Home Blog Page 4855

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t: CNN doofus Brian Stelter claims Trump supporters have ‘bunker mentality’ for quitting Twitter over censorship

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t: CNN doofus Brian Stelter claims Trump supporters have ‘bunker mentality’ for quitting Twitter over censorship

CNN’s resident clown and chief doofus, Brian Stelter, is unarguably the biggest joke on western mainstream media at the moment, although the network’s Chris ‘Fredo’ Cuomo gives him a run for the money. Brian Stelter hosts a show ironically titled ‘Reliable Sources’ that is one of the chief sources of misinformation and garbage propaganda.

Most recently, Brian Stelter became the butt of jokes after claiming on CNN that Trump voters are moving more and more into their echo chambers. His opinions are always astounding but the sheer lack of self-awareness on his part never ceases to amaze. The reason for his current rant is that Trump supporters, fed up of Twitter censorship, are moving on to a new social media platform, Parler.

It is evidence of a ‘bunker mentality’ on the part of the American right-wing, claims Brian Stelter, and with senior CNN White House correspondent, they concluded that people moving on to a new social media platform due to censorship on Facebook and Twitter is a threat to Democracy. We can clearly see that they are not demented at all.

If suggesting that people quitting a particular social media platform over censorship is a threat to democracy appears to be an exaggeration, it is probably because it is a massive exaggeration. But then again, it is very consistent with the sort of garbage Brian Stelter has peddled over the years in the Trump era.

For all his hot takes, the anchor of ‘Reliable Sources’ oozes self-righteousness and always tries his very best to defend the corrupt mainstream media. Often, he crosses the line and embarrasses himself but no one could criticise him for lack of effort. For instance, the media did not cover itself in glowing colours over the recent Hunter Biden corruption story.

But Stelter would not suffer anyone who accuses the media of treating the story in an extremely unethical manner. He went all “don’t you dare” mode on Susan Ferrechio, Washington Examiner’s chief Congressional correspondent, when she highlighted the duplicity of the media when covering stories about Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

Brian Stelter again demonstrated his stellar lack of self-awareness when he wondered innocently on social media on the 8th of November whether ‘cooler heads’ will prevail or polarisation will intensify after Joe Biden appealed for unity. His coverage in recent times reveals clearly that he represents precisely the problem that causes political polarisation.

Washington Examiner in collaboration with Media Research Center provided a list of Stelter’s greatest moments in journalism in recent years. In February 2020, CNN’s resident clown said, But first, the aspiring autocrat and the media’s response. As this banner on Fox says, President Trump is unleashed [“PRESIDENT TRUMP UNLEASHED”]. That’s why there are growing fears of something called ‘democratic backsliding.’ This is a term used in political science, a term used to describe the erosion of institutions that sustain democracy. Another way to put it is ‘creeping authoritarianism,’ a move toward autocracy.”

Then in August 2019, there was the time when he invited two psychiatrists to discuss trump’s mental health. “News outlets use words like ‘erratic,’ ‘volatile,’ ‘unstable,’ but rarely are Trump’s words and actions covered as a whole, rarely do news outlets take it to that next level. OK, what do you see — what he just said seems crazy. What does that reveal about him? We rarely see it go to that next step … We can’t tiptoe around it anymore. We’ve got to talk about this. So let’s talk about it. Let’s do it. Let me bring in two guests, two psychiatrists …”

Brian Stelter has again and again peddled the narrative that Donald Trump is an “autocrat”, a sophisticated manner of saying Trump is ‘literally Hitler’. Preaching ‘cooler heads’ after accusing the sitting US President of being an autocrat, which carries the implicit suggestion that his supporters are Nazis, appears to be rather amusing.

CNN’s resident clown is also polite enough to invite deluded celebrities who use the f-word for right-wing journalists.

Brian Stelter is so bad he even managed to anger the mild mannered Jonathan Turley, a top legal analyst in the US on constitutional matters, for his “lack of empathy” towards Nick Sandman. It is a good time, perhaps, to remind readers that CNN had to settle a lawsuit for defaming the Trump supporting teenager.

According to Turley, it was “astonishing and frankly disgraceful” that Stelter and other journalists would “continue to downplay what happened to this 16-year-old boy in false accounts that ran nationally on his encounter.”

The most humiliating moment for the CNN anchor, however, has to be the time when veteran journalist Ted Koppel told him to his face that CNN benefited greatly from the Trump presidency and the ratings for news networks have never been this great.

2 days after Diwali, the COVID-19 threat disappears? Maharashtra govt decides to open temples with restrictions, finally

OpIndia Staff
-
0
2 days after Diwali, the COVID-19 threat disappears? Maharashtra govt decides to open temples with restrictions, finally

The Maharashtra government led by Uddhav Thackeray is building quite the reputation for picking up needless battles and picking the wrong hills to die on. A similar needless controversy was created by the Uddhav Thackeray government when they refused to open temples when it was allowed by the union home ministry while gradually easing the coronavirus lockdown restrictions. While the Ministry of Home Affairs permitted the reopening of religious places in India from June 8 onwards, the Maharashtra government decided against implementing this relaxation owing to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state.

But at last, now the Maharashtra govt has decided to allow worship in temples, with some restrictions. According to reports, the Shiv Sena govt has ordered the reopening of religious places in the state from Monday. The state govt has issued dos and don’ts for the reopening of religious places, which says that only asymptomatic persons will be allowed to enter. Masks will be mandatory for the devotees, and crowding will not be allowed in the places of worship.

Announcing the decision, CM Uddhav Thackeray said that coronavirus cases have come down in the state due to discipline shown by people, although he said that one can’t become complacent. He said that because of the discipline shown by the people in the state, the situation did not go out of control in Maharashtra as compared to other states.

In the Siddhivinayak temple, a maximum of 100 devotees will be allowed every hour, and a total of 1000 of devotees in a day. Devotees will have to install the temple’s app and book their visit in advance.

The decision to reopen the religion comes after several major Hindu festivals for the years have already passed, and they are being reopened a day after the Diwali. Ahead of this, several Hindu organisations had been demanding reopening of temples, and even governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had slammed the state for keeping religions places closed. In October, the governor had written a letter to CM Thackeray, requesting him to reopen religious places with all necessary precautions. However, the CM had refused to do so.

At the same time, several temples and various organisations had launched a state-wide protest against continued shut down of temples in the state. On 13th October, the priests of Siddhi Vinayak temple had started a protest, and a hunger strike. BJP, VHP and Bajrang Dal had also launched agitations demanding reopening of temples ahead of Diwali. They had argued that if parks, restaurants, bars can be reopened, there is no reason why religious places can’t be reopened with precautions.

But all this fell on deaf ears of Maharashtra govt, and now they have decided to reopen the religious places just a day after Diwali is over. There has not been a significant change in the Coronavirus situation in the state during the past month. After reaching the peak of over 3 lakh active cases in mid-September, the number of active cases has been declining gradually in the state. It came down to around 1.90 lakh in mid-October, and now it is at around 90 thousand. Which means, the active cases are going down on an almost constant rate.

If the religious places can be reopened now, they could have reopened earlier also, with the same restrictions to avoid crowding. But it was not done, and when all the major Hindu festivals of the year, like the Ganesh Chaturthi, Navaratri, Durga Puja, Dusshera and Diwali are over, they have allowed the religious places including temples to be reopened.

This looks like a needless battle against Hindus, as if it was a deliberate strategy of the Maharashtra govt to deny the Hindus to visit temples during important religious occasions. It may be noted that all the major Hindu festivals were after the Union govt had allowed reopening of religious places, and other states had allowed the same accordingly. Reopening just two days after Diwali also seems like if the Uddhav Thackeray govt was waiting for Diwali to get over to order the reopening.

Woman who claims to work for AYUSH ministry says ‘rapes happen because Lord Ram is worshipped’, ministry denies she works for them

Dibakar Dutta
-
0
Woman who claims to work for AYUSH ministry says ‘rapes happen because Lord Ram is worshipped’, ministry denies she works for them

Although Hinduphobia is on the rise in India, it often remains immune to public scrutiny. Several posts, openly peddling Hindu hatred, are either overlooked or talked about in hushed voices, so much so that it has now become a part of the mainstream public discourse. Such is the case of one Niharika Singh aka Misha Thakur. According to her Facebook profile, she works as a public speaker and a media consultant with the Ministry of Ayush, Government of India.

Screenshot of Niharika Singh’s FB profile

On the occasion of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, Sinha had shared a post on Twitter to claim that Lord Ram was ‘timid’, ‘patriarch’ and a ‘misogynist’.

She wrote, “Diwali is a festival when women should get reminded of the fact that Sita should have divorced Rama when he asked her to prove her purity by giving “Aghani pareeksha” the fire examination. That it is not OKAY for a man to ask any woman to BURN herself in order to be pure enough.”

Screengrab of the contentious Facebook post of Niharika Singh

While continuing her bizarre rant, without proper understanding the historical perspective behind the Agnipareeksha or the cultural nuances of that era, she continued, “That sex and morality are not related and if they are: both the sides need to prove what they are asking from the other. That Rama was timid man, a Patriarch a MISOGYNIST and Sita got succumbed into her conditionings even without a FIGHT FOR HER OWN RACE. And the writer was a MALE. SUCH GOD AND GODDESSES, I TELL YOU, They only deserve to be DETHRONED not CELEBRATED. HAPPY DIWALI, PERIOD.”

Niharika Singh claims rapes occur because Hindus celebrate Lord Ram

On being called out on social media, the self-proclaimed media consultant in the Ayush Ministry remained unperturbed and unapologetic about her objectionable Facebook post. She instead thanked supposedly ‘jobless Bhakts’ for increasing the reach of her Facebook post. “Woohoo, seems like you guys are following my commands, here I like to repeat: do overtime Bhakts, anyway you are jobless…Everyone commenting on my post, thank you in advance for increasing its reach. I really want this message to reach maximum reach.”

After being caught off guard for her Facebook post, Niharika Singh decided to justify the ‘rationale’ behind her Facebook post. She stated, “89 women get raped and mutilated because we celebrate misogynist like Rama. Go on guys, keep barking. I am in agreement of using Right wing to defeat right wing.”

Screengrab of her Facebook comment

Hinduphobia at large

But Niharika Singh, who claims to work with the Indian government, is however not new to this. In a Twitter post on October 23, the ‘Marxist’ demanded the burning of Manusmriti again, by citing examples of BR Ambedkar and anti-Hindu Periyar.

Screengrab of the Twitter post by Niharika Singh

She had also peddled the fake news that the Hathras victim, who was strangulated by one Sandeep, was also allegedly raped, while the case itself is more complicated than it seems. She tweeted, “Hindurashtra is rapist.” While she could have the named the accused instead, Niharika had deliberately used the word Hindurashtra to propagate her vicious message. She also went a stape ahead and branded India as a “rape nation”, and judging from her rant, she did this because Hindus are supposedly a majority population in India.

Screengrab of the Twitter post by Niharika Singh

The Cry against Fascism and whitewashing Islamists

One of the recurrent themes of the left-liberal ecosystem in India is the perpetual cry of fascism and whitewashing of crimes by Islamists against the Hindu population. In an Instagram post dated October 17, she quoted American novelist Philip Roth and tweaked his statement to claim that Hindutvavadis may her lock her up in concentration camps but cannot take away her supposed love for India. She had demanded the repeal of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the release of Delhi riot conspirator and radical Islamist Umar Khalid.

She wrote, “Quoting Philip Roth in the Indian context: They can even lock you away in a concentration camp to shut you up. And I hope by now that you damn well know that. But what our homegrown HINDUVTAS cannot take away is my love for INDIA and YOURS. My love for democracy and yours. My love for freedom and yours. What they cannot take away – unless the gullible and the sheepish and the terrified are patsies enough to return them to DELHI one more time – is the power of the ballot box.”

Screengrab of the Instagram post by Niharika Singh

Niharika Singh claims she is the media consultant of Ayush Ministry

Singh, who claims to be the media consultant of the Ayush Ministry has been a vocal critic of the BJP government. She had often resorted to fake news and peddling leftist propaganda to insinuate that the BJP government is indeed ‘fascist’. In a Twitter post shared on October 22, she cited ‘journalist’ and serial fake news peddler Rohini Singh to suggest that the Modi government was demanding votes in exchange of immunisation against the deadly Coronavirus. She questioned, “Vote ke badla vaccine? Aur kitna giroge? (Vaccine in exchange of votes? How low will you stoop?).” Her uninformed rant was followed with hashtags that read, ‘#shameonbjp’ and ‘#shameonModi’

It is important to note that the fake news by Rohini was debunked. It was not the central government that was offering free vaccines only to Bihar. Health is a state subject and hence, BJP as a party can offer free vaccines to a state if it forms the government in that state. Similarly, any state government can also offer free vaccines to its residents.

Screengrab of the Twitter post by Niharika Singh

In a Facebook post on June 19, Niharika Singh dismissed the Indian government’s stand that the Chinese PLA army did not intrude into the Indian territory. She wrote, “Modi is just out of my zone of comprehension. How shameless one has to be to officially say that there is no intrusion by the side of China in Galwan Valley region after the death of 20 soldiers? China officially claimed the Galwan Valley after this speech. Gutless. Mindless. Sold.” She further claimed, “BJP and its existence is a blatant lie to this country and its future.”

Screengrab of the Facebook post by Niharika Singh

From her Facebook posts, it also becomes clear that she is an ardent fan of ‘historian’ Ramachandra Guha. Quoting his delusional statement that India will take an undefined time to recover from the supposed damage caused by the Modi government to the economy, moral fabric, social life and institutions of India, Niharika wrote, “RIP democracy.” This has made netizens wonder as to why she still works with a government that is tyrannical and fascist in her imagination.

Screengrab of the Facebook post by Niharika Singh

Media consultant of Ayush Ministry celebrates arrest of Arnab Goswami, resorts to whataboutery

Besides her blatant Hinduphobia and whitewashing of Islamists such as Umar Khalid, Niharika Singh has also championed the cause of selective outrage. While effectively demanding the release of a riot accused, she hails the illegal detention of a journalist falsely implicated in a 2-year-old closed case of abetment of suicide. On November 5, the media consultant expressed glee and happiness over the helplessness of Arnab Goswami in preventing the illegal detention by the Mumbai police, on the behest of the Maharashtra government. She had also prayed for the shutting down of the Republic TV channel.

“The day went so well, Arnab Goswami got arrested, so happy to see how helpless he felt Against the power. Amit Shah calls it undemocratic while arresting student activists like Umar Khalid because they do the most democratic thing of “QUESTIONING” the government in power. Every fascist has its day. The happiest part is two fascists are calling out each other and trying to demolish each other. Left is happy today. Ban entire Republic channel, I don’t give a damn, well deserved,” she wrote on Facebook.

Screengrab of the Facebook post by Niharika Singh

A day later, Niharika Singh was seen doing whataboutery to deviate public discourse from the arrest of Arnab Goswami. She wrote, “More than 55 journalists got arrested Because they were exposing BJP’s corruption and communalism, students activities and farmers are in jail because they protest against barbaric bills passed by BJP and then there wasn’t any harm to freedom of speech, there was no FASCISM then.”

Niharika continued, “Haha all BJP ministers are so hurt because now who will do their Hinduvta propaganda Journalism and who will spread Islamophobia and Misogyny in the country ? Umar Khalid is Jail on what grounds? Why Anurag Thakur and Kapil Mishra still not in Jail after their hate speech? Why Vinod dua got arrest?”

The revolutionary media consultant further emphasised, “Also, you can never discount a fact that Arnab’s name was mentioned in someone’s suicide letter. It was BJP’s government two years back because of which the case got dismissed, now it is time for Arnab to pay for whatever he has done. Cold-blooded murderer who killed rationalism and Journalism both and Arnab Goswami is not the 4th pillar of Democracy but definitely a central pillar of BJP. It must fall. Long live Revolution long live Democracy.”

Screengrab of the Facebook post by Niharika Singh

It becomes evident from the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posts of Niharika Singh that she is a rabid Hinduphobe, a sympathiser of Islamists such as Umar Khalid, believer of selective press freedom as observed in the Arnab Goswami case and a hater of the current political dispensation at the Centre.

Netizens are therefore questioning the absence of ‘background checks’ of individuals working in high-profile Ministries in the Central government. And Niharika Singh isn’t the only one. Earlier, government-run Doordarshan came under fire for hiring a Yoga specialist named Ira Trivedi, who had promoted beef consumption in the past and hurt Hindu religious sentiments. Following a social media backlash, her contract with the channel was terminated.

Update: After this article was published, Union minister for state in AYUSH Shripad Naik said that Niharika Singh is not a consultant with the ministry. The minister tweeted that “there is no such Consultant with the AYUSH Ministry.”

The minister didn’t say whether any action was being taken against Niharika Singh for claiming on her Facebook profile that she works with the ministry.

It may be noted that according to one Facebook post by Niharika Singh, she was allowed to speak at the Yoga Mahotsav 2019 organised by the AYUSH ministry. She had also posted an image showing her addressing the event.

Did petha originate in Mughal kitchens? Writer ties herself in knots as report she shared debunks her claims

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Did petha originate in Mughal kitchens? Writer ties herself in knots as report she shared debunks her claims

Shunali Khullar Shroff, writer and columnist, created quite the storm on social media when she shared an article on the Petha to claim that the Mughals are to be credited for the invention of the candy. She shared the article with the obvious intention of taking a jibe at Hindus who harbour disdain in their hearts for the Mughals due to the latter’s Islamic fanaticism.

She said, “Shah Jahan ordered his chefs to create something as pure and white as the Taj Mahal, and thus the petha was born. Will deniers of Mughal history give up petha now?” There was only one problem, however. The report she cited as evidence for her claim says precisely the opposite and debunks it.

Shunali Khullar Shroff on petha

“Petha is a poor man’s sweet and has no royal connection,” the report quotes Pushpesh Pant, a noted Indian academic, critic and historian, as saying. “It does not contain milk or mawa. It is made with ash gourd and lots of sugar, which is not very indicative of an emperor’s dish.” He also said that petha is found in various parts of India despite being denoted to Agra including Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand.

“People from some parts of India call the fruit oal and prepare something called oal ka muraba,” he says before adding, “Muraba means a preserve. They dipped it in sugar syrup and preserved it for months at end, and therefore called it oal ka muraba.” Petha being linked to Agra had something to do with the city being designated the capital of the United Provinces in British India.

“Agra was the place where people could get off and buy food during a long-distance journey or while changing trains. The trains were slow and the journeys long as compared to today. People would pack puri and sukhi aloo ki sabji. Petha became a quintessential snack to keep kids happy and energy levels high. Since it didn’t contain khoya, it was preferred over a Mathura ka peda which didn’t have such a long shelf life. It also was a gifting option for travellers,” Pant said.

The candy earned the moniker ‘Agre ke petha’ because the British believed it would be a good idea to link it to the Mughals. “So, the poor man wouldn’t have to believe he is having it out of majboori [no choice], and because he can’t afford Sandesh or mawa mithai,” he said. Thus, the legend that says petha originated in the Mughal kitchens appears to be just that, a legend.

The candy is made from ash gourd. It is cut into chunks and then dunked into lime for about 10 hours following which it is washed, drained and boiled in water until it turns translucent. Then, they are soaked in sugar syrup before they can be eaten. Currently, there are numerous flavours of petha available including kesariya and chocolate.

After Delhi defies arbitrary firecracker ban, claims of Diwali causing pollution busted as air quality improves after Diwali

OpIndia Staff
-
0
After Delhi defies arbitrary firecracker ban, claims of Diwali causing pollution busted as air quality improves after Diwali

National Green Tribunal imposed a blanket ban on firecrackers in Delhi/NCR just before the festivities could begin. As always, the blame for extensively polluted air in Delhi/NCR went to Diwali as Hindus burst firecrackers to celebrate the return of Maryada Purshotam Ram to Ayodhya. Amid the blanket ban, nothing could stop Delhi from bursting crackers and celebrating Diwali the way it should be.

However, the pollution data from the day after Diwali completely debunks the claim that Diwali is the most significant cause of pollution, requiring a complete ban on firecrackers during the Hindu festival. Data shows that not only there was not any increase in air pollution level due to Diwali, it actually came down by a significant extent.

Here are some visuals of people enjoying the most important Hindu festival.

After the Diwali, netizens posted visuals of Delhi showing better Air Quality compared to last week, showing that the firecrackers didn’t have much impact on the air quality.

Air Quality Index shows firecrackers are NOT the problem

National Green Tribunal and anti-Hindu propagandists posing as ‘AQ-warriors’ often blame Diwali for the pollution in Delhi around Diwali. However, the latest numbers show that Diwali has the least impact on the Air Quality of the region. According to the data recorded by Central Pollution Control Board on 15th November, prominent pollutant PM2.5 is slightly higher than yesterday and almost equal to 5th November stats. In regions like ITO and IGI Airport T3, Air Quality was better on 15th November compared to 5th November.

Air Quality Index comparison at Alipur, Delhi
Air Quality Index comparison at ITO, Delhi
Air Quality Index comparison at IGI Airport (T3), Delhi

Interestingly, no one was bursting crackers on 5th November. It was all because of the stubble burning that was happening across north India, where farmers are too keep to destroy the environment with their leftover paddy straws. While heavy police were deployed in the states where firecrackers were banned by NGT to arrest Hindus for bursting crackers, the governments failed to control the rogue farmers burning stubble despite a blanket ban on the practice.

Pollution comes down after Diwali

Interestingly, data also shows that the air pollution level actually starts to go down after Diwali at a very rapid rate. Graphs shared on Social media shows that while the air quality index did cross 900 around the midnight, perhaps by the time when most firecrackers had been durst, the AQI dropped at a very rate after that at several locations in Delhi, coming down by almost 100-200 points per hours, reaching between 200 and 300 in the motning.

Similar trend was seen in Hyderabad also, where pollution level came down after the firecracker bursting on Diwali.

Blaming Diwali is favorite past-time of news agencies like NDTV

NDTV published a report “Diwali Weather: Delhi’s Air Quality Likely To Become “Severe” By Tonight.” The aim was to demean the festival quoting ‘Experts’ who blamed worsening air quality on emissions of fireworks and the presence of calm winds. The fact is Delhi observed only eight ‘satisfactory’ air quality days in September 2020 as compared to 19 and 13 in September 2019 (AQI 98) and September 2018 (AQI 112), respectively. It must be mentioned that an AQI rating between 51 and 100 is deemed satisfactory.

Experts had made it clear as early as September that multiple environmental factors such as rainfall and man-made elements such as stubble burning and vehicular movement were behind the low air quality. Diwali was not even in sight during September. However, news agencies like NDTV never miss a chance to shift the blame to Hindus celebrating Diwali for the worse air quality in Delhi.

If Delhi is choking the reason is not Diwali but stubble burning

Every year, around Diwali, farmers across Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and other neighbouring states burn leftover stubble of their paddy produce. They prefer throwing a matchstick instead of using eco-friendly ways to manage stubble. As per them, throwing matchstick is a free and quick way to clear the field for the next crop. Though their greedy attitude harms the environment, it severely affects the soil’s quality as the fire reduces soil nutrition and kills friendly insects and microbes.

Despite the ban on stubble burning, the government of Punjab had failed miserably in controlling the stubble burning incidents. 2020 saw a sharp rise of 240% in such incidents in Punjab. On the other hand, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh managed to reduce such incidents by 30%. The central government aims to reduce the number of stubble burning incidents further in the coming years to ensure the least impact on the environment.

NGT’s ban hurt manufacturers and dealers every year

Every year, activists go to court and NGT, seeking a ban on Diwali celebrations. Unfortunately, NGT, who has failed to execute its ban orders on stubble burning, happily target the Hindu festival and ban firecrackers just before the festival. It affects the traders who got the license to sell firecrackers and invested in stock and the manufacturers, especially in Sivakasi. India’s firecrackers industry is failing because of a ban that is not even backed by scientific proof. What is worrying is, most state govts had issued licenses for sale of ‘green firecrackers’ in their states, and accordingly the traders had got the licenses and stocked the products. But suddenly just a few days before Diwali several states completely banned firecrackers, and made it a crime to stock and sale firecrackers. Which means, people who were issued licenses to sell firecrackers were turned criminals overnight, and such traders were arrested by police for the crime of selling firecrackers.

Antifa thugs attack peaceful Trump supporters following ‘Million MAGA March’ in Washington DC

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Antifa thugs attack peaceful Trump supporters following ‘Million MAGA March’ in Washington DC

Violence erupted in Washington DC following the ‘Million MAGA March’ organised by supporters of US President Donald Trump to demonstrate their support. From videos doing the rounds on social media, it appears that Black Lives Matter and Antifa thugs waited towards the end of the rally to attack Trump supporters. However, there was retaliation in small parts as well.

In one video shared by journalist Andy Ngo, a young couple could be seen being assaulted by left-wing thugs. The guy was wearing a Trump 2020 hoodie. Some sort of liquid was hurled at them and efforts were clearly made to get physically violent but the guy, conscious of his safety and that of his friend’s, kept his head down and managed to reach safe territory.

The elderly were not spared either. An old man with a Trump t-shirt was assaulted as well and had some liquid thrown at him by the left-wing thugs. Abuses were hurled at him as well and for some time, it looked like things were about to get really bad but fortunately, they didn’t.

The left-wing thugs also attacked people having dinner at DC after the march. They threw projectiles and a mortar firework at them causing visible panic.

Families with children were also not spared. One such family was in tears as they were followed and accosted by the thugs.

There were brawls as well between ‘Proud Boys’ and Antifa. The ‘Proud Boys’ are referred to as ‘White Supremacists’ in the media but Black leaders of the group insist that the group is not white supremacist.

Quite clearly, Joe Biden’s call for unity is falling on deaf ears. Furthermore, those who expected Antifa violence to cease following election night have clearly proven to be wrong. Violence by left-wing groups has been underway for months in the USA with the Democrat leadership either unwilling to enforce law and order or actively encouraging the violence.

World biggest importer of beef, China, now finds Coronavirus traces on packaged beef from Brazil: Read details

OpIndia Staff
-
0
World biggest importer of beef, China, now finds Coronavirus traces on packaged beef from Brazil: Read details

China, the biggest importer of beef and the first (and largest) exporter of Coronavirus, has now sounded alarm bells after finding COVID virus samples on packaged beef that it had imported from Brazil and Saudi Arabian Shrimp. Additionally, Chinese authorities also found the presence of Coronavirus samples on packaged Argentinian beef. While China is the world’s top beef buyer, Brazil and Argentina are its largest suppliers.

The first such instance has been reported from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where incidentally, the Coronavirus originated. Reuters reported that the first such virus sample was detected on Friday on a batch of packaged Brazilian Beef.

The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission has said in a statement on its website that it had found three positive samples on the outer packaging of frozen, boneless beef from Brazil. The packaged beef had entered China at Qingdao port on 7th August and it reached Wuhan on 17th August. Until recently, it was in cold storage.

Soon after Coronavirus samples were detected on the beef, China proceeded to collect more than 200 environmental samples. It also tested 100 staff members working at these locations. It is also being reported that more than 7,500 people who may have had contact with the contaminated products and other related personnel have tested negative for the virus that causes COVID-19.

As for the Saudi Arabian Shrimp, The Lanzhou Municipal Health Commission said it a statement that it had found one positive sample of Covid-19 on the inner packaging of imported frozen shrimp from Saudi Arabia. The shrimp had passed through customers in the coastal city of Tianjin. Reportedly, the contaminated product had entered China on 21st October and reached Lanzhou on the 8th of November. The cold storage facility where the Shrimp was kept has now been temporarily closed.

Earlier, frozen German pork had prompted a new case of Coronavirus in China.

Interestingly, however, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control says there is “no evidence” to suggest food is associated with spreading the virus, while the World Health Organization (WHO) says it’s not necessary to disinfect food packaging.

Assam: Two brothers attempt to sacrifice their five children to find buried treasure, Jamiul and Sariful caught by alert locals

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Assam: Two brothers attempt to sacrifice their five children to find buried treasure, Jamiul and Sariful caught by alert locals

In a horrific incident, two brothers in Assam had attempted to sacrifice their five children to get hidden treasure. Jamiul Hussain, his brother Sariful Hussain and one Ayesha Begum had prepared to kill the five children at 12 midnight on Saturday, but alert people in the area rescued the children at the last moment, and also caught the culprits.

The incident happened in Bambari in Dimou Mukh area in Sivsagar district in Assam, where one occultist and one woman who had claimed to be possessed by Goddess Kali had advised Jamiul and Sariful to sacrifice their children to find hidden gold and other treasure buried in the ground, and also to remove the problems faced by the family. Accordingly, five sons of Jamiul and Sariful were readied to be sacrificed by their own fathers.

The children were tied to a mango tree in the backyard of Jamiul’s house, and they were to be sacrificed on the midnight during Kali puja. But movements of the brothers in the past few days had created suspicion among the locals, and they were monitoring their activities. On Saturday midnight, they observed that the children were tied to the mango tree, and they were crying. Seeing this, they immediately informed the police. The locals also caught their fathers and later handed over them to the police, along with the woman who was an associate in the attempted crime.

The police rescued the children with the help of locals and brought them to the police station. Police also arrested Jamiul Hussain, Sariful Hussain and Ayesha Begum. Police officials have said that they are interrogating the accused, and an FIR will be lodged soon. They added that although locals have accused that it was an attempted human sacrifice, they are yet to probe the incident on that angle. Police found the children tied to the tree, but didn’t find any other material on the spot.

According to locals, when they questioned the fathers about the incident, they confessed that the children were to be sacrificed, but they were not going to do it themselves. They said that someone else was coming to do the same. It is also has been learned that the five children were kept locked in a room for the last several days, in preparation of their sacrifice. Jamiul has also named one occultist from nearby Moran, who had advised them to sacrifice their children.

The economics of liberal outrage – the genocide this week they all forgot

Abhishek Banerjee
-
0
The economics of liberal outrage – the genocide this week they all forgot

This week, there was a genocide. What? Where? Exactly. You probably don’t know because nobody cared. Thousands of Armenian Christians have been killed. Thousands more are fleeing their homes right now. They were given 5-6 days to leave their villages behind. By December 1st, several thousand more Armenians will have to leave their homes. Muslim majority Azerbaijan will take over their land, Armenia.

Why doesn’t the world care? Why didn’t this humanitarian tragedy come alive on our television screens, our internet portals and newspaper pages?

First, we need some history. Here is a map of the troubled South Caucasus region, which is the part between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.

Map of the troubled South Caucasus region

Trapped between Turkey and Azerbaijan is the tiny country of Armenia. The Azeris are ethnic Turks and have the same religion and culture as Turkey. For a long time, the mostly Christian Armenians were colonized by the Ottoman Empire. The Soviets took over the land in the 1920s and Armenia was cut up between three Soviet Republics : Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. As it often happens with empires, lines are drawn with little regard for subject peoples. When the Soviet empire collapsed in the 1990s, both Armenia and Azerbaijan became independent.

But a portion of land, populated by ethnic Armenians, remained part of Azerbaijan. This region is known as Ngorno-Karabakh. Tensions erupted and this area declared independence in the 1990s, supported by Armenia. The stalemate has been around for nearly three decades. Until Azerbaijan (with Turkish support) unilaterally broke the ceasefire a few weeks ago. The ethnic Armenians were quickly defeated. And now thousands of them have less than a week to leave their homes behind and flee.

This has all the makings of a genocide. An ethnic conflict with a religious divide. The Muslim majority Turks on one side and the Christian majority Armenians on the other. Two much larger and more powerful countries coming together to crush a tiny neighbor. Thousands of people killed. Thousands of civilians forced to flee their homes.

By the way, there is chilling history here. During the First World War, the Turks carried out a holocaust of 3 million Armenian civilians.

Then, why isn’t the world noticing? Where are the angels of liberalism and human rights? Can’t they find a single human rights violation anywhere? Among all those thousands of people fleeing their homes, can they not find a single human interest story? Nobody suffering there who might be too old, too young or pregnant? No bright young kid whose dreams have been shattered by the conflict?

Unusual, is it not? In other parts of the world, the liberals come out to protect the human rights of even stone pelters and terrorists. They are always the first to expose any excess by armed forces. They go to great lengths to document the suffering of innocent civilians. But not in this case.

Because the genocide in Ngorno-Karabakh is missing the most crucial element that drives liberal outrage.

Money.

It’s simple. There is no money for any liberal or human rights activist to talk about what the Turks are doing in Armenia. The “activists” go where the Pulitzer prizes are. They go where they can get cash prizes and about which they can address international conferences. The “award-winning” journalism follows the awards.

Is there anyone who will pay a human rights activist to care about Armenia? So, as far as the good people of global liberalism are concerned, it might as well not exist. Nothing to see there.

Have you ever wondered why the “worst” human rights violations in the world today appear to be happening in countries like India, France or the USA? Isn’t that what the newspapers, the television channels and the internet portals report on?

We always hear about the big danger of XYZphobia in Europe and the USA. As for India, they accuse the Modi government of two new genocides a day.

What drives this? Money.

These are democratic countries. “Dissent” is a very lucrative profession here. Become a dissenter and you will get an international award. Who wants to talk about what is happening in Saudi Arabia or to Hindus in Pakistan? There is no money in it. That is why there is more outrage about rising XYZphobia in France than concentration camps being built in China.

Liberals make money from our sense of guilt. You tell Indian people about an injustice happening in their country. They will pay you to keep talking. Bingo! That is why their mouths are always open about injustices happening in India.

The revenue model of liberal outrage doesn’t work in Pakistan or China. And that’s why liberals don’t talk about crimes in Pakistan or China. Liberal outrage has nothing to do with justice. It has to do with what pays.

The Armenians are people too. Their suffering was more real than those at the celebrity pity party at Shaheen Bagh. But there was nobody to hire human rights lobbyists for Armenia. That is why Shaheen Bagh and its imaginary grievances went on the front pages of global newspapers. Thousands of ethnic Armenians leaving their homes behind? Their lives have become footnotes in global media.

A final bit of irony. The Azeris won this war with weapons purchased from Israel. You know how much the left hates Israel. In liberal circles, the only thing bigger than the anti-India industry is the anti-Israel industry. If there was a time to point a finger at Israel, this was it.

But the anti-Israel industry let this one go. They didn’t care. Because this time, there was no money in it. The anti-Israel industry will be back. When Israel goes to defend itself from Hamas, the anti-Israel industry will be back to highlight the importance of human rights for terrorists. There is money in that.

All human suffering is sad. We tend to assume that those who highlight human suffering must be inherently selfless people. But like everyone else in the world, the liberal outrage lobby does not work for free. It is only common sense. So next time you see a human rights activist tugging at your heart, be sure to ask : who paid for this outrage?

Watch: Azerbaijani soldier screams ‘Allahu Akbar’ while standing atop a desecrated church in occupied territory in Armenia

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Watch: Azerbaijani soldier screams ‘Allahu Akbar’ while standing atop a desecrated church in occupied territory in Armenia

A video has emerged on social media platforms showing a suspected Azerbaijani soldier or Syrian mercenary screaming ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is Greater) while standing on the top of a chapel in Karabakh in Armenia. It is believed that the video was filmed recently. Others were heard repeating Allahu Akbar after him.

Armenian Church destroyed

Just a day before the said video was released, photos of a desecrated church in Armenia had appeared online. The Church was located in the strategic city of Shushi in the Karabakh region. Azerbaijan’s leadership had promised that they would protect the Armenian people of Karabakh. They also stated that they would preserve the culture and heritage of the community. However, the recent desecration of churches has made it clear that the Baku administration is not interested in protecting these sites.

As per the reports, a historic cathedral in Nagorno-Karabakh’s city of Shusha was shelled by the Azerbaijani forces. AFP reported severe damage to the church. Ghazanchetsots (Holy Saviour) Cathedral, an iconic site for the Armenian Apostolic Church, had a gaping hole in the roof created due to shelling in October.

Another Church in Baku was demolished by Azerbaijani forces, and it was converted in to a restaurant.

Armenian defence ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan said, “Enemy Azerbaijan hit the symbol of Shushi — the Cathedral of Ghazanchetsots.” AFP quoted a resident Simeon who lives near the church saying, “There is no military, nothing strategic here, how can you target a church.?”

1...4,8544,8554,856...7,648Page 4,855 of 7,648