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Afghanistan: Several rockets hit Kandahar airport as Taliban takes over parts of the city

OpIndia Staff
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Afghanistan: Several rockets hit Kandahar airport as Taliban takes over parts of the city

Three rockets hit Kandahar airport in Afghanistan just a few hours before the Taliban seized Kandahar and two other major cities – Herat and Lashkar Gah.

According to the reports, on Saturday night, three rockets hit Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport, located about 9 miles southeast of the city Kandahar. It is yet to be known the identity of the attackers who launched the rockets, however, it is suspected that the Taliban may have launched the attacks in a bid to take over the strategic airport hours before taking control of the city.

Following the attacks, the airport has been shut down, and the flight operations have been halted, said Kandahar airport chief Massoud Pashtun. He added that the repairs work have started and may begin the operations by the end of the day.

“Last night, three rockets were fired at the airport, and two of them hit the runway… Due to this, all flights from the airport have been cancelled,” airport chief Massoud Pashtun said.

Kandahar’s airbase is considered strategically important to provide the logistics and air support to the Afghan national forces to keep the terrorists from overrunning Afghanistan’s second-biggest city.

On Sunday, the fighting between Afghan National Forces and the Taliban escalated, with the Taliban seizing three major cities in southern and western Afghanistan as the Taliban continue to advance against the government forces. Taliban fighters now control parts of Herat, Lashkar Gah and Kandahar.

Since the withdrawal of the US troops, the Taliban have made rapid gains in rural areas of Afghanistan. However, lately, the Taliban, backed by Pakistan Army, is also taking over important districts and urban centres, creating a ground for further escalations in a country that is already ravaged by decades of war.

The onslaught of the Taliban has fuelled fears of the worst humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

Kerala govt imposes restrictions on Hindus ahead of Onam a week after relaxations on ‘super spreader’ Eid

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala govt imposes restrictions on Hindus ahead of Onam a week after relaxations on ‘super spreader’ Eid

On Saturday, Kerala Health Minister Veena George asked Hindus to avoid crowds, events, celebrations and visits to relatives and friends ahead of Onam, citing Covid-19. This comes just days after having lockdown relaxations for celebrations of Eid-al-Adha (Bakrid). The Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government has now asked people to strictly avoid crowds and follow Covid-19 protocols while organising, attending events and celebrations.

Health Minister Veena George said people should avoid visiting relatives and family, especially if there are small children in the family. The latest diktat comes at a time when Kerala is constantly recording over 20,000 fresh cases for over five days in a row. The recent surge in the Covid-19 cases is attributed to the recent opening up of the state during the Bakrid celebrations, resulting in a massive spike in infections in the state.

Health Minister Veena George has also warned people against being complacent and admitted that the state is yet to tackle the pandemic. She asked people to remain extra vigilant in order to prevent a third wave.

Kerala opens up for Eid, closes for Onam

Strangely, the latest orders from the Kerala Health Minister comes just ahead of the Hindu festival of Onam. Despite raging infections in Kerala and the state government’s inability to manage the pandemic, the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government had given in to the pressure and had lifted lockdown restrictions for three days to celebrate Bakrid or Eid-ul-Adha from July 18 to July 21.

The Kerala government had announced relaxations for the Bakrid festival in a press conference organised on July 17. This despite the fact that Kerala was recording the highest new COVID cases even at that time. The Supreme Court, too, that had taken suo moto cognisance over Kanwar Yatra and other celebrations, did not take a tough stand on Kerala government easing relaxations for Eid.

Due to the easing of Covid-19 restrictions during Barkid celebrations, Kerala has become the Covid-19 epicentre in the country as fresh infections have soared since the last two weeks, hitting a peak last week. As restrictions were removed ahead of the Eid celebrations, Kerala has recorded the highest number of fresh cases surpassing the two-month average.

For the fifth consecutive day, Kerala has recorded more than 20,000 fresh Covid-19 cases on Saturday. Though it saw a decline in fall in the Test Positivity Rate to 12.31 per cent, the number of deaths in the state is still a matter of concern. Moreover, the Eid events in Kerala have now become the superspreader events in the state, risking not just Kerala but also in its neighbouring states such as Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

On Saturday, Kerala logged 20,624 fresh cases, pushing the infection caseload to 33,90,761, while 80 more deaths took the toll to 16,781.

Image Source: Covid19.org

The Kerala government, which failed to impose any restrictions ahead of the Eid celebrations or aftermath of the festival, resulting in a fresh wave of the pandemic, now seems to be in a hurry to restrict Hindus from celebrating the auspicious festival of Onam.

Journalist Vikram Chandra slammed for suggesting Indian Govt should seek Taliban’s ‘apology’ for the brutal murder of Danish Siddiqui

OpIndia Staff
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Journalist Vikram Chandra slammed for suggesting Indian Govt should seek Taliban’s ‘apology’ for the brutal murder of Danish Siddiqui

While the gory details of Danish Siddiqui’s execution and mutilation by the Taliban were extensively reported by many Indian media outlets yesterday, it probably struck a chord with former NDTV CEO Vikram Chandra only after the international leftist media house The New York Times reported about it today.

Sharing the report by NYT, Vikram Chandra asserted in his Tweet on July 31, that the Indian government should demand an apology from the Taliban for this shocking barbarism.

“Shocking barbarism. India should demand an apology from the Taliban”, said the journalist in his Tweet, who now runs the digital news platform Editorji.

While the journalist rightly called the gruesome act ‘shocking barbarism’, it was the second part of his Tweet that flustered various Netizens.

Some doubted the journalist’s intellect for proposing something as absurd as this. They expressed disbelief that Chandra was suggesting that the Indian government should merely seek an apology from a terrorist organisation for the murder.

One social media user tried to educate the journalist by explaining that the Taliban is a “professional terrorist organisation, which excels in killing innocent people. They are not a political party or an NGO”, from whom an apology could be sought.

Netizens were quick to call out the hypocrisy of the left-leaning liberals of the likes of Vikram Chandra’s who needed an international media outlet to report about Danish Siddique’s killing to call out the Taliban for the murder.

“First Liberal Media should apologise for defending the Taliban and trying to portray their sham apology with credence”, wrote another social media user.

Interestingly, until today, several left-wing “liberal-secular” journalists had taken to Twitter to condole the death of photojournalist Danish Siddiqui by aggressively sharing images of the deceased photojournalist to pay some sort of tribute to him. However, the intriguing part of the matter is that hardly any of them called out the Taliban over Danish Siddiqui’s killing.

In fact, Vikram Chandra’s colleague, NDTV news anchor Ravish Kumar had gone a step ahead to completely absolve the Islamic terrorist organisation from Danish Siddiqui’s murder. In his Facebook post, the controversial journalist had wished thousands of curses to the “gun which fired the bullets” that killed the Indian photojournalist but did not even mention a single word against the Taliban, which actually killed him.

Taking a dig at the leftist media and their anti-Hindu bias, another Twitter user Tweeted: “Was the Taliban not already proved better than RSS because they already ‘apologised’ for murdering him???”

For the uninitiated, after his death, Danish’s body of work, especially the pictures of funeral pyres during the second wave of coronavirus and Rohingya crisis in India, was publicised and hailed by all, and the Taliban had expressed sorrow on killing him. In fact, the Taliban had claimed they did not know how the photojournalist had died. “Any journalist entering the war zone should inform us. We will take proper care of that particular individual. We are sorry for Indian journalist Danish Siddiqui’s death. We regret that journalists are entering war zone without intimation to us,” The Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid had told News18.

Subsequently, Danish Siddiqui’s friends and colleagues in media and other ‘liberals’ had hailed the Taliban for expressing regret at killing Danish, whom they killed and mutilated his body because he was an Indian.

After being brutally trolled on Twitter, Vikram Chandra again took to the microblogging site to write in defence of his previous mindless remark.

“Having brutally murdered an Indian journalist- the Taliban have signalled that they haven’t changed their colour. They are still barbarians and murderers! We should consider all options on how to deal with what is becoming an ugly situation in Afghanistan”, wrote the journalist.

Congress spokesperson accuses Modi govt of hacking phones of BJP leaders Smriti Irani and Vasundhara Raja, hints the phones have explicit content

OpIndia Staff
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Congress spokesperson accuses Modi govt of hacking phones of BJP leaders Smriti Irani and Vasundhara Raja, hints the phones have explicit content

On Friday (July 30), Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate sparked a controversy after she accused PM Narendra Modi of spying on senior BJP leaders Smriti Irani and Vasundhara Raja using the Israeli-made Pegasus spyware. Shrinate alleged that the Indian Prime Minister wanted to check ‘intimate content’ on the phones of female BJP leaders.

During a debate on News 18 on the issue of the baseless snooping scandal, the Congress spokesperson said, “Why is the government affixed to the phones of Smriti Irani and Vasundhara Raje? Go and ask them once.” To this, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra intervened and asked Supriya Shrinate whether Smriti Irani and Vasundhara Raja had complained to her about being spied upon. After being caught off guard, the Congress spokesperson claimed, “No, they are the victims. Ask them.” Making a bizarre allegation, Shrinate said that while the govt is not spying on any woman leader from Congress, the BJP govt is spying on its own party leaders.

Patra said, “I had asked her to give me the names of the Congress leaders who she (Shrinate) thinks have been under surveillance. But, she did not provide any names. She is instead accusing the BJP of spying on its own party leaders. This is perhaps the first time a party is accusing another party of internal surveillance.” While breaching all limits of civility, the Congress spokesperson smiled and asked, “I don’t know what do to want to check in women’s phone.” With a sinister smile, Shrinate suggested that the mobile phones of BJP leaders were being tracked for explicit content.

An infuriated Sambit Patra reacted, “Ask Rahul Gandhi about his activities in Bangkok (infamous for sex tourism). You will get to know everything… You have said 10 times that PM Modi wants to check out something about Smriti Irani and Vasundhara Raja. How can you make such cheap comments despite being a woman? This is the height of vulgarity. What is this nonsense? I object to this kind of language.”

Netizens slam Congress spokesperson for objectionable language

While slamming Supriya Shrinate, one Twitter user wrote, “She is saying Modi has used Pegasus to see ‘ something” in Smriti Irani and Vasundhara Raje thru their mobiles. This is below the belt comments about the PM.”

BJP leader Amrita Rathod condemned the foul language and added, “This is too much, unacceptable.”

Another Twitter user pointed out, “This woman has crossed her lines many times in the past as well, why are such people even called on debates is not comprehensible by me #ShameOnSupriya. “

One Vikas Tiwari said, “This is beyond disgusting. It is one thing to make a logical argument but to resort to abuse such cheap level talks on national tv shows where Congress has reached under Rahul Gandhi. Compliment Sambit Patra for his restraint but this is just too much.”

It must be pointed out that Supriya Shrinate is a former NewsX journalist and was appointed as a Congress spokesperson in 2019. She had contested unsuccessfully from the Maharajganj Lok Sabha constituency, a seat once held by her late father Harsh Vardhan.

As Australia unleashes Army on citizens to implement COVID lockdown, concerns rise regarding civil rights violations

OpIndia Staff
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As Australia unleashes Army on citizens to implement COVID lockdown, concerns rise regarding civil rights violations

Amidst the renewed wave of COVID-19 outbreak, fuelled by newer variants of coronavirus, Australia has deployed hundreds of soldiers in Sydney to help enforce a strict lockdown. The city is witnessing the highest number of COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began last year.

Australian forces are set to undergo training on the weekends before being deployed for unarmed patrols starting Monday. As per reports, 300 police personnel will prowl the streets of Sydney, in a bid to contain the spread of the virus and ensure people who have tested positive for the virus are isolating.

The decision means that Australia’s largest city—home to approximately five million people—will witness a military and police cover across its length and breadth. However, the police cover will be concentrated on eight local government districts in the city’s west, the region most affected by the virus and from where most new cases have been reported.

The inexorable spike in the cases, driven by the Delta variant, has led the authorities to issue a strict stay at home order. The local administration wants tighter restrictions for the worst-affected suburbs, including mandatory testing and mask-wearing outdoors.

The city is already under lockdown until 28 August, during which people are barred from leaving their home except for essential exercise, shopping, caregiving and other reasons. Despite five weeks of lockdown, infections in Sydney have steadily risen, with 170 new cases reported on Friday.

The irrepressible rise in the COVID caseloads is also one of the reasons why the government has opted for military intervention. However, many have called the government’s move of using military forces to ensure compliance as heavy-handed. They fear that using Army could lead to human rights violations.

Rights groups, on the other hand, believe that sending in troops to make sure believe obey to state mandate sets a “dangerous precedent” in a liberal democracy. Similarly, many on social media platforms have also raised concerns about the use of the Army to enforce a strict lockdown.

The use of army to ensure lockdown compliance in Sydney, Australia sparks concerns

Reacting to the decision of deploying military troops in Sydney, a Twitter user said the government should have used them in setting up vaccine clinics in a country where the pace of vaccination is woefully slow. He further added that the troops should not repeat the racist human rights violations that were witnessed in Melbourne’s public housing towers last year.

Another user said it is pure ongoing madness that the army is being used to enforce lockdown. He added that pandemics are ended with vaccinations and not Army patrols.

Yet another user said it is a bad use of the Australian army for having them police their own citizens and patrol the streets of Sydney.

Expressing his disapproval of the government’s decision to use the army for managing civilians, a Twitter user wondered about the ongoing court case against a highly decorated soldier in Australia accused of committing war crimes and murdering a bunch of civilians.

Karly Wener, CEO of the Aboriginal Legal Services, said the surge in COVID cases calls for skills held by social workers and Aboriginal community-controlled organisations and not the armed forces. She further added that the Aboriginal community is targeted day in and day out by the armed forces and the attacks will only get worse if the police are given additional powers and backed up by the army.

The outbreak is mostly prevalent among critical workers and large family groups in the city’s poorer and ethnically diverse west and south-west suburbs. Critics claim the residents of the region already face “targeted” policing measures. They highlighted that they are already harsher than the rest of Sydney.

“Our people are one of the poorest demographics, and as it is, they already feel picked on and marginalised,” said Steve Christou, one local mayor.

Others blamed the government for using forces to elicit obedience instead of using their services for expanding the pace of vaccination. So far only 17 per cent of Australia’s adult population has been vaccinated, which is one of the lowest among OECD nations.

JeM chief Masood Azhar’s nephew and Pulwama attacker’s trainer killed in encounter, army calls it closure to the terror attack

OpIndia Staff
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JeM chief Masood Azhar’s nephew and Pulwama attacker’s trainer killed in encounter, army calls it closure to the terror attack

In a major development, the nephew of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar, Mohammed Ismail Alvi alias Saifullah alias Lamboo was gunned down by security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on July 31 (Saturday). After escaping seven encounters, Saifullah on Saturday ran out of his luck and was neutralised by the Indian Army and police. 

The encounter holds special significance as he was one of the last remaining terrorists who was operating in Kashmir.

Lieutenant General DP Pandey, Chinar Corps Commander, on Saturday said that Lamboo was one of the masterminds of the Pulwama attack. He had trained Adil, who blew himself in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in 2019. 

It may be recalled that Adil Ahmad Dar is the Jaish terrorist and the Pulwama’s suicide bomber who led a deadly attack leading to the killing of 40 CRPF men by ramming his car loaded with 100 kg of explosives into a CRPF bus on 14 February 2019.

Kin of JeM chief Masood Azhar trained Pulwama suicide-bomber Adil Ahmad Dhar

The Lt General explained how the killing of the dreaded terrorist has a 2-fold significance. “It brings closure to February 2019 Pulwama attacks in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed by Islamic terrorists. He was one of the masterminds for having trained a local, Adil, who blew himself up in an IED attack,” said Lt General Pandey in a joint briefing by Jammu and Kashmir Police and security forces.

DP Pandey also informed that Saifullah was tasked with the responsibility of brainwashing and recruiting youths into the terrorist outfit. Saifullah used to carry out selective identification and radicalise them before handing them weapons, confirmed the Lt General.

Meanwhile, IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar said: “Saifullah alias Lambu (killed today) was involved in many incidents. He had infiltrated into Kashmir valley in Jan 2017 and was active in South Kashmir. 14 FIRs against him. He was the main accused of the Pulwama attack of Feb 2019.”

“He was involved in conspiracy and planning of Lethpora Pulwama attack and figured in a charge sheet produced by the National Investigation Agency (NIA),” Kumar said.

Abu Saifullah is the seventh out of the 19 terrorists accused in the Pulwama blast, who have been neutralised by the Indian armed forces. Pertinently, seven other JeM terrorists, accused in the 2019 Pulwama attack have been arrested, while 5 still remain on the run, informed Kumar, adding that Lamboo was an IED expert and his elimination will reduce the IED threat in the valley.

Meanwhile, Indian Army Major General Rashim Bali called today’s encounter one of the biggest operations of the year. He said that a Chinese pistol and an AK-47 was recovered from Saifullah.

Canadian women’s football team player Quinn becomes first trans athlete in Olympics

OpIndia Staff
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Canadian women’s football team player Quinn becomes first trans athlete in Olympics

The Canadian female soccer team has a non-binary and ‘transgender’ player, who is representing her country in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Identified as Rebecca Quinn (now only Quinn), she plays as a midfielder for the Canada women’s national soccer team.

Although she is biologically female, she identifies herself as ‘male.’ Her first match against Japan at Sapporo made her the first ‘openly transgender’ to participate in an Olympic event. She was a member of the Canadian soccer team at the 2016 Rio Olympics as well, which saw the country win a bronze medal. At that time, she participated in soccer events as a female player.

In an Instagram post on July 22, Quinn wrote, “First openly trans Olympian to compete. I don’t know how to feel. I feel proud seeing “Quinn” upon the lineup and on my accreditation. I feel sad knowing there were Olympians before me unable to live their truth because of the world. I feel optimistic for change. Change in legislature. Changes in rules, structures, and mindsets. Mostly, I feel aware of the realities. Trans girls being banned from sports. Trans women facing discrimination and bias while trying to pursue their Olympic dreams. The fight isn’t close to over… and I’ll celebrate when we’re all here.”

Quinn came out as a male in 2020 and has openly professed her ‘new identity’ on social media. Besides her national team, she has also played for Washington Spirit and US team OL Reign. According to NBC News, at least 163 LGBTQ athletes are participating in this edition of the Olympic games. It reported, “The Games will also mark the first Olympics at which a Pride House has received official recognition from the International Olympic Committee.”

Although the International Olympic Association (IOA) had allowed participation of transgender athletes in the Olympics since 2004, it is the first time that so many are coming forward to participate. As per current rules, transgender women can compete in women’s sports if they demonstrate low testosterone levels for a year (12 months) prior to competing in an event. At the same time, athletes can only participate in Olympics after 4 years of transitioning to the new gender.

KK Shailaja, dropped as health minister after assembly election, criticises the Kerala govt over relief measures to the unorganised sector

OpIndia Staff
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KK Shailaja, dropped as health minister after assembly election, criticises the Kerala govt over relief measures to the unorganised sector

In a major embarrassment to the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government, former Health Minister KK Shailaja slammed the state government in the Kerala Assembly over its failure to provide sufficient relief to the unorganised sector in the state, reports Times of India.

While moving the “calling attention” motion of the Minister for Industries and Coir P Rajeeve, controversial former Health Minister KK Shailaja stressed that Covid-19 relief measures declared by the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government were insufficient and demanded the government to provide a special revitalisation package to the unorganised labour sector.

The former Health Minister, who was dropped by Pinarayi Vijayan from the cabinet after his re-election as the chief minister this year, embarrassed the Communist-led LDF government, saying the present support provided by the government to the unorganised sector is insufficient, and hence the government should give more care to this sector.

“The present announced packages are only temporary relief for this sector. The salary arrears in the handloom sector has not been disbursed yet. Hence steps should be taken to disburse these arrears at the earliest,” KK Shailaja said, leaving the LDF members red-faced.

KK Shailaja, the MLA from Mattanur constituency, said the people in this sector have availed huge loans and are also facing severe crises to afford the daily needs due to the present situation. She also demanded the government to increase the Onam rebate by 10% for handloom products.

“The welfare fund announced for this sector are insufficient. They need a special package, and the government should also provide interest-free loans to this sector,” the Communist leader criticised the Kerala government on the floor of the assembly.

Meanwhile, Minister Rajeeve ignored the demand raised by the former Health Minister as he did not give any commitment to any of the demands made by her.

Shailaja ‘Teacher’ – the face of Covid-19 crisis in Kerala

Former Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja, also fondly known as Shailaja Teacher in the “liberal-secular” media coterie, is the face of the Kerala Covid-19 crisis.

Shailaja, a retired teacher, gained popularity as the health minister for the “Kerala model” of battling the pandemic. She was lauded by national and international media lauded for her handling of the Covid-19 virus. KK Shailaja was at the helm of the “Kerala model” of tackling Covid-19 which was celebrated by the “liberal-secular” press, however, it did not translate on the ground as Kerala has become one of the worst affected states in the country during both the waves of Covid-19 pandemic.

Under KK Shailaja’s leadership, the Kerala model of Covid-19 management failed spectacularly. During the first wave, Kerala turned out to be an epicentre of Covid-19 cases with higher caseloads, even affecting neighbouring states such as Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Instead of tackling the pandemic, KK Shailaja and her team indulged in a PR game to boost her image and sell the success of the so-called Kerala model.

In fact, the Kerala Health Ministry was accused of covering up the Covid-19 deaths in the state by underreporting the deaths. A group of researchers had exposed the Kerala government’s shameful act of deliberately hiding the number of people who have succumbed to the pandemic to keep their image intact. During the second wave of the pandemic, the state consistently reported more than 25,000 cases a day.

The greatness of KK Shailaja was so much that she was thrown out of the Health Ministry by Pinarayi Vijayan-led government in the newly formed government. Despite all that PR campaign, KK Shailaja, aka Shailaja teacher, could not become Health Minister again.

Here’s why some Americans want the US women’s football team to lose at Tokyo Olympics

Jinit Jain
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Here’s why some Americans want the US women’s football team to lose at Tokyo Olympics

There’s something you normally don’t witness during the Olympics: people wishing and passionately cheering for the defeat of their own football team.

Usually, people go out on a limb to support their national team, even if the chances of their winning are bleak. However, this time around, American fans were so thoroughly repulsed by their own women soccer team that they prayed with all their might for their defeat and elimination from the Olympics.

A large number of US citizens do not want to see their women soccer team win at the Olympics. Their reason being that the team is too woke to a fault, which they claim is unduly affecting their performance. They want their team to lose so that the players realise the perils of warming up to the evil of wokeism. And their discontent with the US women soccer team was manifest in their social media posts when they suffered an unexpected defeat against Sweden in the opening match at the Olympics.

The fans instantly chalked up the embarrassing defeat to their obsession with wokeism rather than focusing on improving their skills as footballers. Social media platforms were rife with posts where Americans excoriated the soccer team for its loss and its misplaced priority of upholding woke beliefs.

US netizens wish defeat for their women soccer team at Tokyo Olympics

A raft of social media users in the United States has uploaded posts wishing their team embarrassing drubbings during the Olympics. And the humiliating defeat against Sweden only served to cement their belief that the US women soccer team was more concerned with upholding their woke principles than their football performance.

Many could not hide their glee after the US soccer team endured a humiliating defeat against Sweden in their opening match of the Olympics.

Donald Trump says wokeism responsible for the dip in performance of US soccer team

Before long, the former President of the United States, Donald Trump, also jumped in the fray, linking the defeat of the US women’s soccer team to the “wokeism” embodied by them. Shortly after the defeat, the former US president spoke at the “Rally to Protect Our Elections” in Phoenix and blamed the team’s loss on “wokeism”.

“Wokeism makes you lose, ruins your mind, and ruins you as a person. You become warped. You become demented. The US women’s soccer team is a very good example of what’s going on,” Trump said. “Earlier this week they unexpectedly lost to Sweden, 3-0, and Americans were happy about it.”

The US women’s soccer team, however, made a comeback in their following matches, handing out a pasting to New Zealand with 6-1 and drawing with the Aussies. Yesterday, the team won a nail-biting match against the Netherlands in the quarterfinals. But the US netizens are not pleased with the team’s performance, owing to their allegiance to the woke culture. They believe their antics of taking a knee during the match against Sweden has brought shame to the country.

US soccer team’s woke antics prompts people to cheer for its ouster from the Olympics

For some time now, the US women soccer team has come to personify the left-liberal wokeism. It was most evident in their opening match against Sweden at the Olympics when they took a knee in a stadium devoid of fans to protest against racial inequities back home. However, they suffered an unexpected but humiliating 3-0 defeat at the hands of Sweden, ending their 44-match undefeated streak.

Taking a knee has become a symbolic gesture to mark the support for the Black Lives Matter movement following the unfortunate demise of George Floyd that sparked a racial reckoning in the United States. But of late, its unwarranted use by a host of sportspersons, actors and celebrities, purely for theatrical purposes, has resulted in its diminishing significance and reduced it to no more than just woke fashion statement.

Trump’s endorsement that the team lost due to its fetish for woke beliefs only served to intensify the feelings among the US citizens, who view it as a malady that is gnawing at the American society. Many in the United States and around the world believe that woke ideals and principles have deepened societal fissures and reduced the levels of tolerance within the society.

It has also given rise to “cancel culture”, a contemporary form of ostracism in which someone is banished out of social or professional circles – whether it be online, on social media, or in person, just because they choose to hew a different ideology and not conform to the woke dogmas.

The current social churning within American society could be attributed to the malaise of wokeism. As the woke culture tries to take over America, a sizeable section of its citizens are increasingly wary of the implications it will have on the country at large. This section of the population is desperately fighting wokes to salvage their country from sliding into cultural and social decadence that normally accompanies wokeism.

With their past few antics, the US women’s soccer team have cut themselves the figure of being amongst the foremost proponents of American wokeism. Naturally, this did not sit well with the section of citizens who believe their on-field success would only lead to a greater acceptance and rationalisation of woke ideals. As a consequence, they have taken to cheering for their own football team at the Olympics.

Uttar Pradesh women teachers association demands 3-day ‘period leave’ every month citing poor condition of toilets in schools

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh women teachers association demands 3-day ‘period leave’ every month citing poor condition of toilets in schools

A group of women teachers in Uttar Pradesh has begun a campaign demanding three-day “period leave” every month for the female teaching staff working in the state.

According to the reports, Uttar Pradesh Mahila Shikshak Sangh – a newly formed organisation of women teachers’ in Uttar Pradesh – has sought three-day “period day” leaves from work every month, citing the bad condition of toilets in government schools of the state.

On Saturday, Sulochana Maurya, the president of the association, underlined the need for such a campaign, saying that some women-specific problems can be raised effectively only by women, and the association is working on them. Maurya said that though there is a representation of women in various associations, men continue to dominate the proceedings of such organisations.

“We formed this association on February 8 to work for the cause of women teachers who constitute almost 60 per cent of the total strength of teachers in primary schools. The association already has its units in 50 of the 75 districts of the state,” Sulochana Maurya said to the media.

She also added that they needed to form a women teachers union because their issues are not given priority in the general teachers union. “Over 60 to 70 per cent of primary school teachers are women. While we may be given token posts in teacher associations, these are usually dominated by men and they don’t take up these issues (of menstrual leave). But for us women, this is a major concern,” she said.

Maurya said that former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad had announced a similar special period leave for two days in the past, however, Maurya said they want three-day leave as they feel this is the need of women.

“A five-member delegation of the association met Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Minister Satish Chandra Dwivedi regarding the issue. He assured that he would discuss the issue with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. We have also met deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and Labour Minister Swami Prasad Maurya,” Maurya said.

Another teacher said that women teachers do not feel free to share their problems and added that their male counterparts sometimes do not consider these issues as important. She said the association has already apprised ministers and handed over memoranda to the government seeking “period leave” for female teaching staff.

A few days back, the organisation had also trended the “#Periodleave” hashtag on Twitter to create awareness among the masses. “We will also meet Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and later the chief minister over our demand,” Maurya added.

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