Saturday, February 29, 2020

Pope cancels audiences for third day with apparent cold


today





VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis canceled official engagements for the third day in a row Saturday as he battled an apparent cold.

The 83-year-old pope, who lost part of a lung to a respiratory illness as a young man, has never canceled so many official audiences or events in his seven-year papacy.

Francis is, however, continuing to work from his residence at the Vatican’s Santa Marta hotel and is receiving people in private, the Vatican press office said. On Saturday, those private meetings were with the head of the Vatican’s bishops’ office, Francis’ ambassadors to Lebanon and France and a Ukrainian archbishop.

Canceled were his two planned official audiences — formal affairs in the Apostolic Palace where Francis would have delivered a speech and greeted a great number of people at the end. Those were to include an audience with an international bioethics organization and with members of the scandal-marred Legion of Christ religious order.

On Sunday, Francis is expected to leave the Vatican with top Holy See bureaucrats for a week of spiritual exercises in the Roman countryside, an annual retreat that the pope attends at the start of each Lent.

Francis last appeared in public on Wednesday, when he was seen coughing and blowing his nose during an Ash Wednesday Mass. The following day, he canceled a Mass across town with Roman priests and on Friday, skipped an audience with participants of a Vatican conference on artificial intelligence.

The Vatican has stressed that Francis has celebrated Mass each morning and greeted attendees at the end, and then proceeded to continue working from home.

The Vatican hasn’t revealed the nature of Francis’ illness, saying only he has a “slight indisposition.” Francis’ illness, though, has come amid general alarm in Italy over the coronavirus outbreak, which has sickened more than 800 people, most in northern Italy.




Bill Hughes : Beasts , Messages, and Power

Want A Longer, Healthier Life? Eat Less, Study Suggests



(© markoaliaksandr - stock.adobe.com)
February 28, 2020



by John Anderer



LA JOLLA, Calif. — Right around this time of the year is when millions tend to give up on their ambitious New Year’s resolutions. If you had resolved to cut back on the calories this year, here’s some extra incentive: a new study finds restricting your caloric intake will slow cellular aging, reduce inflammation, lower your risk of age-related diseases, and promote an overall longer life. Suddenly, it totally seems worth it to skip that midnight snack.

Researchers from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies came to their conclusions after performing diet experiments on a group of rats.

“We already knew that calorie restriction increases life span, but now we’ve shown all the changes that occur at a single-cell level to cause that,” says Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, co-corresponding author of the new paper, and a professor in Salk’s Gene Expression Laboratory, in a release. “This gives us targets that we may eventually be able to act on with drugs to treat aging in humans.”

Try as we all might to avoid growing old, aging is the number one risk factor for many awful diseases such as cancer, dementia, and diabetes. However, cutting back on calories has been shown to help mitigate one’s risk of developing such disorders in old age. That being said, up until now its been largely unknown how a lower calorie intake influences the human body on a cellular level.

For this new study, rats eating a strict diet of 30% fewer calories than normal were compared to another group of rats eating a typical diet. Both groups of rats were fed these diets from the age of 18 months old to 27 months old. In human years, that time period would roughly represent someone following a strict low-calorie diet from the age of 50 to 70 years old.

At the beginning and end of the diet period, researchers isolated and analyzed 168,703 cells from 40 cell types across both rat groups. These cells came from a variety of areas in the rats’ bodies; brain, muscle, liver, skin, kidney, bone marrow, and fat tissues. Then, in each isolated cell, advanced technology was used to measure genetic activity, as well as the overall composition of the cell types.

Astoundingly, many of the negative changes that occurred in the rats on the normal diet as they grew older didn’t appear in the rats on a stricter diet. Even by the time the dieting rats reached old age (27 months old), their cells appeared much younger. In all, 57% of the age-related changes observed in the normally eating rats were absent from the dieting rats.


The History of The Sabbath Part I - Emperors, Popes and Calendars with...

Contagion – Film, Literature and the New World Order

News on The 700 Club: February 28, 2020

Friday, February 28, 2020

U.S. shuts border bridge to stop migrants rushing across from Mexico


By Julio-Cesar Chavez
54 mins ago





© Reuters/JOSE LUIS GONZALEZ

Migrants, mainly from Cuba, block the Paso del Norte border crossing bridge after a U.S. appeals court blocked the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program, in Ciudad Juarez


CIUDAD JUAREZ/EL PASO (Reuters) - U.S. authorities said they closed the busy Ciudad Juarez-El Paso border bridge on Friday after more than a hundred mostly Cuban migrants tried to cross in response to a court ruling suspending an asylum policy.

Earlier, an appeals court ruled to block one of President Donald Trump's signature immigration policies the administration says has helped to curb migration on the southern border and forced tens of thousands to wait in Mexico.

Word of the news spread on social media and a Reuters witness saw migrants on the Mexican side of the border heading towards the bridge while some U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers were putting on riot gear.

"I've been waiting in Juarez for ten months," said one Cuban asylum seeker, who declined to give his name. "I don't care how long I have to wait here for them to let us through."

CBP confirmed on its Twitter account that it had closed the Paso Del Norte Bridge to stop a group of migrants from illegally and forcefully entering the United States and that other ports stayed open.

The policy has forced roughly 60,000 people back to Mexico under one of Trump's asylum policies, called the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), to await the outcome of their cases in often dangerous border towns.


Bernie Sanders in God’s country


OPINION

Bernie Sanders in God’s country



by Timothy P. Carney
| February 28, 2020 10:18 PM


COLUMBIA, South Carolina — Bernie Sanders won the first three states over the primary cycle. But, this weekend, he’s arrived in unfriendly territory: a state where Democrats go to church every Sunday and most Wednesdays, to boot.

The socialist from Vermont, who promises a revolution right here on Earth, is the candidate of atheists, agnostics, and the unaffiliated. That’s a young, white demographic. South Carolina, where about half of the Democratic electorate is African American, is a state of black Baptists and Southern Baptists.

At Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in nearby Sumter, Joe Biden held a rally Saturday morning, the day before the state’s first-in-the-South primary.

Pastor James Blassingame spoke before the candidate, offering a prayer in Jesus’s name, asking for forgiveness and encouraging his flock to vote for Biden.

It was a bit different a few hours later at the Sanders rally at Finlay Park in Columbia.

Instead of Blassingame, Sanders was introduced by Killer Mike, the rapper-turned-activist who has founded his own religion, the “Church of Sleep.” The reality show episode about Killer Mike’s religion was titled “New Jesus.”

As Vice magazine puts it, “Killer Mike is frustrated that black Christian communities are taught to worship a white Jesus,” and Mike’s church includes "a sermon in his favorite strip club where women pole-dance while a gospel choir sings and his parishioners pass around joints.”


Coronavirus Epidemic Update 28: Practical Prevention Strategies, Patient...

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Catholic NGOs and COMECE on human rights violations in a globalised economy



Webnews, 13/02/2020


In the follow up of the Future of Work Reflection, on 27-28 January 2020 COMECE hosted a 2-day capacity-building seminar gathering Catholic-inspired organisations to discuss possible ways to improve people’s working conditions in the global value chain.



The event comes after two years of work in which Catholic grassroot organisations and Christian social movements collected cases of human rights violations in the globalized economy.

Based on their experience, these organisations, active at the international and EU levels, contributed to the COMECE Reflection on the Future of Work, published in November 2018 and calling the EU “to play a constructive role in the ongoing negotiations for a binding UN treaty on business and human rights”.

During the meeting, COMECE and Catholic inspired organisations engaged in a dialogue with representatives of the EU Commission, of the International Labour Organisations (ILO) and of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), highlighting the importance of promoting an international legal framework that protects workers, families and communities across the value chain in light of the challenges posed by the new forms of work on online platforms.

In the context of the ongoing review of the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy, the COMECE Assembly called the EU to take ambitious steps to ensure policy coherence between its trade, development, climate and human rights policies in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (DDGs). In particular they highlighted the importance of adopting binding and effective human rights legislation for EU-based transnational companies to ensure compliance of their actions throughout the entire supply chain with legal, social and environmental standards.

COMECE will continue supporting the initiatives of Catholic inspired NGOs, facilitating their exchange with the EU institutions.

Media

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Pete Buttigieg Cancels Several Campaign Events Citing Illness



BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
FEBRUARY 26, 2020


(CHARLESTON, S.C.) — Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg has canceled four events in south Florida set for Wednesday because of illness.

Buttigieg campaign spokesman Chris Meagher says the former mayor is sick with a cold.

Buttigieg stills plans to attend an event Wednesday in Charleston, South Carolina, with the Rev. Al Sharpton, then travel to Washington for previously scheduled meetings.

Three of the Florida events were fundraisers. Buttigieg has been asking supporters to help him raise $13 million ahead of next week’s 14-state Super Tuesday contests.

Following Tuesday night’s debate, Buttigieg had been scheduled to travel to Coral Gables, Florida, for a fundraiser ahead of a public campaign event. He was then scheduled to headline late afternoon and evening fundraising events in West Palm Beach and nearby Wellington, before traveling to Washington.




AG Barr gives remarks at National Religious Broadcasters' Convention

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Covid-19 Infects Iranian Vice President, Kills Iran Ambassador To Vatican



by Tyler Durden
Thu, 02/27/2020 - 09:45


Update (0940ET): FARS news agency reports that for former Iranian Ambassador to The Vatican has died from Covid-19.


Ali Hashem علي هاشم
✔@alihashem_tv



Prominent Iranian cleric and diplomat, Hadi Khosroshahi passed away today, one day after he was admitted to a hospital in Tehran for testing positive #Coronavirus. Khosroshahi was Iran’s ambassador to the #Vatican and later Iran’s top diplomat in #Egypt between 2001 and 2004


195
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* * *

Nothing says 'we've got this under control' like confirming that a handful of your government's most-senior officials have caught the virus at the root of a deadly pandemic sweeping the globe.

After confirming on Thursday that its 'official' death toll from the outbreak had reached 22 with 141 cases confirmed (lawmakers have claimed that the death toll as of Monday was up to 50 in Qom alone), Iranian state media reported that the country's vice president for women and family affairs, Masoumeh Ebtekar has tested positive for the virus.

Georgetown official: Illegal immigrants are 'freedom fighters'





Jessica Custodio
New York Campus Correspondent
on Feb 25, 2020 at 4:54 PM EDT

  • Georgetown University has named a new associate director for undocumented students.
  • The new hire referred to illegal immigrants as "freedom fighters," a comment receiving criticism from one expert.




Georgetown University named a new Associate Director for Undocumented Students, who referred to illegal immigrants as "freedom fighters."

While not a new position, the role does highlight ongoing efforts by universities across the country to aid illegal immigrants, provide additional benefits and resources, some of which are not even available to American citizens, and even offer free legal assistance to fight deportation.

"they are helping to awaken people to how important it is for our communities to be conscious" Tweet This

The position at Georgetown, though, is part of the Center for Multicultural Equity and Access, which the university describes as "support[ing] students of color at Georgetown University in a variety of ways." The center says it "can provide you with someone to talk to about personal issues or concerns," "a chance to explore diversity issues," and "affordable options for textbooks, printing, or summer housing."

[RELATED: Cal State campuses shell out $7 million per year to give illegal aliens 'priority' legal aid]

In an email to Georgetown’s newspaper, Jennifer Crewalk, the new Georgetown associate director for undocumented students, said, “I’m looking forward to focusing on community healing, the present needs of our students, but also ask all of us to be visionaries for what is possible for the near future, our undocumented students are the freedom fighters of this moment and time, and they are helping to awaken people to how important it is for our communities to be conscious.”


James O'Keefe of Project Veritas Exposes ABC News' David Wright Who's Su...

Why, Oh Why, Is Poop So Pervasive in Pop Culture Now??

Dow plunges nearly 1,200 points to close in correction territory


Fred Imbert
1 hr ago



Post-Market Wrap: February 27, 2020

 CNBC


Stocks ended sharply lower after a volatile session Thursday as traders worried that the coronavirus might be spreading in the U.S. A slew of corporate and analyst warnings on the virus also dragged down the major averages.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 1,190 points, or 4.4%. The S&P 500 also plunged 4.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite sank 4.6%.

Those losses put the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq in correction territory, down more than 10% from their record closes. It took the Dow just 10 sessions to tumble from its all-time high into a correction. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq set record highs last week.

Both the Dow and the S&P 500 had their worst day since February 2018 while the Nasdaq posted its biggest one-day loss since August 2011.

The Dow and S&P 500 are also on pace for their worst weekly performance since 2008. Through Thursday’s close, the Dow was down more than 11% week to date while the S&P 500 had lost 10.8%.

The CDC confirmed Wednesday the first U.S. coronavirus case of unknown origin in Northern California, indicating possible “community spread” of the disease. The patient had no travel history or contacts that would have put the person at risk, the CDC said. On Thursday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state is monitoring 8,400 people for coronavirus.

“We’re extremely cautious in the short term,” said Tom Hainlin, a global investment strategist at Ascent Private Capital Management. “No one really seems to be an expert on the coronavirus. We haven’t seen anything like this really in our investing lifetimes.”

Apple, Intel and Exxon Mobil were among the worst-performing Dow stocks Thursday, dropping at least 6% each. AMD and Nvidia fell 7.3% and 5.6%, respectively.

President Donald Trump tried to assuage concerns over the outbreak on Wednesday. At a White House news conference, he said the risk of coronavirus to people in the U.S. is still “very low” but added that the U.S. is going to “spend whatever’s appropriate.” Trump also put Vice President Mike Pence in charge of the U.S. response to the coronavirus and said markets should soon recover.

Worries over how the coronavirus will impact corporate profits and global economic growth roiled the U.S. stock market all week as the number of confirmed cases increases. South Korea has confirmed a total of more than 1,700 cases. More than 600 people have contracted the virus in Italy.

The outbreak has also led several companies to issue warnings about its earnings and revenues.

Microsoft said Wednesday it will not meet its revenue guidance for a key segment. It said its supply chain is “returning to normal operations at a slower pace than anticipated,” which led the tech giant to cut its forecast for its personal computing division. Personal computing accounted for 36% of Microsoft’s overall revenue during the previous quarter. Microsoft shares were down 7.1%. PayPal also issued a warning about its outlook.

“US companies will generate no earnings growth in 2020,” David Kostin, Goldman Sachs’ chief U.S. equity strategist, said in a note. “Our reduced profit forecasts reflect the severe decline in Chinese economic activity in 1Q, lower end-demand for US exporters, disruption to the supply chain for many US firms, a slowdown in US economic activity, and elevated business uncertainty.”

The S&P 500 posted Thursday a six-day losing streak, be its longest daily slide since August. The Dow also had a sixth consecutive loss. That would be the 30-stock average’s longest losing streak since 2018.

Trump’s comments, Microsoft and Goldman’s warnings came after the Dow fell more than 100 points on Wednesday, adding to its massive decline for this week. Through Thursday’s close, the Dow has lost more than 3,000 points this week.

“As this week’s selling has progressed, we have seen some evidence of increased caution on the part of investors,” said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird. “Investors are shifting away from excessive optimism but there is still little evidence of fear overwhelming complacency. Bottoms are typically processes punctuated by climactic events and seeing breadth indicators stabilize would be an encouraging sign that such a process is underway.”

Bond prices, in turn, have surged this week.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield dipped below 1.25% on Thursday, hitting a record low, before rebounding. Earlier this month, the benchmark rate traded above 1.4%. The 30-year bond rate is also trading at an all-time low. Yields move inversely to prices.

“We’ve hit a pocket of fear,” said Gregory Faranello, head of U.S. rates trading at AmeriVet Securities. “This is a big deal. … If this flows into the U.S., we could be in trouble because, let’s face it, the U.S. consumer is what’s holding this thing together.”




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Papal academy invites tech giants to support ethical guidelines for AI


Carol Glatz

2 days ago

Papal academy invites tech giants to support ethical guidelines for AI


Franciscan Father Paolo Benanti, a professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University and specialist in digital ethics, speaks during a news conference at the Vatican Feb. 25, 2020.(Credit: Paul Haring/CNS.)


ROME — The Pontifical Academy for Life has invited the leaders of Microsoft and IBM — two of the world’s leading developers of AI software — to sign a charter calling for an ethical framework and guidelines for the field of artificial intelligence.

Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, and John Kelly III, executive vice president of IBM, were invited to attend a Vatican-sponsored event Feb. 28 dedicated to “human-centric artificial intelligence” and to sign a joint “Call for AI Ethics.”

The appeal will ask that particular “ethical principles be present in AI products that they develop, sell and use,” Father Paolo Benanti, a papal academy member and Third Order Regular of St. Francis, told reporters at a Vatican news conference Feb. 25.

As “an open framework,” the appeal is meant to be “the start of a movement that brings together people of goodwill to cooperate so that ethical choices, legal standards and appropriate education efforts make civil society capable of facing this new season” of a world increasingly impacted by AI technology, said the theologian and expert in bioethics and ethics of technology.

It was hoped the document would inspire other stakeholders — such as government bodies, NGOs, industry leaders and associations — to become part of the movement to give guidance to the development and use of AI technology, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the pontifical academy, told reporters.

Religious Liberty Wins Another




The Eleventh Circuit rethinks an earlier ruling against a cross in a public park.


By
The Editorial Board
Feb. 26, 2020 7:37 pm ET


The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals broke no new legal ground last week when it reversed its earlier decision ruling that a cross erected on a public park in Pensacola, Fla., had to go. But it carries the message that the so-called Lemon legal test that has long governed interpretations of the Constitution’s Establishment Clause may finally be dead.

The test comes from the Supreme Court’s 1971 ruling in Lemon v. Kurtzman. In that decision the Court required that government actions implicating religion have a “secular purpose”...




Dow ends another 879 points lower, posting worst two day point drop on record


By Joy Wiltermuth and Andrea Riquier

Published: Feb 25, 2020 4:37 p.m. ET

Yield on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note hits record low


Getty Images
The New York Stock Exchange.


U.S. stocks closed with the Dow Jones Industrial Average registering its worst two day loss on record Tuesday, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Americans to prepare for a coronavirus outbreak and investors attempted to assess the impact of the epidemic in China on global trade and travel.

Global stocks were hammered Monday too, as investors feared disruptions to manufacturing supply lines with factories in China still struggling to re-open after quarantines were imposed on several cities in an attempt to contain the epidemic.

What are major indexes doing?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.46% slid 879.44 points, 3.2%, to settle at 27,081.3, while the S&P 500 SPX, -0.38% lost 97.68 points, 3%, to close at 3,128.21. The Nasdaq Composite COMP, +0.17% fell below 9,000, shedding 255.67 points, or 2.8%, to end at 8,965.61.

On Monday, the Dow shed 1,031.60 points, or 3.6%, to settle at 27,960.80, while the S&P 500 slumped 111.86 points, or 3.4%, to close at 3,225.89 — the biggest one-day percentage falls for both indexes since Feb. 8, 2018. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 355.31 points, or 3.7%, to finish at 9,221.28, its biggest one-day drop since December 2018.

The Dow has now seen its largest two day percentage decline since February 5, 2018 while the S&P 500 index saw its largest two day percentage decline since August 24, 2015. The Nasdaq Composite registered its largest two day percentage fall since June 27, 2016.

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) reads Green New Deal on House floor

Pope on Ash Wednesday: Lent is not a time for useless sermons

House GOP leaders hold a press conference

WATCH LIVE: Trump holds news conference on novel coronavirus threat

Catholics who accept all of the church's teachings are most likely to vote for Trump: poll


By Samuel Smith, CP Reporter| Tuesday, February 25, 2020


Catholics pray during a mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, Feb. 11, 2013. | (Photo: Reuters/Brendan McDermid)


Catholic support for President Donald Trump has increased but there’s a disconnect between Catholics who agree with all of the Church’s teachings and those who don’t.

The Eternal Word Television Network and RealClear Opinion Research released the survey of over 1,521 registered self-identified Catholic and former Catholic voters Monday.

The results show that even though Trump is still trailing Democratic candidates in head-to-head polling, one of the most prevalent predictors of whether or not a Catholic voter will vote for Trump is whether or not he or she accepts the entirety of Catholic church teachings.

About 18 percent of the respondents said that they “accept all the Church’s teachings,” which conflict with Democratic Party positions on issues like abortion and same-sex marriage.

Thirty-eight percent of respondents said that they “accept most of the Church’s teachings,” while 29 percent said they “do not accept some of the key teachings.” Thirteen percent said Catholicism has a “minor influence” on them, while 2 percent identified as former Catholics.

“[The 18 percent group] is the one that has opinions that are distinct from essentially the other 80 percent who indicate that their religion plays a less integral role in their lives,” John Della Volpe, the director of polling at RealClear Opinion Research, said on a conference call with reporters.

While the majority of Catholics surveyed (53 percent) said they disapprove of the job Trump is doing as president, 59 percent of Catholics who say they accept all the Church’s teachings indicate that they are “sure” they will vote to reelect Trump in 2020. As well, 8 percent of devout Catholics said there is a “very good chance” they will vote to reflect Trump.

Book of Revelation 'prophesied coronavirus stopping Christian Sabbath’(?)



End of the world: Book of Revelation 'prophesied coronavirus stopping Christian Sabbath’


CORONAVIRUS is preventing churches in China from honouring the Christian Sabbath, something the Book of Revelation predicted before the end of the world, according to a religious publication.

00:06, Wed, Feb 26, 2020 | UPDATED: 00:13, Wed, Feb 26, 2020

Coronavirus: Expert says 'all of us' are likely to be infected


Play Video


More than 80,000 people have been affected by the deadly virus now, with more than 2,600 fatalities recorded worldwide. The Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, announced a policy of eased restrictions yesterday, allowing residents to leave in small groups. But, just three hours later, the decision was reversed, placing its nine million residents back under strict quarantine.

Churches in the city, including those honouring the Christian Sabbath, have been banned from providing service to prevent the virus’ spread, which may now be fulfilling a chilling end of days prophecy from the Book of Revelation.

Publication Sabbath Truth reports: “The Bible talks about a time when disease epidemics, (Matthew 24:7), will run rampant and masses of people will be affected.

“If the effects of this new coronavirus are any indication, assembling for worship will likely become more and more difficult during this time.

“What happens when such gatherings seem like an impossibility?

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

The Surveillance State is GROWING! [Part 1]

NWO and the United States: Vatican’s climate change agenda & the mark of...

U.S. Senate candidate selects guillotine as ‘symbol of the work we have to do’


Posted February 6
Updated February 6

U.S. Senate candidate selects guillotine as ‘symbol of the work we have to do’

Bre Kidman said the campaign logo is meant to be a sign of revolution by the lower and middle classes, and is not meant to be taken literally.


BY RACHEL OHM
STAFF WRITER


A U.S. Senate candidate in Maine has selected an unusual logo for campaign T-shirts – the guillotine – citing the need for a revolution to remove big money from politics.

The logo, unveiled this week by Democrat Bre Kidman, recalls the execution device known for its role in the 18th century French Revolution and is intended to symbolize revolt by low- and middle-income people, Kidman said.

“The guillotine is an image which calls to mind what people have done for revolution before,” said Kidman, an attorney who’s running for the seat held by Republican Sen. Susan Collins. “If we can find a better path to revolution than that we owe it to ourselves and our country.”


brekidmanforMaine(D)
✔@BeeKay4ME



I was gonna wait until tomorrow to show off these beauties, but Trump got acquitted and I feel like folks could use something to look forward to. So.

Get ready for Merch-You-Can’t-Buy! You shouldn’t buy elections, so you can’t buy our locally silk screened, upcycled merch.


639
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Kidman, who is non-binary and uses the pronoun “they,” said the logo is something they came up with out of frustration over the large amounts of money in politics.

Kidman said the campaign, which had raised about $16,000 by the end of last year, stopped actively fundraising in July. Merchandise, including t-shirts, patches and buttons, with the new logo is not for sale and instead will be given away to people who want to talk about the campaign ideas with fellow Mainers.

Kidman said the logo is not supposed to be taken literally.

“We’re not going to start a guillotine in Monument Square (in Portland) and start beheading people,” Kidman said. “It’s a symbol of the work we have to do to overcome flaws in our system – flaws that have become deeply evident in the last few weeks.”

More than $18 million had been raised by candidates as of Dec. 31 in the U.S. Senate race in Maine. In addition, the winner of the Democratic primary will secure more than $4 million in money raised by critics of Collins in response to her vote for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

“I don’t think the process we currently have allows for working and middle class people to be raising millions of dollars,” Kidman said. “I think we have to find ways that open the doors to getting more people at the table.”


Source


La predicazione del pastore G. Caccamo (Pastor Giovanni Caccamo, of the SdA church of Bologna. Vespers for Christian unity)



January 25, 2020, basilica of San Paolo Maggiore. Preaching by Pastor Giovanni Caccamo, of the Adventist Church of Bologna. Vespers for Christian unity.

Statement on the Inter-European Division involvement in the Ecumenical Charter of Bologna.



Press release from Inter-European Division

Statement on the position of the Inter-European Division on the involvement of an Italian Seventh-day Adventist Pastor in the signing of the Ecumenical Charter of the Council of the Christian Churches of Bologna.

Feb 24, 2020 | Bern, Switzerland | CD-EUDNEWS





Video and Film

On Saturday, 25 January the pastor of a local church congregation in Italy signed a joint declaration with other faith groups which, while focused on respectful dialogue among and between different religious denominations, contained some statements which run counter to Seventh-day Adventist principles regarding inter-church relations.

The administration of the Inter-European Division (EUD) disapproves the signing of the ecumenical charter, and reaffirms its position concerning the involvement of church entities and representatives in ecumenical endeavors.

As a result, the EUD Officers wish to clarify the involvement of Seventh-day Adventist Pastors and Leaders in meetings and events with representatives of other religious bodies.


Satan's Last Campaign



February 25

Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time
1 John 2:18. 


The enemy is preparing for his last campaign against the church. He has so concealed himself from view that many can hardly believe that he exists, much less can they be convinced of his amazing activity and power....

Man is Satan's captive and is naturally inclined to follow his suggestions and do his bidding. He has in himself no power to oppose effectual resistance to evil. It is only as Christ abides in him by living faith ... that man may venture to face so terrible a foe. Every other means of defense is utterly vain. It is only through Christ that Satan's power is limited. This is a momentous truth that all should understand. Satan is busy every moment, going to and fro, walking up and down in the earth, seeking whom he may devour. But the earnest prayer of faith will baffle his strongest efforts....

Satan hopes to involve the remnant people of God in the general ruin that is coming upon the earth. As the coming of Christ draws nigh, he will be more determined and decisive in his efforts to overthrow them. Men and women will arise professing to have some new light or some new revelation whose tendency is to unsettle faith in the old landmarks. Their doctrines will not bear the test of God's word, yet souls will be deceived. False reports will be circulated, and some will be taken in this snare.... We cannot be too watchful against every form of error, for Satan is constantly seeking to draw men from the truth....

Some men have no firmness of character. They are like a ball of putty and can be pressed into any conceivable shape.... This weakness, indecision, and inefficiency must be overcome. There is an indomitableness about true Christian character which cannot be molded or subdued by adverse circumstances. Men must have moral backbone, an integrity which cannot be flattered, bribed, or terrified....

God has set bounds that Satan cannot pass. Our most holy faith is this barrier; and if we build ourselves up in the faith, we shall be safe in the keeping of the Mighty One.39Testimonies for the Church 5:294-297.


Maranatha, p.64.


Monday, February 24, 2020

Not expecting recession this year: Greenwich Wealth Management's Janjigian

Rocky Slide On Wall Street Amid Coronavirus Fears

U.S., global markets plunge as coronavirus cases spike outside China


The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are in steep decline as the deadly outbreak expands in South Korea, Italy and Iran



February 24, 2020 at 4:15 PM EST

Financial markets sounded the alarm Monday about the relentless spread and widening economic impact of the coronavirus, which after ravaging China now threatens havoc on a global scale.

The Dow Jones industrial average sank by more than 1,000 points or 3.5 percent, to close at 27,961.01 as Wall Street interpreted disease clusters in South Korea, Italy and Iran as a sign that the respiratory illness has outraced confinement efforts in China. The technology-heavy Nasdaq index sank by more than 3.7 percent.

Factories around the world are grappling with parts shortages as their Chinese suppliers struggle to resume normal operations. As global economic engines sputter, the Federal Reserve and other central banks are facing calls for emergency help.

But central bank chiefs may be ill-equipped to battle the economic consequences of the flu-like illness. Interest rates are already in negative territory in Europe and near historic lows in the United States. And making credit less expensive -- the Fed’s standard tool for combating a slump -- may offset some of the financial upheaval, but will do little to remedy broken supply chains or ease worker and consumer fears of contagion.

“There’s just growing angst in the investor community that this thing is more serious than we realized,” said Chris Meekins, an analyst with Raymond James and former Trump administration preparedness official. “When you’re worried about catching a disease, you’re not going to go out to dinner; you’re not going to go to the movies or sporting events or concerts. The only question is how widespread this becomes.”

After weeks of playing down the likely impact outside China, investors on Monday rushed into traditional safe havens, sending the price of gold soaring as government bond yields, which move opposite prices, plumbed new depths. Oil also fell into bear market territory amid expectations of prolonged global weakness.

“It may not be an actual pandemic yet, but it’s an economic pandemic,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist for Grant Thornton. “It’s global in scope and disrupting activity around the world.”

Monday’s markets action showed the rapid evolution of the coronavirus from a limited threat to supply chains into an across-the-board tightening of financial conditions, said Gregory Daco, chief U.S. economist for Oxford Economics. A spike in volatility may prompt businesses to hit the pause button on planned investments. And as nervous global investors sought safety in U.S. assets, they pushed up the value of the U.S. dollar.

That will make imported goods for American consumers less expensive, chilling inflation and leaving the Fed farther from hitting its goal of 2 percent annual price increases, which the central bank sees as a sign of a healthy economy. As a result, some investors now expect the Fed to cut rates to counteract some of the economic weakness.

“The Fed can’t eliminate all the risks on its own,” said Daco. “What the Fed can do it prevent a worsening of the situation.”


Workers spray disinfectant at the National Assembly in Seoul after it was discovered that a person who took part in a discussion session on 19 February at the Assembly has tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Parliament said that disinfection will be carried out in stages until 26 February. (Yonhap/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)


Live updates: China delays political meetings as Xi warns of coronavirus crisis; Wuhan backtracks on easing travel curbs


Evangelical Christian sues US Postal Service over mandatory work on Sundays


Evangelical Christian sues US Postal Service over mandatory work on Sundays

By Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post Contributor| Sunday, February 23, 2020


Unsplash/Pope Moysuh


An evangelical Christian in Pennsylvania has taken legal action against the U.S. Postal Service for forcing him to quit by requiring him to work on Sundays after the USPS partnered with Amazon for delivery.

Gerald Groff, a former mail carrier in Lancaster County who didn’t want to miss church or to observe Sunday as the day of worship, filed a motion for summary judgment before a federal district judge against the USPS earlier this month for not accommodating his religious beliefs, Independence Law Center, which is one of the law firms representing the Christian, said in a statement.

The USPS had never required Groff to work on Sundays until it started parcel delivery in partnership with Amazon.

Initially, the Post Office accommodated Groff’s religious beliefs for not working on Sundays, as he worked on holidays, in the evenings and on Saturdays when other carriers weren’t willing to work. However, later, the USPS started enforcing a mandatory Sunday policy on Groff and disciplined him. As a result, he was constructively discharged from the job.

“In a free and respectful society, government should recognize those differences among us that make us great, rather than punishing those differences, particularly when those differences result from our sincerely held religious beliefs,” David Crossett, one of the attorneys representing Groff, said in the statement.

“Just as the Supreme Court recognized in a case involving the right of a Muslim worker to wear a head scarf at a clothing store, a government employer like the Post Office should reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs. The Post Office had plenty of other options for delivering Amazon packages on Sundays without making this employee violate his religious conscience,” said Randall Wenger, ILC’s Chief Counsel. “In a free society, government employers can and should do better at respecting their employees’ rights.”

ILC lawyer Jeremy Samek told abc27 that it’s not uncommon for people to request reasonable accommodations at their workplace. “Employers are actually required to provide reasonable accommodations. It’s something that happens every single day.”

Samek continued, “We should, as a society, seek to reasonably accommodate people with unique religious beliefs, that we can all live and work together in a pluralistic society.”

“At the end of the day, Mr. Groff wants his job back. It’s important for him, but it’s also important for lots of other people who work for the federal government or the post office that they be able to continue their employment and to continue to observe their religious beliefs.”




Sunday, February 23, 2020

Coronavirus Fallout Shows Dangers of Over-Reliance on China—Curtis Ellis...

Obama DHS whistleblower found dead with gunshot wound in California


| February 22, 2020 10:23 PM
| Updated Feb 23, 2020, 02:08 PM



Philip Haney, a former Homeland Security Department official during the Obama administration who blew the whistle on his own agency, was found dead Friday with a gunshot wound about 40 miles east of Sacramento, California.

The Amador County Sheriff's office confirmed to the Washington Examiner that deputies and detectives responded to reports Friday morning at 10:12 a.m. of a male subject on the ground with a gunshot wound in the area of Highway 124 and Highway 16 in Plymouth, California.

"Upon their arrival, they located and identified 66-year-old Philip Haney, who was deceased and appeared to have suffered a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound. A firearm was located next to Haney and his vehicle. This investigation is active and ongoing. No further details will be released at this time," the sheriff's office said in a statement.

The Amador County Sheriff's office would not respond to any further questions.

Haney's stepmom, Judith Haney, told the Washington Examiner that law enforcement took possession of the former DHS official's cell phone and laptop.

"[The police] haven't made a conclusion. They're not releasing anything. They said it could be days or weeks," she said. "So we really don't know anything concrete."

According to sources close to Haney, he was recently in contact with top officials about returning to work for the DHS. Additionally, Haney was engaged to be married.

As a whistleblower, Haney testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in June 2016 that DHS ordered him to delete hundreds of files of people with ties to Islamist terrorist groups, arguing several terrorist attacks against people in the United States could have been prevented if certain files had not been scrubbed.

“It is very plausible that one or more of the subsequent terror attacks on the homeland could have been prevented if more subject matter experts in the Department of Homeland Security had been allowed to do our jobs back in late 2009,” Haney wrote in an opinion piece for the Hill in February 2016. “It is demoralizing — and infuriating — that today, those elusive dots are even harder to find, and harder to connect, than they were during the winter of 2009.”

Republicans on Capitol Hill questioned former President Barack Obama's homeland security secretary, Jeh Johnson, about Haney’s allegations.

"Was Mr. Haney's testimony that the Department of Homeland Security order over 800 documents ... altered or deleted accurate?" Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, asked Johnson, who bristled at the question.

"I have no idea. I don't know who Mr. Haney is. I wouldn't know him if he walked into the room," he said.

The Washington Examiner received a text message from Haney on Nov. 11 which mentioned plans to write a sequel to his first book, See Something Say Nothing: A Homeland Security Officer Exposes the Government's Submission to Jihad, which described his experience at DHS.

"Odd (surreal reality) that I was a highly visible whistleblower ... that virtually no one listened to, while this guy remains invisible, but is treated like an anointed oracle from above," Haney said in the Nov. 11 text, referring to alleged Ukraine whistleblower Eric Ciaramella. "However, my story is still live, i.e., there's still more to come. It'll be called 'National Security Meltdown.'"

Haney added, "I have a severely hyper-organized archive of everything that's happened since See Something, Say Nothing (SSSN) was published in May of 2016. The National Security Meltdown sequel will pick up right where SSSN left off. My intention is to have it ready by early-to mid-Spring of 2020 (just before the political sound wave hits), then ride that wave all the way to the Nov. elections."


Editor's note: This story has been changed to remove information that was withdrawn by a source after publication. 



Saturday, February 22, 2020

Biden Touts His Catholic Faith: ‘I Say The Rosary’



Pro-Abortion, Pro-Gay Marriage Biden Touts His Catholic Faith In Campaign Video: ‘I Say The Rosary’


(Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)


MARY MARGARET OLOHAN
SOCIAL ISSUES REPORTER
February 21, 20202:01 PM ET


Pro-abortion 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden touted his Catholic faith in a February campaign video, saying, “I go to mass, I say the rosary.”

The former vice president released a campaign video Monday titled “Faith,” in which he discusses Catholicism and how his Catholic faith helped him through deaths of loved ones in his immediate family.

“Faith is what has gotten me through difficult times in my life,” he said, mentioning the death of his first wife, eldest daughter and his son Beau Biden.

“Personally for me, faith, it’s all about hope and purpose and strength, and for me, my religion is just an enormous sense of solace,” Biden said, as the video panned over images of Biden praying. One image showed Biden speaking to Pope Francis.

“I go to mass, and I say the rosary. I find it to be incredibly comforting,” he added. 

Sonia Sotomayor Accused the Supreme Court of Bias


Sonia Sotomayor Just Accused the Supreme Court’s Conservatives of Bias Toward the Trump Administration



By MARK JOSEPH STERN

FEB 21, 202010:54 PM


Justice Sonia Sotomayor attends The 2018 DVF Awards at United Nations on April 13, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images


On Friday evening, by a 5–4 vote, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration’s wealth test for immigrants to take effect in Illinois. All four liberal justices dissented from the order, which changes relatively little: Thanks to the conservative justices’ intervention in January, the wealth test was poised to take effect in 49 states, and Friday’s vote lets the government apply it in the last state left. What’s most remarkable about the decision is Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s withering dissent, which calls out—with startling candor—a distressing pattern: The court’s Republican appointees have a clear bias toward the Trump administration.

Trump’s wealth test marks a brazen attempt to limit legal immigration by forcing immigrants to prove their financial status to enter, or remain in, the United States. It goes far beyond any statute passed by Congress, forcing immigrants to demonstrate that they will be not a “public charge”—that is, they won’t rely on any public assistance, including Medicaid, housing vouchers, and food stamps. Because the policy departs so dramatically from federal law, several courts blocked its implementation in 2019. In January, however, the Supreme Court allowed the wealth test to take effect over the dissent of all four liberals. The majority did not explain its reasoning. But Justice Neil Gorsuch, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, wrote a concurrence complaining that a district court had blocked it across the country, decrying the “rise of nationwide injunctions.”

Gorsuch’s opinion raised the possibility that the conservative justices disapproved of the scope of the district court’s injunction, not the reasoning behind it. If that were true, the conservatives should not have unsettled a narrower injunction limited to Illinois. But they did just that on Friday, once again without explaining themselves. Once again, the liberals dissented, but only Sotomayor wrote separately, in an opinion notable for its caustic tone and candid assessment of her colleague’s prejudices. “Today’s decision follows a now-familiar pattern,” Sotomayor began. “The Government seeks emergency relief from this Court, asking it to grant a stay where two lower courts have not. The Government insists—even though review in a court of appeals is imminent—that it will suffer irreparable harm if this Court does not grant a stay. And the Court yields.” In other words, SCOTUS rewarded the Department of Justice for short-circuiting the appellate process and demanding immediate relief.


Most Americans will need a new ID to fly, starting in October




Katia Hetter, CNN • Updated 22nd February 2020


(CNN) — Think your driver's license is enough to get you through airport security in the United States and onto your domestic flight?

Maybe not.

Some two-thirds of US state driver's licenses are not compliant with a post-9/11 security law set to go into effect on October 1. Those who are not compliant will not be able to fly if they don't have other forms of "REAL ID-compliant" identification.

Concerned about the impact on travel, the head of the US Department of Homeland Security loosened the restrictions this week, allowing the various state agencies to accept identity documents electronically.
"Ensuring every state is REAL ID compliant by October is one of the Department's top priorities," said DHS Acting Secretary Chad Wolf, in a press release. "While progress has been made, the real work is still ahead because approximately two-thirds of all licenses are presently not compliant with REAL ID.

"Rest assured, our Department will continue to examine other viable options to improve upon this process and continues doing everything it can to inform Americans of the requirement to obtain a REAL ID before the full enforcement deadline later this year."



Todd Hauptli, CEO of the American Association of Airport Executives, shows his REAL ID-compliant driver's license during a news conference at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on October 1, 2019.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP


While Wolf says this "pre-submission" of documents will result in a faster application process, it's not clear how much faster it will be.

That's because, as Wolf says, "an in-person visit is still required, as is showing up with physical copies of your documents."
Starting October 1, travelers must have a "REAL ID-compliant" driver's license, US passport, US military ID or other acceptable identification to fly within the United States.
The REAL ID Act, which established minimum security standards for the issuing of state licenses and their production, prohibits federal agencies from accepting licenses from states not meeting those minimum standards for certain activities.
To get a REAL ID-compliant state driver's license, the DHS requires applicants provide documentation showing their full legal name, their date of birth, their Social Security number, two proofs of address of principal residence and lawful status. States may impose more requirements.

No REAL ID, no flying


Travelers need to make sure their IDs are REAL.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images


If you can't produce acceptable identification, your US airport's Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint will not clear you for flight. The TSA is part of the Department of Homeland Security. That could lead to serious backups at US airports starting October 1.

While many states have been issuing compliant documents for years, travelers shouldn't assume their driver's licenses and other documents meet the requirements. For example, Georgia became compliant in 2012 and California became compliant in 2018, but their driver's licenses issued prior to those times in those states are not compliant.

Check if your state driver's license or identification card is REAL ID compliant simply by looking for a star in the upper right-hand corner. Some state departments of motor vehicles will confirm REAL ID status online.

Still a backlog

The Department of Homeland Security reported this week that 48 of 50 states in the US are REAL ID compliant, up from January 2017, when only 26 states were. The two remaining states that haven't started issuing new IDs are Oklahoma and Oregon.

Collectively, those 48 states have issued more than 95 million REAL ID-compliant driver's licenses and ID cards.
While the US Travel Association applauded the government's "pre-submission," decision, "the challenge remains that tens of millions of Americans do not yet possess REAL ID-compliant identification," said Tori Emerson Barnes, USTA executive vice president of public affairs and policy, in a statement.

A post 9/11 measure

The REAL ID Act's requirement were part of the 9/11 Commission's recommendation that the federal government set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Since the act's 2005 passage, the federal government has implemented TSA Pre-Check and other programs that offer more security than REAL ID, said Barnes. That's why the USTA is lobbying federal authorities to accept membership in those programs as a substitute for REAL ID. (DHS hasn't said yes, at least not yet.)
US House Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Arizona) and Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Florida) have introduced legislation that would allow the TSA to accept membership in its Pre-Check program as a substitute for REAL ID.

Officials at USTA, which represents major airlines, hotels, state and local tourism boards and other travel industry members, worry that their members will lose customers who suddenly can't fly within the US starting October 1, 2020.

What qualifies as REAL ID


A US passport qualifies as a REAL ID.
Jeff Haynes/AFP/Getty Images


• REAL ID-compliant state driver's licenses or other state photo identity cards

• US passport

• US passport card

• DHS trusted traveler cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)

• US Department of Defense ID, including IDs issued to dependents

• Permanent resident card

• Border crossing card

• State-issued Enhanced Driver's License

• Federally recognized, tribal-issued photo ID

• HSPD-12 PIV card

• Foreign government-issued passport

• Canadian provincial driver's license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card

• Transportation worker identification credential

• US Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)

• US Merchant Mariner Credential
Check the Department of Homeland Security website for more information.




Messiah | Season 1 Official Trailer | Netflix

From the Red Sea to Sinai - Prophets and Patriarchs, Chapter 26.

Friday, February 21, 2020

On summit anniversary, what we still don’t know about clerical abuse


John L. Allen Jr.
1 day ago

On summit anniversary, what we still don’t know about clerical abuse



This Monday, Dec. 9, 2019 photo shows the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith offices at the Vatican. The Vatican office responsible for processing clergy sex abuse complaints has seen a record 1,000 cases reported from around the world this year, including from countries it had not heard from before, suggesting that the worst may be yet to come in a crisis that has plagued the Catholic Church. (Credit: AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino.)


ROME – Today marks the one-year anniversary of Pope Francis’s historic summit on the clerical sexual abuse crisis in February 2019, which brought together presidents of the world’s bishops’ conferences to promote a global culture of transparency and accountability.

Coincidentally, the milestone falls as the world is focused on a very different kind of epidemic: The coronavirus, which to date is believed to have killed more than 2,100 people across mainland China, though fewer than 10 outside the country. The global total of infected people stands at about 75,600, the vast majority in China’s Hubei province.

The juxtaposition at first glance may seem unrelated, but there is a sort of link.

Consider that two months into the coronavirus outbreak, we can speak with basic statistical confidence about how many victims there are and where they are, at least outside the epicenter. As is well documented, China initially tried to cover up the disease, and there are still serious doubts about whether it’s being forthcoming regarding the extent of new infections and deaths. Still, dogged researchers across the world are hard at work trying to get at the reality of the situation, and we have a fairly good handle on infections and treatments elsewhere.

By way of comparison, decades into the clerical abuse crisis there’s still no such hard data about its global reach.


'Onward' introduces the first LGBTQ character in Disney animation history




Ethan Alter
Yahoo Movies

February 21, 2020, 5:00 PM UTC

Warning: This story contains minor spoilers for the new Disney Pixar animated film Onward.

It’s been a long wait, but a Disney heroine finally has a girlfriend… and it’s not Elsa. Months after The Rise of Skywalker featured the first same-sex kiss in the Star Wars galaxy, the new animated film Onward introduces the first self-identified lesbian character into the Disney-Pixar universe. Her name is Officer Specter, and she’s a Cyclops cop voiced by openly gay screenwriter and actress Lena Waithe. While Specter’s inclusion in Onward is a major first for Disney, it’s treated almost matter-of-factly in the movie itself, which the filmmakers say is by design. “It just kind of happened,” Onward producer Kori Rae tells Yahoo Entertainment. “The scene, when we wrote it, was kind of fitting and it opens up the world a little bit, and that’s what we wanted.” Adds director Dan Scanlon, “It’s a modern fantasy world and we want to represent the modern world.”

Specter only appears in one scene in Onward, which opens in theaters on March 6, but her role is vital to the emotional arc of the story. Written by Scanlon, Jason Headley and Keith Bunin, the film takes places in a magical universe whose fantastical citizens — think elves, dragons and manticores — have lost their connection to the magical arts. Onward’s heroes are two elven brothers, Ian and Barley (Tom Holland and Chris Pratt), who lost their father at a young age before either had a chance to properly say goodbye. On Ian’s 16th birthday, their mother (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) hands them a present left behind by dearly departed dad, which turns out to be a 24-hour resurrection spell. Due to their limited experience with magic, the spell immediately goes haywire, forcing the duo to embark on a ticking-clock quest to find a replacement element before their father vanishes again. Meanwhile, Mom and her new boyfriend, centaur cop Colt Bronco (Mel Rodriguez), try to catch up with the boys to protect them from a curse that their mission threatens to unleash.




Weniger Society honors Loma Linda University Health president


By Larry Becker - February 18, 2020




Richard H. Hart, right, Loma Linda University Health president, accepts his 2020 Charles E. Weniger Award from Lawrence Geraty, Weniger Society board member and president emeritus of La Sierra University. The event took place February 15 at the Loma Linda University Church


Richard H. Hart, MD, DrPH, president of Loma Linda University Health, was one of four people honored by the Charles E. Weniger Society on February 15, 2020, for their contributions to the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Named in honor of the late seminary dean and English professor Charles E. Weniger — the Weniger Award has been presented to 182 prominent Adventists since the society was founded in 1974. This year’s awards were announced during the Society’s annual meeting at the Loma Linda University Church.

Hart has served Loma Linda University Health for 48 years, holding positions as chair of the School of Public Health’s department of health sciences, director of the Center for Health Promotion, dean of the School of Public Health, and president of the organization since 2008.

The Weniger Society’s award focused on how Hart’s vision extends beyond the walls of Loma Linda to the local community, and to the hospitals and medical clinics in villages and towns in the farthest reaches of the globe. Hart’s passion for service has inspired programs such as the Students for International Mission Service (SIMS), the Social Action Community Health System (SACHS) and the San Manuel Gateway College, part of Loma Linda’s San Bernardino campus.

DOES IRAN’S REGIME PLAN TO DESTROY THE TOMB OF ESTHER AND MORDECHAI?


Middle East
11:29 | 02/20/20


By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL


Iranian armed forces members march during the ceremony of the National Army Day parade in Tehran, Iran September 22, 2019 (photo credit: WANA NEWS AGENCY/REUTERS)


US religious group blasts Iran for threats to Esther and Mordechai tomb.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom condemned the Iranian regime on Wednesday for its reported threats to raze the tomb of Esther and Mordechai in Hamadan.

“USCIRF is troubled by reported threats to the tomb of Esther and Mordechai in Hamadan, Iran, and emphasizes the Iranian government's responsibility to protect religious sites,” tweeted the US agency.

The USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan, federal government entity that monitors, analyzes and reports on threats to religious freedom.

The Alliance for Rights of All Minorities in Iran tweeted on Sunday that, “According to covering reports, members of the Iranian Basij attempted to raid the historic [tomb of Esther and Mordechai] site yesterday in an act of revenge against the Israelis Palestinian peace plan by US President Donald Trump.”

ARAM noted that “Iranian authorities are threatening to destroy the historic tomb of Ester and Mordechai in Hamadan and convert the site to a consular office for Palestine."
Israeli missile is only guarantee of survival from potential Iran nukes’

The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the “covering reports” cited by ARAM.




Markets were totally calm. Then stocks fell off a cliff


By Anneken Tappe, CNN Business

Updated 4:34 PM EST, Thu February 20, 2020




New York(CNN Business)It was shaping up to be a quiet day on Wall Street. Then around midday, stocks sold off sharply and investors scrambled. With no obvious catalyst triggering the selloff, worries about the coronavirus outbreak seemed to be the obvious suspect.

At its worst, the Dow (INDU) was off by 388 points, with all three major stock indexes sharply in the red. The drop in stocks followed a dip in Treasury bond yields, which move opposite to prices, and implied that investor appetite for safe haven bonds was high.

Still, investors scrambled to make sense of it. The dramatic selloff only lasted a short while and was followed by a swift rebound. Stocks still closed in the red, however, with the Dow ending 0.4%, or 128 points, lower. The S&P 500 (SPX) fell 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) finished down 0.7%.

In recent days, investor confidence built up amid hopes that new cases of the virus were slowing down. But Thursday South Korea confirmed new cases of the virus, hammering home that the outbreak is not over.

The new cases "are leading to concerns that the global supply chain will be impacted in a material way," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance, in emailed comments.

This could be seen in price action in tech and semiconductor stocks, which led losses in the S&P 500. Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), for example, closed down nearly 3%.

Tech giant Apple (AAPL) warned investors earlier this week that it won't meet its revenue guidance for the first quarter because of the virus outbreak.

"We expect more zigging and zagging," said Stephen Lee, founding principal at Logan Capital Management. But he added that the domestic economy is still fine. Lee also noted that US companies might be in a better position to deal with manufacturing shutdowns in China related to the coronavirus because many blue chip firms were already moving factories to other locations to avoid tariffs.

While worries about the outbreak's fallout weighed on the technology sector, comments made by Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida didn't make things better.

Clarida told CNBC in an interview earlier Thursday he doesn't think the market expects an interest rate cut this year, although the CME FedWatch tool suggests otherwise. According to the data, market expectations are leaning towards another rate cut this summer this year.

Lower interest rates are good for stocks as they make it cheaper for companies to borrow money or refinance their debt.

--Paul La Monica contributed to this report.




Thursday, February 20, 2020

Brave New World vs 1984: Huxley Tells Orwell “I Was Right”

Plaintiffs' attorneys take aim at Boy Scouts' `dark history'




By BRADY McCOMBS and RANDALL CHASE, Associated Press Feb. 19, 2020 Updated: Feb. 19, 2020 9:55 p.m.


 This July 22, 2013, file photo shows one of the twenty-three original, Boy Scout-themed Norman Rockwell paintings during an exhibition at the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Boy Scouts of America has filed for bankruptcy protection as it faces a barrage of new sex-abuse lawsuits. The filing Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020, in Photo: Rick Bowmer, AP



SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Like millions of other Americans in the 1950s and '60s, Duane Ruth-Heffelbower spent his formative years learning to tie knots, build campfires and pitch tents with the Boy Scouts, whose wholesome, God-fearing reputation was burnished by Normal Rockwell's magazine-cover paintings of fresh-faced Scouts, brave, courteous and cheerful.

Though he's no longer involved in Scouting, the 70-year-old Mennonite minister from Fresno, California, has followed the slow deterioration of the Boy Scouts of America from afar and cringes to think what this week's bankruptcy filing over a blizzard of sex-abuse lawsuits might mean for an organization already grappling with a steep decline in membership.

“It's really sad. I'm afraid that people are going to be more skeptical than they were once about the organization and will be more inclined to look for other alternatives to Scouting,” said Ruth-Heffelbower, who grew up in Kansas. “Theses days there are so many things pulling at kids.”


Another Catholic diocese seeks bankruptcy after abuse deals


By MARK SCOLFORO

yesterday




HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, filed for bankruptcy Wednesday, six months after disclosing it had paid millions of dollars to people sexually abused as children by its clerics.

The diocese joins at least 20 others across the United States in seeking protection from creditors through the federal bankruptcy system, but it is the first diocese in Pennsylvania to take such a step.

In August, the diocese said it paid 106 people a total of just over $12 million to compensate for claims of sexual abuse they suffered as children from its clerics, deacons and seminarians,and officials said Wednesday the current total is 111 settlements.

The filing in Harrisburg federal bankruptcy court said the diocese “faces potentially significant exposure from remaining claimants” and wants Chapter 11 reorganization to provide money for unresolved claims and perform its ministry and other operations.

The diocese told the court it has more than 200 creditors and estimated liabilities between $50 million and $100 million, with assets of less than $10 million. It listed creditors that include a $30 million loan from the Pennsylvania Economic Development Financing Authority and 12 blacked-out names that were represented by lawyers.

Bishop Ronald Gainer said that even before the abuse scandal reached it with a grand jury subpoena in 2016, his diocese’s finances were in a “very challenging condition.”

“We have no other path forward to ensure the future of our diocese than reorganization bankruptcy,” Gainer said.


Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Republican Warns Religious Rights Could be Threatened as LGBT Bill Flies...

NWO: the Vatican, the mark of the beast & upcoming second martyrdom

Documentary confronts cost of Pope Pius XII’s ‘Holy Silence’ during Holocaust




Pope Pius XII (Courtesy of PerlePress Productions)

ABIDING CATHOLIC CONTROVERSY MAY SOON GET CONCRETE ANSWERS

Documentary confronts cost of Pope Pius XII’s ‘Holy Silence’ during Holocaust

Premiering January 21 ahead of the imminent opening of the Secret Vatican Archives for 1939-1958, film provides historical context for 17 million pages of documents to be released

By RENEE GHERT-ZAND 21 Jan 2020, 1:56 am17



Last year, Pope Francis announced that on March 2, 2020, he would open the Vatican Archives for the pontificate of Pius XII. It is a long awaited move, as controversy has swirled for decades over Pius XII’s lack of action to save Jewish lives during the Holocaust. Indeed, the canonization of Pius XII has been delayed – if not totally derailed — due to questions about his reluctance to use the Church’s moral influence during this dark period.

“The Church is not afraid of history,” proclaimed Pope Francis in his official announcement of the archives’ scheduled opening.

Vatican archivists, led by Bishop Sergio Pagano, prefect of the Vatican Secret Archives, have prepared for years for this ahead-of-schedule opening (archives are usually opened 70 years after the end of a pontificate). In addition to the Vatican Secret Archives (recently renamed the Vatican Apostolic Archives), a number of other archives from the pontificate of Pius XII from 1939 to 1958 will be opened. It will take years for scholars to comb through the approximately 17 million pages of documents expected to be released.


Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler (Courtesy of PerlePress Productions)

In the meantime, the public can learn more about the historical background to the events reflected in these documents from a new film, “Holy Silence,” which will have its world premiere on January 21 at the Miami Jewish Film Festival.

The Faith That Works


February 19

The end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
1 Peter 4:7.


Do you believe that the end of all things is at hand, that the scenes of this earth's history are fast closing? If so, show your faith by your works. A man will show all the faith he has. Some think they have a good degree of faith, when if they have any, it is dead, for it is not sustained by works. “Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” Few have that genuine faith which works by love and purifies the soul. But all who are accounted worthy of everlasting life must obtain a moral fitness for the same. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” This is the work before you....

You must experience a death to self, and must live unto God. “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” Self is not to be consulted. Pride, self-love, selfishness, avarice, covetousness, love of the world, hatred, suspicion, jealousy, evil surmisings, must all be subdued and sacrificed forever. When Christ shall appear, it will not be to correct these evils and then give a moral fitness for His coming. This preparation must all be made before He comes. It should be a subject of thought, of study, and earnest inquiry, What shall we do to be saved? What shall be our conduct that we may show ourselves approved of God?

When tempted to murmur, censure, and indulge in fretfulness, wounding those around you, and in so doing wounding your own soul, oh! let the deep, earnest, anxious inquiry come from your soul, Shall I stand without fault before the throne of God? Only the faultless will be there. None will be translated to heaven while their hearts are filled with the rubbish of earth. Every defect in the moral character must first be remedied, every stain removed by the cleansing blood of Christ, and all the unlovely, unlovable traits of character overcome.30Testimonies for the Church 1:704, 705. 


Maranatha, p.58.