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Debunking Effortpost 1 - Xinjiang Camps Denial

Hello everyone. Reddit has an uncanny habit of calling various issues as CIA and western propaganda, so I have decided to write a series of effortposts to debunk these bad faith arguments. If this post is received well, I'm thinking of addressing Venezuela next.
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The Claim
Many posts that reach the front page regarding the ongoing actions of the People's Republic of China in regards to the Uighur, Kazakh, and other Muslim ethnic groups in the northwest Chinese region of Xinjiang are attacked as being a CIA propaganda effort in the resulting threads. This claim usually stems from the argument that reports of mass detention centers and the actions within are reported by western media and individuals connected to western governments. Thus, I will base most of this effortpost on sources with a demonstrable independence from government funding and influence along with direct sources from the Chinese government itself. (WARNING: Take precautions when opening any of the direct sources from Chinese state media/government. Utilize the Wayback Machine links when possible and refrain from downloading any files unless absolutely necessary.) Additional claims argue that these re-education camps are in fact simply generous efforts by the Chinese government in helping any Xinjiang resident with employment by offering voluntary vocational training.
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Early Reports
Early reports of the camps in the Xinjiang region were published by the Human Rights Watch on September 2017. The report accused the Chinese government of detaining thousands of Uighurs and other Muslim ethnic individuals for political reasons. However, the Human Rights Watch is a frequent target of those who wish to deny the Uighur genocide by suggesting that the organization is actually funded by nefarious sources. Although HRW does a great job of maintaining a transparent financial page online with annual reports of their financials and where they receive their funds, this may be a fair accusation since there are concerns that the Human Rights Watch may have solicited funds from Saudi Arabia. Fair enough.
However, the more important information from the report are direct quotes from the Chinese government and state media. One particular quote from Xinjiang Yaou describes said camps as
"just like a boarding high school… except the content of learning is different."
Funny enough, the original link leads to an error page as the article was deleted. Luckily, the Wayback Machine has a saved archive of the page from June 3, 2018. Interesting that a state media page that was cited in the Human Rights Watch report was taken down. This isn't an isolated incident either. Nearly all of the linked Chinese state media articles are now deleted but available on Wayback Machine. (due to domain change, not malicious coverup; credit to u/ResponsibleWedding2). Anyways, keep this quote in mind through the rest of the post.
A 2019 white paper published by the State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China additionally states:
"Xinjiang has set up vocational education and training centers in some prefectures and counties."
Section III of the white paper describes the content of education and training as simply consisting of teaching Chinese, legal concepts, civil rights/obligations, and vocational skills to improve employment opportunities. Seems innocuous enough. However, Section II and Section IV of the white paper describes the criteria individuals must meet before being placed in a vocational education/training center:
"The only criterion for education at the centers is whether the trainee has been convicted of unlawful or criminal acts involving terrorism and religious extremism."
Therefore, according to the Chinese government itself, these centers are not simply vocational education centers established to generously help any poor Xinjiang resident with employment but are dedicated to combat convicted terrorists/religious extremists. This immediately debunks one of the standard responses that the Xinjiang camps are benevolent and voluntary economic assistance programs. Keep these statements in mind as well for the remainder of the post.
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New York Times and ICIJ Leaks
On November 16, 2019, the New York Times released over 400 pages of leaked internal Chinese documents dubbed the Xinjiang Papers. They provided an insight into the Xinjiang facilities, the motivation behind them, and a prescribed response script for family members asking where their detained family members are. The documents provided prewritten responses to questions such as:
"When will my relatives be released? If this is for training, why can’t they come home? Can they request a leave? How will I afford school if my parents are studying and there is no one to work on the farm?"
The documents recommend to say:
“If they don’t undergo study and training, they’ll never thoroughly and fully understand the dangers of religious extremism.”
Thus, the official purpose behind these camps is to supposedly combat religious extremism. This clashes with previous explanations of the camps as vocational education centers dedicated to help Xinjiang residents find employment. Even worse:
"The authorities appear to be using a scoring system to determine who can be released from the camps: The document instructed officials to tell the students that their behavior could hurt their relatives’ scores, and to assess the daily behavior of the students and record their attendance at training sessions, meetings and other activities."
Why do vocational educational centers not allow free leave and why does family behavior play any role in deciding whether they should be able to leave?
Then there's this part from the leaks:
"The line that stands out most in the script, however, may be the model answer for how to respond to students who ask of their detained relatives, 'Did they commit a crime?' The document instructed officials to acknowledge that they had not. 'It is just that their thinking has been infected by unhealthy thoughts,' the script said."
This is the exact opposite of the criteria mentioned in the 2019 white paper that states that the vocational education and training centers are only for convicted terrorists and religious extremists. If the family members have not committed crimes and been convicted of them, there should be no official reason for them to be held within the vocational education and training centers.
The leaks revealed the real criteria for being held within the centers:
"Now it was being applied to humans in directives that ordered, with no mention of judicial procedures, the detention of anyone who displayed 'symptoms' of religious radicalism or antigovernment views. The authorities laid out dozens of such signs, including common behavior among devout Uighurs such as wearing long beards, giving up smoking or drinking, studying Arabic and praying outside mosques."
The documents had no mention of judicial procedures in holding only convicted criminals but had a list of arbitrary "symptoms" that people could be detained in the centers for.
One of the most revealing parts of the leak is an internal investigation and written confession of party official Wang Yongzhi who was in charge of Yarkand of Xinjiang. Although he publicly embraced the new policies in Xinjiang, he privately opposed them in some measure. For example:
"The authorities set numeric targets for Uighur detentions in parts of Xinjiang, and while it is unclear if they did so in Yarkand, Mr. Wang felt the orders left no room for moderation and would poison ethnic relations in the county."
Numeric quotas for Uighur detention when these centers are supposedly only for convicted terrorists and religious extremists? That simply doesn't make sense. The level of internment in Xinjiang is further revealed by this quote:
"The leadership had set goals to reduce poverty in Xinjiang. But with so many working-age residents being sent to the camps, Mr. Wang was afraid the targets would be out of reach."
There are enough Xinjiang residents being placed in the reeducation camps that the economy is being affected. When he ordered the release of 7000 plus camp inmates, he was prosecuted by the party. However, Mr. Wang was not alone.
"Gu Wensheng, the Han leader of another southern county, was jailed for trying to slow the detentions and shield Uighur officials, according to the documents."
In addition, in
"2017, the party opened more than 12,000 investigations into party members in Xinjiang for infractions in the 'fight against separatism,' more than 20 times the figure in the previous year, according to official statistics."
Yet again, if the centers were simply about holding convicted terrorists and religious extremists, there would not be a sudden explosion in resistance by local party officials in Xinjiang.
Now, a common response to inner party crackdowns is that Xi is merely taking down corrupt government officials. Thus, Wang Yongzhi was labelled as a corrupt official taking bribes in state media when he was investigated. However, the internal report specifically states that the reason for his prosecution was that
"'He refused,' it said, 'to round up everyone who should be rounded up.'"
Of course, the New York Times is frequently attacked as being a CIA-controlled western propaganda mouthpiece. These claims largely stem from the New York Times and other American media outlets acknowledging that the US government has the ability to redact or prevent publication of articles. This, of course, conveniently ignores the New York Times having published numerous whistleblower stories on the US government and the CIA itself. However, it does need to be recognized that the most likely response to the Xinjiang Papers is that the documents are fabricated. In fact, that's what the Chinese embassy in the UK told The Guardian in the aftermath of the leak.
Yet, there are still further avenues to prove the reality of the Xinjiang camps. The Chinese embassy statement directly says that:
"The trainees also learn professional skills and legal knowledge so that they can live on their own profession. That’s the major purpose of the centres. The trainees could go home regularly and ask for leave to take care of their children."
This statement yet again contradicts the 2019 white paper stating that the camps are intended for convicted terrorists and religious extremists. It is illogical that convicted terrorists and religious extremists would be allowed free leave. In addition, the embassy statement contradicts the official script denying family members the ability for the camp internees to leave.
Fortunately, there are additional leaks beyond the Xinjiang Papers. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published the China Cables on November 24, 2019. The ICIJ is a renowned organization spanning 100 countries/territories with 200 plus journalists and 100 plus media organizations cooperating with the ICIJ. The group is well known for several publications including exposés on international white collar crime, tax evasion, private military contractors (especially regarding the Iraq and Afghanistan interventions), and climate change lobbyist corruption. However, they are most well known for the publication of the Panama Papers. This organization is the best response to accusations of CIA control, western propaganda, etc. The certain group of individuals who accuse media reports of the Xinjiang camps as being western propaganda also tend to dislike wealthy and powerful corporations/individuals. The ICIJ has a long track record of reporting on these groups and individuals. The Panama Papers, especially, resulted in the exposure of extremely powerful individuals' actions with international crime, including heads of state, officials, and organizations of national governments. In fact, in specific regard to the CIA, the ICIJ has frequently reported on inappropriate actions by the CIA in the past. An even better example lies in the ICIJ coverage of a CIA operation in Italy exposing the intelligence agency's role in abducting an Egyptian cleric. The best example of all lies in the Panama Papers themselves as the ICIJ report directly names former likely CIA operatives, contractors, and contacts and highlights their use of offshore companies to aid them in espionage or for financial gain. All of these actions don't exactly scream CIA and US control. The ICIJ also lists their financial supporters here to further demonstrate their independent nature.
So why the painstaking lengths to prove the independent nature of the ICIJ? Well, the China Cables are another set of leaked documents that detail how to run the Xinjiang camps and provide an insight into a mass surveillance and predictive policing program in the region. These documents contradict the official Chinese statements on the camp. Here a small series of quotes from the ICIJ report:
The China Cables starkly contradict the Chinese government’s official characterization of the camps as benevolent social programs that provide “residential vocational training” and meals “free of charge.” The documents specify that arrests should be made in almost any circumstance — unless suspicions can be “ruled out” – and reveal that a central goal of the campaign is general indoctrination.
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The manual reveals a points-based behavior-control system within the camps. Points are tabulated by assessing the inmates’ “ideological transformation, study and training, and compliance with discipline,” the manual says. The punishment-and-reward system helps determine, among other things, whether inmates are allowed contact with family and when they are released.
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Numerous ex-inmates have reported experiencing or witnessing torture and other abuses, including water torture, beatings and rape. “Some prisoners were hung on the wall and beaten with electrified truncheons,” Sayragul Sauytbay, a former detainee who has been granted asylum in Sweden, told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz in October. “There were prisoners who were made to sit on a chair of nails. I saw people return from that room covered in blood. Some came back without fingernails.”
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The shorter “bulletins,” meanwhile, provide a chilling look inside the Integrated Joint Operations Platform (IJOP), which collects vast amounts of personal information on citizens from a range of sources, and then uses artificial intelligence to formulate lengthy lists of so-called suspicious persons based on this data.
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“Bulletin No. 14,” for instance, provides instruction on how to conduct mass investigations and detentions after IJOP has generated a lengthy list of suspects. It notes that in a seven-day period in June 2017, security officials rounded up 15,683 Xinjiang residents flagged by IJOP and placed them in internment camps (in addition to 706 formally arrested). The bulletin goes on to note that IJOP had actually produced 24,412 names of “suspicious persons” that week and discusses the reasons for the discrepancy: Some couldn’t be located, others had died but their ID cards were being used by third parties, and so on. The bulletin notes that some students and government officials were “difficult to handle.”
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In July 2017, at China’s request, Egypt deported at least 12 Uighur students studying at Al-Azhar University, a well-known institution for religious studies, and detained dozens more. In early 2018, Uighurs living abroad reported that security bureaus in Xinjiang were systematically collecting detailed personal information about them from relatives still living there.
“Bulletin No. 2” reveals that such acts were part of a broad policy initiative. Dated June 16, 2017, the two-and-a-half page bulletin deals with foreign citizenship and Uighurs who have spent time abroad. It categorizes Chinese Uighurs living abroad by their home regions within Xinjiang and instructs officials to collect personal information about them. The purpose of this effort, the bulletin says, is to identify “those still outside the country for whom suspected terrorism cannot be ruled out.” It declares that such people “should be placed into concentrated education and training” immediately upon their return to China.
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Ominously, Bulletin No. 2 points to the role of China’s embassies and consulates in collecting information for IJOP, which is then used to generate names for investigation and detention. It cites an IJOP-generated list of 4,341 people found to have applied for visas and other documents at Chinese consulates or who applied for “replacements of valid identification at our Chinese embassies or consulates abroad.” The bulletin includes instructions for those people to be investigated and arrested “the moment they cross the border” back into China.
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This sentencing document is from a regional criminal court and describes the sentencing of a Uighur man to 10 years for such ideological “crimes” as telling co-workers “not to say dirty words” or watch pornography — lest they would become “non-believers.” It is written in the Uighur language and is not classified, but is a type of document rarely seen.
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Several things jump out. First, the point system as described by the Xinjiang Papers leak from the New York Times is extensively corroborated, suggesting the authenticity of those documents. In addition, the statements from the 2019 white paper and the Chinese embassy in the UK (which already contradict each other) are thoroughly debunked. The Xinjiang camps are not being utilized to hold convicted terrorists and religious extremists but to detain countless Uighurs and other Muslim ethnicities for arbitrary suspicious qualities dictated by a mass artificial intelligence dragnet. These individuals are not being convicted and placed in the camps. They are being placed there for merely seeming suspicious. These camps are also not benevolent economic assistance facilities. Why are overseas students studying at educational institutions being forcibly repatriated to gain employment opportunities? They are already pursuing an education in the pursuit of furthering their career. The firsthand witness testimony also displays the reality of the treatment in the camps.
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Conclusion
The official Chinese statements are that the Xinjiang camps are for holding convicted terrorists and religious extremists or that they are for vocational training to assist with employment and that camp internees are free to leave. Both statements not only contradict one another, but are debunked by the ICIJ report. The ICIJ has been shown to be not only independent of US control but frequently critical of the US government, with numerous reports on its actions. Further, the ICIJ report corroborates the New York Times leaks, which expand upon the reality of the Xinjiang camps. Xinjiang Uighurs and other Muslim ethnic groups are taken for arbitrary qualities such as growing a long beard, studying Arabic, and praying outside of Mosques. The camps are not for vocational training; there is no reason students studying abroad need to be forcibly repatriated and placed in the facilities to make up for a supposed lack of employment opportunity. They also do not hold only convicted terrorists and religious extremists but anyone flagged by a massive artificial intelligence surveillance network.
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This post is not for convincing people who argue that the Xinjiang camps are propaganda. Those people are arguing out of bad faith and cannot have their minds changed. This post is intended to change the minds of people who may read those arguments and begin to believe that there may be a conspiracy effort to display China in a bad light. I have sourced my information from official statements by the Chinese government and state media along with the ICIJ, a proven independent organization that has frequently exposed inappropriate US actions, to further corroborate the New York Times leaks. I hope this post helps people who may be looking for a refutation to the propaganda claims and an easy link to send in response.
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TL;DR - The Xinjiang camps are real and target huge numbers of people through a mass surveillance program as evidenced by Chinese primary sources and leaks.
submitted by BombshellExpose to neoliberal [link] [comments]

BOMBSHELL DEVELOPMENT: The Public Version of Hardy's Motion for Status Quo Uploaded!!!

The public version for Hardy's Motion for Status Quo was just filed!!! It's heavily redacted, but I think some MAJOR inferences can be made.
Regrettably, I'm strapped for time, so I don't have sufficient time to review and provide analysis. So, I ask the community: Do you prefer that I upload the order and have you folks analyze it, or does everyone want to wait until my analysis later today?
EDIT #1: Per popular demand, here it is: https://ibb.co/4NNF4Tk
I'll provide my thoughts and comments later. In the interim, PLEASE start the review and critical analysis and provide your input. It would make my job a bit easier, and I have a relatively busy day, so I may not be able to get to it until later.
EDIT # 2:
ALL: Just so there is clarity, the Court has already GRANTED this motion. Hardy has already received his request for a 15-business day notice. See post here: https://www.reddit.com/ATHX/comments/ldlyks/new_development_the_court_grants_hardys_motion/
It just took the Parties multiple days to upload the public version. I would surmise it's for two reasons:
(1) The Parties didn't want the motion released before the Court made its ruling on the Motion; and
(2) They were taking their time to redact the Motion, and had a lengthy meet and confer process to ensure that both parties are in agreement regarding the redacted version. [THIS IS KEY - I DOUBT EITHER SIDE WANTS THIS INFORMATION LEAKED OUT BEFORE ANYTHING IS FINALIZED]
EDIT # 3: Some very insightful comments, keep it up, guys!!
EDIT #4: As an aside, it appears that Hardy's deposition will be moving forward on February 10, 2021 (in two days).
EDIT #5:
As an initial matter, there are MANY thoughtful and interesting comments on the Motion posted below by our various members. I enjoyed reading the summaries and theories on Hardy's "angle" and potential motives. I recommend all members review the comments section.
However, as promised, I provide my own thoughts, comments, and summary below.
The first thing that stood out was that the Motion was signed on January 29, 2021. Since we know the public version was filed on February 5, 2021, we can deduce it takes approximately one week after the motion is served. It took another three days to upload it to the docket (February 8, 2021). If nothing else, the timing provides us an idea of how long it takes to turnaround a public version of any filing (i.e. to redact and prepare the motion for public viewing). We may see ATHX's opposition to the motion in the next few days. The interesting thing is that the Court has already GRANTED the motion. Therefore, I'm uploading these motions to provide context and background on each side's position.
I am going to analyze this by focusing on specific language in the motion and my thoughts and comments to each.
In the starting paragraph, the Motion requests that ATHX provide Hardy "with adequate notice before entering into a material partnering transaction or submitting such a transaction for Board of Directors ("Board'') approval."
Paragraph 3-5: On or about January 18, 2021 (about 3 weeks ago) some type of transaction was memorialized in the minutes that became the BASIS for this motion. To me, this seems to suggest a potential partnership is near. I cannot fathom why Hardy would use the term "material partnering" transaction if it was anything else.
Paragraph 6: Based on my reading of this paragraph, it appears Hardy requested more information about the transaction, but it was not provided.
Paragraph 7: On January 22, 2021, after learning about the information, Hardy's attorney sent a letter to request that ATHX provides all "material information and documents" related to the "Transaction" at least 10 business days before entering into it and or present to Board for Approval OR to provide a 15-business day notice of intent PRIOR TO taking action on the partnership.
Paragraph 8: "Instead, it offered to give Dr. Kagimoto __________________________but only if he would agree not to______________________. That offer is unfair and unacceptable."
Paragraph 9: Hardy refers to another case where the Court found that a BOD member was being "frozen out" and that the company operating as a "shadow board." In that case, the Court granted temporary relief.
Paragraph 10: Hardy indicates that the status quo motion is necessary because it prevents harm "he would suffer" if the Transaction was entered into without giving him a reasonable opportunity to learn about it, debate it, and "seek judicial relief."
Paragraphs 11-16: Background information of how Hardy was excluded from Executive Committee meeting and prevented from learning important information.
Paragraph 17: On October 23, 2020*,* the company confirms that a potential partner agreement is in play. The executive committee ALSO CONSIDERED ...
Paragraph 18: Lists all the "material facts" that were not revealed regarding the transaction. It appears 4 of which are redacted and 2 that are not.
Paragraph 19-23: On January 18, 2021*,* Hardy delves into a discussion about the Operation Plan and Budget. On Paragraph Hardy includes the sentence "Athersys does not expect________.
Paragraph 24-25: On January 19, 2021, Hardy objects to something and wants to know why he cannot receive information about the "potential transaction" like the rest of the board. His complaint was not answered.
Paragraph 26-27: Confirms that Hardy wanted "material information" related to the "Transaction" and wanted it at least 10 business days to review it. Alternatively, if ATHX did not want to provide the information, Hardy wanted at least 15 business day advanced notices when the Company decides to take action on the "Transaction."
Paragraphs 28-30: On January 25, 2021, ATHX responds to Hardy's letter and does not dispute Hardy's outlined issues (which we don't know what they are), and does not identify a conflict. Nevertheless, it refused to respond to Hardy's request.
Paragraph 31: To me, this is the paragraph where ATHX says they will provide Hardy notice, but he has to agree not to interfere with the transaction in any way.
Paragraph 32: ATHX tells Hardy they will provide the identity of the putative partner two days before it intends to submit a partnership transaction to Board.
Paragraph 33: Hardy confirms that the conditions in Paragraph 31 and 32 were unacceptable to him and that it would prevent him from taking sufficient action as the other board members would have already approved the transaction, he cannot decipher whether the deal is a good one, and he cannot seek judicial relief.
EDIT #6: Fixed a myriad of typos, awkward sentences, and tweaked my impressions. I apologize it was so poorly written. I had a long day yesterday and wanted to get my thoughts out before I went to sleep.
EDIT #7: Timeline of Events:
LEGAL ARGUMENTS: To be continued...
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submitted by Aggravating_Yak4500 to ATHX [link] [comments]

KJV-Onlyism refuted by the translators of the KJV

As a heads up, there is a lot of quoting here - so this post is ridiculously long.
For those of you who do not know, KJV-Onlyism (KJVO) is the belief that the King James Version is the only accurate English translation and that other modern translations are perversions of this. Often times this belief includes the thought that the KJV is a divinely inspired document (and thus an infallible translation) and that other translations undermine the God-ordained translation in many places. For many, this undermining is an intentional, Satanic assault on the Word of God. For others, this undermining is simply the natural result of tampering with God's word, even if the undermining itself is unintentional.
Over the past week on Reddit I've had several instances of seeing posts or having conversations that brought up KJVO. One of these was actually about the doctrine, the others came later in the discussion/post, which is what put it in my mind to make this one. There are a ton of issues with KJVO, but I won't go into all of them, instead I will let the translators of the KJV do the speaking for me.
When the KJV was first released in 1611, it came with a preface titled The Translators to the Reader/Preface). The preface written by the translators goes through the the reasons that they felt this translation was necessary. It also goes through and responds to many of the challenges brought against them in the making of the translation (many of these challenges are ironically echoed by KJV-Onlyists) as well as communicates the limitations of the translators.

Emphasis on a Common Tongue.

This is the point that will likely get the least traction with KJV-Onlyists, but I think it is worth bringing up. A huge emphasis in this preface is that the Bible should be readily understandable by the readers. This certainly means it should be in the right language, but it also means that it should be in the common iteration of that language.
5.27 Happy is the man that delighteth in the Scripture, and thrice happy that meditateth in it day and night.
6.1 But how shall men meditate in that, which they cannot understand? How shall they understand that which is kept close in an unknown tongue? as it is written, Except I know the power of the voice, I shall be to him that speaketh, a Barbarian, and he that speaketh, shall be a Barbarian to me. [1Cor.14] 6.2 The Apostle excepteth no tongue; not Hebrew the ancientest, not Greek the most copious, not L.atin the finest. 6.3 Nature taught a natural man to confess, that all of us in those tongues which we do not understand, are plainly deaf; we may turn the deaf ear unto them. 6.4 The Scythian counted the Athenian, whom he did not understand, barbarous; so the Roman did the Syrian, and the Jew (even S.Hierome himself called the Hebrew tongue barbarous, belike because it was strange to so many:) 6.5 So the Emperor of Constantinople calleth the Latin tongue, barbarous, though Pope Nicolas do storm at it: 6.6 [2. Tom. Concil. ex edit. Petri Crab.] so the Jews long before Christ called all other nations, Lognazim, which is little better than barbarous. 6.7 Therefore as one complaineth, that always in the Senate of Rome, [Cicero 5° de finibus.] there was one or other that called for an interpreter: so lest the Church be driven to the like exigent, it is necessary to have translations in a readiness. 6.8 Translation it is that openeth the window, to let in the light; that breaketh the shell, that we may eat the kernel; that putteth aside the curtain, that we may look into the most holy place; that removeth the cover of the well, that we may come by the water, even as Jacob rolled away the stone from the mouth of the well, by which means the flocks of Laban were watered [Gen.29:10]. 6.9 Indeed, without translation into the vulgar tongue, the unlearned are but like children at Jacob's well (which was deep) [John 4:11] without a bucket or something to draw with: or as that person mentioned by Isaiah, to whom when a sealed book was delivered, with this motion, Read this, I pray thee, he was fain ((compelled by circumstances)) to make this answer, I cannot, for it is sealed. [Isa.29:11]
The reason this point may be the weakest is that the translators here are contrasting different languages. However, following the spirit of what they've written, it seems the logical conclusion that they intend a translation that is easy to understand. The fact is that we don't talk and write in KJV English anymore. It is still English, but many of the words mean different things now or are completely obsolete in every instance except for reading material from this era. For those that are "unlearned," this creates a stumbling block that the translators are obviously attempting to clear.
12.4 Now what can be more available thereto than to deliver God's book unto God's people in a tongue which they understand?

Acknowledgement of the validity of previous translations as God's Word & acceptance of future translations

15.16 neither, to be short, were we the first that fell in hand with translating the Scripture into English, and consequently destitute of former helps, as it is written of Origen, that he was the first, [πρωτοπειροι] in a manner, that put his hand to write commentaries upon the Scriptures, and therefore no marvel if he overshot himself many times.
12.1 And to the same effect say we, that we are so far off from condemning any of their labours that travailed before us in this kind, either in this land or beyond sea, either in King Henry's time, or King Edward's (if there were any translation, or correction of a translation in his time) or Queen Elizabeth's of ever-renowned memory, that we acknowledge them to have been raised up of God, for the building and furnishing of his Church, and that they deserve to be had of us and of posterity in everlasting remembrance.
The translators continuously praise the past work of translators and lean on them for help in their own work. They may be critical at times of certain aspects of a translation, but still regard it as faithful and God's Word.
12.9 Aquila, of whom we spake before ((§ 7:12)), translated the Bible as carefully and as skilfully as he could; and yet he thought good to go over it again, and then it got the credit with the Jews, to be called κατα ακριβειαν, that is, accurately done, as Saint Hierome witnesseth. 12.10 How many books of profane learning have been gone over again and again, by the same translators, by others? Of one and the same book of Aristotle's Ethics, there are extant not so few as six or seven several translations. 12.11 Now, if this cost may be bestowed upon the gourd, which affordeth us a little shade, and which to-day flourisheth but to-morrow is cut down, what may we bestow, nay, what ought we not to bestow, upon the vine, the fruit whereof maketh glad the conscience of man, and the stem whereof abideth for ever? 12.12 And this is the Word of God, which we translate.
12.15 Therefore let no man's eye be evil, because his Majesty's is good; neither let any be grieved that we have a Prince that seeketh the increase of the spiritual wealth of Israel, (let Sanballats and Tobiahs do so, which therefore do bear their just reproof but let us rather bless God from the ground of our heart, for working this religious care in him to have the translations of the Bible maturely considered of and examined. 12.16 For by this means it cometh to pass, that whatsoever is sound already (and all is sound for substance, in one or other of our editions, and the worst of ours far better than their authentic vulgar) the same will shine as gold more brightly, being rubbed and polished; also, if anything be halting, or superfluous, or not so agreeable to the original, the same may be corrected, and the truth set in place.
One of the most striking affirmations of other translations is:
13.1 Now to the latter we answer, that we do not deny, nay, we affirm and avow, that the very meanest translation of the Bible in English, set forth by men of our profession, (for we have seen none of theirs of the whole Bible as yet) containeth the Word of God, nay, is the Word of God.
Even the meanest translation is the Word of God. And they continue:
13.2 As the King's Speech which he uttered in Parliament, being translated into French, Dutch, Italian, and Latin, is still the King's Speech, though it be not interpreted by every translator with the like grace, nor peradventure so fitly for phrase, nor so expressly for sense, everywhere. 13.3 For it is confessed, that things are to take their denomination of the greater part; and a natural man could say, Verùm ubi multa nitent in carmine, non ego paucis offendor maculis, etc. [Horace.] A man may be counted a virtuous man though he have made many slips in his life, (else there were none virtuous, for in many things we offend all [James 3:2]) also a comely man and lovely, though he have some warts upon his hand, yea, not only freckles upon his face, but also scars. 13.4 No cause therefore why the Word translated should be denied to be the Word, or forbidden to be current, notwithstanding that some imperfections and blemishes may be noted in the setting forth of it. 13.5 For whatever was perfect under the sun, where Apostles or apostolic men, that is, men endued with an extraordinary measure of God's Spirit, and privileged with the privilege of infallibility, had not their hand? 13.6 The Romanists therefore in refusing to hear, and daring to burn the Word translated, did no less than despite the Spirit of grace, from whom originally it proceeded, and whose sense and meaning, as well as man's weakness would enable, it did express.
In 13.6, we have another example of KJV critics echoing the mentality of KJV-Onlyism.

Acknowledgement of the limitation of translators

The translator's take a moment to touch on the Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint or LXX (though they refer to it as the Seventy). About this translation they say:
7.8 It is certain, that that translation was not so sound and so perfect, but that it needed in many places correction; and who had been so sufficient for this work as the Apostles or apostolic men? 7.9 Yet it seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to them to take that which they found (the same being for the greatest part true and sufficient) rather than by making a new, in that new world and green age of the Church, to expose themselves to many exceptions and cavillations as though they made a translation to serve their own turn, and therefore bearing witness to themselves, their witness not to be regarded.
The translators seem content to accept a translation as helpful and useful, but still be imperfect and used by the Holy Spirit. However, they address people that believed that the LXX was infallible. That the translators of the LXX were prophets used by God to create and infallble translation, and to this, the KJV translators fervently disagree:
7.15 Yea, Epiphanius above-named doth attribute so much unto it, that he holdeth the authors thereof not only for interpreters, but also for prophets in some respect: and Justinian the Emperor, enjoining the Jews his subjects to use specially the translation of the Seventy, rendereth this reason thereof, because they were, as it were, enlightened with prophetical grace.
7.16 Yet for all that, as the Egyptians are said of the Prophet [Isa.31:3] to be men and not God, and their horses flesh and not spirit: so it is evident, (and Saint Hierome affirmeth as much) that the Seventy were interpreters, they were not prophets; they did many things well, as learned men; but yet as men they stumbled and fell, one while through oversight, another while through ignorance, yea, sometimes they may be noted to add to the original, and sometimes to take from it; which made the Apostles to leave them many times, when they left the Hebrew, and to deliver the sense thereof according to the truth of the word, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The KJV translators acknowledge that the LXX translators were not inspired prophets but merely very learned men who did there best and stumbled at times. Nowhere in this document do we see the translators implying they are of a different status.
16.6 There be many words in the Scriptures which be never found there but once, (having neither brother nor neighbour, as the Hebrews speak) so that we cannot be holpen by conference of places. 16.7 Again, there be many rare names of certain birds, beasts, and precious stones, etc., concerning which the Hebrews themselves are so divided among themselves for judgement, that they may seem to have defined this or that, rather because they would say something, than because they were sure of that which they said, as S.Hierome somewhere saith of the Septuagint.
We'll get into this more below, but these are given as reasons that the KJV authors used marginal notes. They recognize that some of these things are difficult to translate and could have several legitimate translations. They include marginal notes because they may have gotten it wrong and want the reader to be aware of the different possibilities.

Defense of margins (footnotes) that contain textual variants/translator notes

One criticism brought against modern translations are their use of footnotes. One KJV-Onlyist website claims that the fact that the KJV doesn't have footnotes is one of its benefits saying:
Footnotes are one of the most confusing aspects of the modern versions. The modern version editors remove verses from the text and place it in the footnotes. The readers do not know whether to treat the footnotes as Scripture or man’s words.
But this displays an ignorance of the KJV's origins because the KJV did include footnotes (though, in the margins, hence margins or margin notes). Sometimes these include verse references to help the reader notice when the Bible is referencing another passage, other times its noting a different translation option or textual variant. Example
The above quote is just one example of the KJV's critics sounding like KJV-Onlyists. The translators spend a section remarking on this exact same criticism of their decision to include marginal notes.
16.1 Some peradventure would have no variety of senses to be set in the margin, lest the authority of the Scriptures for deciding of controversies by that show of uncertainty should somewhat be shaken.
They respond with:
16.2 But we hold their judgement not to be so sound in this point. 16.3 For though whatsoever things are necessary are manifest, as S.Chrysostome saith, [παντα τα αναγκαια δηλα. S.Chrysost. in 2.Thess. cap. 2.] and as S.Augustine, in those things that are plainly set down in the Scriptures, all such matters are found that concern Faith, Hope, and Charity; [S.Aug. 2. de doctr. Christ. cap. 9.] 16.4 yet for all that it cannot be dissembled ((disguised)), that partly to exercise and whet our wits, partly to wean the curious from loathing of them for their everywhere plainness, partly also to stir up our devotion to crave the assistance of God's Spirit by prayer, and lastly, that we might be forward to seek aid of our brethren by conference, and never scorn those that be not in all respects so complete as they should be, being to seek in many things ourselves, 16.5 it hath pleased God in His divine providence here and there to scatter words and sentences of that difficulty and doubtfulness, not in doctrinal points that concern salvation, (for in such it hath been vouched that the Scriptures are plain) but in matters of less moment, that fearfulness would better beseem ((be suitable to)) us than confidence, and if we will resolve, to revolve upon modesty with S.Augustine, (though not in this same case altogether, yet upon the same ground) Melius est dubitare de occultis, quàm litigare de incertis: [S.August. li. 8. de Genes. ad liter. cap. 5.] it is better to make doubt of those things which are secret, than to strive about those things that are uncertain. 16.6 There be many words in the Scriptures [απαξ λεγομενα.] which be never found there but once, (having neither brother nor neighbour, as the Hebrews speak) so that we cannot be holpen by conference of places. 16.7 Again, there be many rare names of certain birds, beasts, and precious stones, etc., concerning which the Hebrews themselves are so divided among themselves for judgement, that they may seem to have defined this or that, rather because they would say something, than because they were sure of that which they said, as S.Hierome somewhere saith of the Septuagint. 16.8 Now in such a case, doth not a margin do well to admonish the reader to seek further, and not to conclude or dogmatize upon this or that peremptorily? 16.9 For as it is a fault of incredulity, to doubt of those things that are evident, so to determine of such things as the Spirit of God hath left (even in the judgement of the judicious) questionable, can be no less than presumption. 16.10 Therefore as S.Augustine saith, [S.Aug. 2. de doctr. Christian. cap. 14.] that variety of translations is profitable for the finding out of the sense of the Scriptures: so diversity of signification and sense in the margin, where the text is not so clear, must needs do good, yea, is necessary, as we are persuaded. 16.11 We know that Sixtus Quintus [Sixtus V. præf. Bibliæ.] expressly forbiddeth that any variety of readings of their vulgar edition should be put in the margin, (which though it be not altogether the same thing to that we have in hand, yet it looketh that way) but we think he hath not all of his own side his favourers for this conceit. 16.12 They that are wise, had rather have their judgments at liberty in differences of readings, than to be captivated to one, when it may be the other. 16.13 If they were sure that their high priest had all laws shut up in his breast, as Paul the Second bragged, [Plat. in Paulo secundo.] and that he were as free from error by special privilege as the dictators of Rome were made by law inviolable, it were another matter; then his word were an oracle, his opinion a decision. 16.14 But the eyes of the world are now open, God be thanked, and have been a great while: they find that he is subject to the same affections and infirmities that others be, that his skin is penetrable; and therefore so much as he proveth, not as much as he claimeth, they grant and embrace.
The KJV's translators included notes and they defend that decision. The reasons they give for these things are the reasons that modern translators give for their inclusion of footnotes.
Defense against the accusation of changing God's Word.
4.2 For he that meddleth with men's religion in any part meddleth with their custom, nay, with their freehold; and though they find no content in that which they have, yet they cannot abide to hear of altering.
The KJV translators note accusations against modern (in their days) translations because often times a verse in their translation disagrees with a verse in a previous translations that had been used for a significant period of time, hundreds of years in some instances.
11.1 Many men's mouths have been open a good while (and yet are not stopped) with speeches about the translation so long in hand, or rather perusals of translations made before: and ask what may be the reason, what the necessity of the employment. 11.2 Hath the Church been deceived, say they, all this while? 11.3 Hath her sweet bread been mingled with leaven, her silver with dross, her wine with water, her milk with lime? (Lacte gypsum malè misceture, saith S.Ireney.) [S.Iren. 3. lib. cap. 19.] 11.4 We hoped that we had been in the right way, that we had had the oracles of God delivered unto us, and that though all the world had cause to be offended and to complain, yet that we had none. 11.5 Hath the nurse holden out the breast, and nothing but wind in it? 11.6 Hath the bread been delivered by the fathers of the Church, and the same proved to be lapidosus, as Seneca speaketh? 11.7 What is it to handle the word of God deceitfully, if this be not? Thus certain brethren. 11.8 Also the adversaries of Judah and Jerusalem, like Sanballat in Nehemiah, mock, as we hear, both at the work and the workmen, saying: What do these weak Jews, etc.? will they make the stones whole again out of the heaps of dust which are burnt? although they build, yet if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stony wall. [Neh.4:3] 11.9 Was their translation good before? Why do they now mend it? Was it not good? Why then was it obtruded to ((forced upon)) the people? Yea, why did the Catholics (meaning Popish Romanists) always go in jeopardy, for refusing to go to hear it? Nay, if it must be translated into English, Catholics are fittest to do it. They have learning, and they know when a thing is well, they can manum de tabulâ. 11.10 We will answer them both briefly: and the former, being brethren, thus, with S.Hierome, Damnamus veteres? [S.Hieron. Apolog. advers. Ruffin.] Minimè, sed post priorum studia in domo Domini quod possumus laboramus. That is, Do we condemn the ancient? In no case: but after the endeavours of them that were before us, we take the best pains we can in the house of God.
These are the same kind's of accusations the KJV-Onlyists will bring up when discussing variants between translations. We see the translator's acceptance to change standard translations where they are seen to be faulty.
14.1 Yet before we end, we must answer a third cavil ((a false or mocking argument)) and objection of theirs against us, for altering and amending our translations so oft; wherein truly they deal hardly, and strangely with us. 14.2 For to whom ever was it imputed for a fault (by such as were wise) to go over that which he had done, and to amend it where he saw cause?
For the KJV translators, it is a given that a translation will have faults and when those faults are found out, it is right to correct them. They even grant alterations as a given in the rest of section 14 by giving a brief history of both past and present (for them) alterations and corrections. For space, I will not quote the whole section, but feel free to look for yourself.

Conclusion

The KJV is a wonderful translation for its time. Its influence cannot be overstated and, like the KJV's approach to translations that come before it, I believe that it was used by God for the furthering of his kingdom. It is not an infallible translation. Like all translations, it has its pros and cons. It is indeed God's Word. But so too are today's translations, and this is precisely what the authors of the KJV would have believed, and did believe when discussing "even the meanest" translation.
submitted by pjsans to Christianity [link] [comments]

I started getting anxious because there's a huge disconnect between where I am right now versus where I want to be. When this happens, remind yourself of what life will be like if you keep going, and that the anxiety is an illusion since you spend ur current life working towards your future life.

about me : it's long- sharing my story solely to talk about where i'm coming from. if it's long, please just don't read & skip it lol. main points are first & last 3 bullets. sorry if there are typos- Took forever just to write this out \*
submitted by Cat_Eyed_Goddess94 to DecidingToBeBetter [link] [comments]

Been 20 years. But I'm back: my first ever 10K - (38:55)! [video]

Race Information

Goals

Goal Description Completed?
A 42min Yes
B 40min Yes
C avg 6:15/mi Yes
​

Splits

Mile Time
1 6:10.6
2 6:14.2
3 6:12.5
4 6:17.4
5 6:18.5
6 6:22.3
.2 (accidentally ran only .15) I explain below** 1:04

Training

14 weeks ago I committed to a 10k challenge after some fun and competitive trash talking with my former HS coach, close friends and teammates from high school.
Until today I had never raced a 10k. And maybe more alarming is that my last competitive race was State Cross Country Championships back in 2001.
With Covid lockdown I decided I'd try to get back into running after several failed attempts through the years. A lack of discipline and pride got in the way of smart training. The mantra, ‘once a runner always a runner’ plagued me as I treated every run like a race, which led to frequent injuries.
Without exaggerating, between July ’20 (when I started building a base) and October’20 I logged more miles than I have in the last 19 years combined. I kept all my runs below 143 HR which was humiliatingly slow. Both my former HS coach and solidly fit running buddies got a good laugh at my daily activity on Strava which led to good banter in the comment section. It’s true — it was hilarious and as a good sport, I welcomed the jokes and often incited them. After all, it wasn't lost on me that a former 16min 5k guy was now celebrating 10-11min mile pace. But as the jokes continued, so too did my progress. I had gone from running 13 min pace in July to 8:30 pace by November all without a single injury.
Training slow to run fast was not only a foreign concept to some of my friends from back home but it was also foreign to me. Would it work? No idea. But what I did know was that I needed to do something radically different to build a base while staying injury free.
As the trash talking picked up, it began to fuel my competitive spirit which led to Coach Marshall (HS Coach) setting a date for a race. The question was what distance and when? Without much thought, I made a bold proclamation that, “In twelve to sixteen weeks I would kick your asses in a 10k,” to which most, if not all, immediately responded with some form of "bet." In hindsight, I don’t know WTF I was thinking. I had never raced a 10k and really, 12 weeks?! It would seem like I would need a miracle to pull this one off but I had nothing to lose, and besides i was getting in shape and benefiting from all the chatter.
The stage was now set. I had 12 weeks (possibly 16 if I got lucky) to prepare for a 10K TT.
I began googling how to run a 10k before stumbling on Reddit's advanced running community. There I found u/Free_Running_Plans (Justin) and had him build me a customized 10k plan that was highly tailored and thoughtful. I told Justin I wanted to run a blistering 47min 10k! Because, ya know, in my mind a 47min 10k was flying! I followed 90% of the workouts and stuck to the overall plan pretty judiciously. I was gaining confidence and training was tracking well. But by mid-November a few friends decided to drop a bomb during a local mid-missouri race -- they went 39:32 and 37:16, respectively for 10k. A full 10 minutes faster than my goal pace! How TF was I going to contend with that??
Feeling deflated, and having just come off an inspiring 19:23 5K TT (previous 21:42 six weeks prior), I went back to Justin @ u/Free_Running_Plans and asked him rather circuitously if it were possible for me to break 40min for 10k...in 6-8 weeks😅 His response...
It's not impossible for you to make that jump with consistent steady training and solid workouts. I do have serious reservations about you pushing the pace every day, as well as then incorporating workouts, strides, etc. It's begging for injury.
I read that email probably a dozen times. He was right — the risk of injury was a very likely outcome. But it was the first sentence that did it for me —
It’s not impossible…
So I stuck to the plan but really began to rip hard on the workouts, sometimes shaving as much as 10-15 seconds off of what was prescribed. Between the plan and Coach Marshall's (HS Coach) sprinkle of vomit inducing workouts that would eventually lead me to buying a proper life insurance policy for my family (true story), I was feeling better about my chances but knew I still had a long way to go...
The last super hard workout I completed came 1 week before the race—6x1 mile at 615 pace with 35 sec recovery. 613. 614. 613. 614. 613. 612! This shit left me sprawled out on the track like a corpse. I went balls out and and came away with something that had been sorely missing-- the confidence on race day to go sub 40.

Pre-race

Got 8 hours of sleep. Woke up at 515a. Had a cup of black coffee and 2 packets of my kids oatmeal -- went with maple syrup and brown sugar flavor. Also had a piece of toast with peanut butter with a cup of water.
By 630a I got to the track and jogged a mile in an insulated jacket and tights to keep warm. No stretching. Ran two 400s at close to 6:15 pace with a one lap recovery jog between the reps. By then I was feeling pretty good and decided to swap out shoes and shed the jacket and pants.
After a few light strides I got the show on the road at exactly 7:35. Quite a bit delayed as I was trying to setup a camera to film the TT.

Race

Mile 1 / 2: got out hard and came through mile 1 in 6:10. Felt pretty relaxed here but knew I might pay for this later. "Later" came earlier than expected and by the end of mile 2, doubt began creeping in. I crossed the second mile in 6:14.
Mile 3/4: went to double press my earbuds to skip a song but my fingers were so cold that I wound up pushing them out of my ear. The earbud saga continued and on the next lap, Siri decided to turn down the volume to where I could barely hear the music. With my breathing labored, I took one desperate attempt to raise the volume. “SIRI , MAX VOLUME!” I yelled to which she replied "I didn't catch that..." At this point I said to myself 'fuck it' and chucked the $250 earbuds to the ground. And it was at this point I realized I may have made a mistake. Without music I was now forced to listen to myself for the remainder of the race, panting like a wounded lion. Despite all the distractions I squeezed out 6:12 for Mile 3. Mile 4 I could feel myself really slowing. This was the hardest mile for me mentally and the lactic acid had found its residence and wasn't about to leave my legs. I tried shortening my stride, thinking that more contact with the track would propel me forward because of my fancy asics carbon plated shoes?! Not so much as I clicked off 6:17.4.
Mile 5/6: the struggle continued on mile 5. Despite my best attempt to stay on pace, I was crumbling. At one point, my watch indicated I was running 6:20 pace. Came in at 6:18.5. What was left to race could be characterized as survival. I was gassed and felt the wheels falling off. I literally had no idea if I was even on track to break 40. Ended up at 6:22.3 for mile 6 and then gave it everything I had to close in a 1:04 (5:30 pace) for the remaining .2. All credit to my brother for motivating me on the back stretch. Without him chasing me and yelling I wouldn't have been able to get up on my toes to close as hard as I did.

Post Race

Unaware of my exact splits, I just kind of assumed that I was now fighting to just break 40min. But when I crossed the line and saw 38:40 register on my watch (which I later had to adjust to 38.55. I explain below) I collapsed and tears came over me. I couldn’t hold it back. I’ve never been emotional after a race except for the time I thought I got our 4x800 disqualified at sectionals - Doh! It was such a good feeling and even better having my only brother there to share in the moment. As for my competition, some of the guys pulled up with injuries unfortunately and the others are now waiting for the snow and ice to clear before attempting their 10k effort in Missouri.
I’m still shocked to be honest. From wanting to run a 47min 10k fourteen weeks ago to running 38:55 yesterday. I can honestly say I left it all on the track. Couldn’t be happier. Health is wealth and I'm thrilled to be fit after all these years and incidentally 20 lbs lighter (170 lbs). To my HS Coach and buddies back home, y'all are the f-ing best and you know it. The trash-talking, laughs and encouragement is what got me through this. To my supportive wife who is still tirelessly working COVID frontline and has to endure my crazy day-to-day, I love you. Justin @ u/Free_Running_Plans, can't thank you enough for building a customized plan and supporting me and my endless emails throughout this journey -- y'all, don't sleep on this man! When I wanted to deviate you reeled me back in. To my brother, if you’re lurking around here, I don't have to say it. Love you, man. And seeing you run 8 miles yesterday for the first time rivals the feeling of me running 38:55. Neither of these things I thought would ever happen! lol Keep it up big bro!👊🏾☄️
***adjusted the finish time as I stopped my watch too soon, it appears. 25 laps = 10,000m. I'm an absolute idiot. Looks like I ran only 9910m so I was 90 meters short of 25 laps. Because I was closing at 430 pace towards the end of the last lap, I used that to compute a rough time differential for the remaining 90 meters ~ an additional 15 sec which is 440 pace (10 seconds slower than what I was actually closing in). So 38:40 + 15 sec = 38:55
Best case scenario was 6:15 pace and I hit exactly that ~ 6:15.78 pace. 🙌🏾
Below is a video of the last lap (voice actor of the wounded lion is yours truly) and an emotional video of me realizing I had just run 38:40 ( or 38:55).
https://youtu.be/_iu93nOROac
https://youtu.be/rZaqmkpKoA4
submitted by benji525 to AdvancedRunning [link] [comments]

Been 20 years. But I'm back: my first ever 10K - (38:55)! [video]

Race Information

Goals

Goal Description Completed?
A 47min Yes
B 40min Yes
C Avg 6:15/mi Yes

Splits

Mile Time
1 6:10:62
2 6:14.23
3 6:12.54
4 6:17:45
5 6:18.56
6 6:22.3
.2 (accidentally ran only .15) I explain below** 1:04

Training

14 weeks ago I committed to a 10k challenge after some fun and competitive trash talking with my former HS coach, close friends and teammates from high school.
Until today I had never raced a 10k. And maybe more alarming is that my last competitive race was State Cross Country Championships back in 2001.
With Covid lockdown I decided I'd try to get back into running after several failed attempts through the years. A lack of discipline and pride got in the way of smart training. The mantra, ‘once a runner always a runner’ plagued me as I treated every run like a race, which led to frequent injuries.
Without exaggerating, between July ’20 (when I started building a base) and October’20 I logged more miles than I have in the last 19 years combined. I kept all my runs below 143 HR which was humiliatingly slow. Both my former HS coach and solidly fit running buddies got a good laugh at my daily activity on Strava which led to good banter in the comment section. It’s true — it was hilarious and as a good sport, I welcomed the jokes and often incited them. After all, it wasn't lost on me that a former 16min 5k guy was now celebrating 10-11min mile pace. But as the jokes continued, so too did my progress. I had gone from running 13 min pace in July to 8:30 pace by November all without a single injury.
Training slow to run fast was not only a foreign concept to some of my friends from back home but it was also foreign to me. Would it work? No idea. But what I did know was that I needed to do something radically different to build a base while staying injury free.
As the trash talking picked up, it began to fuel my competitive spirit which led to Coach Marshall (HS Coach) setting a date for a race. The question was what distance and when? Without much thought, I made a bold proclamation that, “In twelve to sixteen weeks I would kick your asses in a 10k,” to which most, if not all, immediately responded with some form of "bet." In hindsight, I don’t know WTF I was thinking. I had never raced a 10k and really, 12 weeks?! It would seem like I would need a miracle to pull this one off but I had nothing to lose, and besides i was getting in shape and benefiting from all the chatter.
The stage was now set. I had 12 weeks (possibly 16 if I got lucky) to prepare for a 10K TT.
I began googling how to run a 10k before stumbling on Reddit's running community. There I found u/Free_Running_Plans (Justin) and had him build me a customized 10k plan that was highly tailored and thoughtful. I told Justin I wanted to run a blistering 47min 10k! Because, ya know, in my mind a 47min 10k was flying! I followed 90% of the workouts and stuck to the overall plan pretty judiciously. I was gaining confidence and training was tracking well. But by mid-November a few friends decided to drop a bomb during a local mid-missouri race -- they went 39:32 and 37:16, respectively for 10k. A full 10 minutes faster than my goal! How TF was I going to contend with that??
Feeling deflated, and having just come off an inspiring 19:23 5K TT (previous 21:42 six weeks prior), I went back to Justin @ u/Free_Running_Plans and asked him rather circuitously if it were possible for me to break 40min for 10k...in 6-8 weeks😅 His response...
It's not impossible for you to make that jump with consistent steady training and solid workouts. I do have serious reservations about you pushing the pace every day, as well as then incorporating workouts, strides, etc. It's begging for injury.
I read that email probably a dozen times. He was right — the risk of injury was a very likely outcome. But it was the first sentence that did it for me —
It’s not impossible…
So I stuck to the plan but really began to rip hard on the workouts, sometimes shaving as much as 10-15 seconds off of what was prescribed. Between the plan and Coach Marshall's (HS Coach) sprinkle of vomit inducing workouts that would eventually lead me to buying a proper life insurance policy for my family (true story), I was feeling better about my chances but knew I still had a long way to go...
The last super hard workout I completed came 1 week before the race—6x1 mile at 615 pace with 35 sec recovery. 613. 614. 613. 614. 613. 612! This shit left me sprawled out on the track like a corpse. I went balls out and and came away with something that had been sorely missing-- the confidence on race day to go sub 40.

Pre-race

Got 8 hours of sleep. Woke up at 515a. Had a cup of black coffee and 2 packets of my kids oatmeal -- went with maple syrup and brown sugar flavor. Also had a piece of toast with peanut butter with a cup of water.
By 630a I got to the track and jogged a mile in an insulated jacket and tights to keep warm. No stretching. Ran two 400s at close to 6:15 pace with a one lap recovery jog between the reps. By then I was feeling pretty good and decided to swap out shoes and shed the jacket and pants.
After a few light strides I got the show on the road at exactly 7:35. Quite a bit delayed as I was trying to setup a camera to film the TT.

Race

Mile 1 / 2: got out hard and came through mile 1 in 6:10. Felt pretty relaxed here but knew I might pay for this later. "Later" came earlier than expected and by the end of mile 2, doubt began creeping in. I crossed the second mile in 6:14.
Mile 3/4: went to double press my earbuds to skip a song but my fingers were so cold that I wound up pushing them out of my ear. The earbud saga continued and on the next lap, Siri decided to turn down the volume to where I could barely hear the music. With my breathing labored, I took one desperate attempt to raise the volume. “SIRI , MAX VOLUME!” I yelled to which she replied "I didn't catch that..." At this point I said to myself 'fuck it' and chucked the $250 earbuds to the ground. And it was at this point I realized I may have made a mistake. Without music I was now forced to listen to myself for the remainder of the race, panting like a wounded lion. Despite all the distractions I squeezed out 6:12 for Mile 3. Mile 4 I could feel myself really slowing. This was the hardest mile for me mentally and the lactic acid had found its residence and wasn't about to leave my legs. I tried shortening my stride, thinking that more contact with the track would propel me forward because of my fancy asics carbon plated shoes?! Not so much as I clicked off 6:17.4.
Mile 5/6: the struggle continued on mile 5. Despite my best attempt to stay on pace, I was crumbling. At one point, my watch indicated I was running 6:20 pace. Came in at 6:18.5. What was left to race could be characterized as survival. I was gassed and felt the wheels falling off. I literally had no idea if I was even on track to break 40. Ended up at 6:22.3 for mile 6 and then gave it everything I had to close in a 1:04 (5:30 pace) for the remaining .2. All credit to my brother for motivating me on the back stretch. Without him chasing me and yelling I wouldn't have been able to get up on my toes to close as hard as I did.

Post Race

Unaware of my exact splits, I just kind of assumed that I was now fighting to just break 40min. But when I crossed the line and saw 38:40 register on my watch (which I later had to adjust to 38.55. I explain below) I collapsed and tears came over me. I couldn’t hold it back. I’ve never been emotional after a race except for the time I thought I got our 4x800 disqualified at sectionals - Doh! It was such a good feeling and even better having my only brother there to share in the moment. As for my competition, some of the guys pulled up with injuries unfortunately and the others are now waiting for the snow and ice to clear before attempting their 10k effort in Missouri.
I’m still shocked to be honest. From wanting to run a 47min 10k fourteen weeks ago to running 38:55 yesterday. I can honestly say I left it all on the track. Couldn’t be happier. Health is wealth and I'm thrilled to be fit after all these years and 20 lbs lighter (170 lbs). To my HS Coach and buddies back home, y'all are the f-ing best and you know it. The trash-talking, laughs and encouragement is what got me through this. To my supportive wife who is still tirelessly working COVID frontline and has to endure my crazy day-to-day, I love you. Justin @ u/Free_Running_Plans, can't thank you enough for building a customized plan and supporting me and my endless emails throughout this journey -- y'all, don't sleep on this man! When I wanted to deviate you reeled me back in. To my brother, if you’re lurking around here, I don't have to say it. Love you, man. And seeing you run 8 miles yesterday for the first time rivals the feeling of me running 38:55. Neither of these things I thought would ever happen! lol Keep it up big bro!👊🏾☄️
***adjusted the finish time as I stopped my watch too soon, it appears. 25 laps = 10,000m. I'm an absolute idiot. Looks like I ran only 9910m so I was 90 meters short of 25 laps. Because I was closing at 430 pace towards the end of the last lap, I used that to compute a rough time differential for the remaining 90 meters ~ an additional 15 sec which is 440 pace (10 seconds slower than what I was actually closing in). So 38:40 + 15 sec = 38:55
Best case scenario was 6:15 pace and I hit exactly that ~ 6:15.78 pace. 🙌🏾
Below is a video of the last lap (voice actor of the wounded lion is yours truly) and an emotional video of me realizing I had just run 38:40 ( or 38:55).
https://youtu.be/_iu93nOROac
https://youtu.be/rZaqmkpKoA4
submitted by benji525 to running [link] [comments]

Lost in the Sauce: Trump family created secret shell company to pay themselves

Welcome to Lost in the Sauce, keeping you caught up on political and legal news that often gets buried in distractions and theater… or a global health crisis.
NOTE: This post focuses on the events from roughly the 13th to the 19th. Events from this week (e.g. pardons) will be in the next post.
Housekeeping:

The grift intensifies

A campaign shell company created in part by Jared Kushner secretly paid the president’s family members and spent more than $600 million. The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center argued in an FEC complaint that the company, American Made Media Consultants Corporation (AMMC), functioned as a “clearinghouse” to illegally “launder” campaign funds and shield the identities of the ultimate recipients of payments. Lara Trump and the nephew of VP Pence previously served on the board of AMMC when it made massive spending decisions.
The Campaign Legal Center also filed an FEC complaint against a pro-Trump super PAC for making “illegal, unreported, and excessive” contributions to the Trump campaign. The PAC Our American Century is accused of illegally paying to distribute an advertisement video produced by the Trump campaign across several critical swing states in violation of federal campaign contribution laws.
Remember the DOJ bribery-for-pardons investigation? Last week we learned that the billionaire advocating for a pardon promised to donate $6 million to support President Trump… and may have done so. While donations from the man, Sanford Diller, do not appear on Trump’s federal campaign reports, ABC News reports that the $6 million in contributions were actually “made in 2016 to a pro-Trump nonprofit political committee, which -- unlike a campaign -- is not required by federal law to disclose its donors or donation amounts.”
Diller had arranged for his friend, Berkeley psychologist Hugh Baras, to retain help from [Kushner lawyer] Abbe Lowell, one of the most prominent and powerful D.C. attorneys. Documents reviewed by ABC News indicate that Lowell prepared a memo to argue the case. But no pardon was ever issued and Baras, who was 73 at the time, served out his sentence.
Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) and House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) are investigating whether Jared Kushner manipulated foreign policy to obtain a billion-dollar bailout from Middle Eastern officials. The events in question involve Kushner pushing the administration to support a blockade against Qatar out of possible “retaliation” for the country’s refusal to invest in a distressed Kushner property.
Wyden: “...we remain troubled that Qatari funds ended up in a billion dollar rescue for a company directly tied to Mr. Kushner while he remained a senior White House official deeply involved in formulation of U.S. policy towards the Middle East.”
Turning Point USA held two large events in Florida this weekend, including one at Mar-a-Lago, sparking concerns of additional super-spreader events. On Friday, the conservative organization held its annual winter gala at Trump’s club, putting money in his pocket. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell also attended.
Photos posted on social media showed Friday’s maskless gala crowd mingling in apparent violation of Palm Beach County’s coronavirus protocols...local governments have urged residents not to attend crowded gatherings such as the one at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.
Trump is reportedly planning on spending his post-presidency time at Mar-a-Lago, but his neighbors are revolting, asserting he cannot legally reside there. In 1993, Trump signed an agreement with Palm Beach that allowed him to convert the property to a moneymaking club. “Per the use agreement of 1993, Mar-a-Lago is a social club, and no one may reside on the property,” wrote Reginald Stambaugh, a lawyer representing the DeMoss family, which has a property next to Mar-a-Lago.
Further reading: Eric Lipton of the NYT breaks down how pro-Trump Super PACs are lining the Trump family’s pockets: “Donors write checks to a SuperPAC that supports Trump. SuperPAC writes checks to Trump family.”

Revolving door

Trump has been itching to fire FBI Director Christopher Wray in recent months, reportedly coming so close to doing so that administration lawyers had to talk him out of it. White House counsel Pat Cipollone warned Trump that ousting Wray could be seen as retaliation and put him in potential legal jeopardy.
Speaking of Cipollone, Trump is also apparently close to firing him, as well. According to Axios, Trump is particularly “fed up” with Cipollone because the attorney has spoken out against some of the more extreme efforts to overturn the results of the election.
Trump thinks everyone around him is weak, stupid or disloyal — and increasingly seeks comfort only in people who egg him on to overturn the election results. We cannot stress enough how unnerved Trump officials are by the conversations unfolding inside the White House… Trump has even been asking advisers whether they can get state legislatures to rescind their electoral votes. When he’s told no, he lashes out even more, said a source who discussed the matter with the president.
Appointees:
  • Rudy Giuliani’s son, Andrew Giuliani, and former acting director of national intelligence Ric Grenell were appointed to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.
  • Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk was appointed to the President’s Advisory 1776 Commission, which Trump created to advance “patriotic education.”
  • Ezra Cohen-Watnick, the former aide to Michael Flynn who was fired by H. R. McMaster, was appointed to Chair the Public Interest Declassification Board.
  • Anthony Tata, the Pentagon's acting policy chief, has been appointed to the Board of Visitors to the United States Merchant Marine Academy.
  • Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was part of Trump’s legal team during his impeachment trial, will become a member of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees.
  • White House aide and Trump confidante Hope Hicks will be a member of the Fulbright Scholarship Board.
  • Former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham, known for not holding a single press briefing during her entire 10-month tenure, was appointed to the Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences.
Further reading: Trump administration appointed a donor to The Eric Trump Foundation to a $160,000/year position in the Small Business Administration

Congress

A day after Congress approved a nearly $900 billion stimulus bill, Trump suddenly threatened to veto it unless lawmakers increase the direct relief checks from the current $600 to $2,000. The video posted to Twitter “stunned” both White House and congressional aides.
“I am also asking Congress to immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items from this legislation, and to send me a suitable bill, or else the next administration will have to deliver a covid relief package, and maybe that administration will be me,” Trump said (clip).
  • Trump effectively gave the Democrats a Christmas gift by allowing them to highlight that they support more money for Americans, unlike Republicans. Speaker Pelosi quickly responded to Trump’s video: Republicans repeatedly refused to say what amount the President wanted for direct checks. At last, the President has agreed to $2,000 — Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent. Let’s do it!
  • Important note: The “unnecessary items” Trump refers to are actually in the government funding bill that is tied to the Covid relief bill. The two were passed in the Senate with one vote. Similarly, vetoing the Covid stimulus bill would also veto the funding bill, leading to a government shut down on Monday.
Perhaps one of the “unnecessary items” in the stimulus bill is one sought by Trump himself: a tax break for corporate meal expenses. Trump has for months talked about securing the deduction, which critics say would largely benefit business executives who do not urgently need help at this time.
During negotiations, however, Democratic leaders agreed to the provision in exchange for Republicans agreeing to expand tax credits for low income families and the working poor in the final package… “Republicans are nickel-and-diming benefits for jobless workers, while at the same time pushing for tax breaks for three-martini power lunches. It’s unconscionable,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee.
Brian Murphy, former acting chief of the DHS’s intelligence office, testified before Congress that the administration told him to hold back on circulating assessments of the threat of Russian interference in the approaching Nov. 3 election in part because it “made the President look bad.” Murphy also said that the department leadership of urging him to “blame Far Left groups in an exaggerated fashion” for violence during summer protests in Portland, Oregon.
Members of the Congressional Oversight Commission have asked for the Treasury IG to investigate why Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin ended U.S. Federal Reserve emergency lending programs, citing “irregularities” in how Mnuchin came to his decision. Lawmakers including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have said that the actions amounted to a misreading of the law and were politically motivated to hamstring the incoming Biden administration.
  • Commission member Bharat Ramamurti: “By the way, the Treasury Department is now declining to commit to release the legal memo justifying Sec. Mnuchin’s decision, even though he assured me at last week’s hearing that he would provide the Oversight Commission with a copy of it.”

Courts

On Friday, the Supreme Court punted a decision on Trump’s plan to exclude all unlawful immigrants from apportionment data for the 2020 census, writing the “judicial resolution of this dispute is premature,” and thus the coalition of state and local governments and NGOs did not have standing—the legal right to sue—in this case. The court ruled 6-3 on the matter, with Justices Stephen Breye, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan dissenting.
  • Trump’s policy, if successful, would strip seats in the House of Representatives from diverse states with large immigrant communities.
  • As Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern pointed out: “Churches have standing to challenge inoperative COVID restrictions but states don't have standing to challenge blatantly illegal census manipulation that's poised to strip them of congressional representation.”
A Manhattan Supreme Court Judge ordered the Trump Organization and its attorney to turn over documents previously protected by mistaken attorney-client privilege to New York Attorney General Letitia James. James is looking into whether the Trump family and various corporate entities improperly inflated assets to obtain tax benefits.
Southern District of Ohio Judge Michael Watson struck down Ohio's policy prohibiting transgender residents from correcting the gender marker on their birth certificate. Watson, a George W. Bush appointee, provides transgender Ohioans the ability "to correct their birth certificates so that this necessary identity document is consistent with their gender identities."
A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted six men in the alleged conspiracy to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The group “practiced assaulting a building in teams” and discussed destroying a highway bridge near Whitmer’s house to prevent law enforcement from responding. Now that they’ve been formally indicted, prosecution can proceed.
Further reading: “House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler intends to reissue a subpoena for former White House Counsel Don McGahn's testimony in 2021.” “In second loss for Kobach Monday, judge says he can’t get paid by We Build the Wall.”

Assassination attempt

Early last week, Bellingcat and CNN published evidence that an elite toxins team of Russia’s FSB trailed opposition politician Alexey Navalny for years before poisoning him in August. In his first comments on the investigation, Putin said that if the FSB wanted Navalny dead, they would have "finished it."
On Monday, Navalny posted a recording of a telephone call in which he duped FSB operative Konstantin Kudryavtsev into admitting his role in the poisoning. Posing as an official in Russia's National Security Council, Navalny got Kudryavtsev to detail the entire operation, including how the nerve agent was applied to a pair of Navalny's underwear.
Navalny asked: "What item of clothing was the emphasis on? What is the most risky piece of clothing?"
Kudryavtsev replied simply: "Underpants."
Navalny followed by asking exactly where the Novichok was applied -- the inside or outside seams.
"The insides, the crotch," replied Kudryavtsev.

Miscellaneous

Immigration: A draft Department of Homeland Security Inspector General’s report revealed that nearly a dozen immigrants arrested by ICE were kept in solitary confinement for more than two months, including two people who were isolated for more than 300 days.
Immigration: A non-profit reports that more than 1,300 people have been raped, kidnapped, or otherwise assaulted since February 2019, when the Trump administration began requiring asylum-seekers to wait out their claims in Mexico.
  • Related: “Immigrant Families Are Being Deported Without Their Asylum Claims Heard Lawfully, Advocates Say.”
Immigration: Last Tuesday, New York Gov. Cuomo signed a new law blocking federal immigration enforcement officials from making arrests at courthouses without a judicial warrant.
Environment: The Trump administration announced last week that the monarch butterfly will not be protected under the Endangered Species Act despite "a substantial probability" of population collapse in the next two decades. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined that the species is threatened enough to be included on the list but due to a lack of resources, protections may not be granted until 2024.
Between 1994 and 2016, the eastern monarch population plunged more than 80%...a total of less than 2,000 monarch butterflies were found this year in California, where there used to be millions — representing a stunning population drop of more than 99% since the 1980s… "The incredible migration of western monarchs is a unique yet fragile piece of North America's natural history, and it is on the brink of collapse," said Paige Howorth, director of invertebrate care and conservation at San Diego Zoo Global.
submitted by rusticgorilla to Keep_Track [link] [comments]

Feb/3/2021: (1) Mediaport Telegram channel: fabrications & rumors, activists behind it (2) Bill: identify "unknown" outlet owners before "linking" by mass media. Media financial transparency. (3) Parliament: judicial reform, protests, social aid (4) Robik (5) Artsakh recognized (6) Subsidies (7

Your 16-minute Wednesday report in 3984 words.

Mediaport Telegram channel

For context, read DFRLab's investigation into pro-Serj/Kocharyan media figures behind media outlets that spread misinformation and deceptive "fact checks". Part 1. Part 2. Or read the summary here.
Reported by FIP, edited by me to add extra info: Mediaport Telegram channel was created just two days after the ending of the war and often spreads sensationalized and shocking information. It's heavily cited by some opposition outlets. The owners are unknown. We tried to find out who runs the channel.
It has a record of publishing info about events that were set to happen within a few hours (about officials submitting letters of resignation). That means they have some connection in the system. The outlet, however, mostly spreads fake news, out of context, manipulation, or gossip-level stuff.
November 11: the outlet claimed that all entrances to Yerevan were closed and that people were marching to Yerevan on foot. In reality, roadblocks were installed to check vehicles entering Yerevan to ensure they don't have weapons. The road wasn't "closed" and there was no "marching".
November 16: the outlet wrote that Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan decided not to return from his trip to Russia and had to hide in Moscow because the Armenian community in Moscow was after him for revenge. Meanwhile, Alen Simonyan had returned to Armenia several days before the publication, and as of writing it, he was presiding over a meeting between Pashinyan and MPs.
November 20: the outlet wrote that Artsakh church leader Pargev Srbazan had passed away. The churchman appeared in public days later. (the second coming of Pargev?)
December 24: the outlet claimed that Azeris entered Armenian village Vorotan in Syunik province and used equipment to take down a sign. In reality, the incident took place in a similarly named settlement in Artsakh's Qashatagh province, which went under Azeri control during the war. The original source mentioned that it was in Qashatagh, but Mediaport changed it to Syunik.
There were numerous other false reports during this period. For example, the report about Deputy PM Mher Grigoryan's resignation on December 12, the report about NSS searching churchman Zeynalyan's apartment after he refused to greet Pashinyan in a church.
January 17: outlet wrote that the Aliyev family transferred their Dubai mansion to Pashinyan's wife Anna Hakobyan. The "proof" was an image of a regular gas bill, unrelated to Hakobyan.
The outlet often circulates conspiracy theories, yellow press material, and gossip that is impossible to verify. For example, it claimed there was a sharp argument between MOD Davit Tonoyan and Artsakh Army chief Jalal Harutyunyan just before Jalal's wounding. (Context: there was a conspiracy theory that Jalal was targeted in an assassination attempt by an insider).
who is behind Mediaport?
The study of the channel and comparison with other sources gives serious grounds to believe that it has a direct connection with the extremist "VETO" movement, as well as its co-founder Narek Malyan, who is the former aide to Serj Sargsyan's police chief Vladimir Gasparyan (under felony investigation).
On December 10th, Mediaport published a report showing the detention of VETO Narek Malyan and HHK MP Arman Saghatelyan in Republic Square. Saghatelyan is the co-founder of Qaryak Media, which runs several well-known media outlets in Armenia. Mediaport shared a segment from the detention incident. Then, VETO's channel shared the full footage. From the video, it is visible that the Mediaport's footage was being filmed by another VETO member.
Another VETO member published a video and image showing the person who filmed the video that was shared by Mediaport. It confirmed the aforementioned. Mediaport published the video at 18:03 Dec-10, while VETO published it 8 hours later.
In another instance, Mediaport was actively covering the December 8th protest in front of the NSS building. Examination of another footage by VETO members reveals that yet another VETO member was filming Mediaport's footage.
On December 3rd, Mediaport mentioned a list called "Farkhoyan List". You may not know what it is unless you follow VETO's co-founder Narek Malyan or his friend HHK Deputy Justice Minister Ruben Melikyan. The former regime is creating a list of judges they believe are following Pashinyan's orders. VETO referred to it as "Farkhoyan's List" (named after a judge on the list). VETO's Narek Malyan began to mention the list more actively later. It was promptly shared by Mediaport.
The similarities don't end there. More recently, Mediaport has been parroting Malyan's talking points after the latter stopped posting them on Facebook (signed-in from the wrong account?).
The connection between Mediaport and VETO is established by other data. When the opposition 17 parties held a scattered protest across the city, Mediaport was filming specifically in areas where VETO's Narek Malyan was. A road-blocking event took place on November 20th. Malyan and others were detained. There were no media outlets to film on the scene - just Mediaport and VETO's reporters who covered the incident.
An event took place outside the home of MP Hamazasp on November 28th. No other media outlet was present; Mediaport and Malyan shared the same footage. It was uploaded on Mediaport at 18:26, and just 2 minutes later on Malyan's account. Sometimes the difference between shares on Mediaport and VETO is measured in seconds. (Narek Malyan is illuminati confirmed.)
Generally, VETO and Mediaport discuss the same topic on social media almost at the same time. While Malyan initially tried not to mention Mediaport, it eventually got a shout out from his main account, where he wrote, "The most operative and reliable information at the moment is on this telegram channel."
Mediaport's connection with other media outlets
The media outlets owned by "Qaryak Media", founded by HHK officials and allies, were quick to share info from this brand new "anonymous" Telegram outlet. ArmNews outlet cited it just 2 days after its creation. Tert.am, Aysor.am, Blognews.am and others followed suit.
ArmNews and Tert.am are owned by "Qaryak Media". The latter was founded in 2019 by four ex-HHK MPs: Arman Saghatelyan, Samvel Farmanyan (sister charged with university embezzlement), Karen Bekaryan, and Mihran Hakobyan. Before becoming part of Qayrak Media, the ArmNews and Tert.am were part of Serj's fugitive son-in-law Mikael Mishik Minasyan's "Panarmenian" media empire.
Qaryak Media co-founders have close ties to VETO's Narek Malyan and often visit protests together.
other media connections
Other sources that often cite Mediaport are misinformation-spreading outlets "Analitik" and "Antifake".
Analitik - run by a VETO member Ani Hovhannisyan, who was earlier found guilty of extorting money from a Parliament MP in exchange for not publishing defamatory material. She has close ties with fellow VETO membefounder Narek Malyan.
Antifake - run by "Civic Consciousness" NGO chief Narek Samsonyan, a close associate of Narek Malyan. Together, they hold routine protests in front of George Soros's office to make sure the rainbow does not turn your child into gay.
https://fip.am/14645
https://massispost.com/2019/05/atlantic-council-deceptive-fact-checking-groups-spread-fake-news-against-armenian-government-online/
https://medium.com/dfrlab/armenia-assailed-by-deceptive-fact-checking-groups-part-i-the-players-2ce03daf2d28
https://a1plus.am/en/article/169448
Tags: #ArmyOfFakes #Mediaport #VETO #FakeNews #SutNikol #NarekMalyan #ArmNews #QaryakMedia #Mishik #Panarmenian #ArmNews #Tert.am

bill could require owners of "unknown" outlets identified before being "linked" by mass media

6 MPs from the ruling QP party, 4 of whom are former journalists, drafted a bill to amend the law that regulates the "Mass Media". The co-author said, "it will help to distinguish honest journalists and media organizations from unknown sources that cannot be identified."
"There are organizations involved in journalism who are known to the public; they have editorial teams. Along come Telegram channels and Facebook pages that generate information without any kind of work, and appear in real media. The real outlets essentially advertise sources with unknown origins."
"This bill targets the 'unknown sources' whose owners are being kept secret. The mass media outlets won't be allowed to link to such unknown outlets. However, they won't be forbidden from reproducing the information of those sources."
(If I understood correctly, a regular media outlet can still circulate an unknown Telegram rumor but won't be able to link to such channels in order not to "advertise" or use them as a scapegoat, unless owners behind the channel are known.)
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042271.html , https://factor.am/334964.html
A journalist criticized the bill co-author, stating that it does not actually prohibit media outlets from spreading the fake news. The co-author responded, "It's hard to fight against fake news nowadays. But I think the main fight against fake news should be done by you, the media outlets, by not circulating them."
https://youtu.be/g50iynYc-nE?t=912
Head of Yerevan Media Club says if the circulated information is false and defamatory and is subject to punishment, it does not matter in what fashion the outlet shares the information; by linking to unknown or known. He opposes the bill.
https://youtu.be/W-3rV3RhcAA?t=264
Opposition LHK MP Ani Samsonyan supports the idea but sees a "political context" here because "the ruling party only cared about the issue after it affected them." She supports fighting against pro and anti-government misinformation channels, saying that similar unknown sources had been used against the opposition.
https://youtu.be/W-3rV3RhcAA?t=165
The Head of the Freedom of Expression Commission said although the bill has some positive aspects (they found instances of unknown sources being fake and intentional manipulations, and media outlets serving interests of their owners), "it's still too restrictive and needs to be removed from circulation."
https://factor.am/335026.html
The co-author reiterated that media outlets won't be prohibited from spreading rumors by using the "according to our anonymous sources" tactic. "Quite the contrary. When the outlet uses the term 'according to our sources', it becomes the conveyor and the entity responsible for spreading that information. The bill is only about instances when the information is linked to unknown/unregistered sources which are commonly used as a tool to escape responsibility."
"Let's say an anonymous Telegram channel circulates defamation. A media outlet takes and publishes it while referring to that channel. The victim files a defamation lawsuit against the media outlet. The media outlet claims they took the info from Telegram, 'go find out whose Telegram it is', but that's impossible because the Telegram sources are unknown. Defamation and insult are decriminalized in our country, you can not turn to law enforcement. You can turn to them only when there is a threat of violence."
"Although we consulted with relevant entities while drafting the bill, we are ready to discuss with media outlets and hear their concerns. We're ready to make amendments."
https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/205790
Another part of the proposed bill would require media outlets to make their finances transparent. Every year, they would be required to publish a financial declaration and reveal the sources of their revenues, and their top-5 largest ad partners.
https://youtu.be/W-3rV3RhcAA?t=278
(In order to pass, the proposed bill would need Parliamentary committee approval, govt approval, Parliamentary floor debate, a vote, a second vote. It hasn't passed through any right now.)
Tags: #MassMedia #MediaLaw #TelegramLaw #FakeNews

Investigative Committee looking into death threats on Facebook

An anti-Pashinyan Facebook activist called for the ARF party to assassinate the "traitor" Prime Minister, again. The investigators were asked to punish the incitement of violence. They are looking into it.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042222.html

Parliament session: judicial reforms: more judges / social affairs & aid / opposition protests

the protest
The former regime organized protests in front of the Parliament building, ahead of today's session. HHK's youth wing leader believes there are other important things to do today than to discuss the judicial reform. The protesters demand "traitor" PM Pashinyan's resignation. They shut down the nearby Baghramyan Ave before being told by police to move to sidewalks. 8 people were detained. The protesters decided to march to Republic Square.
judicial reforms: more judges to reduce waiting times
Justice Minister Badasyan presented the bill. It's about expanding the number of judges handling felony trials. They will be specialized in handling pre-trial cases. The Armenian court system has long been overloaded with each judge being assigned [too many] cases. 17 new judges will be hired.
LHK and BHK complained that the bill isn't urgent and shouldn't be discussed now, and that nowadays security related topics should be discussed. Minister responded saying they've been discussing the issue of judicial system overload in the past 1.5 years, and "after accusing the government of inaction, you're now against it?"
Opposition MP accused the government of trying to hire "favorable" judges. The Minister denied the claim and listed the steps that are taken before the judge can be hired: written exam, a monthlong examination of property declaration, ethics vetting (reformed), Corruption Prevention Committee opinion (new), psychological test, Supreme Court approves/rejects the candidate, undergoes training in Judicial Academy, gives an exam, gets a chance to become a judge.
Parliament voted 83-24 to approve the judicial reform. This was the second and final vote. The opposition voted against it.
opposition opposes
Opposition BHK MP complained that they could be discussing issues relating to Syunik's border village Shurnukh instead of the aforementioned reforms. Ruling QP leader Makunts responded saying, "BHK has already discussed and voted in regards to Shurnukh borders." (she is referring to a 2010 bill approved by BHK/HHK that drew the Syunik borders and left part of Shurnukh village on the internationally-recognized Azeri side. The govt says it relies on that 2010 bill to clarify Syunik boundaries today.)*
social affairs - 100,000 refugees have returned
Labor and Social Affairs Minister took to the floor and presented the programs the Armenian and Artsakh governments have so far implemented for Artsakh refugees. "Social problems were resolved. This is why after the war the population of Artsakh went from a few hundred to over 100,000 today. People are returning to their homes."
"Those who had permanent residency are already back. Another 5,000 who lost their homes due to occupation continue to live in Artsakh. Another 20,000 who lost homes due to occupation are currently in Armenia; none were left without temporary housing. Gas, electricity, connection (partially) have been restored in Artsakh. One of the telecom operators secured a connection without roaming."
"The government provided ֏15B in social aid to Artsakh residents. That's more than any monthly social service operating in Armenia."
"Additionally, we're working in Artsakh government to fully subsidize income taxes for 6 months. There is practically no income tax in Artsakh in 1H21. We have several other programs with the govt."
"Post-war, Artsakh's own revenues fell by ֏50B. It will be fully compensated by a financing package from the Republic of Armenia. Financial allocations were granted in order to allow Artsakh to pay pensions and public sector salaries. Armenia continues to be the guarantor of the social security of the Artsakh Republic."
Bentleys and flights
Another debate ensued between opposition BHK and ruling QP MPs. The former accused the latter of contributing to the emigration. The ruling MP cited numbers, saying "372,000 people fled Armenia while BHK was part of the government coalition. Meanwhile, 41,000 people returned since the 2018 revolution." BHK MP responded saying, at least they didn't lose a war. QP MP responded saying, "People who held power for 30 years are accusing us of not doing enough in 2 years. Yes, we didn't have time to convert certain people's Bentleys and mansions into drones. Don't worry, we will."
us vs them
LHK MP compared the work done by Azerbaijan in occupied territories (he cited a road in Talish and the plans to build an airport in Fizuli), and accused the Labor Ministry of lagging behind in projects and housing construction. Minister responded saying, "I'm disappointed with the comparison. Are you aware that Azerbaijan, to this date, has not been able to install an electric network and deliver electricity to Shushi? Soldiers and a few civilians are sitting in darkness. Meanwhile, we have rebuilt Artsakh's electric grid after the war; it was completely destroyed, ArtsakhEnergo was destroyed.
Up to 1,000 houses are being rebuilt in Artsakh as we speak, which will be given for permanent residency. In the second stage, we will rebuilt several apartment complexes."
unified social services office
The government prepared a bill to reduce the number of social aid officers the citizen has to visit to get something done. 4 services could operate under one "window" to cut beurocracy. Parliament voted 99-8 to approve it. This was the second and final vote. It will become law.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042256.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042221.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042223.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042230.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042232.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042236.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042245.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042246.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042292.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042295.html , https://factor.am/334746.html , https://factor.am/334754.html , https://factor.am/334754.html , https://factor.am/334758.html , https://factor.am/334770.html , https://factor.am/334912.html
Tags: #JudicialReforms #JudicialOverload

update: Kocharyan's Moscow trip

Read yesterday's news for context. The judge rejected the defense petition and won't recuse herself. Kocharyan was allowed to fly to Russia to participate in a board meeting held by the Russian company SISTEMA; he is on the board of directors. He made a similar trip 2 months ago.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042237.html , https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/205793

empire to strike back? / former officials hold a meeting

The leaders of the former regime and their allies met to discuss plans. They agreed that Vazgen Manukyan will remain their candidate. The meeting was between Kocharyan, Serj, Tsarukyan, ARF Ishkhan, Vazgen Manukyan, and Vanetsyan.
Ind. MP Babajanyan: the person [Kocharyan], under whose leadership Armenia became a vassal [of Russia], thanks to your [current government] inactions is today able to declare war on Armenian citizens, the government, and threatens to participate in elections and "կրել" (slang word used by Kocharyan to describe victory). While Armenia was de-facto in war, that person moved the army from the front lines to Yerevan Center to murder protesters on March 1st, 2008. And you are still allowing him to talk about the army today. Under his watch we had the highest number of political murders and imprisonments; today he preaches about "democracy".
https://factor.am/334806.html , https://factor.am/334863.html

trips and meetings

Pashinyan met farmers and officials in Ararat province to discuss agricultural efforts, installation of efficient irrigation networks, farming subsidies, and ways to reduce the size of arable lands that are currently abandoned.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042254.html
Nature Minister met an EU envoy to discuss global environmental issues, topics relating to water in Lake Sevan, water-efficient irrigation, etc. With the support of "Water Initiative +", the government is developing a basin management plan for Sevan, which aims to structure and improve water resources management in the long run.
Full: https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042257.html
Netherlands ambassador met Deputy PM Avinyan POWs, humanitarian issues, business investments, agriculture.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042288.html

Foreign Minister about Armenian monuments in Turkey

The MFA condemned the routine practice of selling and "repurposing" Armenian churches and other monuments in Turkey, and statements that accompany them. One such incident happened a few weeks ago in Bursa, where a church building was put on sale for 6.3M Lira.
"Calls for cooperation in regional peace and stability by a state with such an attitude towards historical and cultural monuments can not be credible."
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042242.html

search operations

Search crews found one body in the southern Hadrut region. The operations are paused at the request of Azerbaijan, without an explanation.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042217.html

South Australia recognizes the independence of the Republic of Artsakh

"South Australia became the second state in Australia to recognize the rights to self-determination of the Republic of Artsakh, condemning Azerbaijan and Turkey for their invasion of the country's indigenous Armenians in a motion passed with a vote in the House of Assembly."
Earlier, the Parliament of New South Wales had recognized the Artsakh Republic.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042220.html , www.1lurer.am/en/2021/02/03/South-Australia-recognises-the-Republic-Of-Artsakh-condemns-Azerbaijan-and-Turkey/406958

Sasna Tsrer trial: lawyer wants Pashinyan to appear in court

Nationalist anti-Serj group Sasna Tsrer organized a hostage takeover at a police station in Yerevan in 2016. Policemen were killed. Several Tsrer members have since been locked up. They are facing life sentences for murder.
Pashinyan, at the time an opposition figure, played the role of a "mediator" to de-escalate the situation. He was able to enter the facility and talk to the gunmen. Tsrer eventually surrendered.
Today, Tsrer lawyer asked the court to bring Pashinyan, "possibly as a defendant", over some statement that he made while outside the facility. (Relevant: the lawyer Zaruhi Postanjyan and her client Sasna Tsrer are heavily anti-Pashinyan politically.)
Prosecutor called it a diversion tactic by the defense and argued against it. "Pashinyan made a statement saying he wanted to know details about the murder incident. According to defense logic, anyone who wonders about the incident should be called to testify in court."
The court found the defense argument unreasonable and decided not to summon Pashinyan.
https://factor.am/334681.html , https://factor.am/334697.html , https://factor.am/334702.html , https://factor.am/334705.html

update: rural residents can receive medication faster via Post Office

Haypost has launched the program to deliver drugs over mail. "Even those who live in the furthest location will have access to all medication available in Yerevan."
Healthcare Ministry issued Haypost a pharmacy license. A pilot program was earlier conducted in 10 villages. Today, it's available in 757 postal offices.
This is a part of a wider push by the government to make Haypost a Swiss army knife to allow rural residents to handle government paperwork, financing, banking, and other activities. It was followed by the decision to suspend Haypost's privatization.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042227.html

government will subsidize grain production

As mentioned earlier, most of Artsakh's grain production has stopped due to land losses. Artsakh used to supply grains to Armenia. The Armenian government drafted a plan to help farmers to boost the production in existing lands. Some 24K hectares will produce 30% more harvest.
1kg of seed will cost 50% less for ordinary farmers, and 70% less for those near borders. The project will cost ֏701M.
www.civilnet.am/news/2021/02/03/Արցախի-տարածքային-կորուստներից-հետո-կառավարությունը-կսուբսիդավորի-հացահատիկի-արտադրությունը/418222

COVID stats

2580 tested. 190 infected. 358 healed. 7 deaths. 4855 active.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042215.html

flights to-from Russia

The flights resumed with Russia. The first day was chaotic. Many people were upset because they couldn't fly. Due to demand and possibly other reasons, ticket prices were very high.
"More people arrived than left on the first day. Many Armenians who had earlier went to Russia for work were unable to return home for almost a year. When the routine flights are resumed, we think the arrivals will increase and they'll spend money here," said Pashinyan while meeting a shop owner in Ararat who said his trade turnover declined by 20%.
Russian govt said the routine flights will resume on February 15th. The move was made possible by a cooperation between AM-RU-EAEU governments to establish a COVID-checking mechanism before arrival.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042273.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042268.html

Armenia will also purchase Sputnik-V vaccine as part of global program

Healthcare Ministry had earlier announced that they reached an agreement with a global COVAX FACILITY program to purchase the British AstraZeneca vaccine. Today the Minister Avanesyan met Russian ambassador Kopyrkin to discuss the topic. Armenia will use the same global program to purchase the Russian Sputnik spaceship to land on Mars before Elon Musk does (this is an Easter egg).
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042282.html

Areni - one of the most beautiful settlements aspires to become a serious tourist center

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=798429264109517

you only jogged 1km instead of the usual 5... why?

Maybe you were not in a "mood"? Is something bothering you? How about consulting a psychologist?
"Athletes preparing for the Olympics will receive psychological services," said Deputy Education/Sports Minister Karen Giloyan (yes, your favorite տելեվիզրի դզադզյան).
"We must restore our former traditions and have representatives in international organizations and federations. This representation will only have a positive impact on the performance of our athletes on international platforms, and on raising the prestige of our country. We will hold routine seminars."
Full: https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042294.html

Hexact - Armenian tech firm

"Meet Hexometer, your AI sidekick that works 24/7 to catch problems before they affect your business," reads the message on Hexometer.com, a tool created by Armenian developers to aid webmasters.
The firm was founded two years ago in the US and has 15,000 active users from 135 countries. The team plans to hire 10 experts this year.
More: https://www.panarmenian.net/arm/news/289900/

donations to Artsakh & recovering soldiers

www.1000plus.am (recovering soldiers & their families)
www.HimnaDram.org (for Artsakh & Armenia)
www.ArmeniaFund.org (U.S. tax-deductible)

archive of older news

http://www.armeniapedia.org/wiki/Daily_Anti-Corruption_Reports

disclaimer

All the accused are considered innocent unless proven guilty in the court of law, even if they "sound" or "appear" guilty.
submitted by ar_david_hh to armenia [link] [comments]

How PIS destroyed Poland.

EDIT: This post is in an article format with pictures and graphs here
I can't be silent anymore. In 2018, out of 1076 abortions in Poland, 1 was because of rape, 25 because it was dangerous for the woman's life and 1050 because of an unhealthy fetus. It means that PIS just totally banned abortion in Poland
Too few Europeans are aware of the depth of this crisis. The current Polish government is destroying the country from inside-out with its nepotism, religious zeal, communistic tactics, social programs and funding verge organizations (or trolls). It breaks every single law, making unconstitutional laws since 2015 and destroying the court of law. How Poland is pushing EU into crisis - rise of populism. The video is 2 years old and now it's worst
PIS staffed every single judicial court with its own people (ending the impartiality of judges). The very aggressive social 500+ program increased the job inactivity of Poles to 48% (48% of 15+ Polish citizens are NEET. Unemployment is at 5-6%). The Job vacancies in Poland are at the lowest level in EU. The corruption and nepotism is rampant, more than 1000 family members and friends are in public companies or in different Ministries. Polish PIS high ranking politicians are also making money together with pimps and mafia (see scandals down there). They are also giving millions of euros from public money to the Catholic Church. They are paying trolls to spew hate on Facebook, via Whatsapp and on the web. Some of them are hiding and not prosecuting pedophiles in the Catholic Church. Poland has almost the lowest innovation in EU. In 15 indexes tracking freedom and democracy in Europe Poland went from an average position of 12 out of 28 in 2010 to 23 out of 28 in 2019. I mean, not to diminish Trump’s “awesomeness” but imagine if the WHOLE republican party in the US was Trump-like. Shady deals, family in the govt, creating discord, staffing courts with their own judges. I’m just mortified.
For further reading I recommend: Sadurski, Wojciech. "Poland's Constitutional Breakdown", Oxford University Press, 2019.
Acronyms and main characters:

PiS changes electoral rules in an unconstitutional move. Presidential "elections" 2020 are the Biggest legal blunder of the year

Poland Is Showing the World How Not to Run a Pandemic Election. The upcoming Polish election is shaping up to be a farce. Washington should learn from Warsaw’s mistakes before November.
Why Poland’s “ghost election” sends a warning about its democracy
Wikipedia about this blunder

Destruction of the rule of law.

Some of the passages below are taken from this pdf
No member state in the history of the EU has ever gone as far in subjugating its courts to executive control as the current Polish government. The Polish case has become a test whether it is possible to create a Soviet-style justice system in an EU member state; a system where the control of courts, prosecutors and judges lies with the executive and a single party.
Across Europe, national courts recognise the judgements of courts in other member states, whether these involve commercial law, the European arrest warrant or child custody. Judges must assume that courts across the EU operate according to common values and principles set out in the European Union Treaty and in its Charter of Fundamental Rights. Once judges across the EU have reason to doubt whether courts in any member state provide effective judicial protection, the legal order on which the EU rests collapses.
Freedom house - How PIS captured Poland’s Courts

Constitutional Tribunal changes

It all began with the constitutional crisis four years ago. Constitutional crisis and the destruction of the rule of law In 2015, parliament changed the law on the Constitutional Tribunal, which rules on the constitutionality of legislation. The changes allowed them to annul the nominations of three judges made by the previous parliament and appoint their own. It shortened the terms of the tribunal's president and vice-president from nine to three years. The tribunal ruled the move unconstitutional in an open rebellion, but the dispute remains unresolved. Julia Przylebska - was illegally named the president of the Tribunal court by the president. And now Kaczynski, the PM have meetings at her house. Nice separation of power
There's too much to describe. For further info please visit the link. It is an amazing summary of the whole ordeal. timeline

Supreme Court changes

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said one of the most controversial reforms was to do with the Supreme court, which, among other duties, is responsible for confirming election results. The idea was to lower the age of retirement for Supreme Court justices from 70 to 65, but allow the Polish president to grant a five-year extension to whomever they deemed worthy. In 2019, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) — the EU's highest court —ruled this was illegal, after an interim decision ordered 20 already-sacked judges be reinstated. Of course, PIS chose 2 new Constitutional judges, A politician Pawlowicz with communistic past and Piotrowicz, also a politician and a prosecutor that was an active communist during the 80 that prosecuted Solidarnosc. Both of them are above 65 years old.

Ordinary court judges

There were also moves to try a similar tactic in the general court system for judges and public prosecutors, lowering the age of retirement for women to 60 and for men to 65, down from the current 67. Under the reforms the justice minister, who is appointed by the ruling party, would have the power to extend a judge's term. The laws were somewhat adjusted after pressure from the European Commission, but in November 2019 the ECJ shot down these laws, too, citing gender discrimination and political influence over the judiciary.

Disciplinary measures for judges

Another PiS addition allowed judges to be investigated and sanctioned for their court rulings. The disciplinary hearings and procedures were to be carried out by judges selected via parliament. These reforms were criticized by the European Commission because "judges are not insulated from political control and thus judicial independence is violated." The commission brought legal action against Poland on this matter in October 2019.

National Council of the judiciary takeover

In 2017 PiS remodeled the National Council of the Judiciary, which selects candidates for appointment as judges by the President of the Republic. This allowed it, in the short term, to control appointments to the Supreme Court – including to a newly created Disciplinary Chamber, which hears disciplinary cases against judges, and to a new Extraordinary Appeals Chamber, which adjudicates on electoral issues. Over time PiS’ take-over of the National Judicial Council allows it to reshape the entirety of the judiciary. Fifteen of the 25 members of the National Council of the Judiciary were previously elected by judges themselves, as is common practice across Europe for such bodies. These fifteen judges are now elected by the majority in the Sejm, the lower chamber of the Polish parliament. The other ten members of the National Council of the Judiciary are: four members from the Sejm itself (all four members of PiS), two members from the Senate, one representative of the President of the Republic, the Minister of Justice, the president of the Supreme Court and the president of the Supreme Administrative Court. In total 23 of the 25 positions are directly appointed by political authorities.
After the election of the new KRS, a publication of the list with the names of judges declaring their support for specific candidates was refused. The Supreme Administrative Court ruled that those names must be disclosed. However, the Chancellery of the Sejm has yet to carry out the NSA’s ruling. The Constitutional Tribunal (TK) and the President of the Personal Data Protection Office have been roped into guarding the secret. KRS destruction

Muzzle bill

The muzzle bill passed Dec 2019, victimize judges questioning the legitimacy of the government’s legal appointments, saying it is unlawful to “show hostility to other authorities of the Republic of Poland and its constitutional organs or to critisize the basic principles of the Republic of Poland.”The bill also delegalise the preliminary questions to the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU). The bill also allows to fire judges ( which is unconstitutional according to the Constitution). In average Ziobro dismissed a judge every day and a half from its position of president of court source

One of the worse Covid19 laws in EU.

Trampling Fundamental freedoms using a single ordnance and Critiquing the President will land you a year in jail. report.
In the latest special Covid19 law (already 4th lol) PIS smuggled an article straight from a communistic playbook about prosecuting people that critique the president. The sentence can be up to a year. They also smuggled a harsher law for abortions. Can someone tell me HOW it is related to Covid19? source
More Ruleoflaw

Political scandals

Illegal presidential pardon

Illegal presidential pardon for CBA chief Kaminski In 2013, Law and Justice (PiS) MP Mariusz Kamiński – who served as head of the anti-corruption agency from 2006 and 2009 – was found guilty of overstepping his powers. He was sentenced to three years in prison and was banned from holding public office for ten years. Polish President Andrzej Duda pardoned Kamiński even though he was still appealing his sentence at the time. The case against Kamiński was then discontinued. A supreme court judge said that the president interfered in the legal process because Kamiński was proven neither innocent nor guilty when he was pardoned, making a future ruling redundant. The judge said that the president can pardon someone after any final appeal has been heard “because then he is not interfering with the judiciary”.

Merging the General Prosecutor with the political Minister of Justice

The general prosecutor role was merged with the minister of justice Ziobro. source. This handed Ziobro and his subordinates greatly expanded power to politically interfere with rank-and-file prosecutors, their decisions, and their freedoms of speech and association. Poland Is Purging Its Prosecutors
200+ public prosecutors that are loyal to the Minister of Justice Ziobro (from PIS) All of them got promotions (or someone from their family) or pay raises. another list

Destroying the military

The creation of a territorial defense unit- a civilian army led by the ministry of defense to control “the situation inside Poland”. In addition, there was a purge of generals. and killing multibillion deals with France. About 37 generals and 47 colonels left. Why? Because they had to answer to a 27-year old assistant to the Defense Minister, former pharmacy assistant without a university degree. The Rzeczpospolita daily newspaper reported that Misiewicz was given a top communications job with PGZ ( largest defense consortiums in Central Europe) that pays $12,500 a month, huge sum in a country where the average pre-tax wage is about $1,150 a month. source
PIS decides to overhaul 40-years old t-72 instead of investing in German tanks. Not enough ammunition, uniforms NVG and other gadget went to the above unit,
In 2015, the Defence minister Macierewicz raided the Nato center in Warsaw at 1am to take control of documents and place their man at the helm

The ministry of Justice is funding trolls to destroy judges

Ziobro-Piebiak paid Troll scandal The Onet news portal published a report alleging that Deputy Justice Minister Łukasz Piebiak “arranged and controlled” an online campaign against Judge Krystian Markiewicz, the head of Iustitia, a judicial organization critical of the government’s efforts to restructure the judicial system, as well as against other inconvenient judges. According to the Onet report, Piebiak operated and financed an online campaign by a woman called Emilia who allegedly sent over 2,000 letters and emails about Markiewicz to other judges as well as to pro-government right-wing media. The messages contained fabricated, semi-confirmed and gossipy details of the judge’s personal life. According to Onet, Emilia obtained Markiewicz’s personal address from Piebiak so she could send him one of the letters.

Taking over the state media

State media was taken over by PIS and is using mass propaganda and here Not only they are a propaganda tube but they also offend polish citizens ie – translation: defenders of pedophiles and alimonies-takers are the ones against judiciary reforms. They call every peaceful protest as a coup
The same can be said about the GUS – general statistical bureau. It is controlled by PIS and it is known to “change” metrics so every Inflation or unemployment metrics can’t be trusted.

LBGT-free zones and Xenophobia.

Fear against refugees and calls for xenophobia. A leaked draft of a new Polish migration policy discriminates against Muslims, ranks foreigners according to ethnicity and breaches human rights
My article Why the Polish government is against LGBT?
PIS is supporting LGBT free zones where a thrid of Poland is declared as LGBT-free. During the presidential elections in 2020 Gay “ideology” is worse than communism, says Duda - PIS president.

Destroying education and HealthCare.

PIS cancels the in vitro program Polish government program that covered most of the in vitro costs was immediately cut by the Law and Justice Party when it came to power in late 2015, even though Poland has one of the lowest birth rates in the EU. Catholic Church opposition to IVF is widely seen as one factor in the Polish government's decision.
PIS also increased the minimum wage at the beginning of 2020. It created a weird paradox where a teacher and a starting MD is earning less than the minimal wage because they get paid from public money and the minimal wage change is for the private sector. And PIS wants to ban sex ed by labeling teachers as gay activists and pedophiles. Critics say Poland’s governing Law and Justice Party is wrecking the education system for political gain — and students are suffering.

Environment?

Destruction of the oldest European forest in Poland by Minister of Environment Szyszko The Bialowieza Forest is a UNESCO World Heritage site that sprawls across the border between Poland and Belarus, occupying almost 580 square miles of woodland and providing home to rare European wood bison among others. At least 10,000 trees are thought to have been felled in Białowieża, since the Polish environment minister, Jan Szyzko tripled logging limits there in 2016. The EU’s highest court has ruled that Poland’s logging in the Unesco-protected Białowieża forest is illegal, potentially opening the door to multi-million euro fines.
“Our (water) resources are comparable to those of Egypt,” it said in the report bearing the ominous title: “Poland, European Desert”

Nepotism and colleagues in state-owned companies

PIS won the elections by wanting to fight nepotism. The most famous was “24yo Misiewicz, a former pharmacy assistant without a university degree was in the defense industry under Macierewicz. The apparent favoritism has raised ethics concerns in a party that won office promising to fight corruption.” source There is even a webpage listing more than 1000 cases of nepotism under PIS Pisiewicze
Latest data show 162M PLN to 84 PIS oligarchs and Colleagues

Illegal budget for 2017

The 2017 budget "was adopted" not in the Sejm assembly hall, but in a smaller room where the so-called parliamentary session was held immediately as a follow-up to the meeting of the parliamentary causus of PIS, where no reliable counting of vates was possible, and with many allegations taht the opposition MPs were not allowed in. [Constitutional Democracy in Crisis?, Oxfoord, 2018, p.268]

Ex-communists in PIS ranks. And PIS is very anti-left and anti-PRL.

They are accusing the opposition – PO - to consist mostly of ex-communists or communistic party members or collaborators. The issue is that most members of PO fought against the communism and spent months/years in prison in the ’80. On the other hand, the PIS party members scarcely fought for polish liberty and some of its party members are former communistic party members or communistic prosecutors like Piotrowicz! Some Polish TC judge are also ex-PRL members. Here is a list in polish of all current PIS party members who served as PRL members during the communistic era. So, PIS is fighting against itself. Another list with 20 names of ex-party members now in PIS

Funding the Catholic church with public money

PIS is very Pro-Catholic, most of their voters are devout Catholics. So it is no surprise that PIS is funding religious orgs from public money. Since Law and Justice came to power in 2015, Father Rydzyk’s businesses have received at least $55 million in subsidies from at least 10 ministries and state companies. His Radio Maryja station, which reaches millions and is often the sole source of information for many older voters in rural Poland, offers a daily diet of horror stories about a world without faith, where gay people control the political agenda, universities are corrupted by “neo-Marxists,” and the Roman Catholic Church is under mortal threat. Rydzyk Embroiled in Corruption Allegations
Hiding Pedophilia. Map of 259 victims of catholic pedophilia. When a documentary was released before recent local elections revealing devastating examples of how priests sexually abused children and how church officials covered it up, many in PIS saw it not as evidence of an institution that lost its way, but one that needed to be defended. Piotrowicz, the above communist prosecutor, dismissed in 2001 a case against a priest accused of raping six girls.
Polish PIS president Duda pardons a paedophile that raped his own daughter. He makes the pardon a week before elections

Smolensk commission

The so-called assassination of Kaczynski's twin president brother in Smolensk created 90M PLN of costs. PIS created a "cult" around his death and even created a special commission that would prove it was an assassination. Kaczynski was using it on every occasion Don't wipe your treacherous mugs with .... Ofc they didn’t prove anything and they buried the topic. Every 10th of every month for 3 years, PIS party leader Kaczynski was making a "show" commemorating his dead twin brother. He was using the police to secure his demonstration even if he has no lawful power (he is neither a president, neither the prime minister). New law expanding police surveillance and the police is getting raises after raises to keep them happy. The commemorations, the commission and the damages (paid only to the politicians’ families, not to the crew) amounted to 91M PLN.

The welfare revolution

PIS is also very pro-family. The party is giving away 500zl per month for every kid. In short, it has “bought” the elections. The polish economy is unable to sustain such an endeavor roots of populism. And it costs the economy 80B PLN between 2016 and 2019. The best part? Rate of births is negative for the last couple of years and inflation is still growing. According to the PIS Stats bureau it is 3.5% and growing. However, many journalists made their own baskets of normal good and services and the inflation is closer to 10%. Additionally there is a growing debt that PIS tries to hide by shifting some debt into other Funds. One of them is the “Solidarity fund” that is not counted in the overall polish GDP, that is to support people with disabilities will pay for the 13th and 14th pension of people 65+.

Funding propaganda and trolls

Computational Propaganda in Poland: Russian troll factories
PIS bought the Pegasus spyware to spy on its citizens In September 2018, private broadcaster TVN24 reported that Poland’s state audit body, NIK, was questioning an outlay of over 33 million zloty (€7.6 million euro) by the Justice Fund, a government fund to help victims of crime. According to TVN, the money went toward the purchase of a “new system to spy on telephones and computers, the most expensive system in the history of Polish secret services.” Reports that the covertly purchased system could be Pegasus — a top-performing spyware that is impossible to track — surfaced last week.
Polish troll farms promoting Duda and Kaczynski

Funding public TV stations

Polish public TV stations should be impartial and public. Not favoring any party nor government and give the same screen time to every party equally. Unfortunately, there was a purge of journalists the moment PIS won the election and the propaganda is stalin-like. Look at this graph how it changed. Polish TVP is the mouthpiece of the govt. In 2020 PIS voted to give an additional 2B pln per year for 5 years to public tv.
Public Main TV making fun of US ambassador by reading the tweet with a derogatory accent

Scandals

PIS has hundreds of scandals that each would destroy a modern government. They defrauded billions of PLN over the years, put 1000’s of family members in different state-owned companies. Below are listed the main sexual and financial scandals.
  1. Sex hotel of the head of the Audit office Marian Banaś , a Law and Justice (PiS) politician and recently appointed chief of Poland’s Supreme Audit Office has been heavily embroiled in a corruption scandal, another to hit the ruling party just weeks before the country votes in a parliamentary election. Mr Banaś served as finance minister from June to August this year, and is a key figure in the party. Mr Banaś concealed his possession of a tenement house in Krakow from his financial disclosures. This property was then revealed to have deep running connections with a local, criminally-run escort agency. He claimed that the house was given to him by an old friend whom he met in the Home Army, which he then renovated. In his disclosures, he claimed he would sell the house, which never happened. Banaś claims that this was due to the buyer’s inability to get a loan. Investigations have further revealed that Mr Banaś agreed to rent the property for 5000 zloty a month, 10,000 zloty lower than its estimated market value, according to Gazeta Wyborcza. Just as the scandal could not apparently get any worse for Mr Banaś, further investigation by journalist Bertold Kittel revealed criminal links. When Mr Kittel entered the property he found at the reception an infamous Krakow criminal known as one of the brothers K – Wiesław or Janusz, who control escort agencies in the region. While still under investigation, there have been suggestions of contact between the two.
  2. "Alleged" Pedophila and Sex trafficking scandal of House speaker Wirtualna Polska learned the contents of the message of CBA officer Wojciech J. to the prosecutor's office about the failure of the head of the CBA, Ernest Bejda. In the background is a lost record with a recording of one of the leading PiS politicians who should have sex with a minor Ukrainian girl lost. His name falls on the document. In the message, Wojciech J. refers to several reports that he was the head of the office in connection with the "unauthorized access to his armored cabinet during his absence" submitted. From this vault, a record should be lost in escort agencies from the Podkarpacie region. One of the leading PiS politicians should have sex with a young Ukrainian in the recording. The statement signed by lawyer Beata Bosak-Kruczek mentions the name of Sejm spokesman Marek Kuchciński.
  3. Health minister Szumowski alleged to have bought £1m of PPE from ski instructor friend during pandemic. And givng away £65m grants to companies run by brother public anger has exploded after Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza reported that Szumowski bought masks with fake certificates from a skiing instructor who is friends with his businessman brother, Marcin. Poland’s Health Ministry reportedly spent five million zloty (£1m) on 120,000 FFP-2 type face masks and 20,000 surgical masks that were later found not to meet safety standards, Politico says. The company that sold the masks was registered on the 30 of March and won the govt. contract on the same day. Critics have also questioned Szumowski’s previous dealings in government. Polish news network tvn24 reports that while serving as deputy science minister in 2016-17, he gave 300 million zloty (£60m) in grants from Poland’s National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR) to OncoArendi Therapeutics, a research company run by his brother. Another company in which Szumowski was a shareholder, Life Science Innovation (LSI), was reportedly given a 24 million zloty (£5m) NCBR grant just days after he took up the ministerial post.
  4. Same Health minister Szumowski bought 1.2 thousand ventilators for PLN 200 million from a company owned by an arms dealer, not a single device was delivered
contd.
submitted by Logiman43 to Polska [link] [comments]

how to use judicious in a sentence video

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how to use judicious in a sentence

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