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Polaris of Enlightenment

Friday, January 24, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

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https://nordictimes.com/world/china-executes-senior-official-convicted-of-corruption/

World

China executes senior official convicted of corruption

Published 19 December 2024
– By Editorial Staff
Li Jianping, convicted of corruption and now executed, at his trial.
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China has executed Li Jianping, a former senior official from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Jianping was convicted in 2022 of embezzling more than three billion yuan (€400 million) and the sentence was carried out after the country’s Supreme People’s Court approved the punishment earlier this year.

Li Jianping, former secretary of the Communist Party Work Committee of the Hohhot Economic and Technological Development Zone, used his position to embezzle and misuse state funds, according to the prosecution.

The court determined that Li Jianping misappropriated over 1.437 billion yuan (€190 million) through fraudulent means, with more than 289 million yuan (€38 million) still unaccounted for.

Jianping was also convicted of accepting 577 million yuan (€76 million) in bribes and embezzling 1.06 billion yuan (€140 million) in public funds, amounts that remain unrecovered.

The court ruled that Jianping also accepted bribes and cooperated with criminal organizations. The execution took place on Tuesday after Li lost his appeal in August and the verdict was approved by China’s Supreme People’s Court.

Anti-corruption measures

The Chinese government has stepped up its anti-corruption crackdown during President Xi Jinping’s third term in office and the campaign has led to the expulsion of several high-profile figures, including billionaires and bank executives, from the party and their prosecution.

Li Jianping’s case is the latest example of how China’s authorities are fighting corruption with increasingly severe punishments. Last month, a court sentenced Liu Liange, former chairman of the Bank of China, to death with a two-year reprieve.

Liu was convicted of accepting bribes worth 104 million yuan (€13.7 million) and issuing illegal loans. However, the suspension means that Liu could have his sentence commuted to life imprisonment, provided he commits no further crimes during the period.

Despite its popularity among the population, the campaign has also been heavily criticized and accused of benefiting Xi Jinping by eliminating political opponents and ensuring that important posts are filled by loyalists. However, the Chinese government says the measures are necessary to strengthen trust in the party and the state.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

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https://nordictimes.com/world/musk-in-dispute-with-wikipedia-boss-spreading-propaganda/

World

Musk in dispute with Wikipedia boss: Spreading propaganda

Published today 14:46
– By Editorial Staff
It is not the first time that Musk has harshly criticized Wikipedia.
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A new conflict has flared up between Elon Musk and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales.

The world’s richest man believes that the encyclopedia is not neutral at all but spreads political propaganda and is now calling on his followers to stop donating money to the project.

The row centers on a Wikipedia description of Musk’s high-profile gesture during Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony on Monday.

On Musk’s Wikipedia page, the gesture is compared to a “Nazi salute”, which caused the tech mogul to react very strongly. He chose to post a screenshot of the text on his social media platform X, accusing Wikipedia of being “an extension of legacy media propaganda“.

Musk has also called on his followers to stop donating money to Wikipedia until “the balance is restored” and the encyclopedia becomes more neutral and objective.

Fighting back

Jimmy Wales responded by defending Wikipedia’s description, saying it was based on facts, not propaganda.

“Is there anything you consider inaccurate in that description? It’s true you did the gesture (twice) and that people did compare it to a Nazi salute (many people) and it’s true that you denied it had any meaning”, Wales wrote.

The Wikipedia boss also hinted that Musk was in fact unhappy that Wikipedia is not for sale, referring to Musk’s previous offer to donate a billion dollars if the encyclopedia changed its name to “Dickipedia”.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/world/trumps-election-promise-broken-no-peace-in-ukraine-yet/

World

Trump’s election promise broken – no peace in Ukraine yet

The war in Ukraine

Published today 10:43
– By Editorial Staff
If the war in Ukraine does not end quickly, it could go down in history as Trump's war, warns Steve Bannon.
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One of Donald Trump’s recurring campaign promises was to bring an immediate end to the war in Ukraine – promising to do so on his first day in office.

However, this promise has not been fulfilled and former Trump advisor Steve Bannon now warns that the Ukraine war risks becoming Trump’s “Vietnam”.

Trump’s message in the past has been that peace in Ukraine is “an easy thing to do”, that he promised to bring an end to the war “within 24 hours”.

– I will get it settled before I even become president, he has also proclaimed.

In recent weeks, however, the rhetoric has shifted, with the President no longer talking about the war ending anytime soon, but instead saying that “six months” is a more realistic timeframe – but that it could also take longer or shorter than that.

Nixon as a cautionary example

At the same time, it is important for Trump’s own voter base that the war actually ends and that the multi-billion dollar US aid packages cease. If the conflict were to continue during Trump’s term, there is also an imminent risk that it will be seen as his war, critics say.

– If we aren’t careful, it will turn into Trump’s Vietnam. That’s what happened to Richard Nixon. He ended up owning the war, and it went down as his war, not Lyndon Johnson’s, said former Trump adviser Steve Bannon in an interview.

Nixon ran for office in 1968 on a promise to end the war, but once in office he instead escalated US involvement through widespread bombing and incursions into Cambodia and Laos before finally negotiating a withdrawal from Vietnam. The war became a defining and highly controversial issue of his presidency.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/world/following-the-ceasefire-gazans-search-for-the-dead/

World

Following the ceasefire: Gazans search for the dead

The situation in Gaza

Published today 9:31
– By Editorial Staff
The Palestinian Civil Defense says it has already found hundreds of bodies.
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Since the ceasefire took effect in Gaza, rescue workers and civilians have started to dig out bodies from the rubble of Israeli bombings.

In the first few days of the ceasefire, at least 200 dead have been found, and the Palestinian Civil Defense estimates that another 10,000 missing people are still buried under the rubble.

Rescuers and family members are working feverishly to find and identify the dead.

– In every street there are dead. In every neighborhood there are people under the buildings, said Abdullah Al-Majdalawi, a 24-year-old civil defense worker in Gaza City.

Civil Defense estimates that it will take at least 100 days to recover all the bodies, but the lack of bulldozers and other essential equipment could prolong the process further.

Many of the recovered bodies are in poor condition, making identification difficult, reports British state broadcaster BBC.

The UN has previously estimated that around 60% of all buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed during the 15 months of fighting. The images now being broadcast around the world show widespread devastation, particularly in northern Gaza.

Palestinian civil defense under pressure

Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defense, says that 48% of civil defense personnel have either been killed, injured or detained during the conflict.

In addition, 85% of the agency’s vehicles and 17 out of 21 facilities are reported to have been damaged or destroyed, further hampering rescue efforts.

According to Palestinian health authorities, more than 47,000 people have been killed in Gaza during the conflict, most of them women and children. Another 111 000 have been injured. However, these figures have not been independently verified.

The ceasefire, which came into force on January 19, has given the more than two million inhabitants of Gaza a much-needed break from the fighting.

At the same time, humanitarian aid has been able to increase significantly, with over 630 trucks crossing the border on the first day – the largest delivery since the beginning of the war.

Although the ceasefire has brought a halt to the bombing, Gaza is facing a huge humanitarian crisis.

The UN World Food Program (WFP) reports that more than two million Gazans are now homeless, without income and completely dependent on food aid for their survival.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/world/german-chancellor-freedom-of-expression-does-not-apply-to-far-right-extremists/

World

German Chancellor: “Freedom of expression does not apply to far-right extremists”

Totalitarianism

Published yesterday 7:36
– By Editorial Staff
Olaf Scholz with Klaus Schwab during this year's World Economic Forum conference in Davos.
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The Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz now openly admits that only those who hold the “right” opinions are covered by European freedom of speech.

– We have the freedom of speech in Europe and in Germany. Everyone can say what he wants, even if he is a billionaire. And what we do not accept is if this is supporting extreme-right positions, and I really want to emphasize that, Scholz said yesterday during the World Economic Forum summit in Davos.

The German leader’s comments came against the backdrop of Elon Musk causing a stir during Trump’s inauguration ceremony after making a gesture that many of his opponents chose to interpret as a “Nazi” or “fascist” salute.

The same Musk has previously criticized Scholz very harshly, calling the chancellor an “incompetent fool” who should resign. The multi-billionaire has also given his support to the German nationalist party AfD – a party that many of Scholz’s allies want to ban completely.

Surprise and anger

Germany has long had some of the toughest opinion laws in Europe. Nationalist and anti-immigration speech is often punishable – as is speech that can be interpreted as favorable to the historic National Socialist regime.

Yet Scholz’s statements that only certain political views are covered by freedom of expression have caused great surprise and anger. He is also accused of being a totalitarian leader who seems to have drawn inspiration from old communist regimes where freedom of expression did not exist.

Other critics point out that he has misunderstood both his mandate and the German constitution and that even “extreme right-wing views” are protected by the constitution – as long as they do not violate criminal law.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com