Monday, January 31, 2022
Sunday, January 30, 2022
ClimateSCAM - How to Destroy the Climate Change Hoax
Slawomir Slowianin
Published on 30 Jan 2022 / In News and Politics
ClimateSCAM - How to Destroy the Climate Change Hoax
Celebrities, activists, environmentalist organizations, the UN, government entities and sadly, even the Vatican support the theory that humans cause climate change. However, in this exclusive interview, “global warming” expert and author Marc Morano gives you hard-hitting arguments and facts that dispel the artificial fear propagated by “climate emergency” alarmists.
Marc Morano talks about:
#Climate #change (min 2:58)
Population control (min 14:24)
Global warming (min 17:12)
Medieval warm period (min 19:37)
Best arguments against climate change (min 33:03)
The fake 97% scientific consensus (min 34:17)
The Green New Deal (min 38:23)
Pope Francis and Laudato Si (min 48:11 )
Socialism and environmentalism (min 51:27)
His book, Politically Incorrect Guide to Climate Change (min 57:38)
mirrored from:
https://www.bitchute.com/video/5850CtO17oob/
Saturday, January 29, 2022
IRS plan to scan your face prompts anger in Congress, confusion among taxpayers
Starting this summer, you’ll need to provide a video of your face to access the agency’s website. It’s a major expansion of the use of facial recognition software by the government.
By Drew Harwell
January 27, 2022|Updated yesterday at 6:10 p.m. EST
Millions of Americans could soon have to scan their faces to access their Internal Revenue Service tax accounts, one of the government’s biggest expansions yet of facial recognition software into people’s everyday lives.
For now, taxpayers can still file their returns the old-fashioned way; the IRS began accepting returns for 2021 earnings on Monday, encouraging electronic filing.
But by this summer, anyone wanting to access their records — including details about child tax credits, payment plans or tax transcripts — on the IRS website could be required to record a video of their face with their computer or smartphone, and send it to the private contractor ID.me to confirm their identity.
Many taxpayers already have encountered the system as they prepare to file their tax returns, attempt to make estimated tax payments or try to peruse other records that can be accessed online. The company says that last month more than 60,000 face photos were submitted in a single day, though it was unclear how many of those came from taxpayers. But complaints of confusing instructions and long wait times to complete the sign-up have caused an unknown number to abandon the process in frustration.
The $86 million ID.me contract with the IRS also has alarmed researchers and privacy advocates who say they worry about how Americans’ facial images and personal data will be safeguarded in the years to come. There is no federal law regulating how the data can be used or shared. While the IRS couldn’t say what percentage of taxpayers use the agency’s website, internal data show it is one of the federal government’s most-viewed websites, with more than 1.9 billion visits last year.
The partnership with ID.me has drawn anger from some members of Congress, including Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who tweeted that he was “very disturbed” by the plan and would push the IRS for “greater transparency.” Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) called it “a very, very bad idea by the IRS” that would “further weaken Americans’ privacy.” The Senate Finance Committee is working to schedule briefings with the IRS and ID.me on the issue, a committee aide said.
“No one should be forced to submit to facial recognition as a condition of accessing essential government services," Wyden said in a separate statement. "I’m continuing to seek more information about ID.me and other identity verification systems being used by federal agencies.”
A Treasury official said Friday that the department was “looking into” alternatives to ID.me, saying Treasury and the IRS always are interested in improving “taxpayers experience.”
The official offered no further detail, however, and referred reporters to ID.me for “details of their technology and safety controls.” Spokespeople for ID.me declined to comment. Bloomberg News first reported the possibility that Treasury might consider an alternative to the facial recognition technology.
“Given the many problems in the filing season just underway, it is a stretch to launch an initiative of this sensitivity in the present circumstances,” said Mark Everson, the vice chairman of the tax services firm Alliantgroup and a former IRS commissioner.
About 70 million Americans who have filed for unemployment insurance, pandemic assistance grants, child tax credit payments or other services already have been scanned by the McLean, Va.-based company, which says its client list includes 540 companies; 30 states, including California, Florida, New York and Texas; and 10 federal agencies, including Social Security, Labor and Veterans Affairs.
Federal government to expand use of facial recognition despite growing concerns
Jeramie D. Scott, senior counsel of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a research group in Washington, said the IRS’s outsourcing of identity checks to a private company could weaken the public’s ability to know how information is being used, especially because no federal laws govern how facial recognition should work nationwide.
“You go from a government agency, that at least has some obligation under the Privacy Act and other laws, to a third party, where [there’s a] lack of transparency and understanding, and the potential risks go up,” Scott said.
“We haven’t even gone the step of putting regulations in place and deciding if facial recognition should even be used like this,” he added. “We’re just skipping right to the use of a technology that has clearly been shown to be dangerous and has issues with accuracy, disproportionate impact, privacy and civil liberties.”
The IRS had said in a previous statement that ID.me’s services would “create a better user experience” and that it “takes any reports of inequities in service seriously.” Federal records show the Treasury entered into the two-year contract covering ID.me software and maintenance last summer.
To verify one’s identity, ID.me requires scans of a person’s face as well as copies of identifying paperwork, such as a driver’s license, government-issued ID or utility bill. The company then uses facial recognition software to assess whether a person’s “video selfie” and official photo match.
If the system flags an issue, the person will have to join a live video call with one of the company’s “trusted referees,” who then asks them to hold up physical copies of personal documents such as a passport, birth certificate or health insurance card.
Three days after the 2022 tax season started, an overwhelmed IRS suspends some taxpayer notices
The company’s privacy policy says it can use people’s sensitive or personally identifiable information to “cooperate with law enforcement activities,” and Blake Hall, ID.me’s co-founder and chief executive, said the company alerts its government clients when it detects “clear cases” of fraud.
The company said it has stored tens of millions of face scans in a database to look for identity theft. Though people can ask ID.me to delete their biometric data, the company is required to store the data for at least seven years in keeping with federal auditing rules, an IRS filing shows.
Hall said in an interview that the company’s system has met tough security and accuracy standards. He compared the identity checks to someone being asked to present an ID when opening a bank account, saying, “We’re digitizing a process Americans are already quite used to.”
Treasury warns of ‘enormous challenges’ this tax filing season that could delay refunds
Hall dismissed most of the early criticism of the company’s work as either misinformed or fueled by “propaganda” from the credit bureaus and data brokers the government once relied on to verify identities.
Equifax, the credit-reporting company that previously confirmed taxpayers’ data for the IRS, had its $7 million contract suspended in 2017 after hackers exposed the personal information of 148 million people.
As to why the country is paying a private firm to validate its own citizens, Hall said the government’s previous attempts had underperformed ID.me’s product — proof, he said, that “the government is not fast enough to innovate on the access and security side.”
“Folks want to throw stones because we were able to get there first … before the government was ready,” Hall said, but the company’s growth should be regarded as “a sign of the best of our country at work.”
Federal agencies need stricter limits on facial recognition to protect privacy, says government watchdog
ID.me’s work with the IRS will start in full this summer, when the agency stops accepting previously created online accounts and forces everyone to use newer accounts verified through ID.me. The shift will come at a time when Treasury officials are warning of “enormous challenges” for the IRS, which is overwhelmed by a backlog of returns and years of budget cuts.
The company says 9 of 10 applicants can verify their identity through a self-service face scan in five minutes or less. Anyone who hits a snag is funneled into the backup video-chat verification process; in a chart the company shared with The Washington Post, the average wait time in the second half of 2021 was less than eight minutes. (The company said it does not track the demographic information of the people not immediately verified.)
But some who have tried to verify their identities through ID.me for other purposes have reported agonizing delays: cryptic glitches in Colorado, website errors in Arizona, five-hour waits in North Carolina, days-long waits in California and weeks-long benefit delays in New York. The security blogger Brian Krebs wrote last week that he faced a three-hour wait trying to confirm his IRS account, three months before the tax-filing deadline.
Higher wait times in the past few weeks, Hall said, were linked to workers being out sick because of the coronavirus and the snowstorms that pummeled Northern Virginia, where much of the company’s support staff is based. (In late 2020, Hall said call delays in California were partly related to Nigerian cyberattacks.)
The company said it intends to expand its workforce beyond the 966 agents who now handle video-chat verification for the entire country. It has also opened hundreds of in-person identity-verification centers — replicating, in essence, what government offices have done for decades.
Face-scanning software has become an increasingly prominent way for people to access secure corporate and government systems, from work-from-home shifts to air travel to schools and college exams. Ten federal agencies said they are planning to expand their facial recognition capabilities in the next year.
Proponents say the systems are quicker, simpler and more reliable than old verification systems, and they have likened the checks to the increasingly mainstream uses of facial recognition in software such as Face ID, which people can use to unlock their iPhones.
Critics say there’s a big difference between a person deciding to use software, which locks their face data on their phone, and being required to send it to a company that retains control of the data for years. Advocates also have warned that the technical demands of an Internet-connected video camera can unfairly burden the millions of Americans with spotty online access or old phones.
Keystroke tracking, screenshots, and facial recognition: The boss may be watching long after the pandemic ends
Face-scanning software used to verify whether two images are of the same person, known as “one-to-one matching,” is built to address a simpler challenge than the “one-to-many” systems used by federal agents, immigration officers and the police to pick out suspects or witnesses from databases with millions of faces.
But the technology isn’t perfect, and researchers say identity-verification errors can block a person from accessing vital services or allow an impostor to get through. Even the best systems, they add, can make mistakes when shown blurry, dim or low-quality images. Police facial recognition systems have also been blamed for the wrongful arrests of at least three Black men.
ID.me has attempted to address concerns by publishing technical reports such as a 25-page white paper defending the technology’s use in promoting “access, equity and inclusion,” claiming that “combining algorithms with multiple layers of human review mitigates any potential bias that might arise.”
But Joy Buolamwini, an artificial intelligence researcher whose work in 2018 helped reveal the stark racial and gender biases of major tech companies’ face-analyzing systems, said the company’s reports have misconstrued or failed to cite earlier research into the technology’s failures.
Buolamwini pointed to research in 2019 from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a federal testing laboratory, that found higher rates of false positives on one-to-one algorithms for Asian and African American faces than Caucasian faces. Depending on the algorithm, those rates could be “10 to 100 times” higher, the researchers said.
Wrongfully arrested man sues Detroit police over false facial recognition match
ID.me, Hall said, licenses its software from two companies that are “best of breed”: Paravision, for one-to-one matching, and iProov, for detecting whether the face on a video is real or a mask. Paravision’s algorithm has ranked among the better performers in the NIST tests, institute data show.
“To compare a general result across the field with the specific algorithms we use is simply not appropriate,” Hall said. “If someone is going to bring a false assertion, they need to bring proof that the specific algorithms we’re using do in fact discriminate, because there is zero evidence of that.”
Hall said the company has run internal tests on its software and found no signs of racial or gender discrimination. Those tests, however, have not been published or reviewed by external researchers. Hall said the company has also invited other agencies to corroborate their findings, and that officials with an unnamed state government agency had showed similarly positive results in a recent audit of ID.me’s system. That study is also not yet public.
That lack of transparency has raised its own questions. In a statement Monday, Hall said the company did not use one-to-many matching, calling it “more complex and problematic.” But on Wednesday, he reversed his stance, writing on LinkedIn — in a post first reported by the news site CyberScoop — that the company did, in fact, use it to make sure no one registered multiple identities.
Hall, who served as an Army Ranger, co-founded the company in 2010 as TroopSwap, a military-focused deals site that began verifying veterans’ service for store discounts. In the years since, ID.me has exploded with help from tens of millions of dollars in private investments and public government contracts, largely from states seeking to verify unemployment claims.
In 2017, Hall told The Post that the company wanted to “create a ubiquitous ID network” and thought it was a “fundamental problem that digital identity is in the hands of two advertising companies, Facebook and Google.”
But advertising is a key part of ID.me’s operation, too. People who sign up on ID.me’s website are asked if they want to subscribe to “offers and discounts” from the company’s online storefront, which links to special deals for veterans, students and first responders. Consumer marketing accounts for 10 percent of the company’s revenue.
Federal study confirms racial bias of many facial-recognition systems, casts doubt on their expanding use
People must opt in to the marketing deals and provide consent before any data is shared with an outside organization, a company official said. If a person is using ID.me to confirm their identity with a government agency, the company will not use that verification information for “marketing or promotional purposes,” the company’s privacy policy says.
Buolamwini, now the founder and executive director of the research advocacy group Algorithmic Justice League, said the company should open its system to outside scrutiny and allow its internal tests to be peer reviewed. Improvements to the systems’ precision, she added, should not obscure broader concerns about the risks of any technology that could deny people access to basic government services en masse.
Federal agencies have run facial recognition searches on some official databases created for other purposes, including for driver’s license and passport photos. Private contractors that collect data on Americans can also find themselves targeted by cyberattacks. Thousands of Americans’ face photos were exposed after a surveillance company working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection was hacked in 2019.
“The potential for weaponization and abuse of facial recognition technologies cannot be ignored, nor the threats to privacy or breaches of civil liberties diminished, even as accuracy disparities decrease,” Buolamwini said.
Jeff Stein contributed to this report.
Source
Friday, January 28, 2022
Why Salvadoran Catholics are wary of Jesuit massacre case reopening
Salvadoran Cardinal Gregorio Rosa ChĆ”vez celebrates the beatification Mass for Jesuit Father Rutilio Grande, Franciscan Father Cosme Spessotto, Nelson Rutilio Lemus and Manuel SolĆ³rzano in San Salvador Jan. 22, 2022. (CNS photo/Octavio Duran)
ROSARIO, Argentina – In the early hours of Nov. 16, 1989, elite soldiers from the Salvadoran military trained by a U.S. commando entered the campus of San Salvador’s Catholic university and massacred six Jesuit priests and two women.
To this day, no one has been charged. But earlier this month, El Salvador’s highest court ordered the reopening of a criminal investigation into the massacre. The decision follows an appeal filed by the country’s Attorney General, Rodolfo Delgado.
Attempts have been made in the past to prosecute those behind the killings during the country’s civil war. An amnesty declared in 1993 made this impossible, but in 2016 it was declared unconstitutional, opening the possibility for these crimes to be tried.
Approximately 75,000 citizens were killed and 8,000 disappeared in the civil war waged between U.S.-backed government forces and Marxist rebel fighters.
This particular case, however, was closed in 2020, without charging the culprits behind the crime that took the life of the six priests, their housekeeper and her daughter.
In reopening the case Jan. 6, the Constitutional Court gave ten days to the country’s criminal court to launch an investigation into those who were identified as possible masterminds of the murders: former President Alfredo Cristiani, Generals Humberto Larios, Juan Bustillo, Francisco Fuentes, Rafael Zepeda, and Rene Ponce, and Colonel Inocente Montano, who was already convicted in Spain, sentenced to 130 years. (Five of the Jesuits hailed from Spain).
The timing of the announcement is important, coming only days before the Jan. 19 beatification of four martyrs of the country’s civil war: Franciscan Father Cosme Spessotto; Jesuit Father Rutilio Grande, who was martyred along with Manuel SolĆ³rzano, a sacristan in his 70s; and Nelson Rutilio Lemus, a boy in his teens.
ROSARIO, Argentina – In the early hours of Nov. 16, 1989, elite soldiers from the Salvadoran military trained by a U.S. commando entered the campus of San Salvador’s Catholic university and massacred six Jesuit priests and two women.
To this day, no one has been charged. But earlier this month, El Salvador’s highest court ordered the reopening of a criminal investigation into the massacre. The decision follows an appeal filed by the country’s Attorney General, Rodolfo Delgado.
Attempts have been made in the past to prosecute those behind the killings during the country’s civil war. An amnesty declared in 1993 made this impossible, but in 2016 it was declared unconstitutional, opening the possibility for these crimes to be tried.
Approximately 75,000 citizens were killed and 8,000 disappeared in the civil war waged between U.S.-backed government forces and Marxist rebel fighters.
This particular case, however, was closed in 2020, without charging the culprits behind the crime that took the life of the six priests, their housekeeper and her daughter.
In reopening the case Jan. 6, the Constitutional Court gave ten days to the country’s criminal court to launch an investigation into those who were identified as possible masterminds of the murders: former President Alfredo Cristiani, Generals Humberto Larios, Juan Bustillo, Francisco Fuentes, Rafael Zepeda, and Rene Ponce, and Colonel Inocente Montano, who was already convicted in Spain, sentenced to 130 years. (Five of the Jesuits hailed from Spain).
The timing of the announcement is important, coming only days before the Jan. 19 beatification of four martyrs of the country’s civil war: Franciscan Father Cosme Spessotto; Jesuit Father Rutilio Grande, who was martyred along with Manuel SolĆ³rzano, a sacristan in his 70s; and Nelson Rutilio Lemus, a boy in his teens.
Worshippers hold images of Jesuit Father Rutilio Grande, and Franciscan Father Cosme Spessotto, during the beatification in San Salvador, El Salvador, Jan. 22, 2022. (CNS photo/Jose Cabezas, Reuters)
"National and international voices have been demanding justice for this case for years: we promise them that we will pursue those responsible and achieve justice," said Delgado in response to the announcement of the reopening.
The reactions from the Catholic Church in El Salvador, however, seem to be less enthusiastic: not because they don’t want justice, but because they are not sure it will actually come.
Cardinal Gregorio Rosa ChĆ”vez, auxiliary bishop of San Salvador and once a close collaborator of saint and martyr Oscar Romero, said that the crime of the Jesuit priests is not merely “any crime,” and that it is “well documented.”
"The case of the massacre at the Central American University can constitute a first response to the lament of the victims in El Salvador who have not had true justice, but rather immoral and biased judicial resolutions,” he said. “The issue can give rise to a serious reflection on how to do justice in El Salvador.”
Still, Cardinal Rosa Chavez believes that the process to reopen the case “was not correct” in its execution, saying he found the news “surprising” and that neither the Church nor the university were “consulted” beforehand. Finding out after the fact, he said, was “nasty.”
The Archbishop of San Salvador, JosĆ© Luis Escobar Alas, made similar points but struck a slightly different tone, describing the reopening of the so-called “Caso Jesuitas” as an act of “justice for the victims,” not revenge and seeing in it hope of finally discovering who was behind the crime.
The Central American University (UCA), the Jesuit-run school where the massacre took place, noted in a statement that the case had traveled “a long, complex and winding road” over the years and asked that justice be sought, but not for the political gain of some.
And like Cardinal Rosa Chavez, the school administration said the announcement also caught them by surprise, complaining that the perspective of those who actually know the case had been ignored and bypassed by prosecutors.
While promising to participate in the case proceedings, the university joined both bishops and the country’s Jesuits in asking that they not be “politically instrumentalized.”
"In itself the reopening of the case is a good thing because it is in favor of justice,” said Archbishop Alas. “ But is justice going to be done or not? That is the point: if the case has been reopened, let justice be done. Otherwise it would be nonsense, it would be a re-victimization."
Their concerns are certainly not without cause. Similar cases in El Salvador and throughout Latin America have a reputation for being manipulated by politicians. Here, however, the intellectual authors of the massacre are associated with the right-wing party defeated by sitting President Nayib Bukele defeated in the last presidential elections, and which today looms as a strong opposition.
It is worth pointing out, as Cardinal Rosa Chavez did, that though the “Jesuit Massacre'' is one of the most internationally well-known crimes associated with the war (together with the murder of St. Oscar Romero), it is unfortunately far from being the worst unresolved one.
In the El Mazote Massacre, for instance, almost 1,000 people were killed overnight by the military in December of 1981. Why, many Salvadorans are now asking, are the lives of eight worthier of the government’s attention than that of so many others?
Source
Thursday, January 27, 2022
"Imminent" Wars and Rumours of Wars
And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
Matthew 25: 6-22.
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
Stephen Breyer & 7Up
Justice Stephen Breyer to Retire From Supreme Court
Retirement gives President Biden opportunity to shore up court’s liberal wing
Justice Stephen Breyer is expected to remain on the bench until the end of the current Supreme Court term.
PHOTO: PHILIP KEITH FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By
Jess Bravin
Updated Jan. 26, 2022 9:07 pm ET
WASHINGTON—Justice Stephen Breyer plans to retire at the end of the current Supreme Court term, giving President Biden an opportunity to shore up the court’s liberal wing and deliver on his promise to nominate the court’s first Black woman.
P.S.
This afternoon I heard that Justice Stephen Breyer was retiring from the U.S. Supreme Court; What first came to my mind was that he is one of two Jewish Justices on the court, the other one is Elena Kagan. The other 7 judges are Roman Catholic.
7Up
In the past I've heard many comments about SCOTUS Justices being Liberal, and still others Conservative... And yet, the obvious overrepresentation of Roman Catholics on the Supreme Court is completely ignored.
My question is will the next Associate Justice be an African-American female Catholic?
Arsenio.
Exploring Vaccines, Freedom and Loving Our Neighbour
NEWSJANUARY 21, 2022
21 January 2022 | St Albans, UK [David Neal with Vanesa Pizzuto]
In a COVID-19 symposium hosted by The Trans-European Division (TED) leadership, professionals from different disciplines answered key questions about the coronavirus pandemic, personal liberties, and the use of vaccines.
The 19th of January symposium, “Vaccines, Freedom and Loving Our Neighbour” was broadcast via the TED YouTube channel, with over 400 viewers watching live and nearly 3,000 more views at the time of writing. Four presentations were given by two medical doctors, a theologian, and an attorney, followed by eighty minutes for questions and answers.
Ganoune Diop, PhD, director of the Public Affairs and Religious Liberty (PARL) of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, explored the nature and scope of religious freedom. While explicitly supporting individual choices, Diop stated that “personal conviction is not corporate responsibility” and called the COVID-19 pandemic “a public health issue, a life and death issue… not one of religious liberty”. Diop spent the last part of his presentation debunking common myths about the vaccine. “To reduce the mark of the beast to a vaccine is simply sacrilegious,” said Diop who also called people not to “weaponize vaccination” and to respect those we disagree with.
Attorney Jennifer Woods, PARL associate director at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, explored the history of vaccination and its importance in eradicating diseases. Woods also discussed vaccination mandates and the tension between protecting individual liberties and public health. “To ethically justify mandates, the benefits must outweigh the risks,” said she. Wood concluded her presentation reflecting on why some vaccine objections aren’t a religious liberty issue and why Christians should be careful when considering this matter.
Attorney Jennifer Woods, PARL associate director at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, explored the history of vaccination and its importance in eradicating diseases. Woods also discussed vaccination mandates and the tension between protecting individual liberties and public health. “To ethically justify mandates, the benefits must outweigh the risks,” said she. Wood concluded her presentation reflecting on why some vaccine objections aren’t a religious liberty issue and why Christians should be careful when considering this matter.
Agenda 2063
Agenda 2063
Agenda 2063 is a set of initiatives proposed and currently under implementation by the African Union.[1] It was adopted on 31 January 2015 at the 24th Ordinary Assembly of the Heads of State and Governments of the African Union in Addis Ababa.[2] The call for such an agenda was first made by the 21st Ordinary Assembly on 26 May 2013,[3] 50 years after the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity, as a plan for the next 50 years. The stated goals of the Agenda are economic development (including the eradication of poverty within one generation), political integration (in particular through the establishment of a federal or confederate United Africa), improvements in democracy and justice, establishment of security and peace on the entire African continent, strengthening of cultural identity through an "African renaissance" and pan-African ideals, gender equality, and political independence from foreign powers.[4]
The First Continental Report on the Implementation of Agenda 2063 was presented by President Alassane Ouattara of CĆ“te d’Ivoire[5] on 10 February 2020, marking the beginning of a biennial reporting cycle. It measures progress against a set of goals defined for the first Ten-Year Implementation Plan and was launched together with an interactive online dashboard showing progress in individual areas of the Agenda as well as geographical regions.[5]
Flagship projects
The Agenda includes 15 flagship projects, which have been identified as being key to enabling and accelerating progress in all areas of development.[6] These are:
- A high-speed train network connecting all African capitals and commercial centres
- The formulation of a strategy for transforming the African economy from a supplier of raw materials to one that actively uses its own resources
- The establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area
- The introduction of the African Union Passport, and removal of all visa requirements for its holders within Africa
- Ending all wars, civil conflicts, gender-based violence, and violent conflicts by 2020
- The construction of a third Inga Dam
- The establishment of the Single African Air-Transport Market
- The establishment of an Annual African Economic Forum
- The establishment of a set of financial institutions, envisaged as an African Investment Bank, a Pan-African Stock Exchange, an African Monetary Fund, and an African Central Bank
- A pan-African digital data network
- The development of a common African strategy for the use of outer-space technology
- The establishment of an African open, digital, distance-learning university
- Cooperation on cyber security
- The foundation of a Great African Museum, preserving African cultural heritage and promoting pan-Africanism
- The compilation of an Encyclopaedia Africana as an authoritative resource on the authentic history of Africa and African life.
- Implementation
The African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA) was established by an agreement adopted in March 2018 and will be operational from 1 July 2020.[7] The African Investment Bank and African Monetary Fund are nominally established, with headquarters to be built in Tripoli, Libya and YaoundƩ, Cameroon, respectively. Egypt is set to host the African Space Agency.[8] The Pan African Virtual and E-University (PAVEU) has been created as the digital arm of the Pan-African University and is offering an initial set of three courses.[9]
Many of the projects are held back by lack of funding, such as the high-speed train network, the space agency, and the Inga Dam.[10]
Many of the projects are held back by lack of funding, such as the high-speed train network, the space agency, and the Inga Dam.[10]
References
WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the 150th session of the Executive Board — 25 January 2022
WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the 150th session of the Executive Board — 25 January 2022
25 January 2022
Dr Patrick Amoth, Chair of the Executive Board,
Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,
Five years ago, you, the Member States gave me the honour of my life, when you placed your trust in me to lead and transform this vitally important global organisation.
I told you then that my priority was to listen, and that is what I have tried to do.
I listened to you about your priorities and ideas, and what you expect from your WHO.
And I listened to those who know WHO best – our workforce, my colleagues – for their ideas about how to make this Organization the best it can be.
Those ideas became the basis of the transformation, to make WHO an Organization that can deliver a measurable difference to health in countries, in six ways:
By the way, I would like to share with you that I continue to listen to our staff every week on Thursdays, to listen to their advice and innovative ideas. The culture has continued. When I was Minister of Health and Minister of Foreign Affairs in Ethiopia, I used the same thing, listening on Thursday to my staff, because listening is the basis. If you listen, the next steps will be okay.
From listening to Member States and staff, a new strategy – the 13th General Programme of Work – to move us from a focus on outputs to a focus on outcomes has been developed;
New processes, to make us more efficient and effective;
A new operating model, moving from an organization that is fragmented towards one that is integrated, aligned and agile;
A new approach to partnerships, moving from risk aversity to risk management;
A new approach to financing, to move us towards a more sustainable and predictable funding model;
And a new culture, built on a shared commitment to service, professionalism, integrity, collaboration and compassion.
That was the product of listening to Member States and listening to my colleagues, my staff.
Then, as you know, two years ago, COVID-19 changed everything. But the transformation – built on the ideas and energy of our staff – had positioned us to respond more rapidly and effectively than to any previous emergency.
Let me take a moment to share a story from the beginning of the pandemic that really touched my heart and gave me energy and inspiration.
On December 31st 2019, New Year’s Eve, as most of the world was having a party, our WHO colleagues were at work, scanning potential signals as they do 365 days a year.
And that's when they saw the first signal about a cluster of cases of viral pneumonia of unknown cause, from a website in Wuhan.
They didn’t say it could wait until the New Year, they acted immediately, alerting me and others.
The next day, January 1st, they didn’t take a holiday, they continued to work to verify the signal, and the next day, January 2nd, they confirmed it, triggering the response across the entire organization.
They said we have a new disease which is serious, they didn’t have a New Year’s Eve, a New Year’s celebration, working throughout – and me too, although I took my first holiday since I joined WHO, and I remember that I was in Dubai, but it wasn’t a holiday for them and it wasn’t a holiday for me. That was the first holiday in 5 years for me, and that didn’t even work, because of the bad news.
Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Australian Senator Malcolm Roberts - Aussie Government is Part of the Agenda
Warning strong language...
What's in a name? WHO Director General.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Director General of the (United Nation's) World Health Organization
Meaning of his name in Amharic or Tigrinya, Languages of Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Tedros................Gift of God
Adhanom............He saved them
Ghebreyesus........Servant of Jesus
Sources:
- https://kidadl.com/baby-names/meaning-of/tedros
- https://www.names.org/n/adhanom/about
- https://www.names.org/n/ghebreyesus/about
Monday, January 24, 2022
Wuhan marks its anniversary with triumph and denial
By John Sudworth
BBC News, Wuhan
Published 23 January 2021
Coronavirus pandemic
SOURCE,REUTER
An exhibition now celebrates Wuhan's success in controlling the outbreak
Wuhan has long since recovered from the world's first outbreak of Covid-19. It is now being remembered not as a disaster but as a victory, and with an insistence that the virus came from somewhere - anywhere - but here.
From the moment a new, pandemic coronavirus emerged in the same city as a laboratory dedicated to the study of new coronaviruses with pandemic potential, Prof Shi Zhengli has found herself the focus of one of the biggest scientific controversies of our time.
For much of the past year she has met the suggestion that Sars-Cov-2 might have escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology with angry denial.
The Wuhan Institute of Virology
Now though, she has offered her own thoughts on how the initial outbreak may have begun in the city.
In an article in this month's edition of Science Magazine she referred to a number of studies that, she said, suggest the virus existed outside of China before Wuhan's first known case in December 2019.
"Given the finding of Sars-Cov-2 on the surface of imported food packages, contact with contaminated uncooked food could be an important source of Sars-Cov-2 transmission," she wrote.
From one of the world's leading experts on coronaviruses, even the discussion of such a possibility seems unusual.
Could a spiralling outbreak of infection that almost destroyed Wuhan's health system, sparked the world's first Covid lockdown and spawned a global catastrophe really have arrived on imported food without any signs of similarly devastating outbreaks elsewhere?
Wuhan has long since recovered from the world's first outbreak of Covid-19. It is now being remembered not as a disaster but as a victory, and with an insistence that the virus came from somewhere - anywhere - but here.
From the moment a new, pandemic coronavirus emerged in the same city as a laboratory dedicated to the study of new coronaviruses with pandemic potential, Prof Shi Zhengli has found herself the focus of one of the biggest scientific controversies of our time.
For much of the past year she has met the suggestion that Sars-Cov-2 might have escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology with angry denial.
The Wuhan Institute of Virology
Now though, she has offered her own thoughts on how the initial outbreak may have begun in the city.
In an article in this month's edition of Science Magazine she referred to a number of studies that, she said, suggest the virus existed outside of China before Wuhan's first known case in December 2019.
"Given the finding of Sars-Cov-2 on the surface of imported food packages, contact with contaminated uncooked food could be an important source of Sars-Cov-2 transmission," she wrote.
From one of the world's leading experts on coronaviruses, even the discussion of such a possibility seems unusual.
Could a spiralling outbreak of infection that almost destroyed Wuhan's health system, sparked the world's first Covid lockdown and spawned a global catastrophe really have arrived on imported food without any signs of similarly devastating outbreaks elsewhere?
"The virus came from America," this fishmonger told the BBC
Sunday, January 23, 2022
Saturday, January 22, 2022
Friday, January 21, 2022
Thursday, January 20, 2022
FAA says some planes will be ‘too susceptible’ to 5G interference to be safe
Bad weather led some regional flights bound for San Francisco to be diverted or canceled Thursday
By Ian Duncan and
Lori Aratani
Today at 1:12 p.m. EST|Updated today at 6:47 p.m. EST
The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday it had cleared more than three-quarters of the nation’s commercial fleet to land at airports where interference from 5G signals could pose a danger in bad weather, but indicated that some planes might never secure approvals.
The agency has been reviewing devices called radar altimeters to determine whether they can still provide reliable measurements of altitude — critical information for landing in bad visibility — in areas with 5G towers. The potential for disruption became clear Thursday, when San Francisco-bound flights were diverted and others were forced to circle as poor visibility collided with the rollout of the new wireless networks.
The diverted flights involved planes that had not been cleared to land where 5G could interfere with radio altimeters. The diversions are the latest challenge in a rollout that mostly spared large airports and airlines but has raised fresh questions for smaller regional carriers.
The FAA issued a bulletin Thursday warning that diversions were possible at eight airports across the country where bad weather was forecast “due to the nationwide expansion of 5G C-Band and the potential for radio altimeter interference.”
In a subsequent statement, the agency said, “We anticipate some altimeters will be too susceptible to 5G interference. To preserve safety, aircraft with those altimeters will be prohibited from performing low-visibility landings where 5G is deployed because the altimeter could provide inaccurate information.”
The C-band refers to the spectrum used for high-speed wireless Internet, which is close to the frequencies used by altimeters, creating a risk of interference. The FAA has been analyzing airplane models to determine whether they can operate safely close to 5G towers, clearing 78 percent of the nation’s commercial fleet. Some regional Embraer jets were among those to gain approval from the FAA on Thursday, but none made by competitor Bombardier had been cleared.
It was those models of planes that faced delays and diversions Thursday.
Tim Donohue, a co-founder of Aerology, a start-up that predicts air travel disruptions, said he had counted nine planes in holding patterns near San Francisco International Airport. At least five flights operated by SkyWest Airlines bound for San Francisco had to be diverted.
United Airlines shared with customers a blunt message after it canceled a regional flight Thursday from Sacramento to San Francisco.
“Your flight is canceled due to new federal rules to prevent interference between 5G technology and your aircraft,” the message read. “We’re urging the federal government to fix these rules.”
Wireless carriers to limit 5G near airports after airlines warn of major disruptions
The 5G networks went live Wednesday with buffers around airports after a prolonged battle that pitted airlines against Verizon and AT&T — which activated the new 5G networks — and the FAA against the Federal Communications Commission. Airlines reported few disruptions, but the head of the Regional Airline Association warned that was mainly because of good weather.
The regional carriers are a critical link in the aviation system, tying smaller airports to major hubs. Many of the affected flights Thursday were operated by SkyWest Airlines, a regional carrier that serves Delta Air Lines, American Americans, United Airlines and Alaska Airlines.
One of the diverted flights went to Monterey, Calif., and three to San Jose, according to data from Flightradar24. A SkyWest flight from Boise bound for San Francisco made loops near Petaluma, Calif., only to be diverted 180 miles to land in Reno, Flightradar24 data shows.
SkyWest said in a statement that the new FAA clearances Thursday applied to at least some of its jets, including models affected earlier in the day.
“The potential for ongoing operational impact remains until full mitigations can be put into place for all commercial aircraft,” the company said. “As always, we will not compromise safety.”
Faye Malarkey Black, president and chief executive of the Regional Airline Association, said the FAA’s decision to clear additional aircraft has helped, but many carriers are still unsure of what will follow.
“When the big guys are covered, the tendency is to think that we’ve averted the worst of the crisis, but this is not solved until all parts are whole,” she said.
Despite the concerns of regional carriers, the leaders of major airlines said they expected few issues and were pleased that the aviation industry and wireless companies were working together on the concerns that remain.
Scott Kirby, chief executive of United Airlines, expressed relief Thursday that the 5G rollout agreement allowed for the technology’s deployment with only a minimal effect on flight operations.
“While I wish it had happened earlier, the good news is that we now have everyone engaged: the FAA, DOT and those at the highest levels of the equipment and aircraft manufacturers, airlines and telecoms,” Kirby said. “I am confident we’ll soon have a clear set of objective criteria that will allow full rollout of 5G without significant impact to aviation.”
The Impending Conflict—Its Causes
Chapter 36
The Impending Conflict—Its Causes
From the very beginning of the great controversy in Heaven, it has been Satan's purpose to overthrow the law of God. It was to accomplish this that he entered upon his rebellion against the Creator; and though he was cast out of Heaven, he has continued the same warfare upon the earth. To deceive men, and thus lead them to transgress God's law, is the object which he has steadfastly pursued. Whether this be accomplished by casting aside the law altogether, or by rejecting one of its precepts, the result will be ultimately the same. He that offends “in one point,” manifests contempt for the whole law; his influence and example are on the side of transgression; he becomes “guilty of all.” [James 2:10.] GC88 582.1
In seeking to cast contempt upon the divine statutes, Satan has perverted the doctrines of the Bible, and errors have thus become incorporated into the faith of thousands who profess to believe the Scriptures. The last great conflict between truth and error is but the final struggle of the long-standing controversy concerning the law of God. Upon this battle we are now entering,—a battle between the laws of men and the precepts of Jehovah, between the religion of the Bible and the religion of fable and tradition. GC88 582.2
The agencies which will unite against truth and righteousness in this contest are now actively at work. God's holy Word, which has been handed down to us at such a cost of suffering and blood, is but little valued. The Bible is within the reach of all, but there are few who really accept it as the guide of life. Infidelity prevails to an alarming extent, not in the world merely, but in the church. Many have come to deny doctrines which are the very pillars of the Christian faith. The great facts of creation as presented by the inspired writers, the fall of man, the atonement, and the perpetuity of the law of God, are practically rejected, either wholly or in part, by a large share of the professedly Christian world. Thousands who pride themselves upon their wisdom and independence regard it an evidence of weakness to place implicit confidence in the Bible; they think it a proof of superior talent and learning to cavil at the Scriptures, and to spiritualize and explain away their most important truths. Many ministers are teaching their people, and many professors and teachers are instructing their students, that the law of God has been changed or abrogated; and those who regard its requirements as still valid, to be literally obeyed, are thought to be deserving only of ridicule or contempt. GC88 582.3
In rejecting the truth, men reject its Author. In trampling upon the law of God, they deny the authority of the Lawgiver. It is as easy to make an idol of false doctrines and theories as to fashion an idol of wood or stone. By misrepresenting the attributes of God, Satan leads men to conceive of him in a false character. With many, a philosophical idol is enthroned in the place of Jehovah; while the living God, as he is revealed in his Word, in Christ, and in the works of creation, is worshiped by but few. Thousands deify nature, while they deny the God of nature. Though in a different form, idolatry exists in the Christian world today as verily as it existed among ancient Israel in the days of Elijah. The god of many professedly wise men, of philosophers, poets, politicians, journalists,—the god of polished fashionable circles, of many colleges and universities, even of some theological institutions,—is little better than Baal, the sun-god of Phoenicia. GC88 583.1
No error accepted by the Christian world strikes more boldly against the authority of Heaven, none is more directly opposed to the dictates of reason, none is more pernicious in its results, than the modern doctrine, so rapidly gaining ground, that God's law is no longer binding upon men. Every nation has its laws, which command respect and obedience; no government could exist without them; and can it be conceived that the Creator of the heavens and the earth has no law to govern the beings he has made? Suppose that prominent ministers were publicly to teach that the statutes which govern their land and protect the rights of its citizens were not obligatory,—that they restricted the liberties of the people, and therefore ought not to be obeyed; how long would such men be tolerated in the pulpit? But is it a graver offense to disregard the laws of States and nations than to trample upon those divine precepts which are the foundation of all government? GC88 583.2
It would be far more consistent for nations to abolish their statutes, and permit the people to do as they please, than for the Ruler of the universe to annul his law, and leave the world without a standard to condemn the guilty or justify the obedient. Would we know the result of making void the law of God? The experiment has been tried. Terrible were the scenes enacted in France when atheism became the controlling power. It was then demonstrated to the world that to throw off the restraints which God has imposed is to accept the rule of the cruelest of tyrants. When the standard of righteousness is set aside, the way is open for the prince of evil to establish his power in the earth. GC88 584.1
Wherever the divine precepts are rejected, sin ceases to appear sinful, or righteousness desirable. Those who refuse to submit to the government of God are wholly unfitted to govern themselves. Through their pernicious teachings, the spirit of insubordination is implanted in the hearts of children and youth, who are naturally impatient of control; and a lawless, licentious state of society results. While scoffing at the credulity of those who obey the requirements of God, the multitudes eagerly accept the delusions of Satan. They give the rein to lust, and practice the sins which have called down judgments upon the heathen. GC88 584.2
Those who teach the people to lightly regard the commandments of God, sow disobedience, to reap disobedience. Let the restraint imposed by the divine law be wholly cast aside, and human laws would soon be disregarded. Because God forbids dishonest practices, coveting, lying, and defrauding, men are ready to trample upon his statutes as a hindrance to their worldly prosperity; but the results of banishing these precepts would be such as they do not anticipate. If the law were not binding, why should any fear to transgress? Property would no longer be safe. Men would obtain their neighbor's possessions by violence; and the strongest would become richest. Life itself would not be respected. The marriage vow would no longer stand as a sacred bulwark to protect the family. He who had the power, would, if he desired, take his neighbor's wife by violence. The fifth commandment would be set aside with the fourth. Children would not shrink from taking the life of their parents, if by so doing they could obtain the desire of their corrupt hearts. The civilized world would become a horde of robbers and assassins; and peace, rest, and happiness would be banished from the earth. GC88 585.1
Already the doctrine that men are released from obedience to God's requirements has weakened the force of moral obligation, and opened the flood-gates of iniquity upon the world. Lawlessness, dissipation, and corruption are sweeping in upon us like an overwhelming tide. In the family, Satan is at work. His banner waves, even in professedly Christian households. There is envy, evil surmising, hypocrisy, estrangement, emulation, strife, betrayal of sacred trusts, indulgence of lust. The whole system of religious principles and doctrines, which should form the foundation and frame-work of social life, seems to be a tottering mass, ready to fall to ruin. The vilest of criminals, when thrown into prison for their offenses, are often made the recipients of gifts and attentions, as if they had attained an enviable distinction. Great publicity is given to their character and crimes. The press publishes the revolting details of vice, thus initiating others into the practice of fraud, robbery, and murder; and Satan exults in the success of his hellish schemes. The infatuation of vice, the wanton taking of life, the terrible increase of intemperance and iniquity of every order and degree, should arouse all who fear God, to inquire what can be done to stay the tide of evil. GC88 585.2
Courts of justice are corrupt. Rulers are actuated by desire for gain, and love of sensual pleasure. Intemperance has beclouded the faculties of many, so that Satan has almost complete control of them. Jurists are perverted, bribed, deluded. Drunkenness and revelry, passion, envy, dishonesty of every sort, are represented among those who administer the laws. “Justice standeth afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.” [Isaiah 59:14.] GC88 586.1
The iniquity and spiritual darkness that prevailed under the supremacy of Rome were the inevitable result of her suppression of the Scriptures; but where is to be found the cause of the widespread infidelity, the rejection of the law of God, and the consequent corruption, under the full blaze of gospel light in an age of religious freedom? Now that Satan can no longer keep the world under his control by withholding the Scriptures, he resorts to other means to accomplish the same object. To destroy faith in the Bible serves his purpose as well as to destroy the Bible itself. By introducing the belief that God's law is not binding, he as effectually leads men to transgress as if they were wholly ignorant of its precepts. And now, as in former ages, he has worked through the church to further his designs. The religious organizations of the day have refused to listen to unpopular truths plainly brought to view in the Scriptures, and in combating them they have adopted interpretations and taken positions which have sown broadcast the seeds of skepticism. Clinging to the papal error of natural immortality and man's consciousness in death, they have rejected the only defense against the delusions of Spiritualism. The doctrine of eternal torment has led many to disbelieve the Bible. And as the claims of the fourth commandment are urged upon the people, it is found that the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath is enjoined; and as the only way to free themselves from a duty which they are unwilling to perform, popular teachers declare that the law of God is no longer binding. Thus they cast away the law and the Sabbath together. As the work of Sabbath reform extends, this rejection of the divine law to avoid the claims of the fourth commandment will become well-nigh universal. The teachings of religious leaders have opened the door to infidelity, to Spiritualism, and to contempt for God's holy law, and upon these leaders rests a fearful responsibility for the iniquity that exists in the Christian world. GC88 586.2
Yet this very class put forth the claim that the fast-spreading corruption is largely attributable to the desecration of the so-called “Christian Sabbath,” and that the enforcement of Sunday observance would greatly improve the morals of society. This claim is especially urged in America, where the doctrine of the true Sabbath has been most widely preached. Here the temperance work, one of the most prominent and important of moral reforms, is often combined with the Sunday movement, and the advocates of the latter represent themselves as laboring to promote the highest interest of society; and those who refuse to unite with them are denounced as the enemies of temperance and reform. But the fact that a movement to establish error is connected with a work which is in itself good, is not an argument in favor of the error. We may disguise poison by mingling it with wholesome food, but we do not change its nature. On the contrary, it is rendered more dangerous, as it is more likely to be taken unawares. It is one of Satan's devices to combine with falsehood just enough truth to give it plausibility. The leaders of the Sunday movement may advocate reforms which the people need, principles which are in harmony with the Bible, yet while there is with these a requirement which is contrary to God's law, his servants cannot unite with them. Nothing can justify them in setting aside the commandments of God for the precepts of men. GC88 587.1
Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul, and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of Spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of Spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience. GC88 588.1
As Spiritualism more closely imitates the nominal Christianity of the day, it has greater power to deceive and ensnare. Satan himself is converted, after the modern order of things. He will appear in the character of an angel of light. Through the agency of Spiritualism, miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and many undeniable wonders will be performed. And as the spirits will profess faith in the Bible, and manifest respect for the institutions of the church, their work will be accepted as a manifestation of divine power. GC88 588.2
The line of distinction between professed Christians and the ungodly is now hardly distinguishable. Church-members love what the world loves, and are ready to join with them; and Satan determines to unite them in one body, and thus strengthen his cause by sweeping all into the ranks of Spiritualism. Papists, who boast of miracles as a certain sign of the true church, will be readily deceived by this wonder-working power; and Protestants, having cast away the shield of truth, will also be deluded. Papists, Protestants, and worldlings will alike accept the form of godliness without the power, and they will see in this union a grand movement for the conversion of the world, and the ushering in of the long-expected millennium. GC88 588.3
Through Spiritualism, Satan appears as a benefactor of the race, healing the diseases of the people, and professing to present a new and more exalted system of religious faith; but at the same time he works as a destroyer. His temptations are leading multitudes to ruin. Intemperance dethrones reason; sensual indulgence, strife, and bloodshed follow. Satan delights in war; for it excites the worst passions of the soul, and then sweeps into eternity its victims steeped in vice and blood. It is his object to incite the nations to war against one another; for he can thus divert the minds of the people from the work of preparation to stand in the day of God. GC88 589.1
Satan works through the elements also to garner his harvest of unprepared souls. He has studied the secrets of the laboratories of nature, and he uses all his power to control the elements as far as God allows. When he was suffered to afflict Job, how quickly flocks and herds, servants, houses, children, were swept away, one trouble succeeding another as in a moment. It is God that shields his creatures, and hedges them in from the power of the destroyer. But the Christian world have shown contempt for the law of Jehovah; and the Lord will do just what he has declared that he would, he will withdraw his blessings from the earth, and remove his protecting care from those who are rebelling against his law, and teaching and forcing others to do the same. Satan has control of all whom God does not especially guard. He will favor and prosper some, in order to further his own designs, and he will bring trouble upon others, and lead men to believe that it is God who is afflicting them. GC88 589.2
While appearing to the children of men as a great physician who can heal all their maladies, he will bring disease and disaster, until populous cities are reduced to ruin and desolation. Even now he is at work. In accidents and calamities by sea and by land, in great conflagrations, in fierce tornadoes and terrific hail-storms, in tempests, floods, cyclones, tidal waves, and earthquakes, in every place and in a thousand forms, Satan is exercising his power. He sweeps away the ripening harvest, and famine and distress follow. He imparts to the air a deadly taint, and thousands perish by the pestilence. These visitations are to become more and more frequent and disastrous. Destruction will be upon both man and beast. “The earth mourneth and fadeth away,” “the haughty people ... do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.” [Isaiah 24:4, 5.] GC88 589.3
And then the great deceiver will persuade men that those who serve God are causing these evils. The class that have provoked the displeasure of Heaven will charge all their troubles upon those whose obedience to God's commandments is a perpetual reproof to transgressors. It will be declared that men are offending God by the violation of the Sunday-sabbath, that this sin has brought calamities which will not cease until Sunday observance shall be strictly enforced, and that those who present the claims of the fourth commandment, thus destroying reverence for Sunday, are troublers of the people, preventing their restoration to divine favor and temporal prosperity. Thus the accusation urged of old against the servant of God will be repeated, and upon grounds equally well established. “And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.” [1 Kings 18:17, 18.] As the wrath of the people shall be excited by false charges, they will pursue a course toward God's ambassadors very similar to that which apostate Israel pursued toward Elijah. GC88 590.1
The miracle-working power manifested through Spiritualism will exert its influence against those who choose to obey God rather than men. Communications from the spirits will declare that God has sent them to convince the rejecters of Sunday of their error, affirming that the laws of the land should be obeyed as the law of God. They will lament the great wickedness in the world, and second the testimony of religious teachers, that the degraded state of morals is caused by the desecration of Sunday. Great will be the indignation excited against all who refuse to accept their testimony. GC88 591.1
Satan's policy in this final conflict with God's people is the same that he employed in the opening of the great controversy in Heaven. He professed to be seeking to promote the stability of the divine government, while secretly bending every effort to secure its overthrow. And the very work which he was thus endeavoring to accomplish, he charged upon the loyal angels. The same policy of deception has marked the history of the Romish Church. It has professed to act as the vicegerent of Heaven, while seeking to exalt itself above God, and to change his law. Under the rule of Rome, those who suffered death for their fidelity to the gospel were denounced as evil-doers; they were declared to be in league with Satan; and every possible means was employed to cover them with reproach, to cause them to appear, in the eyes of the people, and even to themselves, as the vilest of criminals. So it will be now. While Satan seeks to destroy those who honor God's law he will cause them to be accused as law-breakers, as men who are dishonoring God, and bringing judgments upon the world. GC88 591.2
God never forces the will or the conscience; but Satan's constant resort—to gain control of those whom he cannot otherwise seduce—is compulsion by cruelty. Through fear or force he endeavors to rule the conscience, and to secure homage to himself. To accomplish this, he works through both religious and secular authorities, moving them to the enforcement of human laws in defiance of the law of God. GC88 591.3
Those who honor the Bible Sabbath will be denounced as enemies of law and order, as breaking down the moral restraints of society, causing anarchy and corruption, and calling down the judgments of God upon the earth. Their conscientious scruples will be pronounced obstinacy, stubbornness, and contempt of authority. They will be accused of disaffection toward the government. Ministers who deny the obligation of the divine law will present from the pulpit the duty of yielding obedience to the civil authorities as ordained of God. In legislative halls and courts of justice, commandment-keepers will be misrepresented and condemned. A false coloring will be given to their words; the worst construction will be put upon their motives. GC88 592.1
As the Protestant churches reject the clear, scriptural arguments in defense of God's law, they will long to silence those whose faith they cannot overthrow by the Bible. Though they blind their own eyes to the fact, they are now adopting a course which will lead to the persecution of those who conscientiously refuse to do what the rest of the Christian world are doing, and acknowledge the claims of the papal Sabbath. GC88 592.2
The dignitaries of church and State will unite to bribe, persuade, or compel all classes to honor the Sunday. The lack of divine authority will be supplied by oppressive enactments. Political corruption is destroying love of justice and regard for truth; and even in free America, rulers and legislators, in order to secure public favor, will yield to the popular demand for a law enforcing Sunday observance. Liberty of conscience, which has cost so great a sacrifice, will no longer be respected. In the soon-coming conflict we shall see exemplified the prophet's words: “The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” [Revelation 12:17.]
The Great Controversy, pp. 582-592.
Troubled on Every Side
Last Trumpet Newsletter
Volume 41 Issue One January 2022
Last Trumpet Ministries · PO Box 806 · Beaver Dam, WI 53916
Phone: 920-887-2626 Internet: http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org
“For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?” I Cor. 14:8
Troubled On Every Side
“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.”
II Corinthians 4:8-10
“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
II Corinthians 4:17-18
“And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.”
Daniel 2:44
As we begin a new year, it is an opportune time to reflect on the state of our present world. Events of the last two years have left the masses battered, worn-out, and fatigued. When year one of the pandemic ended, a general consensus with which many people agreed was that 2020 was one of the worst years in human history. It was not just our imagination. According to a piece published about a year ago by The Washington Post, historians concluded that 2020 was the sixth worst year for humanity ever recorded. (1) When 2021 finally arrived, the angst was palpable. Would it be a good year or a bad year? Would it be better or worse than 2020? Of course, most of us are not historians, so ranking the quality of a year is subject to personal circumstances and opinions. Nevertheless, a study conducted by OnePoll this past December reports that about one half of all respondents said 2021 was the worst year of their lives. (2)
It is not difficult to see why people were so miserable in 2021. The pandemic caused by the virus known as SARS-CoV-2 certainly did not end. Despite the fact that the United States has access to three vaccines that we are told are safe and effective against Covid-19, the world was battered by the Delta variant of the virus. Now we are contending with the Omicron variant, too. We have also faced heavy inflation, rising prices for food, energy, and essentials, a snarled supply chain, empty shelves at the stores, and a massive worker shortage. The summer months brought hurricanes, much of the planet burned, and in December 2021 an outbreak of tornadoes pounded nine American states. In total, forty-four tornadoes were reported in Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Indiana, Ohio, and Alabama. (3) According to the National Weather Service, one of these tornadoes formed near Woodland Mills, Tennessee, and stayed on the ground all the way to Falls of Rough, Kentucky. This tornado alone carved out a path of destruction 165.7 miles long. (4) Kentucky was the hardest hit state by far, which prompted Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear to say, “We’re going to have over 1,000 homes that are just gone. I don’t think we’ll have seen damage on this scale ever.” (5) Sadly, at least ninety-three people lost their lives in these tornadoes, including seventy-eight in Kentucky. (6) According to Governor Beshear, entire towns have been wiped off the map. “I’ve got towns that are gone. My dad’s hometown, Paxton, isn’t standing. It’s hard to describe,” Beshear lamented. He further went on to say, “You think you can go door to door to check on people and see if they’re okay – there are no doors.” (7)
It is safe to say that those who lost their homes, possessions, and loved ones in this slew of storms would say 2021 was the worst year ever. Those who had to say goodbye to loved ones as homicide rates spiked in many of America’s largest cities would also say that 2021 was an awful year. Those who saw their freedom gradually taken away as governments began enforcing new Covid vaccine mandates in places such as New York City and many European countries probably did not enjoy the year either. The words of the Apostle Paul found in II Corinthians 4:8, which declare, “We are troubled on every side,” seem strikingly appropriate for this present time. However, the Apostle Paul understood that all of the struggles in this life would eventually give way to the good things of God. The verses in II Corinthians 4:8-10 continue on, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.” He then concludes the chapter with these reassuring words in verses seventeen and eighteen, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Wednesday, January 19, 2022
Tuesday, January 18, 2022
Victory for Those Who Seek Deliverance
I was shown the people of God, and saw them mightily shaken. Some, with strong faith and agonizing cries, were pleading with God.
Some, I saw, did not participate in this work of agonizing and pleading. They seemed indifferent and careless. They were not resisting the darkness around them, and it shut them in like a thick cloud. The angels of God left these, and I saw them hastening to the assistance of those who were struggling with all their energies to resist the evil angels, and trying to help themselves by calling upon God with perseverance. But the angels left those who made no effort to help themselves, and I lost sight of them. As the praying ones continued their earnest cries, a ray of light from Jesus would at times come to them, to encourage their hearts, and light up their countenances.
I asked the meaning of the shaking I had seen, and was shown that it would be caused by the straight testimony called forth by the counsel of the True Witness to the Laodiceans. This will have its effect upon the heart of the receiver, and will lead him to exalt the standard and pour forth the straight truth. Some will not bear this straight testimony. They will rise up against it, and this will cause a shaking among God's people. The testimony of the True Witness has not been half heeded. The solemn testimony upon which the destiny of the church hangs has been lightly esteemed, if not entirely disregarded. This testimony must work deep repentance, and all that truly receive it will obey it and be purified.
Said the angel: “List ye!” [Listen!] Soon I heard a voice that sounded like many musical instruments, all in perfect strains, sweet and harmonious. It surpassed any music I had ever heard. It seemed to be so full of mercy, compassion, and elevating, holy joy. It thrilled through my whole being. Said the angel: “Look ye!” My attention was then turned to the company I had seen, who were mightily shaken. I was shown those whom I had before seen weeping and praying with agony of spirit. The company of guardian angels around them had been doubled, and they were clothed with an armor from their head to their feet. They moved in exact order, firmly, like a company of soldiers. Their countenances expressed the severe conflict which they had endured, the agonizing struggle they had passed through. Yet their features, marked with severe internal anguish, now shone with the light and glory of heaven. They had obtained the victory, and it called forth from them the deepest gratitude, and holy, sacred joy.
The numbers of this company had lessened. Some had been shaken out, and left by the way. [See Revelation 3:15-17.] The careless and indifferent, who did not join with those who prized victory and salvation enough to perseveringly plead and agonize for it, did not obtain it, and they were left behind in darkness, but their numbers were immediately made up by others taking hold of the truth and coming into the ranks. Still the evil angels pressed around them, but they could have no power over them. [See Ephesians 6:12-18.]
I heard those clothed with the armor speak forth the truth in great power. It had effect. I saw those who had been bound; some wives had been bound by their husbands, and some children had been bound by their parents. The honest who had been held or prevented from hearing the truth, now eagerly laid hold of it. All fear of their relatives was gone. The truth alone was exalted to them. It was dearer and more precious than life. They had been hungering and thirsting for truth. I asked what had made this great change. An angel answered: “It is the latter rain, the refreshing from the presence of the Lord, the loud cry of the third angel.”
Great power was with these chosen ones. Said the angel: “Look ye!” My attention was turned to the wicked, or unbelievers. They were all astir. The zeal and power with the people of God had aroused and enraged them. Confusion, confusion was on every side. I saw measures taken against this company, who had the power and light of God.
Darkness thickened around them, yet there they stood, approved of God, and trusting in Him. I saw them perplexed. Next I heard them crying unto God earnestly. Through the day and night their cry ceased not. [See Luke 18:7, 8; Revelation 14:14, 15.]
I heard these words: “Thy will, O God, be done! If it can glorify Thy name, make a way of escape for Thy people! Deliver us from the heathen round about us! They have appointed us unto death; but Thine arm can bring salvation.” These are all the words that I can bring to mind. All seemed to have a deep sense of their unworthiness, and manifested entire submission to the will of God. Yet like Jacob, every one, without an exception, was earnestly pleading and wrestling for deliverance.
Soon after they had commenced their earnest cry, the angels, in sympathy, would have gone to their deliverance. But a tall, commanding angel suffered them not. Said he: “The will of God is not yet fulfilled. They must drink of the cup. They must be baptized with the baptism.”
Soon I heard the voice of God which shook the heavens and the earth. [See Joel 3:16; Hebrews 12:26; and Revelation 16:17.] There was a mighty earthquake. Buildings were shaken down, and fell on every side. I then heard a triumphant shout of victory, loud, musical, and clear. I looked upon this company, who, a short time before, were in such distress and bondage. Their captivity was turned. A glorious light shone upon them. How beautiful they then looked! All weariness and marks of care were gone; health and beauty were seen in every countenance. Their enemies, the heathen around them, fell like dead men. They could not endure the light that shone upon the delivered, holy ones. This light and glory remained upon them until Jesus was seen in the clouds of heaven, and the faithful, tried company were changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, from glory to glory. The graves were opened and the saints came forth, clothed with immortality, crying: “Victory over death and the grave!” and together with the living saints they were caught up to meet their Lord in the air, while rich, musical shouts of glory and victory proceeded from every immortal tongue.
Counsels for the Church, pp.338-340.