Bartek's blog

On 29.03.2021 in Minneapolis, the trial of Derek Chauvin, a former policeman charged for killing George Floyd last May, will take place. Last year on May 25th Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd by kneeling on the victim's neck. Darnella Frazier who recorded the video that later on went viral will be called as a  witness. What Derek Chauvin did last year is unacceptable. I don't think that even claims of methamphetamine and other drug-like substances flowing through Floyd's bloodstream are enough to defend the former policeman's name. Kneeling on somebody's neck is inhumane and the culprit should be punished.

 Philippine troops have killed a leader of the  Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom group. He was fatally wounded in  a gunbattle with the marines on Saturday night in Languyan town in southern Tawi-Tawi province.  Luckily the troops managed to rescue the four people kept by the kidnappers. Three were secured and saved on the ship that the kidnappers arrived in the Philippines. T he fourth one was found in the village in which the gunbattle took place.  The troops made an excellent job and it's great to hear that finally one of the well-known  Abu Sayyaf's  kidnappers has been stopped and won't abduct people anymore. What these kinds of groups do is terrible and I can't imagine what the hostages must have experienced while held captive.   Link:  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/21/philippine-troops-rescue-indonesian-hostages-and-kill-top-abu-sayyaf-militant

 A French-Norwegian archaeological team found Ancient Christian ruins from the fifth century in Egypt's Western Desert. It revealed the monastic life of Egyptians in the region. There were graffitis and paintings on the walls of the ruins and the place which resembled a church was covered and decorated with religious inscriptions and biblical passages in Greek. The archaeological team claims that there were 19 structures and a church carved into bedrock connected by corridors and tunnels. It's a pretty interesting piece of news. It clearly shows that monks existed back in the 5th century.  Link: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/mar/14/ancient-christian-ruins-discovered-in-egypt-reveal-nature-of-monastic-life

      One of Australias dirtiest and most polluting coal-fired power stations will be shutting down four years earlier than scheduled. It will be replaced with a grid-scale factory. The 1970's power station has the capacity to power 20% of Victoria's energy and around 8% of Australia's grid energy. Taking down the station will cut national greenhouse emissions by 3% and Victorian emissions by 14%.     In my opinion, the sooner they take down the polluting coal-fired power station the better. With the number of greenhouse gases it produces, it should have been shut down years ago. I think Australia is taking a step in the right direction. link: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/mar/10/yallourn-close-early-victoria-australia-brown-coal-power-stations-giant-battery