Aside from soccer and Ukraine, there seems to be a lot about corruption in the news of late. French rugby boss, South African cash in the sofa, lordly PPE and EU. There are certain types of people who don’t think it wrong to award contracts to their mates even if they are paid for with public money. There are no laws concerning inviting speakers to lecture at your university. This is a favour asked and often results in a favour returned. It is perfectly legal. No itchy backs there. CVs are built up nicely for promotion and assessment exercises.
In some cultures, a bung is considered a part of the deal.
Ron the gangster gave me a job breaking car batteries as a sweetener {said with a London accent} for my dad who bought his lead. I did not get any special favours I sweated just like everyone else. It was a favour, in time Ron might have asked my dad to take his lorries off site… perhaps with some additional silver cached.
This is how corruption begins. It is a thin end of the edge, something innocuous which builds to a multimillion pound deal to be the face of a tournament. FIFA has a long tradition of corruption. Innocuous favours can quickly blur edges into corruption. We don’t know how much David Beckham other nations got to see. I guess his exposure to the UK was carefully reduced.
“I will pay for the wallpaper in your flat old chap.”
This is borderline to illegal, certainly not ethical in public office.
Usually after several sweeteners there is an ask. Then the whole thing starts to escalate.
In Zambia we were close to a number of Indian merchant families, playing badminton with them on a regular basis. I learned about the partition of India from them. When stock arrived in store, we would get a call. If dad had any foreign exchange allowance left, there would be a favourable Kwacha for Sterling exchange. Not illegal but again no itchy backs.
I suspect that the Sussexes are in so deep now, it probably cannot be stopped. To my eyes it will end in tears in due course. There is something iffy going on there.
What I don’t get is that people who already have a lot of money, want more and bend rules so as to get more. Is it the risk taking or simple gluttony?
Toltecs according to Théun consider money to be crystallized power. Here power can mean knowledge, positional power, power by association, personal power as in vitality. There is no denying that money is an enabler. People can “bought”. One can build spaceships or buy blue birds if you have enough dosh.
A long time ago I was able to “materialise” a considerable amount of money. I materialised a job offering shed loads of cash, but then got out of the contract.
Right now, I am powerless in the material plane sense and by pecuniary amount. I have no power over anyone else. I am nobodies’ boss or supervisor. Neither am I an underling.
I can no longer materialise money. I am virtually unemployable. {I have tried.}
Power is the third natural enemy and many yield to the temptation of pecuniary gain, whether legal or not. Some argue the toss that they deserve huge salaries. Premier league football is a ridiculous example. Do they really think they deserve or need a million quid a week?
My theory is that I did not yield to that third natural enemy and passed the test at a relatively young age.
There is another side to money or silver, argent, as they call it here. It is a human invention and pertains to the material plane, to materiality and materialism. Although technically not inherently evil, basically neutral, it has evil undertones and effects. Wherever evil is, so is money. This cannot be said to be the case for good.
Everyone has heard about the famous thirty pieces of silver. 30 is the number of the dark jewel manipulation! Silver is the dreaming symbol for the Tonal or the materialised world.
Worldly goods and money do not loosen the ties to the wheel of rebirth and there are material karmic effects from the greed for and misuse of money. Trump is embroiled it numerous lawsuits, it is his karma.
If you cling to materialism, you will, like Arnie, be back. If you are corrupt there is evil karma to face. Often a fair portion of those engaged in corruption get some kind of comeuppance in the same lifetime.
I am wondering if this corruption discovery theme is going to evolve and increase as this age draws to a close. Things need a cleansing…
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Traou an Dour 
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