Happy Halloween!

Tulum Mexico Has Gone Down the Crapper

Tulum, Mexico is the crown jewel of the “Mayan Riviera”—shimmering blue waters and incredible beaches among stunning ancient Mayan sites.   Among afficionados of this hot spot south of Cancun, the most pressing concerns seems to be the level of seaweed clogging up the famed beaches.  But seaweed is only one of Tulum’s problems—including failing infrastructure, overzealous developers, drugs, and too many DJs. 

In barely more than a decade, Tulum transformed from a backpacker’s beach into the next stop after Ibiza on the global DJ party circuit. It now has 40,000 residents, with 200,000 expected by 2030, and the town hasn’t been able to keep up with the arrival of wealthy jet-setters and the people who follow them on social media. There is no electricity on the beach, so diesel generators groan all day and night to run the air conditioners that customers demand. The beach has no adequate sewer system, and waste has been leaching into the water supply beneath Tulum and out to the ocean, killing the coral reef. Tulum’s old landfill, a few miles outside of town, is full, and last summer it burned in the heat for three months straight. The new dump was supposed to last five years but was already overflowing after 18 months. The beach and the jungle stretching away from the coast are dotted with construction sites, and small hotels started by hippies chasing a dream are being pushed out by large developers who seem to anticipate no end to the growing number of tourists hoping to see what Tulum is all about.

Tulum first opened for renovation in 1970, when the Mexican government converted mostly empty land on the Yucatán Peninsula’s northeastern-most point into a vacation destination. Cancún now welcomes six million visitors a year with its gorgeous beach, a strip of all-inclusive resorts, and Señor Frog’s serving tequila shots. That success led the government to rebrand 80 miles of beachfront to the south as the Riviera Maya, including what was once a quiet fishing village called Playa del Carmen, where there are now four Starbucks within ten blocks.

Tulum, meanwhile, was little more than a truck stop a few hours south, with a Mayan fortress on the beach where tour buses disgorged visitors for an afternoon. Unless you were looking to get off the grid, there wasn’t much reason to stay. Beachfront hammocks went for $10 a night, or you could sleep at the ruins, under the stars.  But an empty beach a few hours from the U.S. wasn’t going to stay that way for long.

But Tulum has become even more infamous for the incredible surge in violence (much of it occurring in and around tourist areas)—now becoming the most violent tourist destination in all  of Mexico.

In April 2020, a tourist shopping on the beach in Tulum was shot after being caught in the crossfire when a vendor was targeted by gunmen. The next month, a man and a woman were shot to death by three hitmen at Mercurio and Palenque streets in Tulum.

On August 5, 2020, a man was shot and killed in broad daylight in Tulum outside Plaza Andador. Two others were injured.  The shooting happened when two armed men attacked others inside the square. Upon their escape, they shot at three other men, killing one and injuring two.

In October 2020, two people were executed and three people injured in an armed attack on an electronic music event that took place in the hotel zone of Tulum, which resulted in a stampede of about a thousand tourists.

In January 2021, a man was shot multiple times by two armed men who fled inside the I Scream bar.

On March 2, 2021, a man and a woman were shot while on Playa Paraíso in Tulum.  The couple were at Playa Paraíso when at around noon, two men aboard a motorcycle showed up and began firing at them.

On March 4,2021, an early morning shooting in Tulum left one dead and four with injuries.  The shooting took place during the early morning hours of Thursday in the city’s center on Beta street.  When police and paramedics arrived, they found one deceased man laying in the street with four others injured.  On the same day, a man was shot dead in broad daylight while riding his bike in the Mezzanine area of Tulum.  He was found lying dead on the ground beside his bicycle.

In March 2021, Tulum authorities reported a double execution near the Kaan Luum lagoon next to the road that leads to Felipe Carrillo Puerto.

Also in March 2021, a man was shot at the entrance to the archaeological zone.  Two gunmen on a motorcycle arrived at the parking lot and opened fire at the man, and then fled to an unknown destination.  On that same March day, armed robbers struck at the Hotel Era on Calle 6 Sur in the La Veleta neighborhood of Tulum.  Several armed men entered shortly after 1:00 pm, subdued the employees and hotel guests in the lobby, and took cash and valuables.  The thieves escaped in a vehicle that was parked at the scene.

In May 2021, there was a shooting outside the Hartwood restaurant.  Men on motorcycles chased down and shot a man dead on Route 15 near the restaurant.  On May 29, 2021, the body of a dead man, handcuffed and wrapped in black garbage bags, was discovered in a green area of ​​the federal highway near Akumal, in front of the Dreams hotel in Tulum.  A day later, a man was executed while traveling in a taxicab in the hotel zone of Tulum. The attack took place in an area crowded with international tourists.

Two expats described in a Tripadvisor post how they were robbed in broad daylight at the Chedraui market in El Centro in June 2021.  Also that month, in the presence of tourists, two subjects were executed mid-day in front of tourists at Playa Paraíso, a kilometer from the archaeological remains of Tulum.  Witnesses said the victims were enjoying the day on the beach, when two people arrived with long and short weapons and opened fire, leaving them lying on the sand and on the lounge chairs they were renting.

On July 1, 2021, two gunmen on a motorcycle stopped at Camello restaurant on Mercurio Street (between Kukulcán Avenue and Palenque Street) got out of the vehicle and shot a man to death and fled.  Also on the same night, armed individuals arrived in a vehicle at the México Lindo restaurant on Tulum Avenue (between Centauro and Satélite) and began shooting at those who were inside.  One person died as a result of the attack, while another was seriously injured and a third was slightly injured in the neck.

Two Americans were shot at Tabu Restaurant on July 16, 2021. In another Tripadvisor post, a father described how his family of four (including two children) were robbed at gunpoint at the Deli Fresh market in Aldea Zama in the same month.

In September 2021, two people died and one injured after gunfire erupted at the Rosa Negra restaurant in Tulum. Witnesses say that armed people entered the restaurant around 10:45 p.m. and began shooting. At least eight shots were fired before those responsible fled. Two men, one security guard and one taxi driver, were killed.

Earlier this month, travel blogger Anjali Ryot from San Jose, California, was one of two foreign tourists killed in Tulum, after being caught in the crossfire of rival drug gangs.  The other tourist was 35-year-old German national Jennifer Henzold. Three other tourists from Germany and the Netherlands were also injured as they dined in an outdoor restaurant on Tulum’s main drag.

Also this month, a worker at a car wash was shot by two men on a motorcycle in the Tulum business district.  Just a couple of days later, a local man was murdered by a shooter on a motorcycle in front of tourists in the archeological zone of Tulum.

A news report from Mexican news outlet Reforma cited information from state authorities alleging that at least five criminal groups operate in Tulum, including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and a faction of the Zetas. The disposable income brought by tourists and a popular culture of late-night partying has added value to the local drug market where cocaine and marijuana are in high demand.

A recent traveler to Tulum reported on his trip as follows:

The hotel zone is 100% congested with cars and with people trying to walk on the main road with no sidewalks. So, it's difficult to not encounter hordes of people as you walk down the street. Most of the tourists seem to be the very young party set (college age) who seem to be heavy drinkers most of the time and no regard for the current pandemic. Our family did not feel comfortable venturing to any of the restaurants or walking outside the hotel given that the majority were drunks with no masks.

Restaurants are very expensive; taxis to town are very expensive and take a long time, 25 mins each way. Dinner for two, with a basic meal was over $100.00. There is lots of promotion from the local pharmacies for drugs such as pain killers, Viagra, etc.   This is a prime super spreader environment, and the atmosphere seems to be a combo of spring breakers gone wild and/or burning man goers. It's definitely not a tranquil, calm or respectful place which is very sad because this area was at one time quite beautiful.

Mother nature is also taking a hit in this paradisical corner of the world.   Lax environmental regulations and out of control development has led to widespread contamination of the water table, with 25% of household waste water not being treated before being put into the aquifer system.  

Tulum is built on highly permeable limestone, the geologic equivalent of Swiss cheese, below which flows one of the world’s largest underground river systems. Some of Tulum’s biggest non-beach attractions are its cenotes, where the ground has collapsed to reveal open-air pools with highly Instagrammable turquoise water. The trouble is that less than 10 percent of the town is connected to the municipal sewer system. The beach, and many of the newer developments, aren’t connected at all. Most businesses depend, instead, on septic tanks, but, whether by accident, neglect, or ignorance — willful or otherwise — a significant amount of Tulum’s waste ends up in the ground, where it eventually leaches through the limestone into the water. In January, a documentary called The Dark Side of Tulum was released with footage (shot by cave divers) of feces floating in the rivers. According to Mexico’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, 80 percent of the cenotes in the Yucatán Peninsula have some level of contamination, and it is now being reported that even human fecal matter has been found in the region’s cenotes.

Tulum’s problems are becoming harder to ignore, and before COVID, there were signs that the Tulum bubble was gently deflating.  Some hotels began reporting more vacancies than usual, and with so many new condos for rent around town that some had to lower their rates.  During the height of the pandemic, Tulum seemed to be ground zero for scores of selfish COVID-truthers and anti-vaxxers looking for a sunny locale where they wouldn’t be subjected to the minor inconveniences we have all accepted as part of the new reality.  But it is uncertain that they will be enough to bring the area's glory days.    Many seasoned travelers now consider Tulum essentially a dead-end filled with pothole-filled streets, overpriced taxis, terrible traffic jams, out-of-touch yuppies, celebrities, influencers, wannabe gurus, COVID deniers, and well-to-do folks looking to “find themselves” in overpriced retreats, hotels, and bars.

The Weeknd & Swedish House Mafia - Moth to a Flame

Birx Finally Fesses Up About Trump's COVID Response

During interviews earlier this month with the House select subcommittee on the pandemic, Dr. Deborah Birx conceded that the Trump administration was “distracted” from its work on COVID-19 because of the election, and that the administration’s early failures likely led to as many as 130,000 unnecessary deaths.

While Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator under Trump, appears to have shaded the truth at times last year, she’s now free to speak her mind.

Birx, detailed advice that she said the White House ignored late last year, including more aggressively testing younger Americans, expanding access to virus treatments and better distributing vaccines in long-term care facilities.  More than 130,000 American lives could have been saved with swifter action and better coordinated public health messages after the virus’ first wave, Birx told lawmakers.  “I believe if we had fully implemented the mask mandates, the reduction in indoor dining, the getting friends and family to understand the risk of gathering in private homes, and we had increased testing, that we probably could have decreased fatalities into the 30-percent less, to 40-percent less range,” Birx said.

It's good to finally hear these words from Birx, even though she was almost certainly lying last March when she said this of Trump: “He’s been so attentive to the scientific literature and the details and the data. I think his ability to analyze and integrate data that comes out of his long history in business has really been a real benefit during these discussions about medical issues.”

While Birx’s transparent “Trump-loves-the-details” bullshit undermined her credibility, at least she’s fessing up now that she's no longer under the thumbs of the Trump administration.  Birx also noted that Trump’s election-season push to pretend that he’d done a great job on the pandemic distracted him and his administration from actually addressing the crisis. “I felt like the White House had gotten somewhat complacent through the campaign season,” she told the subcommittee. She also stated that the election “just took people’s time away from and distracted them away from the pandemic, in my personal opinion.”

Birx was also asked directly if Trump “did everything he could to try to mitigate the spread of the virus and save lives during the pandemic.” Her answer? A blunt, “No.”  Of course, once again, a Democrat was tasked with stating the obvious. “The Trump White House’s prioritization of election year politics over the pandemic response—even as cases surged last fall—is among the worst failures of leadership in American history,” said South Carolina Rep. James E. Clyburn, chair of the subcommittee.

 

 

 

Existential Road Trip

China Now Building a Worldwide Genetic Database

 Chinese firms are collecting genetic data from around the world, part of an effort by the Chinese government and companies to develop the world’s largest bio-database, American intelligence officials reported.

The American private sector has long been in the cross hairs of China and other countries trying to steal American technology and intellectual property. Other countries like Russia also remain a threat, but the economic might of China makes it the biggest threat.

Officials are now also stressing the intersection of technology and genetic and biological research as an area of competition and espionage. Edward You, who is the national counterintelligence officer for emerging and disruptive technologies, said the Chinese government is collecting medical, health and genetic data around the world. The country that builds the best database of information will have an edge on developing cures for future pandemics, and China already has an advantage, he said.

Beijing has a track record of misusing genetic data, the counterintelligence center said, citing a 2019 New York Times report on how China uses genetic tests to track members of the Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim minority group.

Citing a Reuters report, Mr. You said a Chinese company, BGI, had developed a neonatal genetic test with the Chinese military that had enabled it to collect information from millions of people around the world. The firm gained a foothold in the United States in 2013, when it purchased an American genomics firm.

The counterintelligence center also highlighted investments by WuXi, which bought a Pfizer manufacturing plant in China, announced a production facility in Massachusetts and made an investment in 2015 in 23andMe, the consumer genetics company.

“They are developing the world’s largest bio database,” Mr. You said of the Chinese government efforts. “Once they have access to your genetic data, it’s not something you can change like a pin code.”

23andMe said that fears of China stealing its data are misplaced.  WuXi has a less than 1 percent investment in 23andMe and has never received any customer data, Jacquie Cooke Haggarty, the company’s deputy general counsel, said in a statement. No data has ever been shared with a Chinese-owned company and no investor has access to the data, she said. “All of our testing is performed and has always been performed in U.S.-based laboratories,” she said.

 

 

 

Military Coup in Sudan

Sudan's military has dissolved civilian rule, arrested political leaders and declared a state of emergency.
Protesters have taken to the streets of the capital, Khartoum, and there are reports of gunfire.

General Abdel Fattah Burhan, who had been heading a joint council with civilian leaders, blamed political infighting.  Military and civilian leaders have been at odds since long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir was overthrown two years ago and a transitional government set up.  Although the country remains in a deep economic crisis, there had been more international support - and a military takeover will put that hugely at risk.

Video footage from the north African nation's capital showed protesters manning lit barricades and entering the area near the military's headquarters.  One demonstrator, Haitham Mohamed, told Agence France-Presse: "We are ready to give our lives for the democratic transition in Sudan."

Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok is among those reported to have been put under house arrest, along with members of his cabinet and other civilian leaders.  A statement from the information ministry said those arrested were being held in "an unidentified location".  It also said Hamdok was being pressed to support a coup but was refusing to do so and he urged people to continue with peaceful protests to "defend the revolution".

General Burhan has been heading the Sovereign Council, part of a power-sharing arrangement between military and civilian leaders.  In a televised address, he said infighting between politicians, ambition and incitement to violence had forced him to act to protect the safety of the nation and to "rectify the revolution's course".  He said Sudan was still committed to "international accords" and the transition to civilian rule, with elections planned for July 2023.

But thousands of protesters have already taken to the streets in Khartoum to denounce a coup. Some chanted "no to military rule".  Demonstrator Sawsan Bashir told reporters: "We will not leave the streets until the civilian government is back and the transition is back."  Witnesses say the internet is down and that army and paramilitary troops have been deployed across the city. Khartoum airport is closed, and international flights are suspended.

You Know I'm Right

Seems Obvious That the Laundries Knew Their Son Might Kill Himself

Well, it's looking like coward Brian Laundrie killed himself to avoid facing justice for the murder of his girlfriend, Gabby Patito.  It's obvious from the Laundrie lawyer's interview on Good Morning America that Brian Laundrie's parents new that he was going to the nature reserve to kill himself-- check out the transcript below:

George Stephanopoulos: Do they (the Laundries) know how Brian died?

Laundrie lawyer: We do not.  I was informed from law enforcement yesterday that perhaps mid-day today we may have some more information. But as of right now, we know as much as you do.

George: So have you got any other information at all from the notebook, from the backpack -- anything like that?

Laundrie lawyer:  Not at all.  As you can see probably from some video that is circulating shows the white bag that we picked up by Chris Laundrie and was almost immediately turned over to law enforcement.  Law enforcement found the backpack.  I do not know if the notebook was in the white bag that Chris picked up or if it was in the backpack that law enforcement picked up. 

George: So many unanswered questions here.  You told us that the Laundries knew that Brian was grieving the night he left-- that was on September 13th.  But Gabby Patito's remains weren't discovered until the 19th.  So why did they think he was grieving?

Laundrie lawyer: Brian had been extremely upset.  Chris and Roberta were very concerned about him.  They expressed that to me that when he walked out the door that evening, they wished they could have stopped him.  They wished they could have prevented him from going out-- but he was intent on leaving.  And Chris said to me in hindsight, I know I couldn't stop him and I wish that I could have.

George: Do they think he committed suicide?

Laundrie lawyer: You know, we've had that conversation between the three of us-- Chris, Robert and myself, several times.  We just do not know his mental state when he walked out the door.  It was always a concern-- but let's wait for the medical examiner, if they can come up with some other explanation of the cause of death, we're going to accept that.  If not, I guess we're gonna have to accept that Brian did kill himself.

George: How did the Laundries know where to look?

Laundrie Lawyer: Well, Brian had hiked in that reserve-- Myakkahatchee Environmental Creek Park-- many times. Chris has hiked with him on several occasions as well. They kind of knew his favorite spots.  We had told law enforcement from the beginning where Brian would most likely be in the areas of the park.  When Chris went on Monday night to look for Brian when he didn't return--  you know he saw the car.  It was dark and everything was wet and flooded.  He returned the next day and Chris and Roberta looked again in the same areas but again it was flooded and they really couldn't get off trail.  So how and when Brian wound up in that area-- maybe he walked in the trail and then circled back someday.  I don't have the answer to that.  As far as how did the Laundries knew where to look on Thursday-- that was just starting at the beginning and working their way into the trail and as everybody knows, Brian's remains and personal items were located somewhat in close proximity to the entrance of the park.  

George: Did Brian tell the Laundries anything about what happened to Gabby before he disappeared?

Laundrie lawyer: George, that's not something I can comment on right now and I'd like to just leave it at that.

George:  Well, if you can't comment on it, that means you know something about it.

Laundrie lawyer: Well, I think everyone out there knows that whether the family or myself have any information to share-- there's not much we can say at this point in time-- and I'm going to leave it at "no comment"

George:  Is that because they've been cooperating with the FBI?

Laundrie lawyer:  I'm sorry-- did you say because we were cooperating with the FBI?

George: Because the family is cooperating with the FBI?

Laundrie lawyer: Well, George-- I think we've been quite clear on this from the very beginning.  When it comes to the FBI, we have absolutely nothing to say with respect to the Gabby Patito incident.  With respect to Brian, we have been cooperating from day one. From a legal perspective, those are two different scenarios-- one was the missing persons with Brian and one was the missing persons with Gabby.

George:  Is there anything that the Laundries want to say to Gabby Patito's family this morning?

Laundrie lawyer: Not at this time.   Like I said--  I haven't spoken to Chris and Roberta.  Yesterday was very hard on them, as I'm sure everybody can imagine.   I'm sure at some point in the future, comments and discussions may be had.

If the Laundries knew that Brian was distraught and didn't prevent him from leaving the house (or telling law enforcement that he was leaving) then they also share responsibility for the death of their son (on top of aiding and abetting the murderer of Gabby Petito).  I hope that sympathy for the Laundries doesn't prevent authorities from holding them accountable and getting justice for Gabby.

Santana & Chris Stapleton - Joy

Brazil's Bolsonaro Could Face Criminal Charges Due to His Incompetence

Brazil senators have concluded that Jair Bolsonaro should be charged for nine crimes, including charlatanism, malfeasance and crimes against humanity in the final report of their probe into the government’s handling of the pandemic. 

A Senate commission presented its report after six months of heated hearings and discussions, which included testimony from the four men who served as health ministers since the start of the pandemic, Bolsonaro allies and foes, companies that pushed for unproven early treatments and Covid patients.

Bolsonaro is almost universally blamed for Brazil’s erratic handling of the pandemic, dismissing it as just a flu, shunning face masks and vaccines and encouraging his supporters to ignore restrictions imposed by states and cities to halt the spread of the virus. The country has more than 600,000 deaths from the disease, second only to the U.S. globally, and counts more than 21 million cases. 

The official report accuses the president of ignoring scientific evidence, acting with “obvious disregard” for people’s lives, as evidenced in the “deliberate delay” in the purchase of vaccines. It also says he worked “strongly” to disseminate fake news about the pandemic. The deputy in charge of the probe, opposition Senator Randolfe Rodrigues, said the charges presented could carry a maximum sentence of 78 years behind bars -- though it’s unlikely Bolsonaro would be jailed while serving his term.  “With this behavior, the government, which had a legal duty to act, agreed with the death of millions of Brazilians,” said an excerpt of the document presented by Senator Renan Calheiros, the probe’s rapporteur. “Bolsonaro’s administration unquestionably undermined public health.”

The probe also suggested indictments of 67 other people and companies, including current and former ministers, doctors who prescribed ineffective drugs and three of Bolsonaro’s sons -- senator Flavio, lawmaker Eduardo and councilman Carlos -- for encouraging crimes by spreading fake news.

Senators still have to vote on the report, which is expected to happen next week. The Senate cannot propose formal lawsuits against Bolsonaro, but rather suggest charges to the prosecutor general, Augusto Aras.  Aras, who was appointed by the president, can then decide whether to pursue or drop the charges.  An investigation of the cases could potentially lead to an impeachment request, though that’s seen as highly unlikely -- lower house Speaker Arthur Lira, who is the only person authorized to initiate such proceedings, is a Bolsonaro ally who has been sitting on dozens of requests for months. 

The report had previously been expected to accuse Bolsonaro of more serious offenses, including murder by omission.  But those charges were dropped at the last minute amid intense backlash among senators that the rapporteur had overreached. 

Bolsonaro, one of the only global leaders who has refused to get vaccinated, has amped up his confrontational style during the pandemic. As deaths and cases were piling up, he frequently made headlines with comments like “everyone dies, what do you want me to do?” and “Brazilians jump and dive in open sewers and nothing happens.” He pushed unproven drugs including hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin as a solution to the outbreak, while casting doubts on vaccines and government data and bashing lockdowns. 

Early in its probe, the Senate honed in on the government’s delay in acquiring vaccines, which led to a slow and late start of immunizations in Latin America’s largest economy.  The investigation uncovered that Bolsonaro’s administration had ignored repeated offers from Pfizer Inc. to buy shots in 2020. Accusations of alleged corruption in vaccine contracts were also part of the probe.  

The immunization efforts have since picked up.  Bolsonaro, who is up for re-election next year, has seen his popularity slide to record lows amid the pandemic and its ensuing economic toll.  Inflation that’s surged past 10% amid soaring food and fuel costs have further eroded his standing, and the leader is trailing former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, his main political rival, in most voter polls so far. 

In congressional probes in Brazil, “everything or nothing can happen,” said Antonio Carlos de Almeida Castro, a criminal lawyer who has worked for years for dozens of investigated politicians. In this case, he said, people will be frustrated if nothing happens -- which he thinks will be the case.   “The lower house speaker doesn’t have to put an impeachment to a vote, and the prosecutor general has no obligation to accept the charges,” he said. “The charges will be in the hands of two people with imperial powers who may simply do nothing.”

 

Anti-Vaxxer Coach Refuses to Take Responsibiity For His Own Actions

USA Today's Dan Wolken is spot-on regarding the firing of Washington Head Coach Nick Rolovich for refusing to get vaccinated:

"If Nick Rolovich had bothered to explain himself even a little bit, perhaps he’d be worth your sympathy. If this grown man of 42 years had articulated his actual objection to the COVID-19 vaccine instead of deflecting and obfuscating like a petulant child, perhaps he’d be worth your respect. 

Instead, the former Washington State coach allowed himself to be removed from a $3 million a year job — an amount he almost assuredly will never see again in his lifetime — with no explanation for why he refused a life-saving shot that more than 189 million Americans and billions around the world have received. If Rolovich’s refusal to get the vaccine is a stand on principle in the face of a mandate from the state of Washington that he doesn’t agree with, it would be instructive to hear more than the few mumbled words he’s offered since it became obvious in July his unvaccinated status was going to be the only reason to pay attention to his football team this season.

That’s the most confusing part of this entire saga that ultimately led to Rolovich being fired Monday when he failed to receive a religious exemption to the vaccine mandate, triggering his termination. What does he actually stand for? What does he really believe? And why would he give up not just on this job, but any legitimate hope of a fruitful career in college coaching, over a point he hasn’t shown any interest in trying to prove?

Despite stonewalling any question about Rolovich’s vaccination status or his attempts to get around the state mandate, this is not a private matter. He’s the highest-paid employee at a public university whose job status depends on getting the vaccine. Which means careers have been hanging in the balance both on his coaching staff and among the young men who chose to play for his program. His silence has been nothing more than selfishness.

It’s hard to imagine anyone working their entire adult lives to get a head coaching job at a Pac-12 school only to give it up for the right to more easily contract and spread a dangerous virus. But if that’s how Rolovich wants his career to end while antagonizing his employers and embarrassing common sense, he certainly has that option.  The question is why. 

Is it really about religion for Rolovich, who comes from a Catholic background? Is it an outgrowth of fringe political views? Or is he just a strange, stubborn man who took a position early on the vaccine, dug in when the criticism came his way and boxed himself so far into a corner that he’s now out of a job? 

Maybe it doesn’t matter, because the way Rolovich handled this from the beginning exposed him as a poor leader, a narcissist and a coward. If he really loved being around this team as he described it Saturday night, he’d have gotten the shot so he could be around them for the rest of this season and beyond. If he had a legitimate conviction about defying the Washington mandate, he’d have explained it in public instead of turtling whenever a reporter gave him the opportunity. If he truly believed in what he was doing, he’d have had the courage to own the stakes of his decision. "

 

Am I Right?

Kenyan Mob Justice Prevails After Serial Killer Escapes Police

A mob in western Kenya has killed a self-confessed serial killer who escaped from police custody.  Masten Wanjala was traced by villagers to a house in Bungoma town and beaten to death, according to reports.

Three police officers who were on duty when he escaped have been charged with aiding the escape of a suspect and negligence.  Police say they noticed he had disappeared during the morning roll call. There was no sign of a break-in at the prison cell.

Authorities launched a massive manhunt for the fugitive who admitted to killing more than 10 young boys during a five-year period.  He also confessed to drugging them and in some cases drinking their blood.

He returned to the home of his parents (who have disowned him) and was subsequently strangled by neighbors who found out he was there, an eyewitness told Kenya's Standard newspaper.  He had tried to stave off suspicious locals by moving to a nearby house, Bungoma's police commander told the paper.

"We are not sure how he managed to travel all the way from Nairobi to his rural home," Musyoki Mutungi said. "It is the curious villagers who first identified him and went ahead to kill him even before the police could be informed."

The mother of one of the victims said she wanted to know why he did what he did.  "I would have loved to see him in court, so that I get to know why he did this - why he brutally killed our children and left us with pain," Grace Adhiambo said.

Wanjala killed his first victim when he was just 16 years old, a similar age to some of his victims.  He posed as a football coach to lure his victims to secluded areas, after which he attacked them.  In some cases he took them as hostages for ransom.  The killings took place in Nairobi, and areas of eastern and western Kenya.

In a series of tweets, the Kenyan Directorate of Criminal Investigations expressed regret that Wanjala did not face justice.  It said "the law of the jungle as applied by irate villagers prevailed".

There are growing calls for the resignation of Kenya's police chief over the escape, which shocked the nation and and led many on social media to ridicule the police.

Wanjala's killing by mob justice is a tragic reminder of the deep anger, hate and frustrations that many Kenyans feel for the National Police Service.  Kenyans saw this as an open-and-shut case, which the police bungled.  After more than three months of investigations, Kenyans are asking why Wanjala was never taken to court to face murder charges.  It raises questions about Kenya's judicial process - whose wheels often grind slow, and in this case, were completely broken, destroying the hopes for justice for families of the victims.

 

Power to the Workers

Over at The Atlantic, Derek Thompson has no problem with “The Great Resignation.” “Quits,” as the Bureau of Labor Statistics calls them, are rising in almost every industry. For those in leisure and hospitality, especially, the workplace must feel like one giant revolving door. Nearly 7 percent of employees in the “accommodations and food services” sector left their job in August. That means one in 14 hotel clerks, restaurant servers, and barbacks said sayonara in a single month. Thanks to several pandemic-relief checks, a rent moratorium, and student-loan forgiveness, everybody, particularly if they are young and have a low income, has more freedom to quit jobs they hate and hop to something els 

For many, quitting is associated with losers and loafers. But this level of quitting is really an expression of optimism that says, "We can do better."  People have frequently heard the story that in the golden age of American labor, 20th-century workers stayed in one job for 40 years and retired with a gold watch. But that’s a total myth. The truth is people in the 1960s and ’70s quit their jobs more often than they have in the past 20 years, and the economy was better off for it. Since the 1980s, Americans have quit less, and many have clung to crappy jobs for fear that the safety net wouldn’t support them while they looked for a new one. But Americans seem to be done with sticking it out. And they’re being rewarded for their lack of patience: Wages for low-income workers are rising at their fastest rate since the Great Recession. The Great Resignation is, literally, great.

Paul Krugman doesn't have much of a problem with The Great Resignationn either. Given these realities, it’s not surprising that many workers are either quitting or reluctant to return to their old jobs. The harder question is, why now? Many Americans hated their jobs two years ago, but they didn’t act on those feelings as much as they are now. So what changed?

Well, it’s only speculation, but it seems quite possible that the pandemic, by upending many Americans’ lives, also caused some of them to reconsider their life choices. Not everyone can afford to quit a hated job, but a significant number of workers seem ready to accept the risk of trying something different — retiring earlier despite the monetary cost, looking for a less unpleasant job in a different industry, and so on.  And while this new choosiness by workers who feel empowered is making consumers’ and business owners’ lives more difficult, let’s be clear: Overall, it’s a good thing. American workers are insisting on a better deal, and it’s in the nation’s interest that they get it.

Sarah Jones of New York magazine speculates on why unions seem to be striking all at once. Strikes don’t happen overnight. A successful strike requires years of groundwork by organizers and activist workers alike. That’s because strikes demand much of workers: Although a union’s strike fund is there to help workers keep their lights on while they’re off the job, it typically doesn’t replace their full pay. On the picket line, workers often have to endure hostile conditions, such as rain or snow, or confrontations with scabs. Workers strike because they have exhausted all other options and when the hardships of striking are overshadowed by the hardships of working.

 

Refugees From Gang-Controlled Haiti Brave a Perilous Journey to Central America

Stumbling over a stone in the Colombian jungle, a 12-year-old Haitian boy only pauses before readjusting the folded tent slung over his shoulder and catching up to his family, part of a group of migrants on a perilous journey toward the United States.

The group of some 500 Haitians are making their way on foot through the Darien Gap-- a 1,430,000-acre stretch of swampy, snake-infested jungle between South and Central America where criminals routinely rob and rape travelers.  The Darien Gap is the only hope for migrants seeking to cross by land from Colombia to Panama en route to the United States — and the prospect of a better life.

“Those who made it say that one has to prepare mentally to see many things… one is afraid for what can happen, for the children, for the family,” said Francisco, a 30-year-old Haitian bracing himself for the dangerous journey.  Reporters accompanied the migrants for part of their four-day trip through the Darien. Almost every day a new group sets out to brave the jungle and inhospitable terrain in a desperate effort to escape South America.  The migrants did not want to give their full names, for fear of having their undocumented journey interrupted and being sent home.

Up to the border with Panama, the migrants were accompanied by three dozen “guides” dressed in black, who claim to offer the group “protection.”  For the unsolicited service, each migrant had to pay $300.  Dragging children by the hand or carrying them on their backs, many shed their belongings along the way as the road stretched on and fatigue set in.

Most of the Haitians in the group come from Chile or Brazil, countries they moved to after the 2010 earthquake that killed some 200,000 people in their home country.  The South American economies, however, have been hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, and now that travel restrictions are being lifted, many people have decided to head north.

One 38-year-old Haitian woman had migrated to the Dominican Republic and then to Chile, where she worked for years to save up money for the trip with her kids.  She told her children “that we are going on a trip and that we could encounter attackers, animals, many dangers,” the woman told reporters.

Michaud Noel, 41, saved $1,500 in Brazil, where he worked in construction for a while to cover the costs of the trip for him and his family.  The night before entering the Darien Gap at the migrants’ temporary camp, on the edge of the jungle, Noel was so anxious that he could not sleep.  He was traveling with his partner, his four-year-old daughter, a 14-year-old niece and his brother, who carried the youngest child on his shoulders.  “The children don’t understand what is happening,” he said.

On some of the most difficult parts of the trek, the members of the group, advancing in a long line, hold hands and form a human accordion that stretches and contracts as people struggle over slippery, uneven terrain.  The group walks for two days in the Colombian jungle until they reach the top of the mountain range bordering Panama.  A physically fit person could make the journey in a day, “but here we have children, old people, obese people, sick people,” said Alexis, one of the guides.

From the many Haitians he has accompanied, 42-year-old Alexis learned the Creole phrase “Ann Ale” (Let’s go), which he repeats frequently as he leads the migrants through a stretch of jungle where the Gulf Clan — Colombia’s most powerful criminal syndicate — reigns supreme. Warned of encountering assailants along the way, the migrants follow their guides with a mix of distrust and relief.

Alexis disdains the word “coyote,” the name associated with human smugglers in Mexico.  “I am not a coyote. A coyote is someone who robs, rapes, scams his clients,” said the gray-haired guide, who refuses to be filmed. “I’m a guide and we are here to help.”  Alexis concedes the guides operate with the Gulf Clan’s blessing-- for a fee. In return, the clan promises to protect the passing migrants from rival marauders. There are no police, soldiers, or any government presence in the region. 

Day one of the migrants’ journey starts at dawn.  Locals appear periodically from villages along the trail offering to help carry luggage.  Noel’s family initially refuses, but after an hour’s walk over jagged stones in the suffocating jungle heat, they negotiate a fee: $40 to carry two suitcases.

A man takes one on his back and disappears up the path. The family can rest assured they will find their belongings at the next camp, said a guide.  By 9 am, the group is already exhausted as they reach a steep, muddy ravine.  “Trust in God because if you don’t have God, you won’t make it there,” said one migrant.

When they reach the mountain top at the end of the second day, the guides leave-- having completed their part of the agreement.  The Haitians are now on their own for the final two days’ trek on the Panama side.

Alexis described the area as a “no man’s land” of rival Panamanian gangs.  Since the beginning of the year, some 70,000 people have made the journey across the border from Colombia, according to Panamanian authorities.  Meanwhile, another 19,000 migrants are awaiting their chance to make the journey back at the Colombian port of Necocli, undeterred by the treacherous journey ahead of them.

Adele - Easy on Me

Minority Conservative Activists Continue to Hijack School Curriculums

A top administrator with the Carroll Independent School District in Southlake advised teachers last week that if they have a book about the Holocaust in their classroom, they should also offer students access to a book from an “opposing” perspective, according to an audio recording obtained by NBC News.

Gina Peddy, the Carroll school district’s executive director of curriculum and instruction, made the comment Friday afternoon during a training session on which books teachers can have in classroom libraries. The training came four days after the Carroll school board, responding to a parent’s complaint, voted to reprimand a fourth grade teacher who had kept an anti-racism book in her classroom.

“Just try to remember the concepts of [House Bill] 3979,” Peddy said in the recording, referring to a new Texas law that requires teachers to present multiple perspectives when discussing “widely debated and currently controversial” issues. “And make sure that if you have a book on the Holocaust,” Peddy continued, “that you have one that has an opposing, that has other perspectives.”

“How do you oppose the Holocaust?” one teacher said in response.  Another teacher wondered aloud if she would have to pull down “Number the Stars” by Lois Lowry, or other historical novels that tell the story of the Holocaust from the perspective of victims. It’s not clear if Peddy heard the question in the commotion or if she answered.

Clay Robison, a spokesman for the Texas State Teachers Association, a union representing educators, said, “We find it reprehensible for an educator to require a Holocaust denier to get equal treatment with the facts of history,” Robison said. “That’s absurd. It’s worse than absurd. And this law does not require it.”

Six Carroll teachers — including four who were in the room to hear Peddy’s remarks — spoke to NBC News on the condition of anonymity, worried that they would be punished for discussing their concerns publicly. They said district leaders have sent mixed messages about which books are appropriate in classrooms and what actions they should be taking.

“Teachers are literally afraid that we’re going to be punished for having books in our classes,” an elementary school teacher said. “There are no children’s books that show the ‘opposing perspective’ of the Holocaust or the ‘opposing perspective’ of slavery. Are we supposed to get rid of all of the books on those subjects?”

The debate in Southlake over which books should be allowed in schools seems to be part of an effort by conservative activists to promote opposition to lessons on racism, history and LGBTQ issues in grade schools. A group of Southlake parents has been fighting for more than a year to block new diversity and inclusion programs at Carroll, one of the top-ranked school districts in Texas.

Late last year, one of those parents complained when her daughter brought home a copy of “This Book Is Anti-Racist” by Tiffany Jewell from her fourth grade teacher’s class library. The mother also complained about how the teacher responded to her concerns. Carroll administrators investigated and decided against disciplining the teacher. But last week, on Oct. 4, the Carroll school board voted 3-2 to overturn the district’s decision and formally reprimanded the teacher, setting off unease among Carroll teachers who said they fear the board won’t protect them if a parent complains about a book in their class.

Teachers grew more concerned last week when Carroll administrators sent an email directing them to close their classroom libraries “until they can be vetted by the teacher.” Another email sent to teachers that day included a rubric that asked them to grade books based on whether they provide multiple perspectives and to set aside any that present singular, dominant narratives “in such a way that it ... may be considered offensive.”

A Carrolll school district tried to dampen the controversy by issuing a misleading statement to parents, saying, “The district has not mandated that any book be removed from teachers’ classroom libraries. Additionally, the district has not provided any training on removing books.”  In reality, the Carroll teachers were issued guidelines for their libraries, instructing them that libraries should not have books that have a "dominant narrative . . . that cannot be balanced with other materials [or] may be considered offensive."  It is disingenuous for the school district to think that there is any other way to placate a wacky parent who is offended by "Uncle Tom's Cabin" but to remove it-- unless they think it's OK to add a book that is pro-slavery.

 

Transgender Beauty Magnate Under Attack From Malaysia

Malaysia is attempting to extradite a transgender beauty entrepreneur from Thailand to face charges of insulting Islam by dressing as a woman, in a case that has turned the spotlight on the harassment faced by LGBTQ people amid rising religiosity in the Southeast Asian country. 

Nur Sajat, a 36-year-old entrepreneur and celebrity who built a successful cosmetics company, fled Malaysia after she was charged in an Islamic court for allegedly dressing as a woman at a religious event.  Muslims in Malaysia are subject to sharia law, and if convicted, Sajat could face up to three years in prison, likely in a men’s facility.  Sajat was arrested September 8 by Thai police for entering the country illegally.  A Thai police official told Reuters the deportation process was underway, though it could take time.  Kuala Lumpur officials called on Sajat to undergo counseling once authorities have taken action against her.

“If [she] has admitted wrong … if [she] wants to return to [her] true nature, there is no problem. We do not want to punish [her], we just want to educate,” Idris Ahmad, a senior government official in charge of religious affairs, told reporters during a conversation in which he misgendered Sajat.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights in much of Asia are extremely limited. In Malaysia, Islamic religious codes prohibit “a man posing as a woman.”  So-called treatments aimed at changing a person’s sexual orientation are still carried out, and transgender events have been raided by the police.  Sajat’s resolve to live as an openly transgender woman made her a household name in Malaysia. In 2018, she starred in an online reality TV series billed as a cross between “Keeping up With the Kardashians” and “The Hills,” documenting her life as the boss of a beauty empire.

The entrepreneur also received death threats after she discussed renouncing Islam in a video on social media that has now been removed, according to reports.  Conversion out of Islam is relatively rare in Malaysia, where about 60 percent of the population of 32 million is Muslim.  Activists say Sajat is in danger of “serious mistreatment and abuse” if she is deported to Malaysia and are supporting her bid for asylum, possibly in Australia.  Human Rights Watch (HRW), a civil liberties group, said the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has granted Sajat refugee status, and HRW is working to ensure she isn’t returned to Malaysia against her will.

“Malaysia’s outrageous harassment and persecution of Nur Sajat highlights just how repressive and abusive that country is toward the LGBT community,” wrote Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of HRW, in an email. “The Malaysian government is wielding religion like a cudgel to try to beat down and ultimately suppress the LGBT community, and transgender women like Nur Sajat face the brunt of that assault.”

Justice for Sisters, a Malaysian transgender rights group, said that calls for restrictive measures against LGBTQ people have been increasing and that anti-gay sentiments have escalated since Sajat’s arrest.  Malaysian officials are reportedly considering banning transgender people from entering many mosques and other religious compounds.

NFL Coach Who Denied Being a Bigot is Proven to Be a Liar

Barely a day after denied being a racist, Jon Gruden has no resigned as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders after a series of racist, homophobic and sexist emails from the last decade were exposed by the New York Times.

Gruden initially came under scrutiny due to an email he sent while an analyst for ESPN's Monday Night Football.  In an email to Washington Football team president Bruce Allen, Gruden called the NFLPA's executive director DeMaurice Smith, "Dumborris Smith," and said that "he had lips the size of Michelin tires."  Smith is of African-American descent. 

Gruden apologized for the initial incident, and over the weekend it appeared that he would be able to ride out the initial wave of controversy.  However, things changed dramatically after Monday's NYT reported on a new batch of messages, which came into the league's possession during its investigation of the Washington Football team and included communications as recent as 2020.   The newly leaked emails revealed that Gruden casually and frequently used misogynistic and homophobic language” to denigrate his NFL peers in the years prior to joining the Raiders.  In the newly-revealed emails, Gruden took aim at NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, labeling him a “faggot” and a “clueless anti-football pussy”.  

Gruden, who in his Las Vegas position coached openly gay defensive end Carl Nassib, slammed Goodell for pressuring then-Rams coach Jeff Fisher into drafting “queers” — a reference to Michael Sam being selected in 2014.   Gruden also called for Eric Reid, a key character in the national anthem protests, to be fired.  On top of that, he reportedly questioned the league’s concussion protocols, and used offensive language to describe owners, coaches, and journalists in the league. 

Gruden also referred disparagingly to Joe Biden, calling him a "nervous clueless pussy," and ridiculed Caitlyn Jenner after she won ESPN's Arthur Ashe Courage award in 2015.  The NFL sent the newest batch of emails to the Raiders last week, who did not comment or act on them until after Sunday's game.  Interestingly, the NFL has not released (or leaked) any of the emails from 2018-2020 (after Gruden had been hired by the Raiders).

Getting Native

Murder of Pakistani Woman Triggers Renewed Attention to Violence Against Women

The beheading of an ambassador's daughter promises to test the Pakistani legal system, who many say has repeatedly failed victims of violence and needs urgent reform.

27-year-old Noor Mukadam died after being allegedly tortured and killed by an acquaintance -- Zahir Jaffer, the 30-year-old son of an influential family and a dual Pakistan-U.S . national.  Mukadam's death may have been lost in Pakistan's crime statistics, if not for her status and Jaffer's family connections, as well as the affluent location of the killing in block F7, one of Islamabad's most exclusive neighborhoods.

In the days after her death, Pakistanis demanded #JusticeforNoor on Twitter, and a GoFundMe page to raise money for her family's legal fees hit almost $50,000 before her family requested it be closed.  The message suggested the family faces a long legal battle, despite claims of "strong circumstantial and forensic evidence" of Jaffer's guilt by their chief legal counsel, Shah Khawar.

 

Jaffer was arrested at the scene of the alleged attack and later charged with premeditated murder. His lawyer, Ansar Nawaz Mirza, said he hadn't spoken to Jaffer since the alleged attack but said his client "deserves a fair trial." 

Activists are using this case to renew calls for the country's Parliament to pass a law criminalizing domestic violence.  After being held up in the Senate, the upper house of Parliament, the bill was sent for review to the all-male member Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), the constitutional body that advises the legislature on whether or not a certain law is repugnant to Islam. 

 

The council has a poor record on domestic violence -- in 2016, it proposed its own bill to allow men to "lightly beat" their wives.  Women's rights activists fear the conservative council will use its influence on the legislation to kill the bill, sending a message that violence against women in their own homes is allowed, or even condoned.

 

According to the police report he filed on the night of her death, the victim's father he and his wife returned to the family home after running errands to find their daugher had not returned to the house.

They tried to phone her, but her mobile phone was switched off, so they began searching for her with the assistance of her friends.  Later that night, the victim called her parents saying that she would be traveling with friends to Lahore (Pakistan's second largest city) and they shouldn't worry. They didn't hear from her again.

 

The next afternoon, the Mukadams received an unexpected phone call from Zahir Jaffer stating that Noor was not with him. Hours later, police phoned Mukadam to tell him his daughter had been killed, and he should report to the police station. He was then taken to the Jaffer family residence to identify his daughter's body.

 

Police have not speculated on a motive for the alleged murder.  Jaffer and Mukadam, and their families, were known to each other. Police are not commenting publicly beyond the police report.  Jaffer's parents, Asmat Adamjee Jaffer and Zakir Jaffer, the director of Ahmed Jaffer & Company Ltd, one of the oldest family-run trading and project management companies in the country, were also arrested on charges of concealing evidence and abetting a crime.

 

Mukadam's death has drawn attention to the plight of women and girls in Pakistan, where violence against them is considered a "serious problem," according to a 2020 country report from Human Rights Watch. Around 28% of women between the ages of 15 and 49 have experienced physical violence since the age of 15, Pakistan's Ministry of Human Rights said, citing the country's Demographic and Health Survey from 2017-2018.  Often, violence occurs within marriage and goes unreported, because it is considered a cultural norm in Pakistan's patriarchal society, according to a World Health Organization review of literature on domestic violence in Pakistan from 2008 to 2018. 

 

It took Pakistani Prime Minister Khan 12 days to comment on Noor's killing, a delay some are interpreting as a sign that he is bowing to more conservative elements of his party -- and the country.  The proposed national bill has become a lightning rod for feminists who claim its delay is a classic example of how legislation regarding violence against women is treated in the country.  Many see Prime Minister Khan's referral of the matter to the Islamic Council as a sign that he lacks the political will to bring about change, since it is not common for bills to be referred to the body.

 

In the days after Mukadam's killing, her hometown gathered to protest and hold a vigil in her memory. A sea of white candles was lit, surrounded by portraits of her smiling face and bouquets of roses.  Since then, there have been protests in cities across the world, including Dublin, Los Angeles, New York, London and Toronto, in the memory of Noor and against femicide in Pakistan.  The crime dominated conversation on Soul Sisters Pakistan, a closed Facebook group with almost 300,000 members that provides a safe digital space for Pakistani women. 

 

Many hope Mukadam's death will lead to change -- and create enough impetus for stronger laws to protect women against violence. Shaukhat Mukadam said his family wants justice.  "It's not just the murder of my daughter. We have to have justice because (there are) implications ... for all Pakistani people's daughters."

 

GOP's America

The Rolling Stones - Troubles A' Comin'

Even the Homeless Understand the Safety of Vaccines

 

 A homeless man’s quick response to an anti-vaccine protester on LA’s Hollywood Boulevard has gone viral. Video from an outfit called “Film the Police LA” shows a small group of people holding placards with one woman shouting into a megaphone: “Do you see all of these homeless people around. Are they dead in the street from Covid? Hell no. Why?” A man pushing a trolley walked by and quipped: “Because I’m vaccinated you dumb fuck.” Since it was uploaded on Wednesday the video has been viewed 3.2 million times, and has garnered over 120,000 likes.

Secret South Dakota Trusts at the Heart of Pandora Papers Leak

An investigation based on one of the biggest ever leaks of financial documents has exposed a hidden world of shielded wealth belonging to hundreds of politicians and billionaires.

One of the largest ever global media investigations, the Pandora Papers involved more than 600 journalists who together analyzed some 11.9 million documents from financial services companies around the world.  They found links between almost 1,000 companies in offshore havens and 336 high-level politicians and public officials, including more than a dozen serving heads of state and government.

The files show King Abdullah II, who has faced angry protests against austerity measures in recent years, created a network of offshore companies and tax havens to amass a US$100 million (S$136 million) property empire between 2003 and 2017, including 15 homes from Malibu, California to Washington and London.

Family and associates of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev - long accused of corruption by rights groups - are alleged to have been secretly involved in property deals in Britain worth hundreds of millions, including a roughly US$45 million office block in the name of the president's 11-year-old son, Heyder.

According to the documents, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis (who is facing an election this week) failed to declare an offshore investment company used to purchase a chateau worth US$22 million in the south of France.

The investigation says Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta - who has campaigned against corruption and for financial transparency - along with six family members secretly own a network of 11 offshore companies, one of which was valued as holding assets of US$30 million.

President Vladimir Putin is linked via associates to secret assets in Monaco - notably a waterfront home acquired by a Russian woman who is believed to have had a child with Putin.

Previously an outspoken critic of tax loopholes, former British prime minister Tony Blair and his wife were found to have purchased an $8.8 million building in London in 2017 by buying the British Virgin Islands company that owned it. By doing so, they avoided paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes.

One of the most “troubling revelations” for the United States was the role of South Dakota, Nevada and other states that have adopted financial secrecy laws that “rival those of offshore jurisdictions” and demonstrate America’s “expanding complicity in the offshore economy,” said the Washington Post.

Delaware, Nevada, and Wyoming have all spent years marketing themselves around the world as a welcome home for anonymous shell companies, providing legal secrecy and protection to anyone looking to bury their finances away from investigators and authorities. But as the Pandora Papers make clear, another state, South Dakota, has introduced a brand-new tool to pull in as much anonymous wealth as it can, attracting little attention and even less criticism.  More than 80 of the 200 U.S. trusts exposed by the Pandora Papers were in South Dakota—the most of any state.

The documents reveal that in 2017, Ecuadoran President Guillermo Lasso, a former banker, sheltered assets in a pair of South Dakota trusts—only three months after Ecuador passed legislation barring politicians from using tax havens.

Family members of Carlos Morales Troncoso, the former vice president of the Dominican Republic, moved millions in assets into South Dakota trusts, along with shares controlling the country’s largest (and most controversial) sugar-production facilities.  According to the Guardian, the Pandora Papers show that South Dakota “is sheltering billions of dollars in wealth linked to individuals previously accused of serious financial crimes.”  

South Dakota trusts provide precisely the kind of anonymity that shady people are looking for. Not only can those establishing South Dakota trusts list themselves as beneficiaries (contradicting the original purpose of a trust, which is to shield assets for others) but they don’t even need to visit the state to set one up. The state prohibits sharing information about these trusts with other governments, and any court documents pertaining to South Dakota trusts are kept private in perpetuity. More importantly, South Dakota pioneered regulations that allow its trusts (which typically expire after 100 years) to remain in place forever, forming the bedrock for dynastic wealth.

 

Catholic Church Still Protecting Child Sexual Abusers

Some 216,000 children - mostly boys - have been sexually abused by clergy in the French Catholic Church since 1950, a damning new inquiry has found.  The head of the inquiry said there were at least 2,900-3,200 abusers, and accused the Church of showing a "cruel indifference towards the victims".

A senior figure in the French Church expressed "shame and horror" over the findings, and asked for forgiveness.  One of those abused said it was time the Church reassessed its actions.

François Devaux, who is also the founder of the victims' association La Parole Libérée (Freed speech), said there had been a "betrayal of trust, betrayal of morale, betrayal of children".  The inquiry found that the number of children abused in France could rise to 330,000, when taking into account abuses committed by lay members of the Church, such as teachers at Catholic schools.

For Devaux, the revelations marked a turning point in France's history: "You have finally given institutional recognition to victims of all the Church's responsibility - something that bishops and the Pope have not yet been prepared to do."

The report's release follows a number of abuse claims and prosecutions against Catholic Church officials worldwide.  The inquiry was commissioned by the French Catholic Church, and spent more than two-and-a-half years combing through court, police and Church records and speaking to victims and witnesses.  "These figures are more than worrying, they are damning and in no way can remain without a response," the head of the inquiry, Jean-Marc Sauvé, told reporters.

The report, which is nearly 2,500 pages long, said the "vast majority" of victims were boys, many of them aged between 10 and 13.  While the commission found evidence of as many as 3,200 abusers - out of a total of 115,000 priests and other clerics - it said this was probably an underestimation.

The Church not only failed to prevent abuse, but also failed to report it and at times knowingly put children in contact with predators, it said.  "The Catholic Church is, after the circle of family and friends, the environment that has the highest prevalence of sexual violence."

Most cases assessed by the inquiry are thought to be too old to prosecute under French law.  Sauvé called on the Church to pay reparations, as he denounced the "systemic character" of efforts to shield clergy members from sex abuse claim.  In response, the president of the Bishops' Conference of France (CEF), Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, said: "My wish today is to ask forgiveness from each of you".  Earlier this year, Pope Francis changed the Roman Catholic Church's laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse, in the biggest overhaul of the criminal code for nearly 40 years.

Too little, too late, I say.  Pope John Paul II first apologized for systemic sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in 2001, calling it "a profound contradiction of the teaching and witness of Jesus Christ."  In 2002, a blockbuster investigation by the Boston Globe led to widespread media coverage of the issue in the United States.  It is still not official Catholic policy to immediately report sexual abuse cases to police.  In the U.S., it is a crime to fail to report suspected child abuse to the authorities.

 

 

 

Cuban Defections Continue Amid COVID Crisis

At least nine young Cuban baseball players have defected during a tournament in Mexico, officials say, in the largest defection of Cuban athletes in years.  Cuban officials called the players' actions during the World Cup for athletes under the age of 23 "vile abandonments."   A statement by Cuba's National Sports Institute, published on the official JIT website and quoted by the Associated Press news agency, did not name the players who had stayed in Mexico.  Baseball journalist Francys Romero said a total of 12 players had defected.

The rest of the team, which originally had 24 players, will return to Cuba on Monday.  Cuba is in the midst of an economic crisis, with food and medicine shortages, and has been hit hard by U.S. sanctions and COVID-19.  In July, thousands of people joined the biggest anti-government protests in the island for decades.

Cuban athletes have a long history of defecting while competing abroad.  Baseball players often leave to sign up with Major League Baseball (MLB) clubs in the US, as strained relations between the U.S. and Cuba prevent them from taking part in a regular hiring process.

A deal that allowed some Cuban players to sign with MLB clubs was cancelled by President Donald Trump in 2018, in an attempt to pressure the island's Communist government to implement political changes. The agreement meant athletes no longer had to abscond and leave Cuba illegally.

The most recent high-profile player to defect was 22-year-old César Prieto, one of the country's top baseball stars, who abandoned the team earlier this year while in Florida for an Olympics qualifying event.  Ballet dancers and footballers are also among athletes who have fled during major competitions.