and other characters because of some past painful experiences and finally ended with the resistance to the government from the citizens of the Spain. We see the Professor and his group singing a song Bella Ciao as a symbol of resistance against Spanish fascist regime. The song, Bella Ciao originally an Italian folk ballad and translated in English as Goodbye beautiful was adopted as an anthem of the anti-fascist resistance. This song is used in the entire series by the Professor to remind his gang their rebellion against the government.

As explained by many scholars through their work on power and authority, overthrowing the unjust authority and democratic control and replaced by something justifiable and equitable is precisely what the resistance tries to do. The series highlights the power and hypocrisy of Spanish government to whom The Professor and his team takes stance by revealing the unjust economic policy of Spain. From the first episode, The Professor can be seen warning his gang about his anti-capitalist feeling by explaining them the economic inequalities of the country. Although, the series runs in chaos, but the reasons behind the robbery is understandable through the moves and motivations of the characters. At some point, The Professor claims his idea of resistance with inspector Raquel Murillo (Itziar Ituno) at his workshop after accusing her being a representative of the state who views people as either good guys or bad guys (Money Heist 2019 S3.E8). Citing the fiscal policy of the Spain as being unjust to the poor, he questions the idea of liquidity injections- an injection of money from Royal mint to the bankers, filling the pockets of the rich and left poor behind.

One of the important aspects of the series which goes in parallel with the Chomsky idea of an anarchic society is the use of confidential government information by the robbers against their stance for resistance. Chomsky says that if the power, authority and control of the state are not properly justified, it must be dismantled and replaced by something fair and equitable. Through the control on government information and its divulgence, The Professor has taught us how power can be transferred from the hands of government to the common masses. From the social lens of the series, The Professor and his whole team seems to be humanitarian, respecting the human rights of the people by laying the rule of the game, newer to kill any of the hostages in hand (Money Heist 2018 S2.E2).

Another issue that has been highlighted in the series, Money Heist is the manipulation of mass media by the state. It gives an insight about the coercion the government play by using mass media as a source of information. There is a powerful relationship between the mass media and the state based on the economic necessity and mutual interest. This is evident in the series where we witness the State as carrying out misleading information about the robbers in order to manipulate the viewers. For instance, Raquel invented a narrative about Berlin to defame his social life, a fake interview of Rio`s parents to the media to weaken his sprit in Heist, Alicia Sierra (Najwa Nimri) plan to construct face documents that The Professor plans to release, highlights the use of mass media as an instrument to propagate vested interests.

As of now, the story of Money Heist depicts the conception of Resistance encouraged by the feelings and emotions of the characters. The narrative and characterization of the show revels that the series is deep rooted in an anarchist ideology, trying to highlight the anti-capitalistic stance of Spanish people against the State. The show highly depicts the coming together of citizens of Spain from all the sections of society for a unified agenda of overthrowing oppression and inequality. Still, the reality had the last laugh. Everyone is waiting to see whether the rebellion will lead to a revolution at the end of the show.

Afaq Ahmad Mir is a Research Scholar at Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh.

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Money Heist: An Exhaustive Review of Alex Pina's New Series - The New Leam

Beyond the carnage on his watch in New York City, where public health measures were seemingly less effective per capita than anywhere else in the world, his dictatorial control of every aspect of New York life has crippled the liberties and livelihoods of a state.

He denied people the right to work, worship, socialize and use their time and their resources as they wished.

And now he threatens to send the State Police against people who dont wear face masks, or who go to parks or congregate in unacceptable numbers.

All in the name of fighting a virus whose potential impact has been dramatically and manipulatively overblown to aggrandize power and advance a political agenda.

And no one has exploited this virus more for his own megalomaniacal arousal than Andrew Cuomo.

And no one has suffered more from the oppression of government overreach than the people of upstate New York.

Here are examples.

He decreed that the academic year was officially over and that no schools in New York could reopen. No exceptions, no local input, no variance for presence or absence of the disease.

And so it is that communities that have literally had no coronavirus in their midst whatsoever must deny their sons and daughters a graduation ceremony. Local superintendents and parents cannot be allowed to decide, it must be handed down by one man, with no personal experience as a public school student or parent.

And stores and businesses are arbitrarily shut down by his dictate, eliminating the jobs of some and destroying the lifes savings and labors for others. When two stores in a five-store plaza are allowed to open, but the other three arent, thats not public health, thats political arrogance.

If any store is safe, then all stores are safe.

And if we can go to Walmart and Costco, we can go to church and synagogue.

If he can have a hundred healthcare workers crowd together to cheer his mask-less arrival at a press conference, people can gather for Ramadan dinner.

But New Yorkers can do none of these things.

They may not go to funerals, they may not attend weddings, they may not celebrate gramas 100thor mom and dads 50th.

They may only look ahead at the cascading collapse of their lives and communities, all caused by the overreaching dictate of Andrew Cuomo. Because it is not just lives being shattered by this dictators arrogance, it is institutions.

Hospitals will be bankrupted, local governments and schools will be bankrupted, businesses will be bankrupted. Not because of a virus, but because of a tyrants exploitation of a virus.

An exploitation that allows him to impose a political agenda that is nothing less than a restructuring of New York society to serve his vanity and Marxist aspirations.

He wants the state to control hospitals, and so in the name of fighting the virus he imposes occupancy and practice restrictions that plunge hospitals deep into deficit and inexorably into insolvency, to be saved in a few months by being brought under his control. Likewise, a governor who has been at war with local government since his inauguration has choked off sales tax revenues, putting countless teachers and municipal employees out of work, and dooming their school districts, towns and counties to economic collapse.

All to be rescued by the all-powerful governor whose state government will take over everything.

People are denied medical treatment by his only slightly reduced ban on elective procedures. They must suffer alone in hospitals because of his guidelines for visitation.

And they lose the right to support themselves and their families because he arbitrarily controls their jobs and their businesses. He dooms them, through this period of oppression, to a financial slump from which they may never emerge. He pushes them toward government dependence, so that he might enslave them and their children, and their childrens children.

All in the name of a virus.

And a cure that is far worse than the disease.

He said the virus is death. And yet, from the standpoint of liberty and prosperity, his dictates are death.

And his personal motto, now emblazoned on the states seal, E pluribus unum.

Out of many, one.

Out of many New Yorkers, just one gets to decide.

Many must follow, one must dictate.

Andrew the Pierced, the virus king.

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Andrew Cuomo, The Virus King | 570 WSYR | Bob Lonsberry - KFI AM 640