Taliban forcibly displacing Afghans:

 Human Rights Watch

07 July, 2021
Human Rights Watch said the Taliban are forcibly displacing Afghans as they sweep across provinces.


An internally displaced family flees violence as the Taliban takes over their district in Afghanistan [AFP/Getty Images]

The Taliban are forcing people from their houses in northern Afghanistan and looting and burning some homes as they press forward against government forces, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.

The rights group said residents of Bagh-e Sherkat in Kunduz province reported that in late June the insurgents swept in and used loudspeakers to give people two hours to evacuate their homes "for their own safety."

Human Rights Watch said residents interviewed by phone in the past week said some 600 families were forced to leave the town to distant locations.

The resident said that the Taliban threatened people who had supported the Afghan government, and that Taliban fighters looted and burned homes.

"The Taliban's retaliatory attacks against civilians deemed to have supported the government are an ominous warning about the risk of future atrocities," said HRW associate director Patricia Gossman.

"The Taliban leadership has the power to stop these abuses by their forces but haven't shown that they are willing to do so," she said.

HRW said it could not confirm villager claims that the Taliban shot dead a local shopkeeper and a former local militia member.

A 45-year-old widow told them Taliban fighters forced her to leave.

"They said I had to leave because we had helped 'the infidels.' I lived in that village 20 years. Now I am in Faizabad living in a tent," she said, according to the rights group.

The Taliban's sweep across the country has picked up pace as US and NATO forces have almost completely withdrawn, leaving the Afghan national security forces largely to fend for themselves.

The last US troops are to depart by late August.

The insurgents have notably taken control of many rural districts in the north, seeking to surround provincial capitals and control key arteries.

On Wednesday they launched a major assault on the Badghis provincial capital Qala-i-Naw in the west.

"The enemy has entered the city, all the districts have fallen," Badghis governor Hessamuddin Shams told reporters in a text message, while insisting that the city would be defended.

 

Elephants might not fly: confusion over Carrie Johnson charity’s rewilding plan

Kenyan ministry of tourism and wildlife expresses concern about reports of scheme to transport herd from Kent

 The Aspinall Foundation had announced plans to transport 13 savannah elephants from Howletts Wild Animal Park to Kenya. Photograph: David Rolfee/David Rolfee/Howlettst

Patrick Greenfield

@pgreenfielduk

Wed 7 Jul 2021 17.57 BST

Confusion has erupted over plans to fly a herd of elephants from Kent to Kenya, after the Kenyan wildlife service said it had not been contacted or consulted about the operation.

On Monday, the Aspinall Foundation announced ambitious plans to transport 13 savanna elephants, born and bred in captivity, almost 4,500 miles from their home at Howletts Wild Animal Park to a site in the east African country, in partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). The wildlife charity, where the prime minister’s wife, Carrie Johnson, has a top corporate role in communications, said it would be a world-first operation to “rewild” the mammals.

But on Wednesday, Kenya’s ministry of tourism and wildlife tweeted its concern about newspaper reports of the plan and said it had not been contacted.

In a statement, the ministry said it had “noted with concern an article published in the Daily Mail, UK, stating that a herd of 13 elephants will be relocated from Kent Wildlife Park in the UK to Kenya in what is referred to as a ‘world first rewilding project’ by the publication”.

“The ministry wants to state that neither them nor the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) have been contacted or consulted on this matter.

“Relocation and rehabilitation of an animal from a zoo is not easy and is an expensive affair.”

The Guardian has been told that the director general of the KWS received a proposal for the relocation on Tuesday, although informal discussions did take place last year. The decision to transport the elephants will require formal approval from the Kenyan government, which has not been given, and will be subjected to national and international guidelines on wildlife introductions.

Of the 13 elephants, a dozen were born at the park in Kent, while one was born in Israel. As part of the announcement, the Aspinall Foundation said they would be held in an enclosure for six months upon their arrival so vets could monitor their reaction to the different climate and diseases.

Meanwhile, the Charity Commission continues to investigate the Aspinall Foundation and Howletts Wild Animal Trust, which manages the private zoo that houses the elephants, over possible conflicts of interest and misuse of charitable resources.

Elephant specialists and conservationists have privately expressed their concerns about the plan to transport animals, highlighting that Kenya already has about 35,000 elephants and funds to transport the mammals might be better spent on other projects.

Both the Aspinall Foundation charity and Howletts Wild Animal Trust, which manages two parks in Kent, are still under investigation by the Charity Commission in the UK. It confirmed both inquiries were active but were unable to comment on their findings.

A spokesperson for the Aspinall Foundation said they were perplexed by the announcement from the Kenyan ministry of tourism and that it had been in consultation with the KWS since last year. They acknowledged there was a process for obtaining permission to transport the elephants and were looking forward to working towards formal approval from the Kenyan government.

EU parliament condemns Hungary’s anti-LGBT law

Resolution is passed to launch legal action, but Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán remains defiant

Viktor Orban, whose law has been condemned by Ursula von der Leyen as “disgraceful”. Photograph: Darko Vojinović/AP

Jennifer Rankin in Brussels

Thu 8 Jul 2021 

The European parliament has denounced a Hungarian law that bans gay people from appearing in educational materials or on primetime TV as “a clear breach” of its principles of equality.

In a resolution voted in Strasbourg on Thursday by a resounding majority, MEPs condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the Hungarian law as “a clear breach of the EU’s values, principles and law”, while urging the European Commission to launch a fast-track legal case against Viktor Orbán’s government.

Campaigners fear the law could lead to an increase in physical and verbal attacks on gay people in Hungary.

EU leaders rounded on Orbán in what was described as an emotional debate during last month’s EU summit, while the commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the law was a “disgrace”.

EU urged to suspend funds to Hungary over ‘grave breaches of the rule of law’

Read more

“This law puts homosexuality and gender reassignment on a par with pornography,” Von der Leyen told MEPs on Wednesday. “This law uses the protection of children, to which we are all committed, as an excuse to severely discriminate against people because of their sexual orientation. This law is disgraceful.”

She has promised to use the EU executive’s powers to protect citizens’ rights and sent a formal letter to the Orbán government.

Although non-binding, the resolution adds pressure on Von der Leyen to take Hungary to the European court of justice. MEPs believe the Hungarian law violates rights to non-discrimination and freedom of expression, as well as the EU’s audiovisual media services directive, pan-European rules for TV and streaming services.

Altogether, 459 MEPs voted in favour of the resolution, with 147 against and 58 abstaining.

The MEPs also say Hungarian authorities cannot be trusted to manage EU funds in “a non-discriminatory way”, amid growing calls for Brussels to turn off the money taps to Budapest.

The commission is expected to delay approval of a €7.2bn coronavirus recovery plan for Hungary, subject to further demands to tackle corruption. A looming 12 July deadline has prompted calls for Brussels to order Hungary to rewrite its plan to tackle well-documented concerns about politicised courts and weak anti-graft controls. But the commission is likely to fall short of those demands.

“The current timetable is somewhere between 16 [and] 19 July,” said the German Green MEP Daniel Freund, a member of the budgetary control committee. “They will approve the Hungarian plan. If things go well they manage to write a little bit of additional anti-corruption reforms into the plan somewhere, but nothing that addresses anything immediately.”

He continued: “My reading is that the commissions are in a pickle.” The recovery fund was “not the ideal mechanism to get countries into structural reform and rebuild their rule of law and their justice system,” he said, adding that relatively time-consuming reforms were at odds with the urgency of economic rescue after the pandemic. “These are two contradictory things.”

An EU diplomat agreed with this analysis. The commission will “probably only kick the can down the road for another week,” the diplomat said. While the commission was “troubled” by the state of judicial independence in Hungary, officials see blocking Hungary’s access to EU recovery funds over rule of law concerns as “legally complex and shaky”, the person said.

A commission spokesperson declined to confirm or deny reports of a delay. “As the in-depth assessment is ongoing, we will not provide any preliminary assessment,” they said.

Viktor Orbán to become second EU leader hosted at No 10 after Brexit

Read more

Orbán, who faces elections in 2022, last week launched a nationwide poll questioning every household on the economy, migration and the EU via a series of loaded questions laden with stereotypes. In line with previous exercises, the survey and accompanying adverts demonised the Hungarian-born financier and philanthropist George Soros, linking him to “illegal migration”. One billboard slogan that has caused fresh outrage among MEPs reads: “George Soros is on the attack again?” Another asks: “Does Brussels make you angry?”

The survey cast the LGBTQ law as a child protection measure, a theme repeated by Orbán in a defiant letter to the EU this week. Accusing EU leaders of “evok[ing] the colonialist instincts of long-lost ages” and making “disrespectful power declarations”, the letter mounted a staunch defence of the law.

“We central Europeans know what it is like when the state party or the dictatorial system and the power monopoly it operates, want to raise children instead of their parents,” it said. “We did not allow it to the communists, so we will not allow these self-appointed apostles of liberal democracy to educate the children instead of Hungarian parents either.”

Frida Kahlo exhibition brings her work alive

"Frida. The Immersive Experience" presents 26 of the most emblematic works of the late painter. — © AFP



By AFP
Published

July 7, 2021

Natalia Cano

With larger-than-life projections of her work, music and journal extracts, a new exhibition aims to bring Mexican surrealist Frida Kahlo’s paintings to life to mark the 114th anniversary of her birth.

“Frida. The Immersive Experience” presents 26 of the most emblematic works of the late painter, known for her striking self-portraits often brimming with pain and isolation.

The idea is “to get to know Frida’s paintings, which have been around the world, but with a little bit of familiarity and intimacy,” the artist’s great-grandniece Mara de Anda said.

“I believe that Frida was very avant-garde and modern so this fits perfectly. She was a woman ahead of her time,” she told AFP at the launch on Tuesday.

Frida Kahlo, known for her striking self-portraits, is one of the 20th century’s most celebrated artists. — © AFP

Visitors immerse themselves for about 35 minutes in the heart and mind of one of the 20th century’s most celebrated artists, who died in 1954 aged 47.

Works such as “The Two Fridas” and “The Broken Column” converge in a digital art experience fusing video, music and interactive elements inside the Fronton Mexico, an art deco building in the Mexican capital.

“This experience makes it easier for everyone to achieve that connection, and also to understand it because Frida’s paintings are special. They are not easy to understand,” said 39-year-old Diana Olguin from Colombia.

– ‘A different way’ –

The exhibition touches on the difficult times in the life of the painter, who contracted polio when she was a young child, a disease that stunted the growth of her right leg.



The exhibition uses larger-than life projections, music and journal extracts to create an immersive experience of Frida Kahlo’s paintings. — © AFP

When she was 18, a metal tube pierced Kahlo’s abdomen during a bus crash, subjecting her to painful operations and long periods of bed rest throughout her life.

The artist, who twice married muralist Diego Rivera and was a close friend of Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky, turned to painting while convalescing, using a mirror for self-portraits.

Her works are accompanied at the exhibition by a digital app and an interactive room, as well as poems and pieces of original Mexican music.

People attend the inauguration of a Frida Kahlo immersive exhibition in Mexico City. — © AFP

“For many people who don’t like going to an exhibition where everything is more static, this allows you to know it in a different way,” said Frida Hentschel Romeo, another of the painter’s great-grandnieces.

“So I think the new generations are going to love it,” she said.

All visitors must wear masks, use antibacterial gel and have their temperature taken at the entrance due to the coronavirus, which has taken a devastating toll on Mexico.

“For a year and a half, we couldn’t enjoy this due to the pandemic, and now it’s an incredible opportunity to come and distract yourself for a while and see something new,” said 21-year-old university student Emiliano Diaz.

“The new generations are going to enjoy it because they will see art in a different way,” he added.

Read more: https://www.digitaljournal.com/life/frida-kahlo-exhibition-brings-her-work-alive/article#ixzz7044MNuTx

 AND THEY WOULD BE CORRECT

People's Bank of China argues Bitcoin and stablecoins threaten financial security and social stability

CRYPTOS | 7/8/2021 8:39:32 AM GMT

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• The People's Bank of China (PBOC) explains its stand on Bitcoin and stablecoins, stating that these are speculative tools that threaten financial security and social stability.
• Crackdown on stablecoins continues before the digital renminbi pilot at the Beijing Winter Olympics. 
• Further steps will be taken if the use of Bitcoin and stablecoins as payment tools for money laundering and illegal economic activities continue.

The deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China has expressed concerns about the use of stablecoins. He announced that the bank is already taking measures to tackle the threat posed by stablecoins. 

China’s crackdown on stablecoins

Fan Yifei, the deputy governor of the PBOC, stated the use of stablecoins like Tether (USDT) brings risks and challenges to the international monetary, payment, and settlement system. Yifei maintains that stablecoins have become a speculative tool for money laundering

Global payment giants like Visa would disagree with China’s stand on stablecoins. The multinational financial services corporation recently stated that,

...Stablecoins are on track to become an important part of the broader digital transformation of financial services, and Visa is excited to help shape and support that development.

According to several media outlets, key players in the Chinese cryptocurrency industry are promoting the theory that the crackdown on stablecoins in the nation may be a tactical move ahead of the launch of further pilots for institutional and commercial usage of the digital renminbi. This theory has its foundation in the past when the central government went after Google, Facebook, and other sites before launching a state-owned version of these firms. 

Digital RMB pilot for 10 million whitelisted users

Yifei mentioned in his statement that China is currently observing and studying private digital currencies that are not issued by the central bank. However, they are vigorously promoting both versions of the digital renminbi ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics. The one issued to institutional entities such as commercial banks and the one issued to the public for daily transactions. 

PBOC’s deputy governor mentioned that China has attained some consensus on the influence of wholesale digital renminbi and studies reveal that it may have no impact on the existing financial system. The same cannot be said for its retail version since it is not clear yet if it may cause financial disintermediation or weaken the monetary policy. This is the key reason why the government is running pilots for whitelisted users only. 

Currently, over 10 million whitelisted users are in queue to participate in the pilot of the digital renminbi at the Beijing Winter Olympics. 

Yifei said,

As far as I know, the number of whitelist users has reached 10 million. I hope you can try it if you have the opportunity. The Beijing Winter Olympics scene is the key area of ​​the next pilot. In this process, everyone here may enjoy such conveniences. If you have any problems in use, you can also report to us, and we will make adjustments in time.

 

Trump Horrified Police Killed Ashli Babbitt, His Innocent Supporter Just Trying To Breach The Capitol

Stephen Robinson

July 08, 2021 

Ashli Babbitt was part of the MAGA mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6. There is disturbing video of rioters breaking the glass on doors near the House chamber. Desperate police had blocked the entrance with chairs to keep out the violent mob, but Babbitt was trying to climb through the shattered glass when she was fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer.

When police kill Black people, there's usually only outcry when the kid is 12, the woman is asleep, or Domino's could deliver a pizza in the time the cop had pressed his knee on a Black man's neck. And even then, the cops feel annoyed that we've offered any feedback on their performance.

Babbitt, however, is what Fox News would describe simply as a “thug" or a “criminal" who was rightly killed while she was criming thuggishly. She was certainly no angel, but she's somehow become a rightwing martyr. They even briefly sold Ashli Babbitt “American Patriot" T-shirts at Sears (no, really).

Twitter

It's probably complicated because Babbitt is white and a Trump supporter. But you'd think that the Right would still side the cop, who is also probably a Trump supporter. Maybe the cop isn't white but I thought Republicans backed the blue no matter what! If they can overlook a cop shooting a suspect in the back, they could look the other way if the cop is Black.

Donald Trump claims he adores cops and famously suggested they “don't be too nice" to suspects (as if that was ever a problem). Now he's demanding that they reveal the identity of the officer who killed Babbitt. The Department of Justice has already ruled that the shooting was justified on account of insurrection, but Trump is stirring up his droogs against a cop who probably thought he had his back. It'd be funny if it weren't so pathetic.

During his press conference Wednesday announcing his goofy-ass lawsuit against Facebook, Twitter, and Google, President Law and Order called for an investigation into the officer who shot Babbitt. He said there was “no reason" for her to be killed, like he's some common liberal ingrate who doesn't appreciate the police. He's why they're all quitting! He also said Babbitt was shot in the head, which is a lie. She was shot in the shoulder and because this wasn't an action movie, she died from her injuries instead of just wrapping the wound in her ripped, dirty shirt before fighting more Terminators.

From Forbes:

If the situation were reversed, Trump claimed, without specifying what he meant, the officer who shot Babbitt would be the most "well-known" man in the "world."

Apparently, whoever wrote this Forbes article was literally born the day before it was published. What a prodigy! It's obvious what Trump meant is that if Babbitt were Black, Al Sharpton, Stacey Abrams, and the whole Black Lives Matter brigade would've demanded justice and been in the streets protesting on behalf of the man shot during a routine traffic stop violent seditionist.

TRUMP: There were no guns in the Capitol, except for the gun that shot Ashli Babbitt.

First, yes there were. Second, this remark must've devastated the police, who think guns are everywhere. They also consider any “aggressive" action a potential threat to their own lives. It doesn't matter if the person is armed with a gun or just their limbs. You'd think when the police unions were endorsing Trump last year, they would've made sure he was fully on board with all their copaganda. But they probably took it for granted: After all, Trump defended the cops who seriously injured an old man at a protest in Buffalo.

Twitter

He supported, without hesitation, teen vigilante Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot and killed people in Kenosha, Wisconsin. This is the same President Klan Robe who tweeted, "When the looting starts, the shooting starts," but maybe he thinks the Capitol isn't as important as a Minneapolis CVS. He also wanted the military to shoot Black Lives Matter protesters in the arms and legs, so they too could've likely died like Babbitt.

This sudden attack of empathy for the victim of a police shooting might come as a surprise if you didn't fully understand Trump. He's like a gangster but dumber. Babbitt was a member of his gang, and while he'd eagerly sacrifice all his supporters for a Diet Coke on a silver platter, he doesn't appreciate anyone whacking one without his permission.

Babbitt, an Air Force veteran, was one of many chumps Trump radicalized with his election fraud lies, and she paid the ultimate price. She's been dead for six months now, but Trump isn't done using her.

[Forbes]

Follow Stephen Robinson on Twitter.

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