Thursday, November 30, 2023
COP28 opens with plea to work together on fossil fuels
COP28
By Kate Abnett, Maha El Dahan and Valerie Volcovici
November 30, 20236:25 AM EST
Updated an hour ago
Attendees arrive for the opening of U.N.'s COP28 climate summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 30, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky
Summary
Attendees arrive for the opening of U.N.'s COP28 climate summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 30, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky
Summary
- COP28 president says engaging on fossil fuels 'essential'
- Countries and oil companies urged to work together
- Summit delegates hope for early approval of disaster fund deal
DUBAI, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The incoming COP28 president, Sultan al-Jaber, opened this year's U.N. climate summit on Thursday by urging countries and fossil fuel companies to work together to meet global climate goals.
Governments are preparing for marathon negotiations on whether to agree, for the first time, to phase out the world's use of CO2-emitting coal, oil and gas, the main source of warming emissions.
Jaber, who is also the CEO of the United Arab Emirates' national oil company ADNOC, aimed to strike a conciliatory tone following months of criticism over his appointment at the head of COP28.
In his opening remarks, Jaber acknowledged that there were "strong views about the idea of including language on fossil fuels and renewables in the negotiated text. ... I ask you to work together."
"It is essential that no issue is left off the table. And yes, as I have been saying we must look for ways and ensure the inclusion of the role of fossil fuels."
He touted his country's decision to "proactively engage" with fossil fuel companies, and noted that many national oil companies had adopted net-zero targets for 2050.
"I am grateful that they have stepped up to join this game-changing journey," Jaber said. "But, I must say, it is not enough, and I know that they can do much more."
DISASTER FUND
As the U.N. climate conference kicked off, delegates were hoping to clinch an early victory on a disaster fund. The COP28 presidency published a proposal late Wednesday for countries to formally adopt the outlines of a new U.N. fund for poor countries being hit by climate disasters like extreme flooding or persistent drought.
An early breakthrough on the damage fund - which poorer nations have demanded for years - could help grease the wheels for other compromises to be made during the two-week summit.
Some diplomats said they hoped the draft deal for the fund would be approved quickly, with one delegate describing the possibility of objections at this point as "opening Pandora's box". The deal was crafted over many months of tough negotiations involving wealthy and developing countries.
Establishing the fund allows rich countries to begin pledging money for it, and nations including Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands are expected to announce contributions over the next few days, European diplomats told Reuters.
The European Union has pledged a "substantial" contribution, but wants countries whose economies have boomed in recent decades, like China and the UAE, to follow suit.
"Everyone with the ability to pay should contribute," said EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, who said he wanted to "broaden the donor base beyond the usual suspects, simply because that reflects the reality of 2023."
Adnan Amin, CEO of the COP28 summit, told Reuters this month the aim was to secure several hundred million U.S. dollars for the climate disaster fund during the event. He said he was "hopeful" that the UAE would make a contribution.
"We cannot rest until this fund is adequately financed and starts to actually alleviate the burden of vulnerable communities," said Samoa's Ambassador to Europe, Pa’olelei Luteru, who is also the chairman of the Association of Small Island States (AOSIS) negotiating bloc.
Another major task at the summit will be for countries to assess their progress in meeting global climate goals - chiefly the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
This process, known as the global stocktake, should yield a high-level plan telling countries what they need to do.
Reporting by Kate Abnett, Valerie Volcovici and Maha El Dahan; Writing by Katy Daigle; Editing by Matthew Lewis, Miral Fahmy and Christina Fincher
Wednesday, November 29, 2023
Seven Events Evangelicals Incorrectly Believe Will be Fulfilled in the Endtime
November 28, 2023
My friend Luke shared the below with me. If you study Eschatology from the Bible, you should know that the following doctrines most evangelicals hold to be true are based on a false interpretation of Daniel 9:27, namely, the Antichrist will make a treaty with the Jews and Israel for a 7-year period during which he will allow the Jews to rebuild the temple of Solomon. Please know that this doctrine was created by a Jesuit priest circa 1585, and was rejected by Protestants until sometime in the 19th century through Jesuit infiltration into Protestant churches and seminaries. It began when Darby and Scofield taught dispensationalism. The purpose was to sidetrack Protestantism and to get the Protestants’ eyes off the Pope and the Papacy as the true Antichrist of the Bible. Did it work? You know it did!
I was asked to give confirming Scriptures for all these points. Normally verses are given to teach a doctrine. In this case, I will show how Daniel 9:27 was incorrectly interpreted to support popular but false Endtime doctrines.
My comments of Daniel 9:27 in parenthesis show what Protestants up to the beginning of the 19th century used to teach and believe.
"
And he (Jesus Christ) shall confirm (not make) the (definite article) covenant (the Covenant God made with Abraham, not a treaty as modern translations say) with many (Jews) for one week (seven years): and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease (when Jesus was crucified 3 1/2 years after He began His ministry, He became the ultimate sacrifice for sin which ended the need for animal sacrifice. The second 3 1/2 year period was the ministry of the Apostles to the Jews up to the stoning of Stephen and the calling of Paul to give the Gospel to the Gentiles.), and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. (The destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple 40 years later.) — Daniel 9:27"
- There is no seven-year countdown to Armageddon – prophesied in the Bible. The Scripture used to support a final 7 years is Daniel 9:27: And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week… Protestant Christians up to the 19th century used to teach the seven-year confirmation of the Covenant was fulfilled in Christ and His Apostles up to the stoning of Stephen.
- There is no Antichrist seven-year Middle East peace covenant – prophesied in the Bible. The Scripture used to support a Middle East peace covenant is Daniel 9:27: And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week… Protestant Christians up to the 19th century used to teach the Covenant is the same Covenant of Daniel 9:4, namely the Covenant that God made with Abraham.
- There is no rebuilt Jewish temple in Jerusalem as a result of a seven-year peace covenant – prophesied in the Bible. Protestant Christians up to the 19th century never taught the Temple would be rebuilt! The idea it will be rebuilt is pure speculation and a wrong interpretation of “and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, ”
- There is no Antichrist that is going to make or break a seven-year peace covenant – prophesied in the Bible. Protestant Christians up to the 19th century used to teach the “he” of Daniel 9:27 is Jesus, not the Antichrist
- There is no Antichrist that is going to stop the Jews from sacrificing in the middle of a seven-year peace covenant – prophesied in the Bible. Protestant Christians up to the 19th century never taught that! Part of Daniel 11:31 is used to support this, “and shall take away the daily sacrifice“, but history says it was fulfilled by Antiochus Epiphanes in 168 BC when he set up an altar to the pagan god Zeus in the very temple of God at Jerusalem.
- There is no Antichrist that is going to sit in a rebuilt Jewish Temple in the middle of a seven-year peace covenant – prophesied in the Bible. Protestant Christians up to the 19th century never taught this. The idea of a rebuilt Temple of Solomon is pure speculation based on the reasoning: “How can the Antichrist stop the Daily Sacrifice when the Daily Sacrifice can only be performed in the Temple? Therefore, the Temple must be rebuilt for the Daily Sacrifice to be resumed in order for the Antichrist to stop it!” This type of interpretation is called eisegesis, or a reading into Scripture something that is not there.
- There is no Antichrist that is going to declare himself to be god in the middle of a seven-year peace covenant – prophesied in the Bible. This idea came from the wrong interpretation of 2 Thessalonians 2:4 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. Protestant Christians up to the 19th century used to teach this Scripture is fulfilled by the Popes of Rome. The “temple of God” is the Church, according to the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? The Popes claim to be God / Christ on earth.
Download a PDF file of this article.Tuesday, November 28, 2023
Sunday, November 26, 2023
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Friday, November 24, 2023
Sultan al-Jaber: the UAE oil boss steering COP28
COP28
By Maha El Dahan
November 24, 202311:44 AM EST
Updated 2 hours ago
Summary
Summary
- COP28 summit will be first global assessment of Paris Agreement
- Summit host UAE aims to increase its oil production capacity
- Oil and gas representatives to be present at Dubai talks
- Thunberg called Jaber's appointment 'completely ridiculous'
- Supporters say he is a realist
DUBAI, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Sultan al-Jaber, the United Arab Emirates oil chief executive and leader of COP28 climate talks, has a formidable reputation for earnestly pursuing results.
His position as leader of state energy giant ADNOC has alarmed environmental critics concerned over his commitment to maintaining a role for fossil fuels in the energy transition, but his supporters say he has an ability to get things done and straddle divides that will deliver climate action.
When marathon deliberations in Egypt’s picturesque city of Aswan in October struggled to reach an agreement on a fund to help countries recover from damage caused by climate change, Jaber leapt in.
In a virtual intervention, he told the 24-member U.N. committee debating the fund that billions of lives depended on getting a deal.
Jaber's message to the delegates made very clear he would not accept failure.
"You could say that he used the notion of the hard deadline to help bang heads," Avinash Persaud, negotiator for Barbados, who was a member of the technical committee and present at the meeting, told Reuters.
The stakes were high. Climate funding has caused bitter divisions between developed countries held largely responsible for global warming and poorer countries that are the most vulnerable to its consequences.
Another failure to agree on what is known as the "loss and damage" fund could derail discussions at COP28, which takes place from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12 in Dubai. After a year of extreme heat, droughts, wildfires and floods, the U.N. talks will be the first global assessment of progress since the landmark Paris Agreement in 2015.
The October negotiations were supposedly the last chance to reach agreement on the fund, but a fifth extraordinary gathering took place in Abu Dhabi in November that agreed to make the World Bank the fund's interim home and encourage all countries to contribute.
The UAE is among a handful of high per-capita income countries that are not obliged to contribute to U.N. climate funds, but face pressure from European states to do so.
Pope Francis: Climate activist?
Pope Francis: Climate activist?
NOVEMBER 19, 20236:04 PM ET
HEARD ON ALL THINGS CONSIDERED
Thursday, November 23, 2023
Wednesday, November 22, 2023
Tuesday, November 21, 2023
Saturday, November 18, 2023
The Unending Surge of Migrants is Creating a Public Health Crisis
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE MESSENGER
Published 11/18/23 08:30 AM ET|Updated 11 hr ago
Marc Siegel, MD
As a physician, I tend to view the burgeoning migrant border crisis as much as a public health emergency as it is a national security emergency. The distinction is becoming more and more blurred, since the 2 million or more migrants who have crossed our southern border illegally over the past year — many supposedly seeking asylum — present both problems.
Don’t get me wrong: Many of the millions who have escaped Venezuela or Central America for economic and political reasons certainly have legitimate causes to leave their countries. But we don’t have the public health infrastructure here to absorb them all, not to mention the burdens on our local and state economies. At the same time, deadly fentanyl is pouring across our porous border, posing a huge medical risk of overdoses all across the country.
From a public health point of view, we are hardly prepared to handle such huge numbers of migrants, many of whom have chronic health issues or other acute problems. There is no system in place to screen them, beyond care at local hospitals for medical emergencies, and there’s no way to track them after they leave.
Even migrants who are healthy can become ill or injured on the arduous journey to the U.S. and, once here, are then faced with street living or attempts to find places in overburdened shelter systems.
In New York City, for example, homeless shelters are overflowing, with more than 80,000 people sleeping in them every night; there is simply no room for the many thousands of migrants who have come here. A shelter has been opened at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, but many migrants have refused to relocate there.
And so, the health burden continues to fall on the city’s hospitals. New York City Health and Hospitals reports close to 30,000 migrant patient visits over the past year, with 40,000 vaccines administered along with medical screening. Yet, unfortunately, there is no way to provide proper followup.
Similar problems are occurring all across the country because of the constant influx of migrants, from Chicago to Denver to Los Angeles. The shelter system in Massachusetts is so filled with migrants that the state’s governor brought in the National Guard to help. And, in some cases, unscreened migrants are leading to infectious outbreaks, from chicken pox to measles and likely to include some cases of tuberculosis or sexually transmitted infections.
As a physician, I tend to view the burgeoning migrant border crisis as much as a public health emergency as it is a national security emergency. The distinction is becoming more and more blurred, since the 2 million or more migrants who have crossed our southern border illegally over the past year — many supposedly seeking asylum — present both problems.
Don’t get me wrong: Many of the millions who have escaped Venezuela or Central America for economic and political reasons certainly have legitimate causes to leave their countries. But we don’t have the public health infrastructure here to absorb them all, not to mention the burdens on our local and state economies. At the same time, deadly fentanyl is pouring across our porous border, posing a huge medical risk of overdoses all across the country.
From a public health point of view, we are hardly prepared to handle such huge numbers of migrants, many of whom have chronic health issues or other acute problems. There is no system in place to screen them, beyond care at local hospitals for medical emergencies, and there’s no way to track them after they leave.
Even migrants who are healthy can become ill or injured on the arduous journey to the U.S. and, once here, are then faced with street living or attempts to find places in overburdened shelter systems.
In New York City, for example, homeless shelters are overflowing, with more than 80,000 people sleeping in them every night; there is simply no room for the many thousands of migrants who have come here. A shelter has been opened at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, but many migrants have refused to relocate there.
And so, the health burden continues to fall on the city’s hospitals. New York City Health and Hospitals reports close to 30,000 migrant patient visits over the past year, with 40,000 vaccines administered along with medical screening. Yet, unfortunately, there is no way to provide proper followup.
Similar problems are occurring all across the country because of the constant influx of migrants, from Chicago to Denver to Los Angeles. The shelter system in Massachusetts is so filled with migrants that the state’s governor brought in the National Guard to help. And, in some cases, unscreened migrants are leading to infectious outbreaks, from chicken pox to measles and likely to include some cases of tuberculosis or sexually transmitted infections.
Migrants take part in a caravan towards the border with the United States in Tapachula, Chiapas State, Mexico, on October 30, 2023.ISAAC GUZMAN/AFP via Getty Images
The existing patchwork health care also leads to an increase in chronic diseases, from hypertension to obesity and diabetes. There is a paucity of medication to treat these problems, which also include asthma and allergies in children, not to mention women far along in their pregnancies who have lacked all prenatal care.
What is the solution?
Having migrants keep records of all health encounters is one idea, but I have found that to be an inefficient method even among citizens with stable homes. The obvious solution is to cut through the partisan politics of the issue and to acknowledge that allowing such numbers of unscreened migrants into the country creates a public health crisis that simply can’t be solved once they are here.
Dr. Robert Redfield, the Trump administration’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director, invoked Title 42 at the beginning of the COVID pandemic to require most migrants to return to Mexico or Canada in order to slow the public spread of COVID-19. As Redfield has told me, that decision also helped to decrease the risk of infection for Customs and Border Protection agents who were becoming ill in increasingly large numbers.
Title 42 has been controversial and was pulled back under the Biden administration — but it does underline the need to at least find a way to screen people’s health when they want to come here. Of course, screening before the fact makes a lot more sense than after.
This has been a longtime practice for legal immigrants, and it is a strong argument for making our border more secure. We can’t risk our public health simply because of a proven or unproven need for asylum.
Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at New York University’s Langone Medical Center, is the author of numerous books, including “COVID: The Politics of Fear and the Power of Science.” He hosts and is medical director of SiriusXM’s “Doctor Radio” program.
Friday, November 17, 2023
Thursday, November 16, 2023
Wednesday, November 15, 2023
Monday, November 13, 2023
Sunday, November 12, 2023
Saturday, November 11, 2023
Thursday, November 09, 2023
Is There Any Hope?
Volume 42 Issue Eleven November 2023
Last Trumpet Ministries · PO Box 806 · Beaver Dam, WI 53916
Phone: 920-887-2626 Internet: http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org
“For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?”
I Cor. 14:8
Is There Any Hope?
“That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast....”
Hebrews 6:18-19
In the early days of the 2020s as the world grappled with a global pandemic and the spread of a virus that came to be known as COVID-19, a new word crept into the English language. The term “doomscrolling,” which refers to the practice of obsessively reading or watching bad news online, especially on smartphones, first appeared on social media and soon appeared in news stories, too. Eventually the word became so common that it was added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary in September 2023. (1) Over time, the obsession with the pandemic faded away only to be replaced with stories about economic woes, high inflation, failing banks, a war in Ukraine, the threat of nuclear war, wildfires, heatwaves, political scandals, climate change, climate change, and more climate change. For example, actor Morgan Freeman, appeared on ABC’s television program The View in October 2023 to warn viewers, “If we don't hurry up and change our ways, there's going to be a cataclysmic event that will wipe many of us off the face of the earth.” Freeman then attempted to offer a glimmer of hope, suggesting that the majority of the human race might be wiped out but “life” on earth would still continue without us. “How far back does life exist on this planet? And why does it still exist? It’s because life is tenacious. Life – we’re not talking about human beings here. We’re talking about the planet. She’ll stay.” (2) Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ does not agree with Freeman’s assessment. In Matthew 24:35 Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Indeed, the Scriptures indicate that God’s people will live on even after the planet we presently occupy expires and is replaced. II Peter 3:12-13 declares, “Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”
As would be expected, Freeman believes the cause of the “cataclysmic event” will be climate change. Truthfully though, the ultimate cause of the planet’s impending doom is global sinning, not global warming. Every calamitous event attributed to climate change is rooted in the fact that we live in a fallen world that is bending and breaking under the weight of sin.
In decades past, people would often get their news from nightly television broadcasts or from a daily newspaper. The broadcasts would end after a short time and you could finish an entire newspaper in one sitting. Today, we not only have unprecedented access to information, but we also have constant exposure to it. You could spend every waking moment of every day reading news reports or streaming news online from sources all over the world and still never run out of material. Yes, it is important to know what is happening in the world. However, we must ensure that the news we consume is properly balanced in light of God’s Word. As we navigate these days of unprecedented danger, you won’t find much hope in the bleak headlines of mainstream news, but you will find hope in the Scriptures. It is for this reason the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 15:4, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” The hope we find in Jesus Christ strengthens and anchors us. Hebrews 6:18-19 declares, “That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast...
This newsletter often covers difficult subject matter. However, it is not my desire that our readers feel discouraged or overwhelmed by the contents of these pages. Even as we “watch and pray” according to the command of our Saviour, we also know from Scripture that no matter what happens in this world, nothing can separate us from the love of God. Romans 8:37-39 proclaims, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” If you have not yet repented of your sins and dedicated your life to God, I urge you to do so now.
Tuesday, November 07, 2023
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