Thursday, August 31, 2023
The Effect of the Jesuit Eschatologies on America Today
August 1, 2023 James Arendt
– by Dr. Ronald Cooke
Foreword by the webmaster
I once had a hard copy of this booklet sent to me from a visitor to this website. I lent it to my Baptist pastor hoping he would read it and learn that all the Endtime prophecy stuff he learned in Baptist seminary was bunk and based on Jesuits doctrines. I’m thankful that the pastor himself confesses he is weak in Endtime prophecy and therefore doesn’t teach it from the pulpit. If he did, I wouldn’t be going to his church. Though it’s been over a year now, I don’t think my pastor read it for if he did I’m sure he would have said something to me about it. Before I lent the booklet to the pastor, I scanned the pages to make sure I have a copy. This article is the introduction only. I hope it inspires you to do your own research, and especially so if you don’t agree with what Dr. Cooke is saying.
The emphasis in bold in the text are mine. The images at the beginning of the chapters are not the original images in Dr. Cooke’s book, they’re my own idea.
INTRODUCTION
In closing off this series of Tracts our desire has been to look at how the different errors and deceptions of this present evil age culminate in what the Bible calls Mystery Babylon the Great. Demonstrating that the god of this age has been working in the “church” since Paul wrote his epistle to the Thessalonians mentioning the truth that in his day, the “mystery of iniquity was already at work.”
I do not know what the future holds as far as my life on earth is concerned. My life is now drawing to a close. I have no idea what my future ministry holds for me, nor how long it will continue. But I can, and DO, look at what has occurred in my lifetime, and what is occurring at the present time.
Almost all my American friends are FUTURIST in their eschatology. All my teachers, every last one of them as far as I know, at Trinity College and at Talbot Seminary, were FUTURISTS. As I am now getting older, if not old, many of my friends have already died, and ALL my teachers at Trinity and Talbot, have all died. I think of them still and remember what they taught concerning the Antichrist-the BEAST-of Revelation. They all taught that he would be a coming world dictator who would not appear until after the church was raptured.
I listened with patience to all my teachers at Trinity and at Talbot, who taught me fifty years ago. They warned about the terrible Man of Sin, the last great world dictator who would arise at the very end of the age. They never told me, this view was first set forth by the Jesuit, Francisco Ribera, in 1590.
I have read several works by the Reconstructionists who, taking the Preterist approach to the book of Revelation dismiss Antichrist as a man who existed in the first century of the church, but who has long since disappeared off the face of the earth and so affects NO ONE in America or the world today. This view was first set forth by the Jesuit Luis Alcasar, in 1604. So the two Jesuit views of Antichrist have had a very great impact upon the church in America over the past generation. The view that the Protestant Reformers and Puritans had of the Antichrist has been dismissed both by the Futurist and the Preterists.
I have wrestled with eschatology for more than fifty years. I am not dogmatic on the details of prophecy. There are many details that I have great difficulty fitting into a complete system. However, where the Scriptures reveal clearly the meaning of symbols then I follow what the Scriptures reveal in those areas. In this tract I am looking at the revival of Jesuit teachings in England and America over the past two hundred years. I am also looking more at the impact of the Jesuit eschatologies on American Christianity in my lifetime, than at any complete end-time scenario.
Wednesday, August 30, 2023
Religious Liberty Event Pays Tribute to 130 Years of Advocacy
AUGUST 23, 2023
Religious Liberty Event Pays Tribute to 130 Years of Advocacy
IRLA 9th World Congress encourages participants to reflect and act for the good of all people.
Marcos Paseggi, Adventist Review
Attendees of the IRLA’s 9th World Congress follow the proceedings in Silver Spring, Maryland, on August 21. [Photo: Marcos Paseggi, Adventist Review]
Nearly 150 religious liberty leaders, scholars, and advocates from around the world met for the 9th World Congress of the International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA) in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States, August 21-23.
The international event invited attendees to discuss “a wholistic understanding of freedom of religion or belief as a pivotal human right,” organizers said.
In his remarks on August 21, Ted N. C. Wilson, president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, welcomed attendees, reminding them of the historical focus of the denomination on the topic.
“Adventist pioneers … saw in religious liberty an incontrovertible value without which our very humanity could be at risk of being diminished and impaired,” thus embracing “the priceless value of religious freedom, and the foundation of freedom itself,” Wilson said.
Wilson shared how Adventist pioneers fought against oppression of others, against slavery, and against early attempts at Sunday laws. “Adventist leaders officially adopted a solidarity with the whole human family through the advocacy of religious liberty,” he reminded attendees.
Tuesday, August 29, 2023
Vivek Ramaswamy is worth $950 million. Here’s how he became rich
By
Ariel Zilber
August 24, 2023 12:39pm
Updated
Roseanne Barr teams
Vivek Ramaswamy, the 38-year-old Republican presidential candidate who emerged from nowhere to challenge Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place in the GOP primary race, is one of the wealthiest Americans under the age of 40.
Ramaswamy, the son of Indian immigrants who studied biology at Harvard before obtaining a law degree from Yale, was briefly a billionaire before a downturn in the stock market shrunk his wealth to just over $950 million, according to Forbes.
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He derives most of his fortune from the 10% ownership stake in Roivant Sciences, the biotechnology firm that he founded in 2014.
Ramaswamy, who was raised in the Hindu faith by his parents but went to a Catholic high school, was a hedge fund analyst at QVT before he started Roivant at the age of 29.
He conceived of Roivant as a company that would create subsidiaries that would develop drugs that were overlooked and abandoned by larger pharmaceutical makers.
One of his first major business moves was to acquire the rights to an Alzheimer’s medication that was developed by GlaxoSmithKline and make the drug the centerpiece of a Roivant subsidiary, Axovant.
GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy has amassed a fortune worth $950 million at the age of 38.AP
The drug, intepirdine, showed promising results in early clinical trials, enabling Roivant to take Axovant public in a 2015 IPO that raised $360 million.
In 2017, Roivant raised $1.1 billion in equity from several venture capital firms, including SoftBank.
Ramaswamy took Roivant public in 2021 through a merger with a blank-check firm that valued the company at $7.3 billion.
The drug, intepirdine, showed promising results in early clinical trials, enabling Roivant to take Axovant public in a 2015 IPO that raised $360 million.
In 2017, Roivant raised $1.1 billion in equity from several venture capital firms, including SoftBank.
Ramaswamy took Roivant public in 2021 through a merger with a blank-check firm that valued the company at $7.3 billion.
Ramaswamy earned a biology degree from Harvard before going on to Yale Law School.Getty Images
Since founding Roivant, Ramaswamy has taken in more than $260 million in salary, bonuses, and capital gains.
Ramaswamy’s 10% stake in the company, which had a market capitalization of $8.87 billion as of Thursday morning, translates into $887 million on paper.
So far this year, Roivant’s stock price is up by more than 82%.
Since founding Roivant, Ramaswamy has taken in more than $260 million in salary, bonuses, and capital gains.
Ramaswamy’s 10% stake in the company, which had a market capitalization of $8.87 billion as of Thursday morning, translates into $887 million on paper.
So far this year, Roivant’s stock price is up by more than 82%.
Ramaswamy derives most of his wealth from the 10% ownership stake in biotech firm Roivant.AP
Ramaswamy has also diversified his investments to include cryptocurrency as well as stakes in YouTube upstart rival Rumble and digital payments firm MoonPay, according to Forbes.
He also founded an “anti-woke” index fund, Strive Asset Manager, which was recently valued at $300 million.
Ramaswamy has also diversified his investments to include cryptocurrency as well as stakes in YouTube upstart rival Rumble and digital payments firm MoonPay, according to Forbes.
He also founded an “anti-woke” index fund, Strive Asset Manager, which was recently valued at $300 million.
He conceived of Roivant as a company that would create subsidiaries that would develop drugs that were overlooked and abandoned by larger pharmaceutical makers.roivant.com
Ramaswamy’s stake in Strive is said to be worth $100 million.
In recent years Ramaswamy has become a fierce conservative.
In his 2021 bestseller “Woke, Inc.,” Ramaswamy decries decisions by some big companies to base business strategy around social justice and climate change concerns and lambastes “wokeism” as an insidious influence on hard work, capitalism, religious faith, and patriotism.
The book raised Ramaswamy’s profile among conservatives, and he began his rapid ascension as a right-wing star.
Ramaswamy’s stake in Strive is said to be worth $100 million.
In recent years Ramaswamy has become a fierce conservative.
In his 2021 bestseller “Woke, Inc.,” Ramaswamy decries decisions by some big companies to base business strategy around social justice and climate change concerns and lambastes “wokeism” as an insidious influence on hard work, capitalism, religious faith, and patriotism.
The book raised Ramaswamy’s profile among conservatives, and he began his rapid ascension as a right-wing star.
Pope tells Jesuits inclusivity, doctrinal evolution, synodality are crucial to Church
Pope Francis during his meeting with Jesuits in Lisbon during WYD 2023 (Vatican Media)
POPE
POPE
The Jesuit publication "La Civiltà Cattolica" publishes a transcript of the dialogue between Pope Francis and the Jesuits of Portugal during the Pontiff's visit to Lisbon for WYD 2023. In the conversation, the Holy Father addresses a range of topics, sharing insights on the Church's challenges and his vision for inclusivity, doctrinal development, and the Synod.
By Francesca Merlo
In an open dialogue with the Jesuits of Lisbon during his visit to Portugal for World Youth Day, Pope Francis engaged with them in conversation and covered a wide array of topics, sharing profound insights on the Church's contemporary challenges and his vision for inclusivity, doctrinal progression, and the Synod.
Inclusivity takes centre stage
Central to the discussion was the theme of inclusivity. Throughout World Youth Day in Lisbon, the rallying cry for an all-embracing Church resonated powerfully with the words "Todos, todos" (Everyone, everyone), pronounced by Pope Francis as he stressed that the Church "has space for everyone". He emphasized the pivotal importance of creating a space for all individuals, irrespective of their sexual orientation or gender identity, within the Church. This message continued to echo through his exchange with the Jesuits of Portugal.
Acceptance for all
The Pope reiterated his call to embrace homosexual people within the Church. He critiqued the disproportionate fixation on sexual transgressions, noting that other 'offenses' often remain overlooked. He emphasized the need for a pastorally sensitive and imaginative approach to accompany individuals on their spiritual journeys.
The Pope also recounted an encounter with a group of transgender individuals who were moved to tears by the Pope's acceptance and empathy. He underscored the necessity of reaching out to marginalized communities who often grapple with feelings of rejection, and he accentuated the significance of empathy and compassion.
Urgent concerns regarding ongoing wars
Addressing critical global concerns, Pope Francis conveyed deep apprehension over the persistent prevalence of wars since the conclusion of World War II. He spotlighted the contemporary state of global affairs and underscored the imperative of seeking peaceful resolutions.
Doctrinal Development
The dialogue delved into tensions existing within the Church, including reactionary attitudes and resistance to the tenets of the Second Vatican Council. The Pontiff acknowledged the intricate challenges posed by those who scrutinize Vatican II without explicitly naming it. He underscored the dynamic nature of doctrinal evolution and expounded on the notion that Church doctrine is not an unchanging monolith, but rather an evolving entity. He invoked historical instances such as the changing perspectives on the death penalty, nuclear weapons, and slavery to illustrate the fluidity of doctrine over time.
Against spiritual worldliness
Pope Francis expressed apprehensions about the encroachment of excessive worldliness into religious life. He cautioned against compromising core values with the allure of worldly ideologies. Referring to his recent communication to Rome's priests, he cautioned against succumbing to spiritual worldliness and the potential harm it could inflict on the Church. He further explored the challenges posed by a society permeated with an "eroticized" ethos and the implications of issues like pornography in the digital age.
Synodality
Finally, Pope Francis conveyed his anticipation regarding the impending Synod, a gathering of Church leaders to deliberate on significant matters. He clarified that the Synod wasn't his brainchild; instead, it aimed to restore synodality within the Church—a concept first championed by Pope Paul VI. He emphasized that the driving force behind the Synod was the Holy Spirit, guiding its deliberations devoid of political bias or a focus on garnering votes.
Monday, August 28, 2023
The Jesuits and the Covid Pandemic
The Jesuits and the Covid Pandemic
Some might say that talk of the Jesuits is pure speculation and just one of the many conspiracy theories in a sea of confusion. Ignorance of history is at the heart of such accusation. Steve Mathews of Trinity Foundation Radio reached out to Stuart Quint and Greg Bentley of the Berean Beacon to discuss the Jesuits in the Covid pandemic.
The radio program uncovers the historic purpose of the Roman Catholic Jesuit Order and we candidly discuss Jesuit plots of old and the common thread that weaves its way through all of today’s tyrannical world leaders. We are clearly seeing the hand of the Roman Catholic Church and her Jesuits manifested in Canada as well as other once free Nations.
Download
A FAREWELL TO VIROLOGY (PT 1): Dr Mark Bailey / Steve Falconer
First published at 00:53 UTC on August 26th, 2023.
#COVID
#VIROLOGY
#HOAX
Spacebusters
Part one of a three part series. "A Farewell to Virology" is a 29,000 word essay debunking virus theory and virology, written by Dr Mark Bailey, MBChB, PGDipMSM, MHealSc. It has yet to be contested and the purpose of this film is to explain why.
This film version walks the layperson through the paper and scientific evidence in an easy, simple and understandable way, so that they may better understand and be able to easily explain to others the great hoax of the last few centuries and certainly last three years, that fictional particles called "viruses" exist, cause illness and are reasons to lock down and destroy societies and economies and cause lifelong disease and misery through needless and useless vaccination programs. They don't.
Download the full "A Farewell to Virology" essay here: https://drsambailey.com/a-farewell-to-virology-expert-edition/
#VIROLOGY
#HOAX
Spacebusters
Part one of a three part series. "A Farewell to Virology" is a 29,000 word essay debunking virus theory and virology, written by Dr Mark Bailey, MBChB, PGDipMSM, MHealSc. It has yet to be contested and the purpose of this film is to explain why.
This film version walks the layperson through the paper and scientific evidence in an easy, simple and understandable way, so that they may better understand and be able to easily explain to others the great hoax of the last few centuries and certainly last three years, that fictional particles called "viruses" exist, cause illness and are reasons to lock down and destroy societies and economies and cause lifelong disease and misery through needless and useless vaccination programs. They don't.
Download the full "A Farewell to Virology" essay here: https://drsambailey.com/a-farewell-to-virology-expert-edition/
Jesuit Novices Pronounce First Vows
August 22, 2023 — Twenty-four Jesuit novices in the United States, Canada and Haiti pronounced first vows of poverty, chastity and obedience this month. A novice spends two years at the novitiate for the first stage of Jesuit formation, culminating in the profession of first vows in the Society of Jesus.
Nine Jesuits pronounced first vows on August 12 at Saint Thomas More Catholic Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Front row: Solomon Liebl, Leonardo Rander Assé Jr., Ryan Cruise, and Joseph Ertle. Back row: Brian Kemper, Scott Fox, Carl Caceres, Michael Bauer, and Benjamin Rogers.
Vow Day Masses were held at Sacred Heart Chapel at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles; Saint Thomas More Catholic Church in St. Paul, Minnesota; the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Syracuse, New York; St. Charles Borromeo Church in Grand Coteau, Louisiana; Church of the Gesù in Montreal; and the chapel of the Missionary Sisters of Christ the King in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Vow Day Masses were held at Sacred Heart Chapel at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles; Saint Thomas More Catholic Church in St. Paul, Minnesota; the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Syracuse, New York; St. Charles Borromeo Church in Grand Coteau, Louisiana; Church of the Gesù in Montreal; and the chapel of the Missionary Sisters of Christ the King in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Justin Sauro, SJ, and Nader Nasralla, SJ, pronounced first vows on August 12 at St. Kevin Church in Montreal.
At the Mass, each Jesuit novice makes the profession of vows individually in front of the Eucharist, just as St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, and some of his first companions did. They also receive a vow cross that they will keep for the rest of their lives.
At the Mass, each Jesuit novice makes the profession of vows individually in front of the Eucharist, just as St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, and some of his first companions did. They also receive a vow cross that they will keep for the rest of their lives.
Niko Lignore, SJ, Fr. Nick Colalella, SJ, and Luke Olsen, SJ, pronounced first vows on August 12 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Syracuse, New York.
During their two years in the novitiate, the novices prepared to become vowed members of the order by learning about the Society, participating in local ministries and living in Jesuit communities. They also embarked on pilgrimages, performed community service and completed the Spiritual Exercises — a 30-day silent retreat developed by St. Ignatius.
During their two years in the novitiate, the novices prepared to become vowed members of the order by learning about the Society, participating in local ministries and living in Jesuit communities. They also embarked on pilgrimages, performed community service and completed the Spiritual Exercises — a 30-day silent retreat developed by St. Ignatius.
Roodler Datilus, SJ, and Renaud Morantus, SJ, pronounced first vows at the Missionary Sisters of Christ the King in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on August 6, pictured here with Fr. Jean Denis Saint Félix, SJ, superior for Haiti.
Novices also experience life as a Jesuit, including living in community and ministering in different settings — from hospitals and third world countries to soup kitchens and Jesuit high schools.
Novices also experience life as a Jesuit, including living in community and ministering in different settings — from hospitals and third world countries to soup kitchens and Jesuit high schools.
Pierre Vu Thompson, SJ, pronounced first vows at Sacred Heart Chapel at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, on August 12.
By the time a novice kneels at the altar to pronounce vows, he is prepared and ready to speak the words of the vow formula to God, which concludes: “And as you have freely given me the desire to make offering, so also may you give me the abundant grace to fulfill it.”
By the time a novice kneels at the altar to pronounce vows, he is prepared and ready to speak the words of the vow formula to God, which concludes: “And as you have freely given me the desire to make offering, so also may you give me the abundant grace to fulfill it.”
Seven Jesuits pronounced first vows on August 12 at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Grand Coteau, Louisiana: Matthew Brazzolotto, Joe Laughlin, José López, Carlos Martínez-Vela, Scott McKillip, Chris Ross and Paolo Taffaro.
Following first vows, Jesuits preparing to be priests usually begin three years of studies: two years of philosophy studies, combined with one year of graduate-level theology courses. Those men who take vows as a Jesuit brother will usually take several theology courses. Click here to read more about the steps of Jesuit formation at beajesuit.org.
Following first vows, Jesuits preparing to be priests usually begin three years of studies: two years of philosophy studies, combined with one year of graduate-level theology courses. Those men who take vows as a Jesuit brother will usually take several theology courses. Click here to read more about the steps of Jesuit formation at beajesuit.org.
The Jesuit Order Banned In Nicaragua
Society Of Jesus Banned In Nicaragua
By David Agren
Published
2 days ago
A Nicaraguan exiled in Costa Rica holds up a sign reading: "Ortega and Murillo Out! #SOSNicaragua" during the "Vigil of Faith and Freedom" outside the Metropolitan Cathedral in San Jose, Costa Rica, Aug. 19, 2022, to protest against the detention of Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa, by Nicaraguan authorities. The Nicaraguan regime extinguished the Jesuits' legal status Aug. 23, 2023, and said it will expropriate its assets, effectively making it illegal for the Society of Jesus to operate in the Central American country. (OSV News photo/Mayela Lopez, Reuters)
MEXICO CITY (OSV News) — The Nicaraguan regime has extinguished the Jesuits’ legal status and ordered the expropriation of its assets, effectively making it illegal for the Society of Jesus to operate in the Central American country.
The legal cancellation of the Jesuits on Aug. 23 follows the confiscation of the Jesuit-run Central American University a week earlier, with authorities accusing the school of hosting a “center of terrorism” and seizing its campus in the capital city of Managua.
The Jesuit province in Central America condemned the cancellation, saying in an Aug. 23 statement that this is part of a government policy of systematic repression that violates human rights and appears “to be aimed at consolidating a totalitarian state.”
“The decision was made without the record that the administrative procedures established by law have been carried out,” the statement continued.
“We hold the president and the vice president of Nicaragua responsible for, at least, endorsing these facts and preventing the existence of conditions of judicial independence and neutrality that would allow measures to stop, reverse and sanction them.”
The Nicaraguan interior ministry accused the Jesuits of lacking the proper oversight for a non-governmental group and failing to file tax information with the government between 2020 and 2022. The status of non-citizen Jesuits remains uncertain as the order would lack the legal standing to sponsor their immigration visas.
The cancellation of the Jesuits’ legal status in Nicaragua culminates a campaign of hostilities against the order and what had been its best-known project in the country, the Central American University.
The university was seized from the Jesuits, but recently reopened with a new name (Universidad Nacional Casimiro Sotelo Montenegro), a leadership team considered close with the regime, and the ruling Sandinista party’s black and red flag flying over the campus.
Six Jesuits affiliated with the Central America University were subsequently evicted from their home Aug. 21, even though they showed a title proving the property did not belong to the university. Other Jesuit projects in Nicaragua include Fe y Alegría educational centers, which serve more than 55,000 students, along with programs for farmers and people with disabilities.
The university came into conflict with the regime of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, after students participated in protests calling for Ortega’s ouster in 2018 and school officials opened the campus to wounded protesters fleeing police and paramilitaries.
School officials and students later participated in a national dialogue facilitated by the Nicaraguan bishops’ conference to find an exit to the national crisis — but the bishops later withdrew, alleging bad faith on the government side.
“The University was the last bastion of freedom” in Nicaragua, Enrique Pumar, a sociology professor at the Jesuit-run University of Santa Clara, told OSV News.
He described the relationship between the Jesuits and the ruling Sandinistas, who first took power in a 1979 revolution, as “love-hate.” Some Jesuits eagerly backed the Sandinistas and even served in government, but many in the order and the Catholic Church “supported more gradual change” than Ortega, according to Pumar.
The Ortega-Murillo regime has cracked down on the Catholic Church over the past five years, harassing, imprisoning and expelling priests for accompanying the families of political prisoners and speaking out against gross violations of human rights.
Bishop Rolando Álvarez remains imprisoned on a 26-year sentence, which was handed down after he refused to join 222 political prisoners sent into exile and stripped of their citizenship in February.
The regime has canceled, banned and expelled other religious orders, including Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in 2022 — raising similar, unproven accusations of internal misgovernance. More than 3,000 non-governmental groups in Nicaragua have lost their legal status.
David Agren writes for OSV News from Mexico City.
MEXICO CITY (OSV News) — The Nicaraguan regime has extinguished the Jesuits’ legal status and ordered the expropriation of its assets, effectively making it illegal for the Society of Jesus to operate in the Central American country.
The legal cancellation of the Jesuits on Aug. 23 follows the confiscation of the Jesuit-run Central American University a week earlier, with authorities accusing the school of hosting a “center of terrorism” and seizing its campus in the capital city of Managua.
The Jesuit province in Central America condemned the cancellation, saying in an Aug. 23 statement that this is part of a government policy of systematic repression that violates human rights and appears “to be aimed at consolidating a totalitarian state.”
“The decision was made without the record that the administrative procedures established by law have been carried out,” the statement continued.
“We hold the president and the vice president of Nicaragua responsible for, at least, endorsing these facts and preventing the existence of conditions of judicial independence and neutrality that would allow measures to stop, reverse and sanction them.”
The Nicaraguan interior ministry accused the Jesuits of lacking the proper oversight for a non-governmental group and failing to file tax information with the government between 2020 and 2022. The status of non-citizen Jesuits remains uncertain as the order would lack the legal standing to sponsor their immigration visas.
The cancellation of the Jesuits’ legal status in Nicaragua culminates a campaign of hostilities against the order and what had been its best-known project in the country, the Central American University.
The university was seized from the Jesuits, but recently reopened with a new name (Universidad Nacional Casimiro Sotelo Montenegro), a leadership team considered close with the regime, and the ruling Sandinista party’s black and red flag flying over the campus.
Six Jesuits affiliated with the Central America University were subsequently evicted from their home Aug. 21, even though they showed a title proving the property did not belong to the university. Other Jesuit projects in Nicaragua include Fe y Alegría educational centers, which serve more than 55,000 students, along with programs for farmers and people with disabilities.
The university came into conflict with the regime of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, after students participated in protests calling for Ortega’s ouster in 2018 and school officials opened the campus to wounded protesters fleeing police and paramilitaries.
School officials and students later participated in a national dialogue facilitated by the Nicaraguan bishops’ conference to find an exit to the national crisis — but the bishops later withdrew, alleging bad faith on the government side.
“The University was the last bastion of freedom” in Nicaragua, Enrique Pumar, a sociology professor at the Jesuit-run University of Santa Clara, told OSV News.
He described the relationship between the Jesuits and the ruling Sandinistas, who first took power in a 1979 revolution, as “love-hate.” Some Jesuits eagerly backed the Sandinistas and even served in government, but many in the order and the Catholic Church “supported more gradual change” than Ortega, according to Pumar.
The Ortega-Murillo regime has cracked down on the Catholic Church over the past five years, harassing, imprisoning and expelling priests for accompanying the families of political prisoners and speaking out against gross violations of human rights.
Bishop Rolando Álvarez remains imprisoned on a 26-year sentence, which was handed down after he refused to join 222 political prisoners sent into exile and stripped of their citizenship in February.
The regime has canceled, banned and expelled other religious orders, including Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in 2022 — raising similar, unproven accusations of internal misgovernance. More than 3,000 non-governmental groups in Nicaragua have lost their legal status.
David Agren writes for OSV News from Mexico City.
Sunday, August 27, 2023
Saturday, August 26, 2023
Friday, August 25, 2023
Climate Change Is Still a Huge Electoral Problem for Republicans
With Vivek Ramaswamy still calling it a “hoax,” how can the other GOP candidates gain credibility on an issue Americans care about?
BY NITISH PAHWA
AUG 25, 20235:50 AM
Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy at the first GOP debate on Wednesday in Milwaukee. Win McNamee/Getty Images
About 20 minutes into Wednesday’s Republican presidential nominee debate, the Fox News anchors turned things over to a college student with a pertinent question. “Polls consistently show that young people’s No. 1 issue is climate change,” said Alexander Diaz, chair of Young Americans for Freedom at the Catholic University of America. “How will you, as both president of the United States and leader of the Republican Party, calm their fears that the Republican Party doesn’t care about climate change?”
It was, honestly, a remarkable moment. Fox News itself has been no slouch in the decades-spanning right-wing mission to downplay the effects of climate change, disputing the near-universal global agreement that human overdependence on fossil fuels is to blame. Yet, just before Diaz’s question, moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum pointed to the historic weather disasters unfolding across the country—Maui’s wildfires, Tropical Storm Hilary, the Florida coast’s “hot tub” ocean temperatures, the record-breaking Southwestern heat waves—and noted their links to human impacts. They even closed out Diaz’s question with one of the most pointed gestures of the night: asking each candidate to raise their hand to demonstrate their belief that the climate was indeed changing thanks to human action.
Granted, the bar is so, so low. In the 2012 cycle, there were more questions asked about the moon than about the Earth. In 2016, voters concerned about our climate’s future had to watch Hillary Clinton declare that she believed in science as a laugh line, since the concept of a (denialist) President Donald Trump was still perceived as a joke. Last cycle, climate change did come up, albeit mostly in the Democratic primaries, not in Trump-devoted Republican circles. But over the past decade, the climate around climate change has, well, changed considerably: Following youth trends more broadly, Gen Z and millennial Republicans have consistently stated that they want their party to take firm action on the problem. As John Della Volpe, polling director at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, noted in a pre-debate newsletter: “Protecting access to clean air and water … is about as important to younger Republicans as preserving traditional values is for older ones.”
Diaz himself is evidence of this new type of young Republican: He interned this summer for Arizona Rep. Juan Ciscomani, a freshman Republican who, in a bipartisan talk held in Tucson this week, touted the opportunity to make his state a “climate tech hub” while mentioning his congressional work to protect public lands and fund the cleanup of “forever chemicals” from Arizonan water supplies. Far from sufficient, but better than many Republicans these days.
About 20 minutes into Wednesday’s Republican presidential nominee debate, the Fox News anchors turned things over to a college student with a pertinent question. “Polls consistently show that young people’s No. 1 issue is climate change,” said Alexander Diaz, chair of Young Americans for Freedom at the Catholic University of America. “How will you, as both president of the United States and leader of the Republican Party, calm their fears that the Republican Party doesn’t care about climate change?”
It was, honestly, a remarkable moment. Fox News itself has been no slouch in the decades-spanning right-wing mission to downplay the effects of climate change, disputing the near-universal global agreement that human overdependence on fossil fuels is to blame. Yet, just before Diaz’s question, moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum pointed to the historic weather disasters unfolding across the country—Maui’s wildfires, Tropical Storm Hilary, the Florida coast’s “hot tub” ocean temperatures, the record-breaking Southwestern heat waves—and noted their links to human impacts. They even closed out Diaz’s question with one of the most pointed gestures of the night: asking each candidate to raise their hand to demonstrate their belief that the climate was indeed changing thanks to human action.
Granted, the bar is so, so low. In the 2012 cycle, there were more questions asked about the moon than about the Earth. In 2016, voters concerned about our climate’s future had to watch Hillary Clinton declare that she believed in science as a laugh line, since the concept of a (denialist) President Donald Trump was still perceived as a joke. Last cycle, climate change did come up, albeit mostly in the Democratic primaries, not in Trump-devoted Republican circles. But over the past decade, the climate around climate change has, well, changed considerably: Following youth trends more broadly, Gen Z and millennial Republicans have consistently stated that they want their party to take firm action on the problem. As John Della Volpe, polling director at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, noted in a pre-debate newsletter: “Protecting access to clean air and water … is about as important to younger Republicans as preserving traditional values is for older ones.”
Diaz himself is evidence of this new type of young Republican: He interned this summer for Arizona Rep. Juan Ciscomani, a freshman Republican who, in a bipartisan talk held in Tucson this week, touted the opportunity to make his state a “climate tech hub” while mentioning his congressional work to protect public lands and fund the cleanup of “forever chemicals” from Arizonan water supplies. Far from sufficient, but better than many Republicans these days.
Anyway, how did the candidates respond to the should-be layup of “raise your hand if you agree humans are changing the climate”? Not well, obviously, as this is the party whose base is still in thrall to Donald Trump—who gutted environmental regulations during his administration and has declared his intent to further that project should he win in 2024, likely in part by complaining about water-efficient showerheads.
A request for a quick gesture devolved into a melee of incoherent braying. Ron DeSantis interrupted the hand-raising exercise to say they should get to debate the issue instead. Then he went off on a misleading rant about President Joe Biden’s Maui response that moderators agreed was not an answer to the question at hand. Everything got worse when Vivek Ramaswamy jumped in with this absolute humdinger: “I’m the only person on this stage who isn’t bought and paid for, so I can say this: The climate change agenda is a hoax.” Wildly enough, the in-house viewers booed Ramaswamy for this; the polling firm Navigator found that his approval among independent women voters dropped sharply as Ramaswamy continued ranting about the “anti-carbon agenda” and attributed human casualties to “bad climate change policies.” This also fueled a heated personal squabble with Chris Christie, in an early manifestation of the candidates’ deep contempt for this fast-talking newcomer—who, tauntingly, brought up the Christie-Obama “hug” that followed Superstorm Sandy.
Then Nikki Haley responded, in … a relatively thoughtful manner? “We do care about clean air, clean water—we want to see that taken care of,” she declared. “Is climate change real? Yes, it is. But if you wanna go and really change the environment, then we need to start telling China and India that they have to lower their emissions.” Whatever you make of that line, it is maybe the most reasonable thing any Republican debater said about the issue—again, the bar is so, so low—and it earned a bit of applause.
Haley took a similar tack on abortion, dismissing the push for a federal ban (an incredibly unpopular policy helmed only by incredibly unpopular people, like Mike Pence) and holding forth on the need to protect vulnerable women instead of just, like, jailing them. Both subjects require GOP contenders, in the hopes of “appeasing the base,” to take extremist positions (being anti-abortion, denying human-caused climate change) that are wildly at odds with what the clear majority of American people actually want (access to abortion, action on climate change). Thanks to a detested former president and an outright-loathed Supreme Court, the GOP has backed itself into self-defeating stances both topics. The other candidates’ waffling only underscored this, as did post-debate polling demonstrating that even though Haley was favored by independents, Ramaswamy charmed the Trump-era base.
Overall, it wasn’t a great night for anyone who desires a more reality-oriented GOP. Ramaswamy hammered his oft-repeated “Drill, frack, burn coal” line, earning some cheers; Doug Burgum, known for embracing a bit of action to reduce emissions as North Dakota governor, nevertheless echoed Haley’s critiques of Biden’s climate policies for allegedly “subsidizing China,” conveniently forgetting the domestic battery factory coming to his state thanks to funds from the president’s infrastructure bill. “If we’re going to stop buying oil from the Middle East and start buying batteries from China, we’re going to trade OPEC for Sinopec,” he blustered. (Buddy, I’m sure that one sounded a lot better in your head.)
Once again, the Republican Party is on track to dismiss the existential concerns of young voters—even as they grow into an ever-important voting bloc. If this didn’t help the GOP in the past few election cycles, it’s probably not going to help them in the next one, either. At any rate, it’s going to be an interesting several months!
Thursday, August 24, 2023
Tuesday, August 22, 2023
Monday, August 21, 2023
Sunday, August 20, 2023
Saturday, August 19, 2023
2 Thessalonians 2:3,4.
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Friday, August 18, 2023
Wednesday, August 16, 2023
Tuesday, August 15, 2023
Monday, August 14, 2023
POPE FRANCIS WARNS THAT HUMANKIND IS FACING AN ‘URGENT’ CRISIS THAT MUST BE DEALT WITH IMMEDIATELY: ‘[THIS] CONCERNS EVERYONE’
POPE FRANCIS WARNS THAT HUMANKIND IS FACING AN ‘URGENT’ CRISIS THAT MUST BE DEALT WITH IMMEDIATELY: ‘[THIS] CONCERNS EVERYONE’
“I renew my appeal to world leaders to do something more concrete … “
By Sara KlimekAugust 13, 2023
Photo Credit: Getty Images
The challenge of tackling our planet’s overheating has received its fair share of attention from celebrities, business owners, and activists. But one figure has had some particularly strong words to share.
In a message to visitors at St. Peter’s Square this summer, Pope Francis said, according to Reuters, “I renew my appeal to world leaders to do something more concrete to limit polluting emissions.”
He also noted, “[The emissions are] an urgent challenge, it cannot be postponed, it concerns everyone. Let us protect our common home.”
His statement came in the wake of heat waves across the planet, as well as flooding in countries such as South Korea. Soon afterward, scientists determined that July 2023 would be the hottest month in recorded history. The global mean temperature for the month of July has hovered around 61 degrees Fahrenheit in the past. This year, the average mean temperature has soared by 2 degrees.
This isn’t the first time Pope Francis has been critical of dirty energy sources like oil and gas. He has made environmental protection a key component of his tenure as pope, claiming in a 2015 “Laudato Si” (Praised Be) letter that the planet was “beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth,” per Reuters.
“I urgently appeal, then, for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet,” the Pope wrote at the time. “We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all.”
Pope Francis has nested his climate-forward perspectives in the idea that individuals should protect “God’s creation” from environmental degradation, pollution, and climate change.
The Pope has been highly critical of world governments’ efforts to achieve this mission. In a message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation prepared in May 2023, the Pope called for an end to “the senseless war against creation.”
He also drew a direct link between dirty energy and global climate change.
“According to the commitments undertaken in the Paris Agreement to restrain global warming, it is absurd to permit the continued exploration and expansion of fossil fuel infrastructures,” the Pope shared in his message, Reuters reported.
OUT OF SHADOWS THE OFFICIAL DOCUMENTARY 2020 with Mike Smith Liz Crokin (Explicit Language)
WARNING: Explicit Language
Sunday, August 13, 2023
The Weaponization of Justice
August 13, 2023
The Weaponization of Justice
By Clarice Feldman
If you read nothing else this week, read Victor Davis Hanson’s article in American Greatness detailing how Obama began “the most radical revolutions” in our history. As legal matters -- the lawfare waged against former President Trump and the Department of Justice’s pussyfooting around the Biden bribery took this week’s center stage, it’s useful to note his remarks on the weaponization of justice in this country.
Here’s a sample:
Administrations and their efforts to stock the justice department with supporters come and go. But in the last decade the Left has viewed the Department of Justice as a political extension of the party -- whose unchecked power must properly be directed to hurt enemies and help friends. [snip]
Never in U.S. history have the Department of Justice and sympathetic state and local prosecutors indicted a leading opposition candidate and likely nominee of one of the two major parties, and at the beginning of a presidential campaign. Donald Trump is currently charged with nearly 100 felonies by at least two prosecutors. He likely eventually will be hit with more than- 500 indictments, from four prosecutors, every one of the latter with a long record of either leftwing associations or Democratic service.
The mass murderer Charles Manson faced less legal exposure. No one believes Trump would have been indicted on such counts -- most of them involving allegations from years past -- were he not running for President.
One count that Donald Trump is not charged with is bribery, or taking money while in office, a crime cited as impeachable in the Constitution and germane to the accusations that Joe Biden and his family raked in millions from foreign governments due to the improper use of his prior Vice Presidency. [snip]
Given such asymmetry in the application of the laws, conservative or even apolitical Americans are apprehensive that any political prominence will draw the attention of government in effort to either indict or bankrupt them with legal expenses.
The last four FBI Directors have either admitted they lied under oath, or preposterously under oath claimed ignorance or amnesia about events directly under their control. Or they simply stonewalled subpoenas and testimonies about alleged FBI crimes.
Saturday, August 12, 2023
Friday, August 11, 2023
Barack Obama Might Be The ‘Real’ President Of The United States
The most likely person serving as Biden’s brain (a dubious distinction, to be sure) is none other than Biden’s former boss, the forty-fourth president of the United States, Barack Obama.
By
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden participate in a video teleconference with the staffs of Embassy Baghdad and Consulates Erbil and Basrah, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., Oct. 24, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.
Look at the staff who comprise Joe Biden’s presidential administration. Study the policies emanating from the Biden White House. Observe Joe Biden in public. It should be evident to any objective observer that the forty-sixth president is not running things in Washington today.
He’s just the figurehead for a much larger operation whose presence is felt everywhere but rarely seen.
The real question is who is pulling Biden’s malleable strings? Is it Communist China? Desperate Ukraine? His wife, Jill Biden?
The most likely person serving as Biden’s brain (a dubious distinction, to be sure) is none other than Biden’s former boss, the forty-fourth president of the United States, Barack Obama.
Obama’s Influence is Far and Wide in Biden’s White House
The Biden administration is staffed by Brack Obama retreads. It’s been reported that President Biden routinely speaks with his old boss. Their conversations are sweeping. Not just relegated to brief exchanges of pleasantries. Instead, the conversations are deep and over matters of policy.
Some in the press have ruefully remarked that Joe Biden’s first term as president is nothing more than Obama’s unofficial third term. There are few policies that Mr. Biden has implemented that have not come directly from the Obama playbook.
The turgid economy. America’s flailing about on the world stage. The massive societal upheavals primarily related to race and gender issues. A community organizer’s fingerprints are all over this current presidency as much as they were Obama’s.
If one wanted to have a clear understanding of the forces behind Biden’s shambolic presidency, one must look back to the start of Donald Trump’s presidency.
From the moment that Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 election, the Obama political war machine went into full gear.
Why Barack Obama Went After Trump
Trump was a direct threat to Obama’s legacy. Any other Republican presidential nominee would have, on some level, preserved aspects of Obama’s legacy.
Not Trump. After all, he wasn’t a member of the establishment.
Obama understood that Trump was something totally different. With Hillary out of the picture, Obama moved quickly to protect his presidential legacy and pave the way for the restoration of the Democratic Party’s power (which had died, in part, because of his abysmal leadership).
The forty-fourth president picked up where Hillary Clinton had left off. First, he poison-pilled the Senior Executive Service by converting a large number of his political appointees into members of the civil service.
These individuals were in key positions throughout the bureaucracy to sap the incoming forty-fifth president’s ability to get anything done. They would swamp and mar Trump’s nascent presidency with controversy long enough to allow for the Democrats to regain their footing politically after their stunning 2016 defeat.
Taking the Christopher Steele memo claiming that Russian intelligence had compromising materials on Donald Trump (a document that the Clinton Campaign had paid for), the Obama cadre used this false document as the basis for their first wave of attacks against President Donald Trump.
As the pressure surrounding the Russia collusion accusations mounted, a bevy of smaller controversies, some created by Trump’s own actions, many brought about by those aforementioned poison pill hires, erupted to further undermine Trump.
In an unorthodox move, the Obamas opted to remain living in Washington, D.C., after their two terms in the White House had ended. Just a few blocks away from the White House was where the Obamas landed. In a posh neighborhood in northwest Washington, D.C. named Kalorama.
Obama’s Shadow Government
From there, Barack Obama effectively led a shadow government. His old consigliere, Valerie Jarrett, remained a fixture in the Obama’s home for much of the Trump Administration.
Throughout the chaos of the Trump years, an assortment of Obama era government staff made regular treks up to the Obama mansion in northwest D.C.
This revolving door of Barack Obama era notables would spend time with former President Obama and then sojourn over to the Washington studios of one of the mainstream media networks to disseminate a devastating round of attacks upon then-President Trump—a further attempt to stymie Trump from effectively implementing his agenda.
It all came to a crescendo with the 2020 Presidential Election. Once the Democratic Party’s primary got underway, most had assumed that Obama’s former vice-president, Joe Biden, would be the nominee.
But his struggles in the early stages of the campaign left much to be desired. Obama himself had spoken about Kamala Harris, who was running against Biden for the nomination, in ways that made it sound as though he were favoring her.
Once Biden was the nominee, Obama played a behind-the-scenes role in orchestrating Biden’s deal with Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) and Joe Biden in the run-up to the South Carolina Primary in 2020. That was the deal which saw Clyburn, a widely respected icon of the Civil Rights movement, endorse Biden, thereby getting large numbers of African-Americans to vote overwhelmingly for Biden.
In exchange, Biden vowed to place a woman of color (Kamala Harris) on the ticket as his running-mate.
Obama’s Third Term
After Biden became president, Obama’s closest aides became Biden’s top picks for key government roles. Interestingly, Obama himself told late-night comedian in 2015, Stephen Colbert, that his ideal situation for being president would be to have all the power but from behind-the-scenes; to have a figurehead managing all the day-to-day trappings of the White House while he just focused on policy.
Well, that’s exactly what he’s getting with empty-headed Joe Biden operating as his stand-in, while Obama’s former staff members execute former President Obama’s wishes from within the White House. The Republicans—specifically, Trump—got played by Obama.
Now, we’re all having to live through his disastrous third term.
A 19FortyFive Senior Editor, Brandon J. Weichert is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, as well as at American Greatness and the Asia Times. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower (Republic Book Publishers), Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life (Encounter Books), and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy (July 23). Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
Look at the staff who comprise Joe Biden’s presidential administration. Study the policies emanating from the Biden White House. Observe Joe Biden in public. It should be evident to any objective observer that the forty-sixth president is not running things in Washington today.
He’s just the figurehead for a much larger operation whose presence is felt everywhere but rarely seen.
The real question is who is pulling Biden’s malleable strings? Is it Communist China? Desperate Ukraine? His wife, Jill Biden?
The most likely person serving as Biden’s brain (a dubious distinction, to be sure) is none other than Biden’s former boss, the forty-fourth president of the United States, Barack Obama.
Obama’s Influence is Far and Wide in Biden’s White House
The Biden administration is staffed by Brack Obama retreads. It’s been reported that President Biden routinely speaks with his old boss. Their conversations are sweeping. Not just relegated to brief exchanges of pleasantries. Instead, the conversations are deep and over matters of policy.
Some in the press have ruefully remarked that Joe Biden’s first term as president is nothing more than Obama’s unofficial third term. There are few policies that Mr. Biden has implemented that have not come directly from the Obama playbook.
The turgid economy. America’s flailing about on the world stage. The massive societal upheavals primarily related to race and gender issues. A community organizer’s fingerprints are all over this current presidency as much as they were Obama’s.
If one wanted to have a clear understanding of the forces behind Biden’s shambolic presidency, one must look back to the start of Donald Trump’s presidency.
From the moment that Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 election, the Obama political war machine went into full gear.
Why Barack Obama Went After Trump
Trump was a direct threat to Obama’s legacy. Any other Republican presidential nominee would have, on some level, preserved aspects of Obama’s legacy.
Not Trump. After all, he wasn’t a member of the establishment.
Obama understood that Trump was something totally different. With Hillary out of the picture, Obama moved quickly to protect his presidential legacy and pave the way for the restoration of the Democratic Party’s power (which had died, in part, because of his abysmal leadership).
The forty-fourth president picked up where Hillary Clinton had left off. First, he poison-pilled the Senior Executive Service by converting a large number of his political appointees into members of the civil service.
These individuals were in key positions throughout the bureaucracy to sap the incoming forty-fifth president’s ability to get anything done. They would swamp and mar Trump’s nascent presidency with controversy long enough to allow for the Democrats to regain their footing politically after their stunning 2016 defeat.
Taking the Christopher Steele memo claiming that Russian intelligence had compromising materials on Donald Trump (a document that the Clinton Campaign had paid for), the Obama cadre used this false document as the basis for their first wave of attacks against President Donald Trump.
As the pressure surrounding the Russia collusion accusations mounted, a bevy of smaller controversies, some created by Trump’s own actions, many brought about by those aforementioned poison pill hires, erupted to further undermine Trump.
In an unorthodox move, the Obamas opted to remain living in Washington, D.C., after their two terms in the White House had ended. Just a few blocks away from the White House was where the Obamas landed. In a posh neighborhood in northwest Washington, D.C. named Kalorama.
Obama’s Shadow Government
From there, Barack Obama effectively led a shadow government. His old consigliere, Valerie Jarrett, remained a fixture in the Obama’s home for much of the Trump Administration.
Throughout the chaos of the Trump years, an assortment of Obama era government staff made regular treks up to the Obama mansion in northwest D.C.
This revolving door of Barack Obama era notables would spend time with former President Obama and then sojourn over to the Washington studios of one of the mainstream media networks to disseminate a devastating round of attacks upon then-President Trump—a further attempt to stymie Trump from effectively implementing his agenda.
It all came to a crescendo with the 2020 Presidential Election. Once the Democratic Party’s primary got underway, most had assumed that Obama’s former vice-president, Joe Biden, would be the nominee.
But his struggles in the early stages of the campaign left much to be desired. Obama himself had spoken about Kamala Harris, who was running against Biden for the nomination, in ways that made it sound as though he were favoring her.
Once Biden was the nominee, Obama played a behind-the-scenes role in orchestrating Biden’s deal with Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) and Joe Biden in the run-up to the South Carolina Primary in 2020. That was the deal which saw Clyburn, a widely respected icon of the Civil Rights movement, endorse Biden, thereby getting large numbers of African-Americans to vote overwhelmingly for Biden.
In exchange, Biden vowed to place a woman of color (Kamala Harris) on the ticket as his running-mate.
Obama’s Third Term
After Biden became president, Obama’s closest aides became Biden’s top picks for key government roles. Interestingly, Obama himself told late-night comedian in 2015, Stephen Colbert, that his ideal situation for being president would be to have all the power but from behind-the-scenes; to have a figurehead managing all the day-to-day trappings of the White House while he just focused on policy.
Well, that’s exactly what he’s getting with empty-headed Joe Biden operating as his stand-in, while Obama’s former staff members execute former President Obama’s wishes from within the White House. The Republicans—specifically, Trump—got played by Obama.
Now, we’re all having to live through his disastrous third term.
A 19FortyFive Senior Editor, Brandon J. Weichert is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, as well as at American Greatness and the Asia Times. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower (Republic Book Publishers), Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life (Encounter Books), and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy (July 23). Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
Thursday, August 10, 2023
COVID-19: New strain spreading across UK designated 'variant of interest' by WHO
EG.5 - descended from the Omicron variant of COVID - has been detected in 51 countries and is growing in prevalence globally, including in the UK, US and China.
Thursday 10 August 2023 08:21, UK
Image:Coronavirus. File pic
A new fast-spreading COVID strain has been designated a "variant of interest" by the World Health Organisation.
EG.5 is descended from the Omicron variant of coronavirus and is growing in prevalence globally, including in the UK, US and China.
It has been detected in 51 countries in total, including South Korea, Japan, Canada, Australia, Singapore, France, Portugal and Spain.
In the week beginning 19 June, one in 13 cases were down to the COVID variant.
The latest data suggests it now accounts for 17.4% of cases - one in six - which the WHO described as a "notable rise".
However, it said the public health risk posed by EG.5 has been judged as low.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead on COVID-19, said EG.5 has an increased transmissibility but is not more severe than other Omicron variants.
"Collectively, available evidence does not suggest that EG.5 has additional public health risks relative to the other currently circulating Omicron descendent lineages," the WHO said in a risk evaluation.
"While EG.5 has shown increased prevalence, growth advantage, and immune escape properties, there have been no reported changes in disease severity to date," it added.
EG.5 includes subvariant EG.5.1 - which T. Ryan Gregory, a biology professor, has nicknamed "Eris" in posts on social media.
Last week, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said EG.5.1 now makes up one in seven new cases in the UK.
A new fast-spreading COVID strain has been designated a "variant of interest" by the World Health Organisation.
EG.5 is descended from the Omicron variant of coronavirus and is growing in prevalence globally, including in the UK, US and China.
It has been detected in 51 countries in total, including South Korea, Japan, Canada, Australia, Singapore, France, Portugal and Spain.
In the week beginning 19 June, one in 13 cases were down to the COVID variant.
The latest data suggests it now accounts for 17.4% of cases - one in six - which the WHO described as a "notable rise".
However, it said the public health risk posed by EG.5 has been judged as low.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead on COVID-19, said EG.5 has an increased transmissibility but is not more severe than other Omicron variants.
"Collectively, available evidence does not suggest that EG.5 has additional public health risks relative to the other currently circulating Omicron descendent lineages," the WHO said in a risk evaluation.
"While EG.5 has shown increased prevalence, growth advantage, and immune escape properties, there have been no reported changes in disease severity to date," it added.
EG.5 includes subvariant EG.5.1 - which T. Ryan Gregory, a biology professor, has nicknamed "Eris" in posts on social media.
Last week, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said EG.5.1 now makes up one in seven new cases in the UK.
Tuesday, August 08, 2023
The China Wars. Chapter 14 - Peter Zeihan
The China Wars. China's Unnatural Rise to Global Power.
A Cabal Created Power. Peter Zeihan
Jul 12, 2023
The Problems of China due to Natural Geography is the Reason the CCP believes they MUST Invade and Possess America.
Saturday, August 05, 2023
Pope visits Portuguese shrine known for apocalyptic prophesy linked to Russia as war rages on
Fatima is known for apocalyptic prophecies of hell, peace and Soviet communism that have found new relevance with Russia’s war in Ukraine
Pope Francis addresses the faithful after praying the rosary at the Catholic holy shrine of Fatima, in central Portugal, Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023.GREGORIO BORGIA (AP)
Fatima, Portugal - AUG 05, 2023 - 15:30 EDT
Pope Francis visited the Portuguese town of Fatima on Saturday to pray for peace at a shrine known for apocalyptic prophesies of hell, peace and Soviet communism that have found new relevance with Russia’s war in Ukraine.
But for the third time of his trip to Portugal for World Youth Day, Francis ditched his prepared remarks and didn’t even recite a prayer written for the occasion pleading for peace. The prayer had been expected to be a highlight of Francis’ visit to Fatima, given the shrine’s century-old affiliation with exhortations of peace and conversion in Russia.
Francis instead “prayed silently for peace, with pain,” while meditating for a long period before a statue of the Virgin Mary, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. And the Vatican later tweeted the prayer.
The unusual morning unfolded at the shrine where, according to legend, three young peasant children in 1917 saw visions of the Madonna. The apparitions turned the small town nestled in the fields of vineyards, olive groves and fruit orchards north of Lisbon into one of the most popular Marian pilgrimage sites in the world, drawing millions of visitors each year.
On Saturday, an estimated 200,000 turned out for Francis’ visit, packing the central esplanade long before the red-tinted moon set and the sun rose. Nearby wildfires turned the sky smoky black and sent ash snowing down on the crowd.
Francis’ visit marked a side trip from his main program in Lisbon to preside over the World Youth Day Catholic festival. The featured protagonists in Fatima were also young, including some young people with disabilities who read aloud prayers and young inmates who were allowed to attend. Babies were out in force, as parents offered them up to Francis to bless as he looped through the crowd in his popemobile.
“We are here with great joy,” said Maria Florido, a 24-year-old Spaniard who also saw Francis in Lisbon. “We woke up very early to come here and see the pope ... and we’re here with great enthusiasm.”
The Fatima story dates back to 1917, when according to tradition, Portuguese siblings Francisco and Jacinta Marto and their cousin Lucia said the Virgin Mary appeared to them six times and confided to them three secrets. The first two described an apocalyptic image of hell, foretold the end of World War I and the start of World War II, and portended the rise and fall of Soviet communism.
In 2000, the Vatican disclosed the long-awaited third secret, describing it as foretelling the May 13, 1981, assassination attempt against St. John Paul II in St. Peter’s Square, which fell on the anniversary of the original vision.
According to later writings by Lucia, who became a nun and died in 2005, Russia would be converted and peace would reign if the pope and all the bishops of the world consecrated Russia to the “Immaculate Heart of Mary.” Lucia later claimed that John Paul fulfilled that prophecy during a 1984 Mass, even though he never specified Russia in the prayer.
Fatima has long captivated Catholics, because of its blending of mystical, Marian apparitions, apocalyptic prophesies about the rise and fall of Soviet communism and the death of a pope. While Saturday’s wildfires and related ashfall were easily explained, they also harked back to another element of the Fatima phenomenon, an unusual weather phenomenon known as the “Miracle of the Sun.”
According to legend, on Oct. 13, 1917, the Fatima “seers” predicted that the Virgin would perform a miracle that day, and tens of thousands of people flocked to Fatima. They saw what witnesses reported was a vision of the sun “spinning” in the sky and zigzagging toward Earth.
Francis’ visit to Fatima fell on the anniversary of another odd weather phenomenon at a Marian church closely related to Fatima: According to that church legend, on Aug. 5, 1655, it actually snowed outside St. Mary Major basilica in Rome, where Francis always goes to pray before an icon of Mary at the end of each trip.
Vatican Media had said before the trip that Francis would pray for peace in Ukraine and the world while in Fatima. It seemed logical, given Francis had already consecrated both Russia and Ukraine to Mary in a prayer for peace following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, essentially fulfilling Sr. Lucia’s exhortation.
In the prayer tweeted by the @Pontifex account but not read aloud, Francis didn’t name either country but consecrated the church and world, “especially those countries at war,” to Mary. “Open paths where it seems that none exist,” he wrote. “Loosen the tangles of self-centeredness and the snares of power.”
Fatima Bishop Jose Ornelas made a prayer for Ukraine explicit in his remarks. “We associate ourselves to Your Holiness’ prayer for peace, for which this sanctuary is profoundly identified, thinking in particular of the war in Ukraine and so many other conflicts in the world,” he said.
In explaining the changes, Vatican spokesman Bruni said Francis “always addresses firstly the people he meets, as a shepherd, and speaks accordingly.” The 86-year-old Francis often deviates from his prepared remarks, even more when speaking in his native Spanish. Bruni denied the changes had any other serious reason, including with his eyesight.
Francis has been hospitalized twice this year, including in June when he spent nine days in the hospital recovering from abdominal surgery to repair a hernia and remove scar tissue on his intestine. Saturday was perhaps the most grueling day of his five-day visit to Portugal, given the round-trip helicopter ride to Fatima and a planned prayer vigil that wasn’t expected to begin until his usual bedtime in Rome.
To give him more rest before the vigil, the Vatican planned to move up an afternoon encounter with his fellow Jesuits, Bruni said.
On Sunday morning, Francis is to preside over a final, outdoor Mass – on a day when temperatures in Lisbon are expected to top 40 degrees C (104F) – before returning to the Vatican.