Daily Archives: January 19, 2021

Madalena Gordiano was just eight years old when she knocked on Maria das Graas Milagres Rigueiras door to beg for food in Minas Gerais, a state in southeastern Brazil. She was invited in and Maria, a white teacher, promised to adopt her. Gordianos mother, who had eight other children, one of whom was Madalenas twin, agreed.

But Gordiano was never adopted or allowed to go to school. For the next 38 years, she cooked, washed, scrubbed bathrooms, dusted and tidied for Maria das Graas Milagres Rigueiras family. A victim of racial exploitation, she became a 21st-century slave for a wealthy family in an apartment building in Patos de Minas, a town of 100,000 inhabitants. She was never paid nor allowed time off, according to prosecutors investigating the case. When Gordiano was rescued on November 27, she was 46 and had great difficulty in expressing herself.

I went to ask for bread because I was hungry, but she told me she wouldnt give me any if I didnt come and live with her, Gordiano told Fantstico, the Brazilian TV show that broke the story ahead of Christmas, while a news site called UOL revealed other alarming details of the story.

What Gordiano went through is an extreme example of the legacy of more than 300 years of slavery in Brazil. As one of the slave trades main destinations, it was the last American country to free the labor force forcibly brought from Africa; the so-called Golden Law forbade slavery in all its forms in 1888. Almost 133 years later, domestic work is still traditionally done by Black women.

I went to ask for bread because I was hungry, but she told me she wouldnt give me any if I didnt come and live with her

The ostensibly respectable Milagres Rigueira family not only took advantage of Gordianos services, they turned her into a source of income, arranging her marriage to an elderly relative when Gordiano was still in her twenties. The relative was 78 and had a military pension one of the best pensions in Brazil of more than 8,000 reais a month (1,300). Gordiano, who never actually lived with the Second World War veteran, inherited this pension upon his death, but she saw hardly any of the money it went almost entirely into the familys coffers. According to UOL, the family used the pension to cover the costs of one daughters medical degree.

At one point, in the tradition of past slave owners, Gordiano was given as a gift to Maria das Graas Milagres Rigueiras son, veterinary professor Dalton Milagres Rigueira. During the slavery era, it was common to donate slaves to children as a wedding gift or to include them in a will along with other assets. In fact, slaves were often the most valuable part of the estate.

Historian Claudielle Pavo considers the case of Gordiano to be an extreme incidence of structural racism forged by a system of slavery that exposes in a very instructive way what it is to be white in Brazil. Many people will say that taking in a girl to do household chores in exchange for food and a place to sleep is much better than leaving her on the street, adds Pavo. It is a social pact that is so commonplace that people do not find it offensive.

Investigative journalism has revealed that Gordianos twin sister, Filomena, also lived as a domestic worker with another branch of the same family, but received a salary. She left her employers 10 years ago.

After the abolition of slavery, the Brazilian state attracted European labor by granting land and promising other benefits with the explicit purpose of making Brazilian society whiter. Meanwhile, according to Pavo, the slaves who had been set free had no recourse to public aid and were left to fend for themselves. The deep-seated inequality that persists in Brazil in 2021 is a direct consequence of slavery and its aftermath.

Black and mixed-race Brazilians are far poorer than their white compatriots; while they make up 56% of the population, they account for 75% of those murdered, 64% of the unemployed, 60% of prisoners, but just 15% of judges and 1% of award-winning actors, according to data from fact-checking agency Lupa. Their families earn half as much money as their white counterparts and they have a shorter life expectancy.

Gordianos case has caused a stir in Brazil, as did the death of a Black supermarket customer a month earlier who was beaten by two white guards outside the shops doors.

More than 55,000 Brazilians working in slave-like conditions have been rescued in the last 25 years

The enslaved Gordiano was located by the authorities in the home that the professor of veterinary medicine Dalton Milagres Rigueira shared with his wife Valdirene Lopes in Patos de Minas. Gordiano had been kept in a small room with no window. She had no cell phone or television. Her only possessions were three T-shirts. Her only relief going to Mass in a Catholic Church where apparently nobody suspected what she was going through. Her rescue was due to a complaint filed by a neighbor living in the same building with whom she was forbidden to speak but who knew of her situation from the papers she pushed under their door, asking for money to buy soap and other toiletries. Authorities suspected there was something suspect about Gordianos widows pension years earlier, but the matter was shelved due to lack of evidence.

When questioned, Professor Dalton Milagres Rigueira, blamed his mother, Maria das Graas, for keeping Gordiano in slave-like conditions. He then argued that she was like family, explaining that he had not encouraged her to study because he did not think it would be to her benefit, according to Fantstico. The professor has been suspended from his post at the university where he teaches. Meanwhile, the familys lawyer considers the disclosure of the prosecutors case to be premature and irresponsible as there has been no conviction as yet and urges cautious reflection.

More than 55,000 Brazilians working in slave-like conditions have been rescued in the last 25 years, including 14 domestic workers last year.

Domestic workers, who are mostly Black women, are an integral part of Brazilian society. Recognition of their labor rights in 2013 was a celebrated milestone for millions but it provoked the indignation of a number of their employers. One of the first slaves known to denounce mistreatment was Esperana Garcia, who wrote in September 1770 to the governor of the Brazilian state Piau. Having been taught illegally by the Jesuits to read and write, Garcia complained of physical abuse and begged to be allowed to join her husband and baptize her daughter. She is believed to have succeeded.

Gordianos captivity ended thanks to an anonymous neighbor, allowing her to enjoy Christmas in a womens shelter while waiting to be reunited coronavirus restrictions permitting with some of the siblings she begged for something to eat with 38 years ago.

English version by Heather Galloway.

More here:

The Brazilian woman kept as a slave for 38 years - EL PAS in English

While deprecating the separation of a place from its history, novelist Alan Moore rightly said: A place is much more than the bricks and mortar that go into its construction. I think its more than the accidental topography of the ground it stands on. With the apex court giving its stamp of approval to the Rs 2,000 crore Central Vista project it includes a glittering new Parliament to be built at a cost of Rs 971 crore an analysis of the Narendra Modi governments track record on respecting Parliaments soul and substance is relevant. Has the BJP and the Modi government imbibed the true spirit of our temple of democracy or have they treated it as a necessary evil, to be formally bowed down to while increasingly marginalising it?

During last years budget session, Parliament was allowed to work despite the Covid-19 outbreak because the MP Assembly had to be summoned for the formation of a BJP government against the popular mandate. A full-fledged monsoon session was convened when the virus was at its peak in Delhi because anti-farmer ordinances had to be ratified. Almost all states had their Assembly sessions during the pandemic, exposing the Covid-19 excuse for curtailing Parliament as the fig leaf it was. But when farmers, not allowing the winter to dampen their resolve, sit on roads demanding restoration of MSP for their produce, the winter session of Parliament becomes dispensable. If Parliament is not allowed to become the appropriate forum for the consideration of demands that affect nearly two-thirds of the countrys population, it can hardly qualify as democracys heartbeat, one that was Nehrus priority, the subject of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayees undying respect and, indeed, PM Modis floor-kissing obeisance, when he first entered its hallowed portal.

Perhaps, BJPs social and political agendas take precedence over such democratic pillars. In 2017, the winter session was delayed because of the Gujarat Assembly elections. Since the government is currently investing all its energy in election management in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry, it has no time for Parliament. Political priorities seem to have replaced constitutional propriety. The government is fully aware that people across the country are agitated. Therefore, despite the pendency of many important pieces of legislations the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, Dam Safety Bill, 2019, Medical Termination of Pregnancy Amendment Bill, 2020, Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill, 2019, Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Bill, 2019 the winter session has been guillotined.

The BJPs undermining of Parliament has a long legacy in its relatively short life as a ruling party. Its policies and actions have frequently been antithetical to Parliamentary democracy. In Opposition, its disruption of parliamentary proceedings and blockage of legislations was elevated to a fine art remember the vigorous defence of disruption as a legitimate democratic tool by the late Arun Jaitley. During the 2013 budget session, of the 163 hours available, 146 hours were lost due to disruptions by the BJP.

Since 2014, there have been more subtle stratagems to undermine Parliament. Ordinance, as the preferred legislative route, is being misused as a constitutional tool and Parliament is increasingly ceasing to be a place for debates. Important bills are moved and passed on the same day or rushed through, thus depriving members of their parliamentary rights to contribute effectively. During the 2018-19 budget, 100 per cent of the demands for grants were passed without discussion. The Farm Bills passage was the apogee of all brazen violations and subterfuges.

Parliament has an effective committee system and new bills introduced in the House are generally referred to department-related standing committees for detailed scrutiny. Having been privileged to chair such a committee, one of us (Singhvi) can testify to their sterling non-partisan contributions. Invited domain experts also scrutinise the bills. In the 14thand 15th Lok Sabhas, 60 percent and 71 percent bills, respectively, were referred to such committees, whereas in the 16th Lok Sabha, only 25 percent bills were referred. Not a single bill has been referred to committees in 2020.

Accountability and scrutiny have unfortunately been perceived as irritants by the Modi government. Subversion of the constitutional spirit was evident when the Aadhaar Bill was certified as a Money Bill. Having nothing to do with the imposition, abolition or alteration of taxes nor with financial obligations of the government, it was so certified simply to avoid Rajya Sabha scrutiny. That issue is now pending before a larger apex court bench, but judicial delays are inevitably used to bypass Parliament. During the last monsoon session, the Question Hour was suspended to avoid legislative scrutiny. If every other business could be transacted in both the Houses, there was no plausible reason to suspend the Question Hour except avoiding processes designed to hold the government to account.

The Modi governments decision to freeze the entire MPLAD funds scheme was less about economics or welfare and much more about politics. The impact was disproportionately larger on Opposition MPs who, being out of power, will have no say in any development work in his/her area. Despite marginal aberrations and abuses, the MPLAD scheme, to the co-authors (Singhvi) knowledge as a three term MP, has surpassed all expectations at the grassroots.

Meanwhile, there is the unaudited PM Care Fund to take care of the ruling dispensation. Hopefully, the new Central Vista will signify a more meaningful realisation of the true ethos and pulsating spirit of Parliamentary democracy and not merely creation of brick, mortar and concrete structures.

Views expressed above are the author's own.

END OF ARTICLE

Go here to see the original:

The government and BJP have consistently undermined Parliament - The Times of India Blog

Initially, he and the host spoke about the management of the epidemic and statements by immunologist Dr Alojz Ihan who said that he saw no alternative other than the country going into a full lockdown, that there had been enough of coordinating the interests of various groups and that stricter restrictions on movement should be adopted. "I think this is the last resort," was the Prime Ministers assessment of this statement, and he went on to say that when he spoke with his colleagues in other European countries who have been forced to confine people to their residences and restrict them to half an hour of exercise once a day within a range of 50 metres from home, they emphasised that these were drastic measures. "We monitor the epidemic very closely with the help of experts such as epidemiologists, so well know if stricter restrictions are really necessary." It they are, then this is what well do. But we still hope that it wont be necessary," said the Prime Minister.

He also highlighted that the positive effects of rapid testing are already apparent as this option was particularly used during the Christmas and New Years holidays by those who, for example, displayed the symptoms, but were not certain if they should take PCR tests. "Many of those tested positive. Due to this measure, we are counting on overcoming the January or February wave without imposing drastic measures," said Prime Minister Jana, adding that, "We all hate the restriction of freedom, but we should still consider that the more seriously we comply with the current measures, the less need there will be for more drastic ones."

To the question of whether the issuing of quarantine decisions should continue and not be abolished, the Prime Minister replied that everyone who was in contact with an infected person or crossed the border in a certain period received instructions on how to behave. "There was supervision as well, but with regard to the legal restrictions, the Information Commissioner and everything else, the supervision could not be implemented effectively. The number of cases was high, and the Health Inspectorate was unable to handle everything despite being allocated inspectors from other inspectorates," explained the Prime Minister. "In the spring wave of the epidemic, tracking stopped due to limited capacity. This cannot be rectified overnight. Now, the number of daily infections is over 1,500, which is more than twenty times the limit, thereby exceeding functionality," continued Jana. "When the number of infections exceeds a certain threshold, some measures are no longer efficient and need to be replaced with others," stressed the Prime Minister, adding that we are forgetting the fact that there was also a political crisis arising from the Minister of Health resigning during the autumn wave when the situation was at its worst. "We tried to resolve this issue as fast as possible, so I assumed the relevant ministry," said Jana, adding that certain matters from the past year were discovered only recently.

"When speaking about staffing and staffing reserves in health care, a major problem during the cold wave was the large proportion of health professionals falling ill," claimed the Prime Minister and continued that in certain health-care institutions this number was incomprehensibly high. "This was likely in part due to exhaustion and partly to the rules being too loosely interpreted as up to ten per cent of staff members were absent in certain institutions," explained Prime Minister Jana, adding that the situation was now improving. "For this reason, too, health professionals are being vaccinated first. The effects of the vaccine are slowly becoming apparent and we believe that medical staff infected with COVID-19 will no longer pose such a great problem," concluded the Prime Minister.

To the question of the introduction of a vaccination record booklet, Jana responded that such an introduction would likely occur but would be nothing new as a certificate of vaccination was already necessary when travelling to certain countries.

"So, this is nothing new and I think it would benefit everyone. Theres probably not a single person who wouldnt be pleased that they can travel, and they only have to prove that they have been vaccinated," said the Prime Minister.

To the question of why the Government decided to remove Government spokesperson Jelko Kacin, the Prime Minister responded that the replacement did not occur overnight. "After Decembers session of the European Council, it became certain that the vaccine would arrive, and the vaccination procedure would have to be carried out in a way that would ensure everyones prompt protection against the virus. This is an activity for which no country in the world is ready as special preparations are required on a day-to-day basis and for this a top logistics organiser, such as Mr Kacin, is required," said Prime Minister Jana, going on to say that great coordination efforts are also required concerning contacts between Slovenia and the European institutions. "Communication about the measures will not be affected in any way," reassured Jana. He noted that many people would miss Kacins clear messages. There were also some criticisms regarding his communication, but "ten times more commendations." "Mr Kacin and I have belonged to different political sides for several decades and I am personally grateful to him that he decided to help at the most critical time of the epidemic, as there were others whom we asked, but who declined," said Prime Minister Jana.

When speaking about the vote of no confidence, the Prime Minister said that he saw the text of the motion of no-confidence on a website and assessed it as "a concentrated brutal outburst of ideological hatred in which I see no facts." "Its ironic that the deputies of the Minister of Healths party have signed this vote of no confidence in which the main issue in the text is incorrect conduct during the fight against the epidemic," stated the Prime Minister and proposed that the authors of the text take a look in the mirror. "The Minister of Health resigned based on his partys exiting the coalition when the situation was at its most strenuous," he further noted.

The Prime Minister agreed with Minister Poivaleks statements that they would "do a recount" and the situation would somewhat calm down at least for a while as it is difficult to work in the conditions that have prevailed since the vote of no confidence was announced last April. "I still believe that, in spite of the problems and obstructions, the Government will contain the epidemic, successfully preside over the EU Council and successfully complete its term, too," said Jana and pointed out that substantial European funds were ensured for the post-epidemic recovery and "it would be ironic that those who, within their one-and-a-half-year term, were unable to complete a single anti-corona package would then spend EUR 12 billion of European funds for various studies and clientelistic sources of financing, which is the only programme of certain left-wing parties."

Finally, Prime Minister Jana addressed the publication of police wages and the payment system reform. "The idea of the reform is based on the assumption that taxpayers would not be charged more. Its not about the complete abolition of the uniform wage system, but keeping the entire administrative section of the public sector within the uniform wage system with grading levels because no great anomalies exist in this system," said Jana. "When dealing with specific sections of the public sector, such as the police, the armed forces, health care, etc., this uniform wage system disintegrated a long time ago," said the Prime Minister and proposed that a comparison of ratios from 2008, when the wage system was first introduced, and now be implemented. Regarding the reaction to the publication of police officers wages, the Prime Minister responded that the taxpayers have the right to know how much of their money goes to certain public employees, and "whoever denies this is in conflict with the fundamental aspects of democracy."

He further added that the adverse reaction to the publication of wages would not have occurred if the appropriate ratios had been in place. "The police officers work in cold and rain. They risk their lives and receive the same bonuses as someone who is sitting in an office. Of course, people also work hard in the offices, but if these ratios were arranged accordingly, no one would be upset," said Prime Minister Janez Jana, who believes that changes in the wage system are urgent, "Not so much because of the police, but mostly because of the health care sector as we have seen that the staffing problem in health care is to a great extent the result of an unfair wage system in this sector."

Go here to see the original:

Prime Minister Janez Jana: The more seriously we comply with the current measures, the less need there will be for more drastic ones - Gov.si

The Trump Administrations 2020-21 execution spreecame to an end on Friday with the execution of the Dustin Higgs. Higgs was the 13th person put to death since federal executions resumed in July, 2020.

A close look at those executedover the last six months shows that the federal death penalty is not reserved for the worst of the worst as some of its proponents contend. Instead it targets the most disadvantaged and disabled of those charged with capital crimes.

Having an intellectual disability, a mental illness, or a history of childhood abuse and trauma turns out to be a very important, though often unappreciated, factor in explaining both who ends up on death row and who gets executed.

That is just one of the reasons why President-Elect Joe Biden should take decisivesteps to endthe federal death penalty and lead a campaign for nationwide abolition of capital punishment.

Criticism of the death penalty often rightly highlights its discriminatory application or, in the case of the federal governments use of this punishment, its geographic arbitrariness. In addition, the Trump administrations recent rush to execute disregarded the rights of the condemned to adequate legal representation, and in several cases ignored the wishes of victims families.

And it did not let the difficulties and dangers caused by the COVID-19 pandemic derail its plan.

Much has been made of the unprecedented nature of carrying out lame duck executions, especially since the federal government ramped up the death penalty just as its use is declining in states across the country.

Less visible, though no less important, in understanding the injustice and inhumanity of what Trump did and of the death penalty system in general is that the overwhelming majority of those facing execution today suffer from significant intellectual disabilities, mental illnesses, or a disabling history of childhood abuse and trauma.

Last summer, just before the resumption of federal executions, the Death Penalty Information Center found that 85 percent of those on federal death row had at least one serious impairment that significantly reduces their culpability, and 63 percent had two or more of these impairments.

The DPIC also reported that one-half were mentally ill, suffering from diseases such as schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder or psychosis. Three quarters had been the victims of physical abuse and trauma during their childhoods. As a result, one-third had developmental brain damage or traumatic brain injury.

It is thus not surprising that a similar pattern would appear among those the feds chose to put to death. Nine of the 13 of those individuals had significant intellectual disabilities, severe mental illness, and/or histories of abuse.

Despite the seriousness of the crimes for which they were convicted and sentenced, they look less like societys most dangerous or morally culpable and more like people who were neglected and abandoned by society.

Take Daniel Lewis Lee, the first of those Trump executed. Lee was neglected and severely abused by his stepfather throughout his early life. He had profound learning disabilities which went undiagnosed throughout his childhood and contributed to serious educational deficits. In addition, he suffered from borderline personality disorder.

The man who followed Lee, Wesley Purkey, was similarly disabled. In and out of psychiatric hospitals since he was 14, he had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of childhood abuse as well as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. His father paid prostitutes to fondle him when he was a child, and his mother joined in the sexual abuse.

By the time of his July execution, he had Alzheimers and dementia, and was delusional.

Purkey believed that he was going to be put to death not for his crime but because he had filed too many grievances against the Federal Bureau of Prisons. He thought he was the victim of dark, conspiratorial forces. As a psychiatrist who examined him concluded, Purkey lacks a rational understanding for the basis for his execution.

But the Trump administration executed him anyway.

Lisa Montgomery, the first woman executed by the federal government since 1953, was the victim of severe physical abuse as child which resulted in brain damage. As one commentator noted, She was gang-raped repeatedly as an 11-year-old girl by her stepfather and his friends. Her mother trafficked her in exchange for plumbing and electrical work. (H)er stepfather smashed her head against the concrete floor of a room he built to rape her.

Montgomery had also been delusional throughout her life as a result of the mental illnesses she inherited from her parents.

That people like Lee, Purkey, and Montgomery could be put to death may seem surprising since, almost two decades ago, the United States Supreme Court ruled, in Atkins v. Virginia, that executing offenders with intellectual disabilities violates the Constitutions prohibition of cruel and unusual punishments.

The court said that people suffering from such disabilities can still know the difference between right and wrong andbe punished. But because of their disabilities in areas of reasoning, judgment, and control of their impulsesthey do not act with the level of moral culpability that characterizes the most serious adult criminal conduct.

Yet the Supreme Court refused to offer a clear definition of what constituted a disqualifying illness, leaving that judgment to judges and juries untrained in and unfamiliar with intellectual disabilities, mental illness, and the lifelong consequences of childhood trauma. And it has refused to do so from then until now.

The cases of those put to death by the federal government illustrate the failure of the courts approach.

Judges and juries often cannot comprehended how intellectual disability, mental illness, and childhood abuse could explain why people commit serious offenses. And far from making those who suffer from abuse or illness seem less culpable, they may lead decision makers to conclude that they are more dangerous. Judges and juries can put them, as the Trump administration did, at the head of the line among those who get a death sentence.

Experience has shown that law alone cannot combat such stereotypes and misunderstandings.

As a result, disadvantaged and intellectually disabled people continue, as the Trump administration execution spree shows, to be among the offenders who are most likely to be subject to Americas ultimate punishment.

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy captured the injustice and inhumanity of this practice in 2014, when he said that to impose the harshest of punishments on an intellectually disabled person violates his or her inherent dignity as a human being. Imposing the death penalty upon offenders with these kinds of functional impairments, he continued, serves no legitimate penological purpose.

The incoming Biden administration should acknowledge Kennedys wisdom. It should act urgently to stop executions of the impaired, indeed of all who have been convicted of capital crimes, by ending the federal death penalty and lending its weight to abolishing capital punishment throughout the United States.

Readers like you make our work possible. Help us continue to provide the reporting, commentary, and criticism you wont find anywhere else.

See original here:

Trump Targeted the Mentally Ill With His Lame Duck Execution Spree - Slate

Business rates replaced by VAT hike proposed pie in the sky

A Tory MP is calling for business rates to be scrapped and replaced by an increase in VAT in order to save high street businesses.

Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) said increasing VAT from 20% to 23% would fill the 30 billion annual gap created from the abolition of business rates.

He is calling for immediate change as he introduces his Abolition of Business Rates Bill, saying the legislation would replace business rates completely with an increase in VAT Thereby fundamentally levelling the playing field between online and our precious local high street businesses.

This flies in the face of his partys general election manifesto pledge not to increase VAT during this Parliament but Hollinrake claims the scale and the pace of change to businesses today necessitates a new approach.

He went on: Business rates as they are today were designed for a bygone era, a long time ago where business went hand-in-hand with high street premises. Covid has quickly made that time seem even more distant and the trends already in train have been accelerated due to our forced house arrest. Online sales now account for 33% of all retail sales, up from 20% only a year ago.

What Mr Hollinrake hasnt thought through is how the new system and funding work in respect of all occupations, not just retailers or businesses. What about the Police, libraries, hospitals etc? The hike in VAT would have to be huge and essentially passing on the tax burden to every member of the general public regardless of income or circumstances. Imagine having to sell the fact that Tesco is saving hundreds of millions of pounds in business rates each year while their shopping bills, car service and house repairs go through the roof. Furthermore, there would be no certainty for Local Government funding as VAT would flex depending on the economy. In recession VAT would have to be increased still further

Hollinrake mentions a small increase which just wouldnt fill the hole left behind by business rates. To couch the increase in these terms is disingenuous at best.

By all means lets have a serious debate about the reform options, and lets do it quickly, but headline grabbing stunts like this are merely that and act as a distraction not a credible solution. The Bill was introduced without a vote, with a second reading scheduled for today. It has little chance of making further progress in its current form without Government backing which is highly unlikely as we wait for the outcome of the latest business rates review.

Read more:

Business rates replaced by VAT hike - proposed pie in the sky - Place North West