Islamophobia > A poorly defined word that does more harm than good

 

UK: Sikh group campaigns against

‘flawed’ definition of ‘Islamophobia’

Oct 3, 2024 11:00 am By Robert Spencer

“If the government chooses to incorporate this definition into law, then discussing the history of the Indian subcontinent, and the persecution of religious minorities across the world today, in countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria will be absurdly equated to ‘racism.'”

Indeed. This initiative is already well underway. I’m Exhibit A.

Boost for British Sikh group’s campaign against

‘flawed’ definition of Islamophobia

by Aditi Khanna, PTI, September 29, 2024 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

London, Sep 29 (PTI) A British Sikh organisation campaigning against a “flawed” definition of Islamophobia adopted by the Labour Party a few years ago being made legal has received a boost as the government admitted the proposal would not be in line with the UK’s Equality Act.

The Network of Sikh Organisations (NSO) had written to Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and the government Faith Minister Lord Wajid Khan earlier this month to caution that the proposed definition would jeopardise even a factual discussion of the history of the Indian subcontinent.

OMG! Britain's Faith Minister's name is Wajid Khan!!!! Has the Church of England spoken out about this? Does AB of Canterbury, Justin Welby, think this is a good idea?

Back in 2018, the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on British Muslims had defined Islamophobia as a “type of racism” that targets expressions of Muslimness.

“As you have mentioned, the definition proposed by the APPG is not in line with the Equality Act 2010, which defines race in terms of colour, nationality and national or ethnic origins,” reads Lords Khan’s reply to the NSO released this week….

In its letter, the NSO had warned that the adoption of a “contested definition” into law would have serious implications on “free speech, not least the ability to discuss historical truths”. It also feared that “seminal moments” in Sikh history would be “censored” and considered “racist”.

“If the government chooses to incorporate this definition into law, then discussing the history of the Indian subcontinent, and the persecution of religious minorities across the world today, in countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria will be absurdly equated to ‘racism’. This would be counterproductive, cause disquiet and perversely persecute truth tellers,” the NSO noted….

“The recent violent disorder exposed deep weaknesses in our society and, as you have mentioned, much of the violence was rooted in anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant hatred… The government will never tolerate those who seek to sow divisions and wreak intimidation across our communities, and we remain absolutely committed to protecting the right of individuals to freely practice their religion at their chosen place of worship,” Lord Khan added in his reply to NSO.

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More Clues About the Origins of Covid-19

..

Fury is often the response when someone is caught out in a lie.

China furious as new report suggests Wuhan lab staff sought hospital care

weeks before Covid-19 outbreak was disclosed

24 May, 2021 08:51

Researchers from China's Wuhan Institute of Virology became so ill in November 2019 that they required hospital treatment, the Wall Street Journal has reported as the international community continues to probe Covid-19's origins.

According to a US intelligence report cited by the paper, three staff members from the institute became so ill that they required hospital care weeks before Beijing acknowledged the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

One source told the Wall Street Journal that the intelligence was provided by a foreign ally and could be significant but required further verification. Another person familiar with the matter described the information as coming from various sources, adding that the intelligence was of “exquisite quality” and “very precise.” However, the individual acknowledged that the intelligence did not reveal why the researchers fell ill. Notably, a State Department document issued during the final days of Donald Trump’s administration said several researchers from the institute became sick in the fall of 2019 with symptoms associated with Covid-19, as well as more common seasonal illnesses. 

According to the Journal, President Joe Biden’s administration hasn’t disputed the claim that Wuhan researchers fell ill weeks before the Covid-19 outbreak was made public. But one administration official told the paper that Trump’s government had “put spin on the ball” by interpreting the intelligence as clear evidence that the virus came from the laboratory. Several other current US officials said the information was “circumstantial” but worthy of further investigation. 

China’s Foreign Ministry issued a response to the report on Monday, insisting that there were no reported Covid-19 cases among staff and students at the virology institute. 

The previously undisclosed report comes amid growing debate over how the pandemic began.

Beijing has strenuously denied that the laboratory played any role in the international health crisis. In March, a team of experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) published a report after visiting Wuhan which effectively ruled out the possibility that the pandemic was the result of a laboratory accident. The team did not identify the origin of the virus, but said that the introduction of the disease through an intermediate host followed by zoonotic transmission – from animals to humans – was “likely to very likely." The report also said it was possible that the virus was introduced to residents in Wuhan through the food supply. 

The Chinese city reported the first cases of the illness on December 31, 2019, and shut down a market that authorities initially believed was linked to the disease’s spread. 

Following the release of the WHO’s findings, 14 nations, including the US and UK, issued a joint statement expressing concerns that the investigation was not thorough enough. The states called for “transparent” further analysis of the outbreak that is “free from interference” and “unimpeded.”

In fact, the investigation was a farce and its conclusions were not based on any evidence whatsoever.

How scientists at Wuhan lab helped Chinese army in secret project to find animal viruses

Covid19 Origins - Another CDC Director Suggests Wuhan Virus Leak a Possibility

Coronavirus: Dossier Lays Out Case Against China Bat Virus Program; Designer Virus

During the early months of the pandemic, Washington accused China of not doing enough to contain the virus and even suggested the disease may have leaked from the Wuhan lab. The Trump administration never provided evidence for the claim, however. 

China’s Foreign Ministry noted the WHO’s conclusion that a lab leak was highly unlikely and accused Washington of continuing to “hype the lab leak theory.” 

"Is [Washington] actually concerned about tracing the source or trying to divert attention?” it said in a statement to the Journal. 

The WHO is scheduled to outline the next phase of its investigation into Covid-19’s origins, with the new report potentially fueling speculation that the lab-leak theory requires further consideration. 

Military Madness: Worrying New Clues About the Origins of Covid

How scientists at Wuhan lab helped Chinese army

in secret project to find animal viruses

By IAN BIRRELL FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY

PUBLISHED: 17:01 EDT, 24 April 2021 | UPDATED: 06:42 EDT, 25 April 2021

Scientists studying bat diseases at China's maximum-security laboratory in Wuhan were engaged in a massive project to investigate animal viruses alongside leading military officials – despite their denials of any such links.

Documents obtained by The Mail on Sunday reveal that a nationwide scheme, directed by a leading state body, was launched nine years ago to discover new viruses and detect the 'dark matter' of biology involved in spreading diseases.

One leading Chinese scientist, who published the first genetic sequence of the Covid-19 virus in January last year, found 143 new diseases in the first three years of the project alone.

The fact that such a virus-detection project is led by both civilian and military scientists appears to confirm incendiary claims from the United States alleging collaboration between the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) and the country's 2.1 million-strong armed forces.

The scheme's five team leaders include Shi Zhengli, the WIV virologist nicknamed 'Bat Woman' for her trips to find samples in caves, and Cao Wuchun, a senior army officer and government adviser on bioterrorism.

Prof Shi denied the US allegations last month, saying: 'I don't know of any military work at the WIV. That info is incorrect.'

Yet Colonel Cao is listed on project reports as a researcher from the Academy of Military Medical Sciences of the People's Liberation Army, works closely with other military scientists and is director of the Military Biosafety Expert Committee.

Cao, an epidemiologist who studied at Cambridge University, even sits on the Wuhan Institute of Virology's advisory board. He was second-in-command of the military team sent into the city under Major General Chen Wei, the country's top biodefence expert, to respond to the new virus and develop a vaccine.

The US State Department also raised concerns over risky 'gain of function' experiments to manipulate coronaviruses at the Wuhan lab and suggested researchers fell sick with Covid-like symptoms weeks before the outbreak emerged more widely in the Chinese city.

Last month, Britain, the US and 12 other countries criticised Beijing for refusing to share key data and samples after a joint World Health Organisation and Chinese study into the pandemic's origins dismissed a lab leak as 'extremely unlikely'.

Filippa Lentzos, a biosecurity expert at King's College London, said the latest disclosures fitted 'the pattern of inconsistencies' coming from Beijing.

'They are still not being transparent with us,' she said. 'We have no hard data on the pandemic origins, whether it was a natural spill-over from animals or some kind of accidental research-related leak, yet we're unable to get straight answers and that simply does not inspire confidence.'

The documents obtained by The Mail on Sunday detail a major project called 'the discovery of animal-delivered pathogens carried by wild animals', which set out to find organisms that could infect humans and investigate their evolution. 

It was launched in 2012 and funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The project was led by Xu Jianguo, who boasted at a conference in 2019 that 'a giant network of infectious disease prevention and control is taking shape'.

The professor also headed the first expert group investigating Covid's emergence in Wuhan. He denied human transmission initially, despite evidence from hospitals, then insisted in mid-January 'this epidemic is limited and will end if there are no new cases next week'.

One review of his virus-hunting project admitted 'a large number of new viruses have been discovered, causing great concern in the international virology community'.

It added that if pathogens spread to humans and livestock, they could cause new infectious diseases 'posing a great threat to human health and life safety and may cause major economic losses, even affect social stability'.

An update in 2018 said that the scientific teams – who published many of their findings in international journals – had found four new pathogens and ten new bacteria while 'more than 1,640 new viruses were discovered using metagenomics technology'. Such research is based on extraction of genetic material from samples such as those collected by Prof Shi from bat faeces and blood in the cave networks of southern China.

Such extensive sampling led to Prof Shi's rapid revelation last year of RaTG13, the closest known relative to the new strain of coronavirus that causes Covid.

It was stored at the Wuhan lab, the biggest repository of bat coronaviruses in Asia.

Pictured: Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, in China's central Hubei province, during a visit by members

of the World Health Organization (WHO) team investigating the origins of the COVID-19 coronavirus

It later emerged she changed its name from another virus identified in a previous paper, thus obscuring its link to three miners who died from a strange respiratory disease they caught clearing bat droppings.

Prof Shi also admitted that eight more unidentified SARS viruses had been collected in the mine. The institute took its database of virus samples offline in September 2019, just a few weeks before Covid cases exploded in Wuhan.

I'm sure that was a coincidence!

A comment was made on social media after Colonel Cao published a paper on a fatal tick bite, saying he and Prof Shi 'can always find a virus that has never been found in humans', adding: 'I suspect this is another so-called 'scientific research' made in the laboratory.'

In recent years, China's military has ramped up its hiring of scientists after President Xi Jinping said this was a key element in the nation's march for global supremacy.

Lianchao Han, a dissident who used to work for the Chinese government, said Cao's involvement raised suspicions that military researchers who are experts in coronaviruses might also be involved in bio-defence operations.

'Many have been working with Western research institutes for years to steal our know-hows but China still refuses to share critical information a year after the pandemic has killed over three million.'

David Asher, an expert on biological, chemical and nuclear proliferation, who led State Department inquiries into the origins of Covid-19, said: 'The Chinese have made it clear they see biotechnology as a big part of the future of hybrid warfare. The big question is whether their work in these fields is offensive or defensive.'

What 'defensive' weapon has never been used offensively? It's really hard for military leaders to resist using a new toy.

Corruption is Everywhere - Even in the White Helmets

White Helmets co-founder stole aid money destined for Syria – report

FILE PHOTO: White Helmets members at work in Idlib province, February 2, 2020 © AFP / Omar Haj Kadour

As Western governments opened their checkbooks for the White Helmets – a controversial ‘rescue organization’ in Syria – their co-founder used the cash to top up his wage and even finance his wedding, according to a Dutch report.

Days before he plunged from a window in Istanbul to his death last year, White Helmets co-founder and British mercenary James Le Mesurier admitted to defrauding Mayday Rescue, an organization that fundraised for the anti-government rescue group in Syria.

According to documents seen by Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant, Le Mesurier told an accountant sent to audit the charity’s books that he forged receipts for $50,000, pretending that it was sent to finance an evacuation operation in Syria. Instead, the money was paid to Le Mesurier himself. In addition to paying himself a salary of €24,000 ($27,414) per month, Le Mesurier dipped into company cash to finance a lavish wedding in Istanbul in 2018, and to issue loans to his new wife, former diplomat Emma Winberg, the report claims.

The accountant sent to investigate Mayday found that “tens of thousands of dollars in cash” were withdrawn to pay for the “fairytale wedding.”

Meanwhile, governments across the Western world were lining up to support Mayday, and channel money to the White Helmets. According to a 2018 report by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the organization took in $127 million between 2014 and 2018, with only $19 million of this haul coming from non-state donors. The government of the Netherlands paid out almost $11.5 million in this period, while similar donations flowed in from Germany, Great Britain, Canada, Qatar, and others.

Despite being hailed as fearless rescue workers, the White Helmets have been accused of partnering with Al-Qaeda. Operating exclusively in rebel-held territory, the group’s members have been photographed posing with jihadists and have been accused of staging chemical weapons attacks to draw in Western forces against Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Search this blog for 'White Helmets' for several articles on this.

Le Mesurier’s death was deemed a suicide by Turkish authorities. Shortly afterwards, a number of countries that had donated to Mayday demanded an accountant have another look over the organization’s books. According to De Volkskrant, this probe found that most of Mayday’s financial records are “missing.” Donations were not just handed to the organization in Amsterdam and forwarded to Syria, but distributed through a network of commercial organizations in Turkey and Dubai. 

Disappearing money kept secret by governments

In a letter to donors, Le Mesurier admitted to swindling them out of their cash, but maintained the fraud wasn’t committed on purpose. After these donors discovered their cash had disappeared, they kept the inquiry into Mayday secret, De Volkskrant reported.

Even though the cat is out of the bag, mainstream media in the west will not report this in any meaningful way as it counters the acceptable narrative.

The Dutch government pulled its funding from Mayday Rescue almost a year before Le Mesurier admitted the fraud and killed himself. The government in The Hague will not transfer a final subsidy of more than €57,000 ($65,200) to the organization, while Germany is attempting to claim nearly €50,000 ($57,200) back. Cor Vrieswijk, Mayday’s new administrator, told De Volkskrant that the charity will be dissolved in the coming months.

President Assad claimed last November that Le Mesurier’s death was no accident, stating in an interview that the former soldier and mercenary may have been killed because he “knew major secrets.” What Le Mesurier may or may not have known is anyone’s guess, but his death and the subsequent investigation into Mayday has not dried up the White Helmets’ funding.

The group is reportedly receiving subsidies from Western governments through other organizations. At present its members are occupied with fighting the coronavirus outbreak in Syria. However, that hasn’t stopped its leadership from lobbying the US government against Assad and pressing for the maintenance of sanctions, even amid the pandemic.

Corruption is Everywhere - You Better Believe in Afghanistan and It's Costing Americans

U.S. cuts $160M in Afghan aid over government 'corruption'

In the Middle East - SW Asia wars, bags and suitcases full of American cash disappeared into the quagmire of political corruption, para-military forces and drug warlords. This is at least a step in the right direction.

By Darryl Coote

(UPI) -- The United States has cut $100 million in planned aid for Afghanistan and is withholding an additional $60 million due to government corruption and mismanagement, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.

In a written statement, Pompeo said the United States will still fulfill its commitment to complete a large-scale energy infrastructure project in the Middle Eastern nation, but will rescind funds earmarked for the endeavor.

"Government institutions and leaders in Afghanistan must be transparent and accountable," Pompeo tweeted Thursday. "We stand against those who exploit positions of power and influence to deprive people of the benefits of foreign assistance and a more prosperous future."

The energy project consists of five substations to transmit power to various major cities in the country, but the project will be now paid for through an "'off-budget' mechanism given the Afghan government's inability to transparently manage U.S. government resources."

An additional $60 million in planned aid will be withheld from the National Procurement Authority for the same reason, Pompeo said.

Afghanistan is set to stage new elections next week. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is seeking a second five-year term, following his 2014 election that was overshadowed by fraud and corruption accusations.

"We expect the Afghan government to demonstrate a clear commitment to fight corruption, to serve the Afghan people and to maintain their trust," Pompeo said. "Afghan leaders who fail to meet this standard should be held accountable."

True, but we are not trying to influence Afghan elections are we? Hmmmm?

The chief U.S. diplomat also said the United States would cease funding the Afghan's Monitoring and Evaluation Committee by the end of the year, as it is "incapable of being a partner in the international effort to build a better future for the Afghan people."

Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan John Bass criticized the NPA for not authorizing the purchase of fuel for a power plant that provides electricity to Kabul.

The upcoming election has been a point of contention in Afghanistan as the Taliban has vowed to do what it can to disrupt them, unleashing several attacks in recent days that have killed dozens.

U.S. President Donald Trump last week called off peace negotiations with the militant group a U.S. soldier was killed in an attack attributed to the Taliban.

Germany's Policy of Hiding Criminal's Nationality Gets Push-Back in North Rhine-Westphalia

Push for transparency? Police in western German state

to reveal suspects' nationality in all crimes

North Rhine-Westphalia's police officers are seen in Cologne, Germany, on October 15, 2018.

©  AFP/ DPA / Oliver Berg

Police in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia will name all suspects' nationality as a way to counter "clumsy deception." The move comes after allegations of police and media covering up criminals' origins.

All future police press releases in Germany's most populous state will contain information about the nationality of suspects as long as it can be determined beyond doubt, the regional Interior Ministry told the German media, adding that it is developing a new set of regulations for the police.

"I have been promoting transparency ever since I took office," regional Interior Minister Herbert Reul, who assumed office two years ago, told journalists, explaining that the new rules would cover both German and foreign suspects.

Current German policy

Current police transparency regulations state that the nationality of suspects, particularly those belonging to a "minority" group, can be revealed only if it is essential in understanding the motives or has a direct link to the crime.

Police officers' reluctance to reveal suspects' nationalities has often landed them in hot water amid rising tensions in Germany in the wake of a massive influx of migrants and refugees. Police have been accused of covering up the countries of origin of foreign suspects to downplay the negative effects of Chancellor Angela Merkel's 'open doors' policy at the height of the 2015 refugee crisis.

Law enforcement officials particularly faced a wave of public outrage in the wake of reports of mass sexual assaults on New Year's Eve in 2015 in Cologne – North Rhine-Westphalia' largest city. The initial police report on New Year's Eve in Cologne failed to mention that many of the suspects were of North African origin, which later drew accusations of a deliberate cover-up.

The latest move is not just a "push for transparency," as it is also aimed at combating speculation involving any future high-profile cases in society, which still remains polarized over the issue of migrant crime.    

"I am convinced that this transparency is the best way to combat political hoaxes," Reul said. According to the 2018 crime statistics released by the German Federal Police in April, only slightly more than one-third of all suspects were non-German citizens, while refugees and asylum seekers accounted for 14 percent.

German authorities registered over 8,600 'right-wing extremist offences' in the first half of 2019.

That's 900 more than during the same period in 2018. https://youtu.be/WC3oss9YSe4 

There is no doubt that the German policy of hiding the nationalities of criminals has contributed significantly to the growth of far-right extremism in the country. The appearance that the police and media are protecting migrants at the expense of German citizens, especially young, German girls, leaves many Germans thinking they have to take care of their own family's safety because the police, media and justice systems are more concerned with the welfare of criminal migrants than ordinary German citizens. It is not hate as much as it is fear. It's a sorry country where truth has to be hidden.

This initiative was met with skepticism by other German states. Lower Saxony's interior minister, Boris Pistorius, said he sees no reason to change existing practices that protect minorities and prevent "generalizations and inadmissible conclusions."

This is not very bright. How does hiding the truth prevent "generalizations and inadmissible conclusions"? If anything it will contribute to such things as many people will just assume certain criminal activities are associated with migrants.

"Naming the nationalities of the suspects in all cases, even if they are irrelevant to the nature of the offense, does not lead to more transparency," he said in a scathing rebuke to his colleague. "There is no added value in a police statement if it names a suspect a foreign national, while his family lived in Germany for two generations or… is a dual national."

Other German states, where naming suspects' nationality by the police is either forbidden or only allowed in "exceptional cases," also said they have no plans to follow North Rhine-Westphalia's example.

The German Press Council – an umbrella organization of various media associations – cautiously welcomed Reul's initiative, but said that the decision to reveal a suspect's nationality should essentially be left in the hands of the media instead.

"A decision about whether nationality is relevant for the report should be carefully considered and taken by each editorial staff on the basis of their ethical principles. No authority should and can decide that," the council's spokesman, Volker Stennei, said.

Migrant crime has long been a hot topic in Germany, where any high-profile case involving a non-German suspect risks reigniting simmering tensions. Recently, the death of a young boy at the hands of an Eritrean who pushed him and his mother under a high-speed train rekindled the migration debate and even forced Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer to call for calm and advise Germans against drawing "premature" conclusions.

North Rhine-Westphalia

Corruption is Everywhere - Yes, Even in Canada, eh!

CRA signs secret settlement with wealthy KPMG clients involved in offshore tax scheme

Watchdog group accuses the Liberals of covering up the KPMG affair

Harvey Cashore · CBC News 

The Canada Revenue Agency has made an out-of-court settlement with wealthy KPMG clients caught using an offshore tax scheme that it previously said was 'intended to deceive' tax authorities. (Peter Scobie/CBC)

The Canada Revenue Agency has once again made a secret out-of-court settlement with wealthy KPMG clients caught using what the CRA itself had alleged was a "grossly negligent" offshore "sham" set up to avoid detection by tax authorities, CBC's The Fifth Estate and Radio-Canada's Enquête have learned.

This, despite the Liberal government's vow to crack down on high-net-worth taxpayers who used the now-infamous Isle of Man scheme. The scheme orchestrated by accounting giant KPMG enabled clients to dodge tens of millions of dollars in taxes in Canada by making it look as if multimillionaires had given away their fortunes to anonymous overseas shell companies and get their investment income back as tax-free gifts.

KPMG is a global network of accounting and auditing firms headquartered out of the Netherlands and is one of the top firms in Canada.

"Tax cheats can no longer hide," National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier promised in 2017.

Now, tax court documents obtained by CBC News/Radio-Canada show two members of the Cooper family in Victoria, as well as the estate of the late patriarch Peter Cooper, reached an out-of-court settlement on May 24 over their involvement in the scheme.

Details of the settlement and even minutes of the meetings discussing it are under wraps. A CBC News/Radio-Canada reporter who showed up to one such meeting this spring left after realizing it was closed to the public.

Journalists discovered references to the final settlement agreement in tax court documents only by chance.

CRA cites privacy in keeping settlement details secret

The Canada Revenue Agency says strict privacy provisions of Canadian tax law make it difficult to disclose minutes describing individual taxpayer information.

The Isle of Man tax dodge had been active as far back as 1999 and, according to documents filed in court by the CRA in 2015, had "intended to deceive" federal regulators.

Still, significant details of the scheme remain a mystery, including the role played by the KPMG's senior executives. With no public trial, those details may continue to remain secret.

Toby Sanger, executive director of the advocacy group Canadians for Tax Fairness, says the CRA should never have agreed to settle the case. 

"I think it's outrageous," he said. "We've had a lot of tough talk and promises from this minister about how they will crack down on tax evasion by the wealthy and corporations, but unfortunately we've seen no evidence of this so far."

National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier called out tax cheats in 2017 and stated her intention to clamp down on the KPMG scheme. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthlier said in an email statement to The Fifth Estate/Enquête that while she cannot comment on specific cases, she finds the lack of transparency about settlements brokered by her agency "problematic."

"I have instructed the CRA to review its processes to allow for more transparency with respect to the reasons for which a settlement is reached," she said.

KPMG took 15% cut of taxes dodged

One member of the Cooper family, Marshall Cooper, previously told The Fifth Estate that he was unaware of Canadian tax laws when he emigrated from South Africa in the mid-1990s and that it was KPMG that came up with the offshore tax plan.

Documents show KPMG planned to take a 15 per cent cut of the taxes dodged, including $300,000 from the Cooper family. Internal records show the scheme was marketed across the country, with successful KPMG sales agents and accountants referred to as product "champions." 

In all, more than 20 wealthy families participated in the offshore scheme.

Two years ago, Lebouthillier issued a news release on her intention to clamp down on the KPMG scheme, publicly stating that those involved could even face criminal charges over possible "tax fraud."

"The case of KPMG is before the courts right now, and we continue to pursue action against KPMG," Lebouthillier said in 2017. We will see this to the end as Canadians have asked us to do."

She said at the time that her government took the matter "very seriously." "Those who choose to participate in these schemes must face the consequences of their actions," she said.

Yet more than two years after that pledge, participants in the KPMG scheme, namely, members of the Cooper family, were offered a secret out-of-court settlement.

In her statement to The Fifth Estate/Enquête this week, Lebouthillier said the decision to settle was not hers to make and that she had instructed the CRA to review its settlements to "allow for more transparency."

'We will continue to make systemic changes': minister

To "ensure integrity of our tax system," Lebouthillier said, out-of-court settlements are made by the CRA and the Department of Justice "at arm's length" from the minister and the minister's office.

"Canadians deserve a fair and equitable tax system, and we will continue to make systemic changes within the CRA to make sure that this is the case," she said in her statement.

CBC News/Radio-Canada first revealed four years ago that KPMG, one of the largest accounting firms in Canada, with tens of millions in federal contracts, had for years been running a massive offshore tax dodge for wealthy clients it had kept hidden from federal investigators.

The Trudeau government's previous tough talk on the so-called KPMG sham had come after a document leaked to The Fifth Estate/Enquête showed the CRA itself had offered a secret "no penalties" amnesty in May 2015 to many of the other KPMG clients involved in the scheme.

The CRA offered to have them simply pay the back taxes owed — but with the condition they not tell the public about the offer.

The Isle of Man, pictured, is at the centre of a tax-dodging scheme that, according to documents filed in court

by the CRA in 2015, was "intended to deceive" federal regulators. (CBC)

Stung by those revelations, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in 2017 that the government had learned a lesson from the KPMG affair and promised to do a "better job of getting tax avoiders and tax frauders."

Since then, the Liberal government vowed to make sure those kinds of offshore tax dodges were in the past.

In fact, it was concerns over future KPMG court cases that prompted the Liberal-dominated Commons finance committee to shut down its own investigation into the embattled accounting firm back in 2016.

Documents had already begun to emerge detailing the extent to which KPMG was helping clients not only dodge taxes but also hide money from potential creditors, including circumventing the Canadian Divorce Act by "protecting" assets from ex-spouses.

Lawyers for KPMG had argued that the ongoing finance committee investigation could prejudice cases before the court.

Several KPMG executives had been named to testify in the spring of 2016, but Liberal MPs voted to shut down the inquiry, arguing that any more testimony and documents should be produced in court and not in Parliament.

Now, it appears that those future court cases cited as a reason for shutting down the investigation might never materialize.

The Fifth Estate and Enquête also later revealed that in June 2016, around the same time the Liberal MPs shut down their investigation into the accounting giant, a former senior KPMG executive was appointed to the Liberal Party's national board of directors.

"There is no reason why the finance committee shouldn't restart their hearings," Canadians for Tax Fairness's Sanger said.

Settlements offer 'substantial savings to the public'

Sanger said it all seems like a Liberal "coverup" to close down the KPMG investigation.

Canadians still do not know who were the key people at KPMG involved in running the investigation, for example, how high up it went within the organization, or all the names of the wealthy clients who participated.

Tax court documents obtained by CBC News/Radio-Canada show members of the Cooper family in Victoria reached an out-of-court settlement with CRA. Marshall Cooper, pictured, previously told The Fifth Estate that he was unaware of Canadian tax laws when he emigrated from South Africa in the mid-1990s. (Facebook)

Max Weder, the lawyer for the wealthy Cooper family, said he "can't comment on the settlement."

Documents show the family paid virtually no tax over a span of eight years — and even obtained federal and provincial tax credits — despite receiving nearly $6 million from an offshore company worth $26 million that KPMG helped set up.

KPMG has always maintained the scheme was legal. The firm's lawyers claimed any money the Coopers received were gifts and therefore non-taxable. Nevertheless, KPMG now says it would not set up this type of offshore structure anymore.

For its part, the CRA said that the settlement was made in accordance with the law and is "supported by the facts of this particular case." The agency also said it "maximized revenue" by making a decision to settle out of court, instead of facing an uncertain ruling in tax court.

"There is generally substantial savings to the public and a benefit to the justice system when cases are resolved through a settlement," a CRA spokesperson said in a statement.

Russians Accepted $27M in Bribes Between Jan. and Oct., Prosecutor Says

Corruption is Everywhere - and most definitely in Russia

Russia's annual corruption joke

By Sommer Brokaw

A Russian flag flies near the Kremlin tower in Moscow on March 16.

Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo

(UPI) -- The general prosecutor's office in Russia said Tuesday Moscow officials accepted $27 million in bribes over the first nine months of 2018.

Spokesman Alexander Kurennoy said Russian officials took the bribes between January and September, while aired by the office's new interactive video service Efir Tuesday.

Kurrennoy said bribery cases in Russia rose by 3 percent to nearly 10,200 this year -- including the giving and taking of bribes, and prosecutions for facilitating bribery increased by 16 percent.

The amount of the average bribe was $9,140, officials said.

Nearly 200 large-scale bribes amounted to $22.5 million, an average of $121,000.

Bribe-giving was most common in Moscow and the Krasnodar region over the nine months. Moscow and regions of Rostov, Moscow and Chelyabinsk also led in a rating for bribe taking over the same period.

Anti-corruption activists said the official figure of $27 million may be an underestimate, given the country's low ranking in transparency and high-ranking in corruption.

May be an underestimate? This is only what was caught! $27m is certainly but a small fraction of what actually occurs. 

Black Friday: Spanish Public Broadcaster Employees Mourn the Death of Independent News

© mariola.cubells / Instagram

For the third week in a row, journalists at the Spanish public-service broadcaster RTVE wore black on Friday to protest PM Mariano Rajoy's party meddling in their news coverage, which they fear damages the channel's credibility.

The staff at Radio Television Espanola rebelled against the refusal of the Spanish ruling conservative Popular Party (PP) to support the opposition's bid for a public contest to appoint a new, independent chairman for the channel.

According to RTVE staff, this kind of management casts doubt on its credibility, following numerous cases of deliberate news manipulation in favor of the ruling party, whether by withholding information or inaccurate coverage.

Women at RTVE, who were supported by many male colleagues, said they dressed in black to show they want "a public broadcaster that includes all colours, one that is diverse, independent and professional."

One of the four major political parties in Spain, PP, does not have a majority in the government and normally needs external support to pass legislation. But, according to RTVE reporter Irene Montero, Prime Minister Rajoy's PP was still able to "abuse its power" and block the opposition from lobbying for the transparent appointment of a new chairman, rather than the direct government appointment.

RTVE's current chairman's judgment calls and his policies were put into question after the coverage of Catalonia's independence referendum in October 2017. According to the channel's staff, Jose Antonio Sanchez, who is known for his pro-government stance, steered RTVE to deliberately manipulate, censor and sometimes omit certain stories, which seriously damaged their credibility.

In an attempt to counteract the manipulation, the channel's staff published an ample 72-page report. 'The Consejo de Informativos de TVE' (The News Council of the TVE) report addresses a total of nearly 30 cases of unilateral news coverage that deliberately violated the notion of plurality and freedom of speech.

This journalist turned politician recounts a story of completely fake news. Video = 1:40

One of the revealed cases involved Catalonia's independence referendum, which, despite the fact that it was widely covered elsewhere, did not receive any special attention from the RTVE, while its significance was downplayed.

Outraged with the coverage policies, the channel staff questioned the reason for giving preference to the opinions of Spain's government over those of the referendum organisers.

"What is the professional reason for the lack of informative stories regarding what happened in Catalonia on Sunday, October 1st?" the channel staff asked in the report.

Among other violations, the report revealed numerous cases of intentional mistranslation of subtitles from Catalan into Spanish.

The RTVE's Black Friday protest was initially triggered by the acquittal of five rapists in Pamplona, and it was part of an ongoing national movement to denounce sexual discrimination and to defend women's rights through their empowerment.

After two weeks of Black Friday protests, one of the editors from RTVE Valencia office quit her job in disapproval of the channel's biased news coverage.

Journalists at RTVE have launched the hashtag #AsiSeManipula (that's how they manipulate) to share their experiences working on the pro-government channel.

The campaign, led by RTVE reporters, received support from journalists and actors such as Pepa Bueno, Rosa María Calaf, Javier Cámara and Marta Soros, who published a video to advocate for the promotion of freedom of speech on radio and television.

Responding to the accusations of news manipulation, Spain's Minister of the Treasury and Public Administrations and member of PP, Cristobal Montoro, said, "if you don't like TVE (news network), then you should change the channel (network). That's what freedom is about."

Freedom without truth is no freedom at all. I suggest you listen to Minister Montoro and turn RTVE News off.

Is General Motors Fleecing the South Korean Government?

GM Korea requests financial aid and tax benefits

to keep business afloat

By Jennie Oh 

Unionized workers of GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors, portest against the

plants closure at the gate to its plant in the western port city of Gunsan, South Korea, 14 February

2018. General Motors Co. announced it will shut down an assembly plant in South Korea, one of its

four in the country, by the end of May due to a fall in demand. File Courtesy of Yonhap/UPI.

SEOUL, UPI -- Tension is mounting as the South Korean government considers providing financial support for General Motors Korea to keep a plant in Gunsan running and avoid thousands of job cuts.

According to Chosun Ilbo, the automaker on Wednesday submitted a proposal to the South Korean government, requesting financial aid and tax benefits to keep its Korea business afloat, and settle 2.7 trillion won ($2.5 billion) worth of liabilities.

In the proposal, GM Korea reportedly suggested its second largest shareholder, the state-run Korea Development Bank, inject more capital into the firm through measures such as a debt-to-equity swap, as well as asking the government to provide additional financial aid to support operation costs and tax exemption benefits for new investments in the country.

This comes after GM on Tuesday announced it would close down one of its four factories in South Korea by the end of May, and charge $850 million as part of broader restructuring efforts.

With the closure is expected to cut 2,000 jobs at the factory and affect another 10,000 workers at subcontractors, Seoul said it will decide on whether to provide financial aid to keep the assembly plant open after reviewing the company's new investment plans for local operations.

The government also called for an audit of GM Korea to analyze the company's business situation before considering any options.

In recent years, the Detroit automaker has been winding down on its global operations and closing down assembly plants in unprofitable markets which has taken a toll on its Korea business which exports more than half of its vehicles.

GM Korea recorded some $1.8 billion in net losses between 2014 and 2016, and is expected to have seen an estimated $556 million in losses last year.

Coupled with weaker demand, rising labor costs are also have also contributed to poor performance, according to the company. Personnel expenses in 2015 jumped more than 50 percent from 2010.

GM President Dan Amman said future investment plans for the remaining three plants depend on whether the South Korean government is willing to provide financial aid and whether GM Korea Union workers are willing to take pay cuts.

However, union members say that GM Korea has fallen into the red due to mistakes made by management such as paying high interest rates for loans from its mother company and delivering Korean-made cars to global markets at low prices.

Seriously? Detroit lends Gunsan money at high interest rates and then holds Seoul ransom to make the payments. That sounds like fleecing to me! Is this GM's new business model instead of making cars efficiently and selling them at a profit?

Union members on Wednesday agreed to demand the cancellation of the closure and operations to be resumed, calling for the chief of GM Korea to resign.

Meanwhile, experts have voiced concern toward the government's response, criticizing that financial aid would involve millions in taxpayers' money.

"Of course, the easiest solution is assisting the company but we may just be investing in a sinking ship. The government must consider whether General Motors in Korea is sustainable. If not, it is better to let it go," Yang Jun-seok, Professor of Economics at Catholic University, told UPI.

Noting that workers at the Gunsan factory would receive hefty severance pay, Yang suggested that the government could support small-and-medium businesses and new industries to boost the regional economy.

"The Gunsan area will take a significant blow but considering GM's management problems which lack transparency, the government has no duty to help the company," Kim Pilsu, a Professor of Daelim University College said.

Experts also warned that the issue should not be politicized, with South Korea's local government elections coming up in June. Rival parties in the country have called on the government to take fast action to ease concerns in the Gunsan area over the prospects of the local economy.

The ruling Democratic Party said the government must swiftly roll out plans to support factory workers who would lose their jobs, while the minor opposition Bareun Future Party urged President Moon Jae-in to declare the area a special employment disaster zone and deliver administrative and financial assistance.

The Presidential Office on Wednesday showed a cautious stance, saying it will observe the developments to come.