The University of Pennsylvania nominated swimmer Lia Thomas for the NCAA "Woman of the Year" award.
According to an announcement from the NCAA, the University of Pennsylvania nominated the transgender athlete for the award, which recognizes female student-athletes.
"Established in 1991, the award recognizes female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics and in academics throughout their college careers," the NCAA nomination page reads.
NCAA member schools "are encouraged to celebrate their top graduating female student-athletes by nominating them for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award," the announcement reads.
University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas and Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines react after finishing tied for 5th in the 200 Freestyle finals at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18th, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta Georgia. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
After member schools make their nominations, their conference can then select up to two nominees.
Thomas, a former swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania, won the 500-yard freestyle event at the 2022 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships Thursday.
Her participation in college women's swimming has brought on a national debate, with some saying that she has an unfair advantage over other athletes.
Pennsylvania's Lia Thomas waits for a preliminary heat in the Women's NCAA 500 meter freestyle swimming championship start Thursday, March 17, 2022, in at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Riley Gaines, a swimmer at the University of Kentucky who tied with Lia Thomas for fifth place at the NCAA swimming championships, said that a majority of females aren't okay with the trajectory of female sports.
"The majority of us female athletes, or females in general, really, are not okay with this, and they're not okay with the trajectory of this and how this is going and how it could end up in a few years," Gaines said on the "Unmuted with Marsha" podcast with Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.
She was referring to the NCAA's refusal to change the rules in order to protect competitiveness in female sports.
The University of Pennsylvania also nominated Iuliia Bryzgalova for the award, who plays tennis at the school.
Source
Sunday, July 31, 2022
Saturday, July 30, 2022
New York governor: Monkeypox is a 'disaster emergency'
Published July 30, 2022 2:12pm EDT
New York is the epicenter of the monkeypox virus outbreak in the US
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an executive order on Friday declaring a State Disaster Emergency in response to the monkeypox outbreak.
New York is the epicenter of the outbreak in the U.S., and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that there are currently 1,345 confirmed monkeypox and orthopoxvirus cases in the Empire State.
"After reviewing the latest data on the monkeypox outbreak in New York State, I am declaring a State Disaster Emergency to strengthen our aggressive ongoing efforts to confront this outbreak," the leader wrote in a statement.
"More than one in four monkeypox cases in this country are in New York State, and we need to utilize every tool in our arsenal as we respond. It's especially important to recognize the ways in which this outbreak is currently having a disproportionate impact on certain at-risk groups. That's why my team and I are working around the clock to secure more vaccines, expand testing capacity and responsibly educate the public on how to stay safe during this outbreak," she said.
NEW YORK, SAN FRANCISCO: MONKEYPOX THREAT TO PUBLIC HEALTH
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. (Craig Ruttle-Pool/Getty Images)
Hochul said on Twitter that the order will enable the state's government to "respond more swiftly" and aid the state's vaccination efforts.
Specifically, the order extends the pool of eligible individuals who are able to give the vaccine shots, including EMS personnel, pharmacists and midwives.
It also allows physicians and certified nurse practitioners to issue non-patient-specific standing orders for vaccines and requires providers to send vaccine data to the New York State Department of Health.
On Thursday, the Empire State's health commissioner declared monkeypox an "imminent threat to public health."
People wait in line for monkeypox vaccination in New York City, July 14. (Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
SPAIN CONFIRMS FIRST MONKEYPOX-RELATED DEATH IN EUROPE
"Based on the ongoing spread of this virus, which has increased rapidly and affected primarily communities that identify as men who have sex with men, and the need for local jurisdictions to administer vaccines, I've declared monkeypox an Imminent Threat to Public Health throughout New York State," State Commissioner of Health Dr. Mary T. Bassett said in a statement. "This declaration means that local health departments engaged in response and prevention activities will be able to access additional State reimbursement, after other Federal and State funding sources are maximized, to protect all New Yorkers and ultimately limit the spread of monkeypox in our communities."
Hochul announced then that 110,00 monkeypox vaccine doses were secured for the state, which would be delivered over the course of the next four to six weeks.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra speaks June 28, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, announced Thursday that an additional 786,000 doses of the vaccine would be deployed nationwide.
"Our goal is to stay ahead of this virus and end this outbreak. We have a strategy to deploy these additional vaccine doses in a way that protects those at risk and limits the spread of the virus, while also working with states to ensure equitable and fair distribution," he said. "These vaccines are the result of years of federal investment and planning."
On a call, Becerra told reporters the same day that the Biden administration believes it has "done everything we can at the federal level to work with… state and local partners and communities affected to make sure we can stay ahead of this and end this outbreak."
Pope Francis meets with Canada's Jesuits
Pope Francis with Jesuits in Quebec (Vatican Media)
POPE
Pope Francis meets in Québec with his Jesuit confreres ministering in Canada for a private moment of conversation, already a tradition during his Apostolic Journeys.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
Pope Francis met with his Jesuit confreres in the Archbishop's Residence in Québec City on his last day in Canada.
The Holy Father normally reserves a private moment to meet with his Jesuit brothers during his Apostolic Journeys.
The Pope typically responds to questions in an informal conversation with those gathered, which is generally written up and made available by Editor of La Civiltà Cattolica, Fr. Antonio Spadaro.
Pope with members of Society of Jesus in Canada
Pope's last day in Canada
Pope Francis is concluding his 'penitential pilgrimage' to Canada, 24 - 30 July, marking his 37th Apostolic Journey abroad and 56th country visited.
29/07/2022
A Conversation with Arctic Canada's Bishop Krótki of Iqaluit
During the his Journey, the Pope has repeatedly asked forgiveness for the wrongdoings committed, and has called for researching how these tragedies occurred so that they may never happen again.
After his meeting with the Jesuits and a subsequent meeting with indigenous, the Pope concluded his time in Québec.
Pope Francis then boarded the papal plane en route to the Arctic city of Iqaluit, in Nunavut Territory, for a few hours, to hold a public event and meet Inuit survivors of residential schools, before taking his return flight to Rome.
Friday, July 29, 2022
Thursday, July 28, 2022
NYC City Is Urging People To Get Their 'Go Bag' Ready After Issuing First Nuclear Attack PSA Since The 1960's
The pope's apology to Indigenous people doesn't go far enough, Canada says
July 28, 20228:04 AM ET
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Pope Francis accompanied by Governor-General Mary Simon, right, arrives at the Citadelle de Quebec on Wednesday in Quebec City, Quebec City, Quebec.John Locher/AP
QUEBEC CITY — The Canadian government made clear Wednesday that Pope Francis' apology to Indigenous peoples for abuses in the country's church-run residential schools didn't go far enough, suggesting that reconciliation over the fraught history is still very much a work in progress.
The official government reaction came as Francis arrived in Quebec City for meetings with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Governor General Mary Simon at her Quebec residence, the hilltop Citadelle fortress, on the second leg of Francis' week-long visit to Canada.
The government's criticisms echo those of some survivors and concern Francis' omission of any reference to the sexual abuse suffered by Indigenous children in the schools, as well as his original reluctance to name the Catholic Church as an institution bearing responsibility.
Francis has said he is on a "penitential pilgrimage" to atone for the church's role in the residential school system, in which generations of Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their homes and forced to attend church-run, government-funded boarding schools t o assimilate them into Christian, Canadian society. The Canadian government has said physical and sexual abuse were rampant at the schools, with students beaten for speaking their native languages.
Francis on Monday apologized for the "evil" of church personnel who worked in the schools and the "catastrophic" effect of the school system on Indigenous families. In a speech before government authorities Wednesday, Francis apologized anew and blasted the school system as "deplorable."
Francis noted that the school system was "promoted by the governmental authorities at the time" as part of a policy of assimilation and enfranchisement. But responding to criticism, he added that "local Catholic institutions had a part" in implementing that policy.
Indigenous peoples have long demanded that the pope assume responsibility not just for abuses committed by individual Catholic priests and religious orders, but for the Catholic Church's institutional support of the assimilation policy and the papacy's 15th century religious justification for European colonial expansion to spread Christianity.
More than 150,000 Native children in Canada were taken from their homes from the 19th century until the 1970s and placed in the schools in an effort to isolate them from the influence of their families and culture.
Trudeau, a Catholic whose father, Pierre Trudeau, was prime minister while the last residential schools were in operation, insisted that the Catholic Church as an institution bore blame and needed to do more to atone.
Speaking before Francis, he noted that Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015 had called for a papal apology to be delivered on Canadian soil, but that Francis' visit "would not have been possible without the courage and perseverance" of survivors of First Nations, Inuit and Metis who travelled to the Vatican last spring to press their case for an apology.
"Apologies for the role that the Roman Catholic Church, as an institution, played in the mistreatment on the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical and sexual abuse that Indigenous children suffered in residential schools run by the church," Trudeau said.
The Canadian government has apologized for its role in the school legacy. Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a formal apology over the residential schools in Parliament in 2008, calling them a sad chapter in Canadian history and saying the policy of forced assimilation caused great harm.
As part of a settlement of a lawsuit involving the government, churches and the approximately 90,000 surviving students, Canada paid reparations that amounted to billions of dollars being transferred to Indigenous communities. The Catholic Church, for its part, has paid over $50 million and intends to add $30 million more over the next five years.
Trudeau implied that much more needed to be done by the church, and that while Francis' visit had "an enormous impact" on survivors, it was but a first step.
Aside from the content of his speech, Trudeau's remarks broke customary protocol for papal trips. According to diplomatic protocol, only Simon was supposed to address the pope in her capacity as the representative head of state. Simon, an Inuk who is the first Indigenous person to hold the largely ceremonial position governor general, did address Francis.
But the Vatican said Trudeau's office requested the prime minister be allowed to offer some introductory remarks, a request that arrived in the days before Francis left Rome but after the pope's itinerary had been finalized and printed.
A senior Canadian government official said Trudeau typically delivers remarks during visits by foreign leaders and that it was important for him to address Canadians during Francis' visit "particularly given the importance of the matter." It was, however, added in at the last minute.
Before Francis arrived in Quebec City, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller said the "gaps" in Francis' apology could not be ignored.
Echoing criticism from some school survivors, Miller noted that Francis didn't mention sexual abuse in his list of abuses endured by Indigenous children in the schools. Francis on Monday listed instead physical, verbal, psychological and spiritual abuse. In addition, Miller noted that Francis on Monday spoke of "evil" committed by individual Christians "but not the Catholic Church as an institution."
Phil Fontaine, a survivor of sexual abuse at the schools and former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said the additional reference Wednesday to "local Catholic institutions" went beyond Francis' original apology and was significant and the closest he could get to apologizing for the entire Church in Canada.
"It reflects the reality that the Catholic Church in Canada is not one institution. It is made up of about 73 different legal institutions, all of which were defendants in the lawsuits," Fontaine said in a statement.
Francis' visit has stirred mixed emotions among survivors and their relatives, as well as Indigenous leaders and community members. Some have welcomed his apology as genuine and useful in helping them heal. Others have said it was merely the first step in a long process of reconciliation. Still others have said it didn't go far enough in assuming responsibility for institutional wrongs dating back centuries.
Francis himself has acknowledged that the wounds will take time to heal and that his visit and apology were but first steps. On Wednesday he committed himself and the local Canadian church to "move forward on a fraternal and patient journey with all Canadians, in accordance with truth and justice, working for healing and reconciliation, and constantly inspired by hope."
"It is our desire to renew the relationship between the Church and the indigenous peoples of Canada, a relationship marked both by a love that has borne outstanding fruit and, tragically, deep wounds that we are committed to understanding and healing," he said.
But he didn't list any specific actions the Holy See was prepared to take.
Trudeau, too, said the visit was a beginning and that reconciliation was the duty of everyone. "It's our responsibility to see our differences not as an obstacle but as an occasion to learn, to better understand one another and to move to action."
___
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Wednesday, July 27, 2022
The Surprising Religious Diversity of America's 13 Colonies
J.S. MARCUS
JUL 25, 2022
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
It wasn't just Protestants seeking a place to freely practice their faiths.
The story of religion in America’s original 13 colonies often focuses on Puritans, Quakers and other Protestants fleeing persecution in Europe, looking to build a community of like-minded believers. Protestants were indeed in the majority, but the reality was far more diverse. Colonial America attracted true believers from a wide array of backgrounds and beliefs, include Judaism, Catholicism and more.
And that’s just the European émigrés. Myriad groups of Indigenous Americans who already lived along the Eastern seaboard had their own beliefs, many of which forged connections between the living, the departed and the natural world, according to Yale emeritus professor Jon Butler in his book New World Faiths: Religion in Colonial America. And African people transported to the colonies as part of the transatlantic slave trade brought their own multiplicity of spiritual practices, which included polytheistic, animist and Islamic beliefs, before merging into new variants of Protestantism.
In 1630, English Puritan lawyer John Winthrop, a founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, invoked the phrase “the city on the hill” to describe the new Christian religious community he and his fellow colonists should aspire to build in service to “God Almighty." But the various believers drawn to, or brought to, the colonies built many proverbial cities, on many hills. Five generations later, in 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence without mentioning the word “Christ,” and neither the word “God” nor “Christ” appears in the U.S. Constitution, written and ratified a decade later. Both documents have come to enshrine the ideals of a new nation that had a religious foundation—but developed a secular soul.
If it looks like a recession and quacks like a recession...
By Paul R. La Monica, CNN Business
Updated 8:21 AM ET, Tue July 26, 2022
New York (CNN Business)Is the United States heading for a recession? Or is the economy already in one? It -- almost -- doesn't matter.
For many Americans, it already feels like a recession. Soaring prices for, well, just about everything, make it tougher to pay for everyday expenses and monthly bills. The stock market has tanked this year. Home sales have started to slip. Consumer confidence is low.
A recent Morning Consult/Politico poll showed that 65% of US voters said in mid-July that they think we're in a recession....and that's compared to just 51% saying that in March 2020, the beginning of the US Covid outbreak and the start of the last recession.
Could we talk ourselves into a recession?
And according to a survey last month from Boston Consulting Group, nearly 80% of investors anticipate a US recession will start some time within the next 12 months...and more than half of those surveyed think it will begin before the end of 2022.
So if you believe that perception is reality, these numbers may matter just as much, if not more so, than actual data about job growth and the broader economy.
"People are preparing themselves for the fact that we are already in a recession now or that there is a high likelihood we will soon be in one," said Hady Farag, a partner and associate director at Boston Consulting Group.
The Federal Reserve will have to keep inflation fears in mind as it tries to balance aggressive rate hikes with worries that too much tightening will destroy growth.
The Fed is expected to hike rates this month by another three-quarters of a percentage point, following a similarly supersized move in June.
"The word recession is casting a long shadow over the markets, but in some ways the only way out of this inflationary environment is for central banks to trigger this recession," said Mabrouk Chetouane, head of global market strategy with Natixis Investment Managers Solutions, in a report this month.
With that in mind, investors have to prepare for the downturn that already appears to be underway, and policymakers need to prepare for slowing growth...or worse.
The US economy shrank in the first quarter and investors are eagerly awaiting Thursday's gross domestic product report to see if GDP contracted again in the second quarter.
You're not the only one who's confused about the economy. The experts are baffled, too
While two consecutive quarters of negative numbers is the common understanding of a recession, that is not the official definition.
A group called the National Bureau of Economic Research is in charge of officially declaring the beginning and end of economic downturns -- and the NBER has tended to wait several months before making any decisions about recession dates.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in an interview that aired Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that a recession is "a broad-based contraction in the economy that affects many sectors" and added that she would be "amazed" if the NBER were to say that the economy is now in a recession.
But you can likely expect a lot of headlines and political talk this week about a recession if the second-quarter GDP report is bad.
Not all recessions are the same
"Recession is not our base case. We continue to expect the economy to slow meaningfully but avoid a 2022 recession," said Katie Nixon, chief investment officer for Northern Trust Wealth Management, in a recent report. But she added that "it is still possible that the technical definition of recession may be met."
Boston Consulting Group's Farag also pointed out that even if the economy has already tipped into recession mode, that doesn't mean a downturn will be as long and painful as some previous recessions. He said most investors don't seem to be expecting a repeat of the early 1980s or another Great Recession like 2008.
"No two recessions are alike. I don't think people are deeply concerned about a major recession or massive stagnation," he said.
It's also worth remembering that if there is a recession, the Fed could quickly reverse course and start cutting rates again to try and restart the economy.
That's exactly what the central bank did after a series of rate hikes in 1999 and early 2000, just as the dot-com boom was going bust. But once the economy went into recession in 2001, the Fed slashed rates 11 times that year.
IMF warns global economy teetering on brink of recession as it slashes growth outlook
Published July 26, 2022
IMF downgrades economic outlook as it projects higher inflation globally
By Megan Henney FOXBusiness
Market expert predicts recession is 'all but inevitable'
Thru the Cycle President John Lonski joins Dagen McDowell to discuss the possibility of a recession in the coming months, predicting the end of Federal Reserve rate hikes could be coming soon.
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday slashed its global growth outlook for 2022 and 2023, warning the world economy faces a "gloomy and more uncertain" future that could include a recession.
The Washington-based institution said in its latest World Economic Outlook that global gross domestic product will grow by 3.2% this year – a 0.4 percentage point drop from its April estimate. The IMF expects global growth to decelerate further to 2.9% next year, which is a 0.7 percentage point decline from its previous estimate. By comparison, the economy grew by 6.1% last year following the brief but extremely severe recession in 2020.
The revised outlook comes as the economy confronts a slew of challenges, including the ongoing fallout from the Russian war in Ukraine, the hottest inflation in decades and continued COVID-19-related lockdowns in China that have fueled a worse-than-anticipated slowdown in the country.
"The outlook has darkened significantly since April," Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the IMF’s chief economist, said in a blog accompanying the latest report. "The world may soon be teetering on the edge of a global recession, only two years after the last one."
Thru the Cycle President John Lonski joins Dagen McDowell to discuss the possibility of a recession in the coming months, predicting the end of Federal Reserve rate hikes could be coming soon.
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday slashed its global growth outlook for 2022 and 2023, warning the world economy faces a "gloomy and more uncertain" future that could include a recession.
The Washington-based institution said in its latest World Economic Outlook that global gross domestic product will grow by 3.2% this year – a 0.4 percentage point drop from its April estimate. The IMF expects global growth to decelerate further to 2.9% next year, which is a 0.7 percentage point decline from its previous estimate. By comparison, the economy grew by 6.1% last year following the brief but extremely severe recession in 2020.
The revised outlook comes as the economy confronts a slew of challenges, including the ongoing fallout from the Russian war in Ukraine, the hottest inflation in decades and continued COVID-19-related lockdowns in China that have fueled a worse-than-anticipated slowdown in the country.
"The outlook has darkened significantly since April," Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the IMF’s chief economist, said in a blog accompanying the latest report. "The world may soon be teetering on the edge of a global recession, only two years after the last one."
Savannah International Paper mill in Georgia. (Visions of America/Joseph Sohm/UCG/Universal Images Group via / Getty Images)
Inflation has climbed more quickly than the IMF expected and broadened throughout the economy. The fund now projects that consumer prices will accelerate even further this year – hitting 6.6% in wealthy countries and 9.5% in developing nations – the result of rising food and energy prices, as well as continued supply and demand imbalances.
In all, the IMF forecast the global consumer price index will surge 8.3% this year, which would mark the biggest increase since 1996. That is up from the previous estimate of 6.9% in April.
Rapid price growth has forced the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at the fastest pace in three decades as it tries to catch up with runaway inflation. Central bank policymakers already approved a 75-basis point rate hike in June – the first since 1994 – and are expected to raise the benchmark federal funds rate by another three-quarter percentage point on Wednesday.
Inflation has climbed more quickly than the IMF expected and broadened throughout the economy. The fund now projects that consumer prices will accelerate even further this year – hitting 6.6% in wealthy countries and 9.5% in developing nations – the result of rising food and energy prices, as well as continued supply and demand imbalances.
In all, the IMF forecast the global consumer price index will surge 8.3% this year, which would mark the biggest increase since 1996. That is up from the previous estimate of 6.9% in April.
Rapid price growth has forced the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at the fastest pace in three decades as it tries to catch up with runaway inflation. Central bank policymakers already approved a 75-basis point rate hike in June – the first since 1994 – and are expected to raise the benchmark federal funds rate by another three-quarter percentage point on Wednesday.
A man walks past the Federal Reserve building in Washington on April 29, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie via / Getty Images)
The Bank of England and European Central Bank have also started to tighten monetary policy in order to combat raging inflation.
By hiking interest rates – which creates higher rates on consumer and business loans – these central banks hope to cool consumer demand and allow supply time to catch up, likely slowing the pace of price growth. But there is a risk that raising rates too high too quickly could trigger a recession.
"With increasing prices continuing to squeeze living standards worldwide, taming inflation should be the first priority for policymakers," the IMF said in the report.
The IMF is slated to release another round of updated projections in October.
Tuesday, July 26, 2022
Monday, July 25, 2022
WEF Issues Edict to Global Leaders: Phase Out Car Ownership, People Can ‘Walk or Share’
Baxter Dmitry
Earlier this month Klaus Schwab’s World Economic Forum ordered compliant governments around the world to increase the already sky-high price of gas. Now the WEF is claiming people have no right to own cars and must instead “walk or share.”
In a paper published by the WEF on Friday, the globalist elites claim that communal sharing of cars is part of a “circular approach” necessary to reduce global demands for precious metals and fossil fuels. Thousands of private jets fly into Davos each year for the WEF’s summit, but according to Klaus Schwab ordinary people should not own their own car.
The global elites in Geneva, Switzerland, are now instructing their Young Global Leaders embedded in governments around the world that far too many people own private vehicles and this situation must be changed by pricing people out of the market.
Citing the fact that “the average car or van in England is driven just 4% of the time,” the WEF claims this means people in developed countries including the United States should not have the right to own their own car. People should sell their car and walk or share because “Car sharing platforms such as Getaround and BlueSG have already seized that opportunity to offer vehicles where you pay per hour used.”
RELATED: Klaus Schwab’s WEF Issues Edict to Global Leaders: ‘Gas Prices Aren’t High Enough’
The end of private ownership is essential, according to the WEF, and can be applied to everything from cars to private homes and even city-wide design principles.
“A design process that focuses on fulfilling the underlying need instead of designing for product purchasing is fundamental to this transition,” the WEF sets out. “This is the mindset needed to redesign cities to reduce private vehicles and other usages.”
Earlier this month Klaus Schwab’s World Economic Forum ordered compliant governments around the world to increase the already sky-high price of gas. Now the WEF is claiming people have no right to own cars and must instead “walk or share.”
In a paper published by the WEF on Friday, the globalist elites claim that communal sharing of cars is part of a “circular approach” necessary to reduce global demands for precious metals and fossil fuels. Thousands of private jets fly into Davos each year for the WEF’s summit, but according to Klaus Schwab ordinary people should not own their own car.
The global elites in Geneva, Switzerland, are now instructing their Young Global Leaders embedded in governments around the world that far too many people own private vehicles and this situation must be changed by pricing people out of the market.
Citing the fact that “the average car or van in England is driven just 4% of the time,” the WEF claims this means people in developed countries including the United States should not have the right to own their own car. People should sell their car and walk or share because “Car sharing platforms such as Getaround and BlueSG have already seized that opportunity to offer vehicles where you pay per hour used.”
RELATED: Klaus Schwab’s WEF Issues Edict to Global Leaders: ‘Gas Prices Aren’t High Enough’
The end of private ownership is essential, according to the WEF, and can be applied to everything from cars to private homes and even city-wide design principles.
“A design process that focuses on fulfilling the underlying need instead of designing for product purchasing is fundamental to this transition,” the WEF sets out. “This is the mindset needed to redesign cities to reduce private vehicles and other usages.”
Thousands of private jets deliver elites to Davos, Switzerland for the WEF’s annual summit, yet ordinary people should not have the right to own private vehicles, according to Schwab.
Part of the “circular approach” appears to be driving already sky-high gas prices even higher.
In an article published earlier this month, the WEF issued a call to its legion of Young Global Leaders, stating the gas prices we are experiencing in 2022 are simply not high enough. As though ordinary people aren’t suffering enough pain at the gas pump, Klaus Schwab is claiming the current prices are severely “underpriced.”
The WEF article is complicated and disingenuous, but it basically calls for an end to any and all tax credits for oil, gas and coal production — along with higher taxes. This idea isn’t new. Basically it’s the same idea as pricing fossil fuels based upon their carbon content. The result would make gas an unaffordable luxury for the vast majority of the population.
Per WEF:
First, leading democracies should agree to end the underpricing of fossil fuels, which is the principal factor preventing a clean energy transition. The underpricing associated with producing and burning coal, oil and gas amounted to $5.9 trillion in economic costs in 2020. Nearly a quarter of these losses – $1.45 trillion – occurred in 48 major and smaller democracies.
The leading democracies of the G20 should collectively commit to phasing out cost and tax breaks for the production and consumption of fossil fuels. They should also phase in more efficient pricing of fossil fuels through taxes or tradable permits to cover the costs of local air pollution, global warming, and other economic damages.World Economic Forum: “Transitioning to green energy is key to both tackling climate change and creating sustainable economies. Here’s why”
There are three more provisions you can read about at the WEF website, all of which would massively increase the price of fossil fuels across the board. The WEF justify this with this statement:
By delaying a clean energy transition, leading democracies are making their economies more vulnerable through continued reliance on fossil fuels. Collectively acting to foster a green transition is not only good for the climate but also critical for protecting democracy.World Economic Forum: “Transitioning to green energy is key to both tackling climate change and creating sustainable economies. Here’s why”
The key point in Klaus Schwab’s latest proclamation is that that fossil fuels are presently “underpriced“. Of course, US consumers are presently paying the “market price” for these fuels. Apparently the “market price” is too low for the WEF.
This leads us to the big question. How long — weeks, days, months — before we see the Biden administration take regulatory action to comply with this WEF edict?
What are the odds on an Executive Order?
Part of the “circular approach” appears to be driving already sky-high gas prices even higher.
In an article published earlier this month, the WEF issued a call to its legion of Young Global Leaders, stating the gas prices we are experiencing in 2022 are simply not high enough. As though ordinary people aren’t suffering enough pain at the gas pump, Klaus Schwab is claiming the current prices are severely “underpriced.”
The WEF article is complicated and disingenuous, but it basically calls for an end to any and all tax credits for oil, gas and coal production — along with higher taxes. This idea isn’t new. Basically it’s the same idea as pricing fossil fuels based upon their carbon content. The result would make gas an unaffordable luxury for the vast majority of the population.
Per WEF:
First, leading democracies should agree to end the underpricing of fossil fuels, which is the principal factor preventing a clean energy transition. The underpricing associated with producing and burning coal, oil and gas amounted to $5.9 trillion in economic costs in 2020. Nearly a quarter of these losses – $1.45 trillion – occurred in 48 major and smaller democracies.
The leading democracies of the G20 should collectively commit to phasing out cost and tax breaks for the production and consumption of fossil fuels. They should also phase in more efficient pricing of fossil fuels through taxes or tradable permits to cover the costs of local air pollution, global warming, and other economic damages.World Economic Forum: “Transitioning to green energy is key to both tackling climate change and creating sustainable economies. Here’s why”
There are three more provisions you can read about at the WEF website, all of which would massively increase the price of fossil fuels across the board. The WEF justify this with this statement:
By delaying a clean energy transition, leading democracies are making their economies more vulnerable through continued reliance on fossil fuels. Collectively acting to foster a green transition is not only good for the climate but also critical for protecting democracy.World Economic Forum: “Transitioning to green energy is key to both tackling climate change and creating sustainable economies. Here’s why”
The key point in Klaus Schwab’s latest proclamation is that that fossil fuels are presently “underpriced“. Of course, US consumers are presently paying the “market price” for these fuels. Apparently the “market price” is too low for the WEF.
This leads us to the big question. How long — weeks, days, months — before we see the Biden administration take regulatory action to comply with this WEF edict?
What are the odds on an Executive Order?
Sunday, July 24, 2022
WHO Declares Monkeypox A “Global Health Emergency” Here’s What You NEED TO KNOW!!!
July 23rd, 2022
Saturday, July 23, 2022
World Health Organization declares monkeypox a ‘global health emergency’
By
Jon Levine
July 23, 2022 11:23am
Updated
There have been more that 16,000 cases of monkeypox worldwide. Above, Tareco Timothy receives the monkeypox vaccination in New York.REUTERS
The World Health Organization on Saturday declared a global health emergency over the uncontrolled spread of monkeypox worldwide.
There have now been more than 16,000 reported cases of the disease in 75 countries, and five deaths related to the disease, the WHO said.
MORE ON:MONKEYPOX
Two children diagnosed with monkeypox in US, officials say
Monkeypox could become entrenched as new STD in the US
‘Incredibly bad luck’: Man gets hit with both COVID-19, monkeypox
Dems’ ‘green war’ vs. working class, tell the truth on monkeypox, and other commentary
So far, New York City has had 839 reported cases, according to the city Department of Health, which warns that “there are likely many more cases that have not been diagnosed.” That about one-third of the more than 2,400 U.S. cases reported across the US.
“We have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly, through new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement.
“For the moment this is an outbreak that is concentrated among men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple sexual partners,” he added. “That means that this is an outbreak that can be stopped with the right strategies in the right groups.”
The World Health Organization on Saturday declared a global health emergency over the uncontrolled spread of monkeypox worldwide.
There have now been more than 16,000 reported cases of the disease in 75 countries, and five deaths related to the disease, the WHO said.
MORE ON:MONKEYPOX
Two children diagnosed with monkeypox in US, officials say
Monkeypox could become entrenched as new STD in the US
‘Incredibly bad luck’: Man gets hit with both COVID-19, monkeypox
Dems’ ‘green war’ vs. working class, tell the truth on monkeypox, and other commentary
So far, New York City has had 839 reported cases, according to the city Department of Health, which warns that “there are likely many more cases that have not been diagnosed.” That about one-third of the more than 2,400 U.S. cases reported across the US.
“We have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly, through new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement.
“For the moment this is an outbreak that is concentrated among men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple sexual partners,” he added. “That means that this is an outbreak that can be stopped with the right strategies in the right groups.”
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cited new modes of transmission as areas of concern in his official statement.AFP via Getty Images
Monkeypox is already endemic in Africa.NurPhoto via Getty Images
US officials are concerned that monkeypox could become an entrenched sexually transmitted disease, like gonorrhea, herpes and HIV. The disease is already endemic in Africa, where people are typically infected through bites from rodents and small animals.
US officials are concerned that monkeypox could become an entrenched sexually transmitted disease, like gonorrhea, herpes and HIV. The disease is already endemic in Africa, where people are typically infected through bites from rodents and small animals.
Friday, July 22, 2022
This 500-year-old Catholic decree encouraged colonization. Will the pope revoke it?
Father Jacques Marquette, a 17th-century French missionary, explores the Mississippi River by canoe. Through a series of papal decrees kno...PHOTOGRAPH BY NAWROCKI, CLASSICSTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
HISTORY & CULTURE
EXPLAINER
This 500-year-old Catholic decree encouraged colonization. Will the pope revoke it?
The papal Doctrine of Discovery was used to justify colonization in the name of Christianity—and eventually became embedded in U.S and international law.
BYERIN BLAKEMORE
PUBLISHED JULY 22, 2022
Louise Large thrashed and screamed, fighting the black-robed nuns who held her tightly while speaking in a language she couldn’t understand. As she watched her grandmother walk away, the young Cree girl realized she’d been left at the Blue Quill, a residential school for Indigenous children in Alberta, Canada. Afterward, she said in a 2011 testimony to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, “I just screamed and screamed for hours.”
Soon, Large realized that she must adhere to a strict schedule at the school that revolved around Christianity, which she was now expected to practice. The children prayed so much, she said sarcastically, that they all got “boarding school knees”—joints turned callused and creaky because of the schools’ forced prayers.
Students at Blue Quills, a boarding school for Indigenous children in Alberta, Canada. Established by Catholic missionaries in...COURTESY OF LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA/DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FONDS
Large was living out the legacy of the colonization of Canada, whose government forced more than 100,000 First Nations children to attend residential schools that stripped them of their Indigenous identities and attempted to convert them to Christianity.
In the 21st century, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission would uncover the history of the schools and their effects on Indigenous Canadians. Along the way, it documented how a centuries-old religious doctrine enabled the founding and operation of schools that caused so much harm.
Ahead of Pope Francis’ week-long trip to Canada that begins on July 24, activists and religious organizations alike have called on the Catholic leader to revoke the “doctrine of discovery”—a series of 15th-century papal decrees that laid the foundation for the European takeover of the New World and the annihilation of Indigenous culture in the name of Christianity. Here’s how those decrees became the legal basis for colonization—and the legacy they have left behind.
Large was living out the legacy of the colonization of Canada, whose government forced more than 100,000 First Nations children to attend residential schools that stripped them of their Indigenous identities and attempted to convert them to Christianity.
In the 21st century, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission would uncover the history of the schools and their effects on Indigenous Canadians. Along the way, it documented how a centuries-old religious doctrine enabled the founding and operation of schools that caused so much harm.
Ahead of Pope Francis’ week-long trip to Canada that begins on July 24, activists and religious organizations alike have called on the Catholic leader to revoke the “doctrine of discovery”—a series of 15th-century papal decrees that laid the foundation for the European takeover of the New World and the annihilation of Indigenous culture in the name of Christianity. Here’s how those decrees became the legal basis for colonization—and the legacy they have left behind.
In 1970, Indigenous activists took over the operation of Blue Quills from the Canadian government. Now known as Blue Quill...PHOTOGRAPH BY AMBER BRACKEN
Pelosi holds weekly (7/21/2022) news briefing
Listen @ approximately 7:50 Mins.
I went to my Republican colleagues. I said, ‘At long last, we're going to be able to vote together on family planning. This is what the priests have asked us – the Church has asked us just to make a technical change in the language so that their lawyers will approve the flow of the funds for natural family planning,’ which is allowed – was allowed in our foreign assistance. ‘You don't understand,’ they say to me, ‘we are against all family planning, domestic and internationally.’
Thursday, July 21, 2022
How Society Promotes Perversion at Children's Expense | NEWS BEHIND THE NEWS
And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
Matthew 24:18.
President Joe Biden tests positive for COVID-19
___________
P.S.
Speaking of Sports..
QUESTION: Is VP Kamala Harris warming-up in the Bullpen?
Wednesday, July 20, 2022
God's People Brought to the Test, July 20
God's People Brought to the Test, July 20
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Matthew 7:22, 23.
We need not be deceived. Wonderful scenes, with which Satan will be closely connected, will soon take place. God's Word declares that Satan will work miracles. He will make people sick, and then will suddenly remove from them his satanic power. They will then be regarded as healed. These works of apparent healing will bring Seventh-day Adventists to the test. Many who have had great light will fail to walk in the light, because they have not become one with Christ.67Selected Messages 2:53.
I saw our people in great distress, weeping, and praying, pleading the sure promises of God, while the wicked were all around us, mocking us, and threatening to destroy us. They ridiculed our feebleness, they mocked at the smallness of our numbers, and taunted us with words calculated to cut deep. They charged us with taking an independent position from all the rest of the world. They had cut off our resources so that we could not buy nor sell, and referred to our abject poverty and stricken condition. They could not see how we could live without the world; we were dependent upon the world, and we must concede to the customs, practices, and laws of the world, or go out of it. If we were the only people in the world whom the Lord favored the appearances were awfully against us. They declared that they had the truth, that miracles were among them, that angels from heaven talked with them, and walked with them, that great power, and signs and wonders were performed among them, and this was the Temporal Millennium, which they had been expecting so long. The whole world was converted and in harmony with the Sunday law, and this little feeble people stood out in defiance of the laws of the land, and the laws of God, and claimed to be the only ones right on the earth.68Letter 6, 1884.
God's people will not find their safety in working miracles, for Satan would counterfeit any miracle that might be worked.... They are to take their stand on the living Word—“It is written.” 69Selected Messages 2:55.
We need not be deceived. Wonderful scenes, with which Satan will be closely connected, will soon take place. God's Word declares that Satan will work miracles. He will make people sick, and then will suddenly remove from them his satanic power. They will then be regarded as healed. These works of apparent healing will bring Seventh-day Adventists to the test. Many who have had great light will fail to walk in the light, because they have not become one with Christ.67Selected Messages 2:53.
I saw our people in great distress, weeping, and praying, pleading the sure promises of God, while the wicked were all around us, mocking us, and threatening to destroy us. They ridiculed our feebleness, they mocked at the smallness of our numbers, and taunted us with words calculated to cut deep. They charged us with taking an independent position from all the rest of the world. They had cut off our resources so that we could not buy nor sell, and referred to our abject poverty and stricken condition. They could not see how we could live without the world; we were dependent upon the world, and we must concede to the customs, practices, and laws of the world, or go out of it. If we were the only people in the world whom the Lord favored the appearances were awfully against us. They declared that they had the truth, that miracles were among them, that angels from heaven talked with them, and walked with them, that great power, and signs and wonders were performed among them, and this was the Temporal Millennium, which they had been expecting so long. The whole world was converted and in harmony with the Sunday law, and this little feeble people stood out in defiance of the laws of the land, and the laws of God, and claimed to be the only ones right on the earth.68Letter 6, 1884.
God's people will not find their safety in working miracles, for Satan would counterfeit any miracle that might be worked.... They are to take their stand on the living Word—“It is written.” 69Selected Messages 2:55.
Maranatha, p.209.
Tuesday, July 19, 2022
Monday, July 18, 2022
Sunday, July 17, 2022
Saturday, July 16, 2022
Lia Thomas nominated by University of Pennsylvania for NCAA 'Woman of the Year' award
The NCAA award for which former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas is in place to recognize 'female student-athletes'
Friday, July 15, 2022
The Catholic Church should scrap the requirement for priestly celibacy
Leaders | Let them wed
It would help it recruit clerics who do not abuse children
Jul 14th 2022
The pope is not in the habit of taking advice from newspapers. After all, the Roman Catholic Church takes instruction from the creator of the universe. Nonetheless, Pope Francis has opened up a process whereby all 1.4bn Catholics can have a say about the future of the faith. If they want to reduce the scourge of sexual abuse by priests, they should demand an end to the rule requiring priestly celibacy.
Were this just a theological question, The Economist would take no view. But it is not. In parish after parish, school after school, diocese after diocese, Catholic priests have abused children. America, Australia, France, Germany and Ireland, among others, have undertaken reckonings. The number of victims in France alone was estimated at 216,000 in the 70 years to 2020. Now countries such as Poland, Portugal and Spain are investigating, too. Catholic sex abuse involves not only bad apples, but a rotting orchard (see International section).
Further revelations are inevitable. The scale of abuse against adults, including nuns, is starting to be reported. Investigations have barely even begun in poor countries into what might have happened in 9,000-odd residential Catholic institutions, including orphanages. Even in rich countries where criminal-justice systems are well-resourced, investigations have been thwarted by an ancient institution’s reflexive secrecy.
Some of the church’s failings are common to other organisations. When a few people are given power over others, when checks on that power are weak and when victims lack effective channels to report abuse, predators will take advantage; witness the recent reckoning in Hollywood. If, furthermore, an institution routinely hushes up allegations and shuffles suspected predators to other jobs, rather than promptly reporting allegations to the police, abuse thrives. The church is working to correct these failings. But that will not be enough.
Requiring priests to be celibate dramatically reduces the pool from which they can be recruited. For many people, no matter how pious, renouncing sex, romance and the chance to start a family is too great a sacrifice. One group for whom such a rule imposes little extra burden, however, is paedophiles. Society requires them to suppress their urges. Many already try to be celibate, or pretend to be so.
Some become priests sincerely hoping that a spiritual life will help them resist temptation. Others no doubt do so precisely because the priesthood offers opportunities to abuse. Either way, the church has done a poor job of winnowing out those who pose a danger to their flock. Some argue that it has also done a poor job of preparing priests for the stress of a sexless life. Estimates from around the world, from a variety of scholars, have found that 6-9% of priests and members of celibate orders, such as monks, may be abusers. Statistics on the general population are hard to pin down, but Britain’s National Crime Agency estimated that 1-3% of adult men have urges to abuse children; a much smaller share act on their urges.
The Vatican says that Jesus remained celibate, and so should his servants on Earth. Though some parts of the Bible praise celibacy, nothing in the gospels requires all clergy to embrace it. Before the 11th century, the Roman Catholic Church did not insist on it. The rule was introduced partly for financial reasons: clergy without children were more likely to leave their assets to the church. Today, many Eastern-rite Catholic churches let their clergy marry before taking holy orders. Strikingly, these churches have low levels of reported sexual abuse of children.
Protestant denominations show that married clergy can successfully tend to both their family and their flock—indeed, marriage may bring priests closer to their parishioners. That would weaken the idea that clerics are an untouchable group apart, which many researchers see as contributing to abuse.
The church is desperately short of priests. In its heartlands it is losing followers, not least because many no longer trust an institution that has sheltered abusers. If the church stopped requiring priests to be celibate (or male, for that matter), it could recruit from a much larger pool. If it also monitored them better and acted faster, fewer people would be abused. Whether that would slow the pace at which the faithful are leaving the church is hard to say. Regardless, it would be a blessing. ■
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline "Let priests wed"
Source
Thursday, July 14, 2022
This leads to the brink of nuclear war with Russia: Tulsi Gabbard
July 14, 2022 by News Desk
Caution - Russia Ukraine Conflict
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Fox News published this video item, entitled “This leads to the brink of nuclear war with Russia: Tulsi Gabbard” – below is their description.
Tulsi Gabbard: Biden is leading us closer and closer to the brink of a nuclear war with Russia.Fox News YouTube Channel
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
Pope Francis Tells Young People In Europe To Eat Less Meat For The Environment
The Pope has expressed concerns over the climate crisis - Media Credit: CHROMORANGE / marco campagna / Alamy Stock Photo
Pope Francis urged people at the European Youth Conference to reduce their meat intake for the planet
BY AMY BUXTON
13TH JULY 2022
Addressing crowds at a European Youth Conference, Pope Francis stated that it would be prudent for some parts of the world to “consume less meat.”
The event, currently being held in Prague, offers the Pope an opportunity to discuss issues that he deems are connected to future generations. Touching on the futility of war and the importance of woman leadership, he then went on to tackle meat consumption.
Focusing on the idea of meat as a luxury and an environmental problem, he invited his young audience to choose a life of “dignity and sobriety.”
“There is an urgent need to reduce the consumption not only of fossil fuels but also of so many superfluous things,” Pope Francis said. “In certain areas of the world, too, it would be appropriate to consume less meat: this too can help save the environment.”
The suggestion was the first of its kind from the pontiff. It was markedly absent from his 2015 environmental manifesto Laudato Si.
Why the Pope’s message is significant
Pope Francis was born in Argentina, where people consume the most meat in all of South America, with 109 kilos per year estimated per individual. The country is one of the top producers of beef globally, manufacturing 3,230,000 metric tons in 2020.
Per capita, Argentines top the beef consumption table. Meat advocates in the country consider it a part of their cultural heritage. But times are changing.
The Argentinian beef industry suffered throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Countrywide drops in income, many due to total job loss, contributed to beef consumption hitting an all-time low.
By the close of 2020, 12 percent of the population identified as vegan or vegetarian. Another 12 percent attached the flexitarian label to their eating habits, meaning almost one-quarter of all Argentinians either avoid or have reduced meat in their diets.
These findings are supported by Veganuary, which states that among the top ten countries participating in this year’s event, five were in Latin America. Argentina came second to Mexico in terms of participation figures.
The future of Argentinian veganism
Alongside becoming the first nation in the world to ban salmon farming, Argentina’s president, Alberto Fernández, is willing to leave meat off his plate. But there’s a catch. He’ll only do it if Sir Paul McCartney plays in his office for him.
The presidential residence has made tentative steps toward vegan dining, by introducing “Vegan Monday” (Lunes Vegano) in 2017. The former Beatle has not agreed to a personal performance to convert Fernández to veganism. Yet.
Will the Pope go vegan?
Pope Francis is notably more progressive in his thinking than previous pontiffs. This has led many to try to persuade him to give up meat altogether.
In 2019, he was urged by the organization Million Dollar Vegan to give up meat for Lent. Paolo Borgia, a senior priest, said on his behalf: “[Pope Francis] appreciates the concerns and care for the world, our common home, which prompted you to write to him.” The Pope did not decide to give up meat for the religious observance.
He also failed to encourage Christians to choose vegan food for their Easter feasts in 2021. This was despite being petitioned by PETA to do so.
Source
Addressing crowds at a European Youth Conference, Pope Francis stated that it would be prudent for some parts of the world to “consume less meat.”
The event, currently being held in Prague, offers the Pope an opportunity to discuss issues that he deems are connected to future generations. Touching on the futility of war and the importance of woman leadership, he then went on to tackle meat consumption.
Focusing on the idea of meat as a luxury and an environmental problem, he invited his young audience to choose a life of “dignity and sobriety.”
“There is an urgent need to reduce the consumption not only of fossil fuels but also of so many superfluous things,” Pope Francis said. “In certain areas of the world, too, it would be appropriate to consume less meat: this too can help save the environment.”
The suggestion was the first of its kind from the pontiff. It was markedly absent from his 2015 environmental manifesto Laudato Si.
Why the Pope’s message is significant
Pope Francis was born in Argentina, where people consume the most meat in all of South America, with 109 kilos per year estimated per individual. The country is one of the top producers of beef globally, manufacturing 3,230,000 metric tons in 2020.
Per capita, Argentines top the beef consumption table. Meat advocates in the country consider it a part of their cultural heritage. But times are changing.
The Argentinian beef industry suffered throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Countrywide drops in income, many due to total job loss, contributed to beef consumption hitting an all-time low.
By the close of 2020, 12 percent of the population identified as vegan or vegetarian. Another 12 percent attached the flexitarian label to their eating habits, meaning almost one-quarter of all Argentinians either avoid or have reduced meat in their diets.
These findings are supported by Veganuary, which states that among the top ten countries participating in this year’s event, five were in Latin America. Argentina came second to Mexico in terms of participation figures.
The future of Argentinian veganism
Alongside becoming the first nation in the world to ban salmon farming, Argentina’s president, Alberto Fernández, is willing to leave meat off his plate. But there’s a catch. He’ll only do it if Sir Paul McCartney plays in his office for him.
The presidential residence has made tentative steps toward vegan dining, by introducing “Vegan Monday” (Lunes Vegano) in 2017. The former Beatle has not agreed to a personal performance to convert Fernández to veganism. Yet.
Will the Pope go vegan?
Pope Francis is notably more progressive in his thinking than previous pontiffs. This has led many to try to persuade him to give up meat altogether.
In 2019, he was urged by the organization Million Dollar Vegan to give up meat for Lent. Paolo Borgia, a senior priest, said on his behalf: “[Pope Francis] appreciates the concerns and care for the world, our common home, which prompted you to write to him.” The Pope did not decide to give up meat for the religious observance.
He also failed to encourage Christians to choose vegan food for their Easter feasts in 2021. This was despite being petitioned by PETA to do so.
Source
Brace for winter lockdowns
Covid may not be the only justification for more restrictions
Will these signs re-surface this winter? Credit: Getty
BY IZABELLA KAMINSKA
Many of those who opposed lockdowns for the pandemic, predicted that the policy — if normalised — could one day be taken advantage of by opportunistic political forces to deal with almost any crisis. It was, as Lord Sumption once suggested, a potential pathway to authoritarianism. “If we confer despotic powers on government to deal with perils, which are an ordinary feature of human existence, we will end up doing it most or all of the time,” he wrote in November 2021.
Well, we are now facing just such a crisis. And there is a not insignificant chance that lockdowns might be revived, not just as a knee-jerk reaction to cope with a prevailing health crisis, but also, troublingly, an economic one.
The monkeypox health scare may have failed to get traction, but as Covid cases begin to rise again, the slow beat of pro-lockdown messaging is beginning to circle again in the mainstream media.
For now, the public remains far from receptive. But this could change as soon as energy shortages and supply chain issues begin to bite this winter, which they surely will. The public has already been primed to believe that lockdowns were great for generating energy savings. We saw the evidence of that with our own eyes. Traffic jams disappeared. Oil prices went negative. Air pollution reversed.
In the face of late Soviet-style chaos on the streets, unconstrained inflation, not enough electricity to heat the homes of the vulnerable, the prospect of order emanating from the “temporary” suspension of a market economy might seem appealing.
It’s even easy to predict the messaging that might feel compelling: ‘Stay Home. Don’t queue. Save Energy.’ Or, ‘Bread and energy is cheap if you stay home!’
But here is why we must not fall for this line of logic. Planned economies are what got us into this mess to begin with. Covid, the war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia may have all added accelerants to the fire, but the smoulders were burning ever since the 2008 global financial crisis nearly brought down the system. It’s just that the consequences of papering over the flaws in the system rather than properly addressing them only became visible in late 2021.
It took 70 years for the communist system to fall apart under the weight of its own capital misallocation. We’ve managed to achieve it in about 14 years. At the heart of the problem is the poorly thought-out subsidisation of negative-sum business models propelled by excessive cheap money in the system.
In the communist period, this sort of misdirection was the fault of state bureaucrats who had no idea about what people really wanted. This time it’s been driven by deep-pocketed Western venture capitalists who became convinced that outsized rents from monopoly interests could compensate for short-term non-profitability.
That’s not to say the market economy is perfect or free of its own negative externalities. It definitely needs political guidance and a moral backbone to stay on course. But locking people down is not the answer. This only addresses the symptoms, not the cause.
Our best path out of this mess is to keep the system as free as possible so that the people themselves can innovate their way out of trouble. Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention. Allowing human ingenuity to thrive in a free system is our best chance to solve our economic woes.
Obama scolded former WH Doc Ronny Jackson for tweet about Biden's cognitive health
Obama scolded former White House physician Ronny Jackson for 'cheap shot' tweet about Biden's cognitive health: report
14 hours ago
Former President Barack Obama. PHILIP DAVALI/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images
- Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas revealed an email former President Obama sent him in 2020.
- Jackson served as the White House physician for both Obama and Trump.
- He mentions Obama's letter in a forthcoming book, Fox News reported Wednesday.
Former President Barack Obama admonished his former White House physician-turned-MAGA-politician in a previously unseen letter.
Rep. Ronny Jackson, a Texas Republican, revealed an email Obama sent him during the 2020 campaign in his new book, Fox News reported Wednesday. Jackson served as the White House physician for both Obama and former President Donald Trump.
Jackson told Fox News he got the stern note from Obama about 20 minutes after tweeting an attack on Biden's cognitive health, suggesting the president should be given the screener for dementia that Jackson gave Trump.
"Remember the cognitive test that I gave @realDonaldTrump?" Jackson tweeted. "The one he aced! Sounds like somebody else might need some testing done!! Scary!!"
Obama was not pleased.
"I have made a point of not commenting on your service in my successor's administration and have always spoken highly of you both in public and in private. You always served me and my family well, and I have considered you not only a fine doctor and service member but also a friend," Obama wrote in the email to Jackson, according to Fox's report.
"That's why I have to express my disappointment at the cheap shot you took at Joe Biden via Twitter," Obama continued. "It was unprofessional and beneath the office that you once held. It was also disrespectful to me and the many friends you had in our administration. You were the personal physician to the President of the United States as well as an admiral in the U.S. Navy. I expect better, and I hope upon reflection that you will expect more of yourself in the future."
The Obama foundation did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Trump popularized the test Jackson was referring to with his "person, woman, man, camera, TV" quote in an interview with Fox News.
Jackson also gave Trump his annual physical while in office and praised the president's health, despite his weight being just a single pound below the threshold for obesity.
"The answer to your question is that he has incredibly good genes, and it's just the way God made him," Jackson told reporters when attesting to Trump's health in 2018.
Trump tapped Jackson to run the Department of Veterans Affairs that same year, but the doctor withdrew his nomination after CNN reported about his "grab and go" approach to handing out prescription pills among White House staff in the Obama administration, particularly on long trips.
Jackson was also accused of abusing White House colleagues and at times being intoxicated while at work, including at one point crashing a government vehicle while under the influence. A report by the Pentagon's inspector general last year included these allegations and others. Jackson has denied the allegations.
Jackson's book, "Holding the Line," is set for a July 26 release.
U.S. Will Fall Into Recession This Year As 'Worrisome' Forces Grow, Bank Of America Warn
Jonathan Ponciano
Forbes Staff
Jul 13, 2022,10:46am EDT
TOPLINE
Bank of America economists became the latest experts predicting the U.S. will fall into a recession over the next year, telling clients a number of forces have pushed the economy to slow more rapidly than they previously expected as the latest inflation data shows surging prices fueling the concerns are only getting worse.
The bank joins a growing wave of experts warning[+]AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
KEY FACTS
"Economic momentum has faded," Bank of America economists led by Michael Gapen wrote in a Wednesday morning note, saying they now forecast a "mild recession" this year, with fourth-quarter gross domestic product falling 1.4% (compared to a 6.9% increase last year) followed by an increase of 1% in 2023.
The team said consumer spending in the services sector has been "perhaps most worrisome," after data showing consumer spending fell in May for the first time this year, with retail giants including Walmart and Target reporting that wary Americans have shifted dollars away from leisure items, and toward necessities and cheaper goods.
The economists blamed "at least some of the decline" on the "inflation tax," referring to the recent rise in consumer prices that's pushed food and energy prices to the highest level in decades; they said morning data showing inflation spiked a worse-than-expected 9.1% last month is further proof the so-called tax will weigh on consumer spending and fuel a recession this year.
Though most banks—including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley—continue to believe the U.S. is likely to avoid a recession this year, Bank of America's economists join a growing wave of firms that are less optimistic as a result of the Federal Reserve's efforts to combat inflation with interest rate hikes, which deter spending by making borrowing more expensive.
Earlier this month, Japan-based Nomura warned many of the world's leading economies—including the U.S., U.K. and South Korea—will fall into a recession within the next 12 months as central banks become "very aggressive" in fighting inflation.
CRUCIAL QUOTE
"[Another] factor behind our change in thinking comes from monetary policy, where the Fed has become more committed to using its tools to help restore price stability, with a willingness to accept at least some pain in the process," the Gapen-led team said Wednesday, pointing out Fed Chair Jerome Powell Chair Powell has been explicit in saying it will be "quite challenging" to stabilize prices while avoiding a recession.
KEY FACTS
"Economic momentum has faded," Bank of America economists led by Michael Gapen wrote in a Wednesday morning note, saying they now forecast a "mild recession" this year, with fourth-quarter gross domestic product falling 1.4% (compared to a 6.9% increase last year) followed by an increase of 1% in 2023.
The team said consumer spending in the services sector has been "perhaps most worrisome," after data showing consumer spending fell in May for the first time this year, with retail giants including Walmart and Target reporting that wary Americans have shifted dollars away from leisure items, and toward necessities and cheaper goods.
The economists blamed "at least some of the decline" on the "inflation tax," referring to the recent rise in consumer prices that's pushed food and energy prices to the highest level in decades; they said morning data showing inflation spiked a worse-than-expected 9.1% last month is further proof the so-called tax will weigh on consumer spending and fuel a recession this year.
Though most banks—including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley—continue to believe the U.S. is likely to avoid a recession this year, Bank of America's economists join a growing wave of firms that are less optimistic as a result of the Federal Reserve's efforts to combat inflation with interest rate hikes, which deter spending by making borrowing more expensive.
Earlier this month, Japan-based Nomura warned many of the world's leading economies—including the U.S., U.K. and South Korea—will fall into a recession within the next 12 months as central banks become "very aggressive" in fighting inflation.
CRUCIAL QUOTE
"[Another] factor behind our change in thinking comes from monetary policy, where the Fed has become more committed to using its tools to help restore price stability, with a willingness to accept at least some pain in the process," the Gapen-led team said Wednesday, pointing out Fed Chair Jerome Powell Chair Powell has been explicit in saying it will be "quite challenging" to stabilize prices while avoiding a recession.
KEY BACKGROUND
The U.S. economy posted its worst showing since the Covid-induced recession in the first quarter, shrinking 1.6% despite expectations originally calling for 1% growth. The worse-than-expected decline makes a second straight quarterly decline in GDP “much more likely,” Pantheon Macro chief economist Ian Shepherdson said earlier this month, forecasting that GDP fell 0.5% in the second quarter. However, he believes the job market remains strong enough to help avoid a recession—particularly after robust data for last month. Economists at Goldman Sachs agree, telling clients earlier this week that it would be "historically unusual" for the labor market to appear so strong during a recession.
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The Far-Right Christian Quest for Power: ‘We Are Seeing Them Emboldened’
July 8, 2022
Three weeks before he won the Republican nomination for Pennsylvania governor, Doug Mastriano stood beside a three-foot-tall painted eagle statue and declared the power of God.
“Any free people in the house here? Did Jesus set you free?” he asked, revving up the dozens before him on a Saturday afternoon at a Gettysburg roadside hotel.
Mr. Mastriano, a state senator, retired Army colonel and prominent figure in former President Donald J. Trump’s futile efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 election results, was addressing a far-right conference that mixed Christian beliefs with conspiracy theories, called Patriots Arise. Instead of focusing on issues like taxes, gas prices or abortion policy, he wove a story about what he saw as the true Christian identity of the nation, and how it was time, together, for Christians to reclaim political power.
The separation of church and state was a “myth,” he said. “In November we are going to take our state back, my God will make it so.”
Mr. Mastriano’s ascension in Pennsylvania is perhaps the most prominent example of right-wing candidates for public office who explicitly aim to promote Christian power in America. The religious right has long supported conservative causes, but this current wave seeks more: a nation that actively prioritizes their particular set of Christian beliefs and far-right views and that more openly embraces Christianity as a bedrock identity.
Many dismiss the historic American principle of the separation of church and state. They say they do not advocate a theocracy, but argue for a foundational role for their faith in government. Their rise coincides with significant backing among like-minded grass-roots supporters, especially as some voters and politicians blend their Christian faith with election fraud conspiracy theories, QAnon ideology, gun rights and lingering anger over Covid-related restrictions.
Their presence reveals a fringe pushing into the mainstream.
“The church is supposed to direct the government, the government is not supposed to direct the church,” Representative Lauren Boebert, a Republican representing the western part of Colorado, said recently at Cornerstone Christian Center, a church near Aspen. “I’m tired of this separation of church and state junk.” Congregants rose to their feet in applause.
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