Skip to main content

One of the best quote of Oliver Bullough.

 "The media squabble over Shchepotin’s final day at the Cancer Institute, and the doubts it raised over the motivation of all concerned, were appropriate, because the most corrosive aspect of corruption is the way that it undermines trust. When corruption is widespread, it becomes impossible to know whom to believe, since the money infects every aspect of state and society. Every newspaper article can be criticized as paid for, every politician can be called corrupt, every court decision can be called into question. Charities are set up by oligarchs to lobby for their interests, and those then provoke doubts about every other non-governmental organization. If even doctors are on the take, can you trust their diagnoses? Are they claiming a patient needs treatment only because that would be to their profit? If policemen are crooked, and courts are paid for, are criminals really criminals? Or are they honest people who interfered in criminals’ business? Not knowing whom to believe, you retreat into trusting only those closest to you—your oldest friends, and your relatives—and that reinforces the divisions in society that corruption thrives on. It is impossible to build a thriving economy, or a healthy democracy, without a society whose members fundamentally trust each other. If you take that away, you are left with something far darker and more mercenary."

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

🏗️ Corporate Complicity in Genocide: The Global Economy Behind Gaza’s Ruin.

📅 July 5, 2025 “We are witnessing not just genocide in Gaza—but a genocide made profitable.” — UN Special Rapporteur, A/HRC/59/23 “This report is written from the heart of darkness . It is penned with a broken hand from a broken land for a broken people . But its words are not broken . They are the words of law and of longing . They are the words of those who are not yet silenced . It is written for Palestinians , first and foremost. It is also addressed to those who remain silent , indifferent or complicit . And it is a call to action for those who are not.” — Introduction, UN Report A/HRC/59/23 In an unprecedented and unflinching report to the UN Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory has laid bare the truth that much of the world’s corporate, academic, and financial architecture is actively complicit in Israel’s occupation, apartheid, and now, genocide in Gaza. This isn’t just about military aggression . This is about the mac...

Tumbling of American Banks amid weak economic data that sparks recession fears.

 " Citigroup led big bank losses with a near 5 per cent fall. Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs fell about 4 per cent each, while JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America declined 2.7 per cent and 3.5 per cent, respectively. Lenders typically feel the squeeze as recessions heighten concerns over credit losses due to higher unemployment, while loan demand – a key factor in profitability – also takes a beating." https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/banking-finance/us-banks-tumble-weak-economic-data-sparks-recession-fears

Man does not stand alone by A Cressy Marrison

The American scientist, A Cressy Morrison, Head of the Science Academy   in New York, says in his book "Man Does Not Stand Alone": Birds have the homing instinct. The robin that nested at your door may go south in the autumn, but will come back to his old nest the next spring. In September, flocks of many of our birds fly south,often over a thousand miles of open sea, but they do not lose their way. The homing pigeon, confused by new sounds on a long journey in a closed box, circles for a moment then heads almost unerringly for home. The bee finds its hive while the wind waving the grasses and trees blots out every visible guide to its whereabouts. This homing sense is slightly developed in man, but he supplements his meagre equipment with instruments of navigation.  We need this instinct and our brain provides the answer. The tiny insects must have microscopic eyes, how perfect we do not know, and the hawks, the eagle and the condor must have telescopic vision. Here...

The Ceasefire of Exhaustion: When Empires Collapse from Within

  By Malik Mukhtar — ainnbeen.blogspot.com Two years after Gaza was first set on fire , the war that began with biblical vengeance has stumbled to an exhausted ceasefire . On October 9, 2025 , Israel and Hamas — after endless carnage, famine, and rubble — have signed the first phase of a ceasefire agreement mediated in Sharm el-Sheikh . Trump called it a “ historic peace plan. ” History may call it a truce of attrition — a war that collapsed under the weight of its own hubris. What the Ceasefire Says — and What It Doesn’t Under the agreement, Israeli forces are to pull back to a designated “yellow line” within 24 hours of cabinet ratification. Hamas, in turn, will release all remaining hostages — alive or dead — within 72 hours after the withdrawal. Israel will free about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, though it made sure to exclude political figures like Marwan Barghouti , whose freedom would remind the world that Palestine still breathes. Humanitarian convoys — food,...

Netherlands Moves to Block UN Palestine Expert, Accused of Shielding Israel from Criticism.

  The Dutch government's opposition to the renewal of Francesca Albanese's mandate as the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories has drawn significant attention , particularly from human rights advocates and pro-Palestinian groups .  Below is a detailed overview of the situation: 1. Background on Francesca Albanese and Her Role - Francesca Albanese is an Italian international lawyer and scholar appointed as the UN Special Rapporteur for Palestine in 2022. - Her mandate involves monitoring and reporting on human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories ( West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem). - She has been vocal about Israel’s violations of international law, including settlement expansions, collective punishment, and apartheid policies. - Her reports often highlight accountability gaps and call for international action against Israeli policies . 2. Dutch Government’s Opposition - The Netherlands , unde...