The Polish memory of oppression, occupation, the holocaust, Nazi occupation, and communist dictators is burned into the national soul and conscience. A Polish born Pope, Jean Paul II, supported the long national struggle for freedom, giving faith to Poland’s 38 million citizens, mainly Catholic.
Not all is quiet on the Chinese/Chinese front. Warships are sailing through the Taiwan Strait. One day, an American missile guided US destroyer, the next a Canadian Frigate, some Chinese submarines, or one of Beijing’s new aircraft carriers. Shadows of a new cold war, possibly turning into an unpredictable escalation. America’s National Public Radio (NPR) reporter Scott Neuman stated (October 6, 2021), “Taiwan says tensions with China are at their worst in 4 decades.”
Richard Blumenthal, the US Democratic Senator from Connecticut, was shaken by the testimonies of top officials of the Department of Justice during the August 2021 Congressional hearings. The Officials recounted how the former President, Donald Trump, through phone and in private meetings, pressured them to falsify the results of the November 2020 Presidential: "say that the election was corrupt and leave the rest to the congressmen and me". (”Mother Jones”, July 30, 2021) Blumenthal "was struck by how close the country came to total catastrophe". A coup d’état, attempted by Trump, pressuring the Supreme Court, to invalidate the election results?
Hisham Aidi chose a diplomatic version for fading freedom, growing populism, mental torture, perversion of truth and imprisonment- turning his Policy Brief "Covid-19 and Digital Repression in Africa" to "democratic retrenchment" and "imperial overreach". No mention of George Orwell's "Science fiction "oeuvre, of which George Parker wrote in "The Atlantic" ( July 2019°): "No novel of the past century has had more influence than George Orwell's "1984". Possibly Aidi did not detect an African nation on the path of Orwell-yet.
Olaf Scholz had no time to enjoy the beauty of the Canale Grande-one of the most treasured tourist sights on the globe. In July of this year, during his first visit to Venice ever, the 63 years old ambitious German politician was not drawn to the historical wonders or the fine architecture the city offers. In the center of the city's esthetical grandeur, the German Minister of Finance and Vice-Chancellor of Angela Merkel's government practiced what he enjoys most: politics, his passion since high school days. An early leftist who moved towards the more conservative wing of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), a party led by political luminaries such as Willy Brandt and Helmut Schmidt.
The modern offices are flooded with light; some figures in face masks face the empty space, which is embraced by total silence. The air conditioning system is producing fresh air, indicating that the Policy Center for the New South continued to work in the shadow of the pandemic.
The rhythm of samba is being replaced by funeral hymns. Almost 560,000 Brazilians (608,000 as of October 31,2021) have succumbed to COVID-19, the world’s second highest death toll, and no end is in sight. There have been “Staggering losses”, as the BBC reported (on July 8), provoking Medecins sans Frontières to warn of a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Brazil.
« ItalyGate », that was it, the key to unravel the conspiracy, « the greatest scandal in the history of the United States », as Donald Trump declared on Twitter. A computer specialist of the Italian aerospace and Defence giant “Leonardo” had interfered in the Presidential elections of the Unites States to secure Joe Biden’s victory. Shared online with the hashtags “ItalyDidIt” and “ ItalyGate”, reported the global Reuter news service (January 15, 2021), the claims are part of a conspiracy theory, “intended to sow doubt in the US electoral system and bolster allegations by Trump and his allies that the election was rigged.”
