• Protests erupted in cities across India in mid June over the bulldozing of a prominent Muslim activist’s house in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Authorities blamed the destruction of the home on protesters in Muslim neighborhoods who had earlier taken to the streets after two spokespersons of Prime Minister Narendra Mod’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) insulted the Prophet Muhammad. Uttar Pradesh is run by a Hindu Monk Yogi Adityanath, who has a track record of bulldozing homes of his foes.
(“Thousands Protest ‘Bulldozer Justice’ against Indian Muslims,” Associated Press, June 15, 2022; “How Bulldozers Became a Vehicle of Injustice in India,” BBC News, June 20, 2022)
• For years tech billionaire Peter Thiel served as the go between Silicon Valley and right wing Republicans including former President Donald Trump. Now, Theil, an early investor in Facebook – and who has been on the company’s board since 2005, has resigned. Thiel says he’ll now focus on funding the campaigns of extremist Republicans like Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance, who attacks Big Tech and social media as too liberal.
(“Peter Thiel Helped Build Big Tech. Now He Wants to Tear it Down,” Washington Post, June 19, 2022)
• As the Coronavirus pandemic held Americans hostage in their homes, the nation’s private equity investors were trying to capitalize on the distressed New York City real estate market. The same cruelty that awakens after every financial crisis.
(“Private Equity Predators Tried to Cash In on the Pandemic, Then Tenants Fought Back,” Mother Jones, May-June, 2022 )
This week’s News Summary was narrated by Anna Manzo
