Saturday Post

The martyrs were bound, imprisoned, scourged, racked, burned, torn apart, butchered - and they multiplied. (St. Augustine)

 

 

From the most opaque and corrupt government ever re-elected:

Senior political staffers from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office and the office of another federal Liberal cabinet minister privately discussed how to withhold information from Canadians about the government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis last June, newly released emails show.

Gareth Jones, too, was disbelieved:

The message was tucked into a bouquet of chrysanthemums left by a mourner at the back of Wuhan Central Hospital to honor a Chinese whistleblower doctor who died from the coronavirus a year ago. It was simply the number of a Bible verse: Matthew 5:10.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” the verse reads.

A year ago Sunday, Dr. Li Wenliang died from the virus first detected in this Chinese city. A small stream of people marked the anniversary with visits to the hospital Saturday, some leaving flowers.

The 34-year-old ophthalmologist was one of eight whistleblowers who local authorities punished early on for “spreading rumors” about a SARS-like virus in a social media group. His situation, eventually made public in media reports, made him a potent symbol for the perils of going against official messaging in China.

The Chinese public embraced Li, whose presence online had painted a picture of an ordinary person. His wife was pregnant and he was soon to be a father. He sent the “rumor” because he wanted to warn others.

The public also watched as he fell ill with the disease he was warning them about, eventually worsened, and died.

Li’s death was initially reported by Chinese state media on the night of Feb. 6, 2020, but the outlets quickly withdrew their reporting. Some hours later, in the early morning of Feb. 7, Wuhan Central Hospital announced his death.

 

 

On the Korean Peninsula:

A growing number of people are frustrated after they were also prevented from gathering with their loved ones over Chuseok last year.

One 39-year-old resident of southern Seoul said, "My parents-in-law called me and insisted that we come visit them over the holiday because they haven't seen their grandson for a year. I told them that we could end up getting fined if someone reports us, but they got angry at me."

Those caught breaking the rules face a fine of up to W100,000 per person (US$1=W1,117). The ban on gatherings has prompted some to have their sons and daughters visit in rotations of up to five people at a time.

"I'm afraid my parents will feel sad if none of their children come visit during the Lunar New Year holiday, so my siblings plan to take turns stopping by," said one 41-year-old who plans to visit his parents in Daegu.

**

Some North Korean troops were spotted in camouflage outfits at a military parade in Pyongyang on Jan. 14 that looked much the same as their South Korean counterparts'.

"Based on analysis of images of the parade released by the North, we've found that North Korean troops wore the same pixelated camouflage as the South Korean military's," a military source here said.

The only difference was that the North Korean uniform was sand-colored, which is usually used to blend in with a desert environment, while the South Korean camo is a more appropriate leafy green.

Surely there is a standing order to sink ships:

 

Chinese government vessels entered Japanese territorial waters near the flash point Senkaku Islands on Saturday — the first time since China passed a new law earlier this month that allows its coast guard to use military force in waters the country claims — including those around the Senkakus.

 

It all sounds so achingly familiar: 

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Myanmar’s cities on Saturday to denounce this week’s coup and demand the release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi despite a blockade on the internet by the junta.

 

 

Well, that's nice but the fraud has already taken place, so ... :

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday scheduled several high-profile contest-of-election lawsuits, including ones brought by attorneys Sidney Powell and Lin Wood, and the Trump campaign, for consideration at its Feb. 19 conference.

According to a case listing, the lawsuits include Sidney Powell’s Michigan case (20-815), the Trump campaign’s Pennsylvania lawsuit (20-845) and Wisconsin lawsuit (20-882), the Pennsylvania lawsuit brought by Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) (20-810), and Lin Wood’s Georgia case (20-799).

All cases allege some form of unlawful election-related conduct affecting the result of the election, including expansion of mail-in balloting by elections officials changing rules in contravention of state election laws, lack of adequate security measures around mail ballots, issues with machine vote tabulation, and denial of meaningful access to poll watchers.

The Supreme Court declined to grant relief or fast-track the cases as requested in respective petitions filed ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration of President Joe Biden.

 

That's not a ringing endorsement:

Last December, investigators conducted an anonymous survey of 3,523 employees of Yale Medicine and Yale Health System to determine their willingness to receive an FDA-approved vaccine. The survey’s response rate was low (just 11 percent), but 85 percent of respondents said that they were extremely likely or somewhat likely to get the vaccine; 14.7 percent were reluctant. Crucially, the top two reasons cited for reluctance were related to a desire for more follow-up data on safety. Less than 2 percent of the sample expressed an anti-vaccine perspective, saying that nothing would make them comfortable getting the vaccine. By contrast, a survey of approximately 250,000 U.S. households by the Census Bureau conducted in January 2021 found that about 9 percent said that they would definitely not get the vaccine. These data suggest that health-care workers’ reluctance may be less motivated by anti-vaccine sentiment than is reluctance among the general public.

 

 

Wow. Have we really sunk this low?: 

On Thursday evening, the Senate rejected a measure requiring care for babies who survive abortion attempts.

No one ever thinks that it will happen to them:

Many an afternoon Peter would face off with a communist agent who would try to convince him there was no God. The brainwashing sessions had a reverse effect, however, as Peter was forced to carefully study his faith to answer various challenges. A natural leader, he persuaded many of his classmates to join him for morning Mass before school.

Constant pressure was applied on Peter to compromise his faith and join a communist youth group; efforts were even made to persuade him to stop wearing a cross on his jacket lapel. Some years he was the only member of his class who would not join the communists. He always had to be on guard as to what he said, even in private, as informants and electronic listening devices were everywhere. He reflected, “It is very difficult for anyone who has not lived under tyranny to be able to realize and understand what life can be like when every word and opinion must be carefully weighed.”