Wednesday, March 09, 2022
Tuesday, March 08, 2022
Monday, March 07, 2022
Dow drops nearly 800 points as market turmoil continues from Russia-Ukraine war, inflation fears
PUBLISHED SUN, MAR 6 2022 6:06 PM ESTUPDATED AN HOUR AGO
Maggie Fitzgerald@MKMFITZGERALD
Tanaya Macheel@TANAYAMAC
WATCH LIVE
Stocks fell again on Monday, following four straight weeks of declines, as investors grew increasingly concerned higher energy prices stemming from the Russia-Ukraine conflict would slow the economy and raise inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 797.42 points to close at 32,817.38, dragged down by a nearly 8% loss in American Express. The S&P 500 declined close to 3% to 4,201.09, falling deeper into correction territory. The 500-stock average sits more than 12% from its record close. The Nasdaq Composite lost 3.6% to 12,830.96, and now sits in bear market territory, more than 20% from its all-time close.
As the Russia- Ukraine war continues, investors are monitoring the potential economic ramifications of disruptions in the global supply of energy.
"Consequently, 'stagflation' is rapidly becoming the central focus in portfolio strategies," said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist for the Leuthold Group. "Preparing for slower growth and more persistent inflation is driving investor fears and actions."
Overnight on Sunday, U.S. oil prices hit their highest level since 2008 amid an ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate crude futures, the U.S. oil benchmark hit $130 per barrel at one point before pulling back. WTI oil settled up 3.2% at $119.40. The international benchmark, Brent crude, spiked to to $139.13 per barrel — its highest since July 2008 — before pulling back to to settle at $123.21.
Energy stocks rose alongside the price of oil. Baker Hughes added 4.7%. Chevron added 2.1%. Exxon Mobil rose 3.6%.
Read more about clean energy from CNBC Pro
Wall Street analysts pick their favorite solar stocks as global energy prices soar
Oil and gas prices are surging — Here's what that means for renewable energy stocks
Goldman names its top stocks to cash in on a 'new era' of sustainable investing in Asia
Meanwhile, bank stocks were among the biggest losers, on Monday with Citigroup down 1.8% and U.S. Bancorp down about 3.9% as investors grew concerned about slowing economic growth.
McDonald's, Starbucks and Nike fell on Monday on concern about $4 gas prices hitting consumers' wallets. On Sunday, gas prices surged to their highest level since 2008, with the national average hitting $4.06 a gallon, according to AAA. Airlines, cruise lines and travel stocks declined for the same reason.
Bed Bath & Beyond soared 34.2% after GameStop Chairman Ryan Cohen revealed he had a nearly 10% stake in the retailer, through his investment company RC Ventures.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that the U.S. and its allies are considering banning Russian oil and natural gas imports in response to the country's attack on Ukraine.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also said in a letter to Democratic colleagues that the chamber is "exploring strong legislation" to ban the import of Russian oil — a move which would "further isolate Russia from the global economy."
Stock picks and investing trends from CNBC Pro:
Cathie Wood explains why it's been 'totally right' to believe in Tesla
Several Wall Street strategists cut U.S. stock outlook with Ed Yardeni seeing S&P 500 drop to 4,000
Barclays says there's a buying opportunity in these energy stocks should oil surge to $130
"The equity market is wrestling with the large commodity supply shock, including notably oil prices, and concerned that this could be morphing into a stagflationary shock instead of just an inflation shock," said Kathy Bostjancic, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. "Equities will be keying off changes in oil prices and the prospects of an oil embargo from Russia."
Forecasters expect the U.S. will grow more slowly with higher inflation, Europe's economy will toggle near recession and Russia's GDP will experience a double-digit decline amid the geopolitical conflict.
The CNBC Rapid Update, the average of 14 forecasts for the U.S. economy, sees GDP rising by 3.2% this year, a modest 0.3% markdown from the February forecast.
Wall Street is already adjusting for the slower growth. Top strategists from Citi to UBS, Yardeni Research and Evercore ISI have lowered their U.S. equity outlook amid the geopolitical tensions. Long-time market bull Ed Yardeni has turned into one of the biggest bears on Wall Street, seeing the S&P 500 suffer a 16% decline in 2022 to end at 4,000.
Despite the move away from risk, government bond yields rose, indicating less demand for safe-haven assets. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note was most recently at 1.77%, up slightly on the session as inflation worries pushed yields up.
Positive data from the U.S. Labor Department wasn't enough for investors to shrug off concerns about the war between Russia and Ukraine. On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the economy added 678,000 jobs in February. The monthly jobs gain topped economists' expectations of 440,000 as gauged by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate slipped to 3.8%.
Last week, the Dow and S&P 500 slid about 1.3%. The Dow notched its fourth losing week. The Nasdaq Composite lost roughly 2.8%.
Several economic data reports are scheduled to be released throughout the coming week, including the consumer price index for February, due Thursday. The key indicator is expected to show inflation rose 7.8% from a year ago.
Federal Reserve officials are in the quiet period ahead of next week's policy meeting. The Federal Open Market Committee gathers March 15-16, when it is expected to approve a quarter-point increase for its benchmark short-term borrowing rate.
Sunday, March 06, 2022
Google's New Tech Can Read Your Body Language—Without Cameras
JULIAN CHOKKATTU
GEAR
MAR 1, 2022 12:00 PM
The company’s ATAP research team is using radar to help computers respond to your movements, like turning off a TV if it senses you've dozed off.
PHOTOGRAPH: GOOGLE
The AI Database →
APPLICATION
PERSONAL ASSISTANT
PREDICTION
COMPANY
ALPHABET
GOOGLE
END USER
CONSUMER
SOURCE DATA
SENSORS
WHAT IF YOUR computer decided not to blare out a notification jingle because it noticed you weren't sitting at your desk? What if your TV saw you leave the couch to answer the front door and paused Netflix automatically, then resumed playback when you sat back down? What if our computers took more social cues from our movements and learned to be more considerate companions?
It sounds futuristic and perhaps more than a little invasive—a computer watching your every move? But it feels less creepy once you learn that these technologies don't have to rely on a camera to see where you are and what you're doing. Instead, they use radar. Google's Advanced Technology and Products division—better known as ATAP, the department behind oddball projects such as a touch-sensitive denim jacket—has spent the past year exploring how computers can use radar to understand our needs or intentions and then react to us appropriately.
This is not the first time we've seen Google use radar to provide its gadgets with spatial awareness. In 2015, Google unveiled Soli, a sensor that can use radar's electromagnetic waves to pick up precise gestures and movements. It was first seen in the Google Pixel 4's ability to detect simple hand gestures so the user could snooze alarms or pause music without having to physically touch the smartphone. More recently, radar sensors were embedded inside the second-generation Nest Hub smart display to detect the movement and breathing patterns of the person sleeping next to it. The device was then able to track the person's sleep without requiring them to strap on a smartwatch.
The same Soli sensor is being used in this new round of research, but instead of using the sensor input to directly control a computer, ATAP is instead using the sensor data to enable computers to recognize our everyday movements and make new kinds of choices.
“We believe as technology becomes more present in our life, it's fair to start asking technology itself to take a few more cues from us,” says Leonardo Giusti, head of design at ATAP. In the same way your mom might remind you to grab an umbrella before you head out the door, perhaps your thermostat can relay the same message as you walk past and glance at it—or your TV can lower the volume if it detects you've fallen asleep on the couch.
APPLICATION
PERSONAL ASSISTANT
PREDICTION
COMPANY
ALPHABET
END USER
CONSUMER
SOURCE DATA
SENSORS
WHAT IF YOUR computer decided not to blare out a notification jingle because it noticed you weren't sitting at your desk? What if your TV saw you leave the couch to answer the front door and paused Netflix automatically, then resumed playback when you sat back down? What if our computers took more social cues from our movements and learned to be more considerate companions?
It sounds futuristic and perhaps more than a little invasive—a computer watching your every move? But it feels less creepy once you learn that these technologies don't have to rely on a camera to see where you are and what you're doing. Instead, they use radar. Google's Advanced Technology and Products division—better known as ATAP, the department behind oddball projects such as a touch-sensitive denim jacket—has spent the past year exploring how computers can use radar to understand our needs or intentions and then react to us appropriately.
This is not the first time we've seen Google use radar to provide its gadgets with spatial awareness. In 2015, Google unveiled Soli, a sensor that can use radar's electromagnetic waves to pick up precise gestures and movements. It was first seen in the Google Pixel 4's ability to detect simple hand gestures so the user could snooze alarms or pause music without having to physically touch the smartphone. More recently, radar sensors were embedded inside the second-generation Nest Hub smart display to detect the movement and breathing patterns of the person sleeping next to it. The device was then able to track the person's sleep without requiring them to strap on a smartwatch.
The same Soli sensor is being used in this new round of research, but instead of using the sensor input to directly control a computer, ATAP is instead using the sensor data to enable computers to recognize our everyday movements and make new kinds of choices.
“We believe as technology becomes more present in our life, it's fair to start asking technology itself to take a few more cues from us,” says Leonardo Giusti, head of design at ATAP. In the same way your mom might remind you to grab an umbrella before you head out the door, perhaps your thermostat can relay the same message as you walk past and glance at it—or your TV can lower the volume if it detects you've fallen asleep on the couch.
Radar Research
A human entering a computer's personal space. COURTESY OF GOOGLE
Giusti says much of the research is based on proxemics, the study of how people use space around them to mediate social interactions. As you get closer to another person, you expect increased engagement and intimacy. The ATAP team used this and other social cues to establish that people and devices have their own concepts of personal space.
Radar can detect you moving closer to a computer and entering its personal space. This might mean the computer can then choose to perform certain actions, like booting up the screen without requiring you to press a button. This kind of interaction already exists in current Google Nest smart displays, though instead of radar, Google employs ultrasonic sound waves to measure a person's distance from the device. When a Nest Hub notices you're moving closer, it highlights current reminders, calendar events, or other important notifications.
Proximity alone isn't enough. What if you just ended up walking past the machine and looking in a different direction? To solve this, Soli can capture greater subtleties in movements and gestures, such as body orientation, the pathway you might be taking, and the direction your head is facing—aided by machine learning algorithms that further refine the data. All this rich radar information helps it better guess if you are indeed about to start an interaction with the device, and what the type of engagement might be.
This improved sensing came from the team performing a series of choreographed tasks within their own living rooms (they stayed home during the pandemic) with overhead cameras tracking their movements and real-time radar sensing.
Content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
”We were able to move in different ways, we performed different variations of that movement, and then—given this was a real-time system that we were working with—we were able to improvise and kind of build off of our findings in real time," says Lauren Bedal, senior interaction designer at ATAP.
Bedal, who has a background in dance, says the process is quite similar to how choreographers take a basic movement idea—known as a movement motif—and explore variations on it, such as how the dancer shifts their weight or changes their body position and orientation. From these studies, the team formalized a set of movements, which were all inspired by nonverbal communication and how we naturally interact with devices: approaching or leaving, passing by, turning toward or away, and glancing.
Bedal listed a few examples of computers reacting to these movements. If a device senses you approaching, it can pull up touch controls; step close to a device and it can highlight incoming emails; leave a room, and the TV can bookmark where you left and resume from that position when you're back. If a device determines that you're just passing by, it won't bother you with low-priority notifications. If you're in the kitchen following a video recipe, the device can pause when you move away to grab ingredients and resume as you step back and express that intent to reengage. And if you glance at a smart display when you're on a phone call, the device could offer the option to transfer to a video call on it so you can put your phone down.
“All of these movements start to hint at a future way of interacting with computers that feel very invisible by leveraging the natural ways that we move, and the idea is that computers can kind of recede into the background and only help us in the right moments,” Bedal says. “We're really just pushing the bounds of what we perceive to be possible for human-computer interaction.”
OK, Computer
Utilizing radar to influence how computers react to us comes with challenges. For example, while radar can detect multiple people in a room, if the subjects are too close together, the sensor just sees the gaggle of people as an amorphous blob, which confuses decision-making. There's also plenty more to be done, which is why Bedal highlighted (a few times) that this work is very much in the research phase—so no, don't expect it in your next-gen smart display just yet.
ATAP's radar technology can sense where you're looking without using cameras.
COURTESY OF GOOGLE
There's good reason to think radar can help learn your routines over time too. This is one area ATAP's Giusti says is on the research roadmap, with opportunities like suggesting healthy habits pertaining to your own goals. I imagine my smart display turning into a giant stop sign when it realizes I'm heading to the snack cabinet at midnight.
There's also a balance these devices will need to strike when it comes to performing a set of actions it thinks you'd want. For example, what if I want the TV on while I'm in the kitchen cooking? The radar wouldn't detect anyone watching the TV and would pause it instead of leaving it on. “As we start to research some of these interaction paradigms that feel very invisible and seamless and fluid, there needs to be a right balance between user control and automation,” Bedal says. “It should be effortless, but we should be considering the number of controls or configurations the user may want on their side.”
The ATAP team chose to use radar because it's one of the more privacy-friendly methods of gathering rich spatial data. (It also has really low latency, works in the dark, and external factors like sound or temperature don't affect it.) Unlike a camera, radar doesn't capture and store distinguishable images of your body, your face, or other means of identification. “It's more like an advanced motion sensor,” Giusti says. Soli has a detectable range of around 9 feet—less than most cameras—but multiple gadgets in your home with the Soli sensor could effectively blanket your space and create an effective mesh network for tracking your whereabouts in a home. (It's worth noting that data from the Soli sensor in the current Google Nest Hub is processed locally and the raw data is never sent to the cloud.)
A device with ATAP's new technology inside can sense you approaching and then change its state based on what it anticipates you might want to do. COURTESY OF GOOGLE
Chris Harrison, a researcher studying human-computer interaction at Carnegie Mellon University and director of the Future Interfaces Group, says consumers will have to decide whether they want to make this privacy tradeoff—after all, Google is “the world leader in monetizing your data”—but he still thinks Google's camera-free approach is very much a user-first and privacy-first perspective. “There's no such thing as privacy-invading and not privacy-invading,” Harrison says. “Everything is on a spectrum.”
As devices are inevitably enabled with sensors—like Soli—to collect more data, they're more capable of understanding us. Ultimately, Harrison expects to see the kinds of improved human-computer interactions ATAP envisions in all facets of technology.
“Humans are hardwired to really understand human behavior, and when computers break it, it does lead to these sort of extra frustrating [situations],” Harrison says. “Bringing people like social scientists and behavioral scientists into the field of computing makes for these experiences that are much more pleasant and much more kind of humanistic.”
Google ATAP's research is one part of a new series called In the Lab With Google ATAP, which will debut new episodes in the coming months on its YouTube channel. Future episodes will take a look at other projects in Google's research division.
There's good reason to think radar can help learn your routines over time too. This is one area ATAP's Giusti says is on the research roadmap, with opportunities like suggesting healthy habits pertaining to your own goals. I imagine my smart display turning into a giant stop sign when it realizes I'm heading to the snack cabinet at midnight.
There's also a balance these devices will need to strike when it comes to performing a set of actions it thinks you'd want. For example, what if I want the TV on while I'm in the kitchen cooking? The radar wouldn't detect anyone watching the TV and would pause it instead of leaving it on. “As we start to research some of these interaction paradigms that feel very invisible and seamless and fluid, there needs to be a right balance between user control and automation,” Bedal says. “It should be effortless, but we should be considering the number of controls or configurations the user may want on their side.”
The ATAP team chose to use radar because it's one of the more privacy-friendly methods of gathering rich spatial data. (It also has really low latency, works in the dark, and external factors like sound or temperature don't affect it.) Unlike a camera, radar doesn't capture and store distinguishable images of your body, your face, or other means of identification. “It's more like an advanced motion sensor,” Giusti says. Soli has a detectable range of around 9 feet—less than most cameras—but multiple gadgets in your home with the Soli sensor could effectively blanket your space and create an effective mesh network for tracking your whereabouts in a home. (It's worth noting that data from the Soli sensor in the current Google Nest Hub is processed locally and the raw data is never sent to the cloud.)
A device with ATAP's new technology inside can sense you approaching and then change its state based on what it anticipates you might want to do. COURTESY OF GOOGLE
Chris Harrison, a researcher studying human-computer interaction at Carnegie Mellon University and director of the Future Interfaces Group, says consumers will have to decide whether they want to make this privacy tradeoff—after all, Google is “the world leader in monetizing your data”—but he still thinks Google's camera-free approach is very much a user-first and privacy-first perspective. “There's no such thing as privacy-invading and not privacy-invading,” Harrison says. “Everything is on a spectrum.”
As devices are inevitably enabled with sensors—like Soli—to collect more data, they're more capable of understanding us. Ultimately, Harrison expects to see the kinds of improved human-computer interactions ATAP envisions in all facets of technology.
“Humans are hardwired to really understand human behavior, and when computers break it, it does lead to these sort of extra frustrating [situations],” Harrison says. “Bringing people like social scientists and behavioral scientists into the field of computing makes for these experiences that are much more pleasant and much more kind of humanistic.”
Google ATAP's research is one part of a new series called In the Lab With Google ATAP, which will debut new episodes in the coming months on its YouTube channel. Future episodes will take a look at other projects in Google's research division.
VP Kamala Harris in Selma, Alabama's Edmund Pettus Bridge for 57th Anniversary of 'Bloody Sunday'
*
Kamala Harris, the Jamaican/Indian-American (who grew up in Montreal, Canada) Vice-president of the United States of America speaks...
Ash Wednesday: Catholic... Adventist Health Associates, Caregivers, Physicians, Patients and Visitors in Observance of Lent
Ash Wednesday: Catholic Priest Mark Maxon Applies Ashes to Adventist Health Associates, Caregivers, Physicians, Patients and Visitors in Observance of Lent
March 4, 2022 by Andy Roman
Catholic Priest Mark Maxon is part of the Adventist Health “Spiritual Care Services” team. In this photograph, he is wearing an Adventist Health identification while performing Catholic rituals.
Adventist Health celebrated Ash Wednesday at two of its California hospitals on March 2, 2022. Adventist Health Bakersfield and Adventist Health Tehachapi brought in a spiritual health care team, which included a Roman Catholic priest, and offered “blessed ashes” to their patients and employees. Adventist Health proudly shared this “religious” event on social media for all to see.
In the Facebook post above, Adventist Health Bakersfield published the following message: “On this Ash Wednesday, our Mission & Spiritual Care team is honored to offer ashes to our associates, caregivers, physicians, patients, and visitors.”
The same message was sent out by Adventist Health Tehachapi. They are delighted to use social media to advertise Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, to the local community and the rest of the world.
Here is Catholic Priest Mark Maxon from the Saint Malachy Roman Ctholic Church in Tehachapi, California. He is officiating during the celebration of Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, at Adventist Health Tehachapi for patients and staff.
March 4, 2022 by Andy Roman
Catholic Priest Mark Maxon is part of the Adventist Health “Spiritual Care Services” team. In this photograph, he is wearing an Adventist Health identification while performing Catholic rituals.
Adventist Health celebrated Ash Wednesday at two of its California hospitals on March 2, 2022. Adventist Health Bakersfield and Adventist Health Tehachapi brought in a spiritual health care team, which included a Roman Catholic priest, and offered “blessed ashes” to their patients and employees. Adventist Health proudly shared this “religious” event on social media for all to see.
In the Facebook post above, Adventist Health Bakersfield published the following message: “On this Ash Wednesday, our Mission & Spiritual Care team is honored to offer ashes to our associates, caregivers, physicians, patients, and visitors.”
The same message was sent out by Adventist Health Tehachapi. They are delighted to use social media to advertise Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, to the local community and the rest of the world.
Here is Catholic Priest Mark Maxon from the Saint Malachy Roman Ctholic Church in Tehachapi, California. He is officiating during the celebration of Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, at Adventist Health Tehachapi for patients and staff.
Seventh-day Adventists are supposed to place the Scriptures above tradition. We reject the idea of elevating the teachings of fallible man to the same level as God’s word. We used to disagree with Protestant and Catholic churches when they added or deleted from the Bible, misapplied God’s word, and glorified man-made traditions in the church. But thanks to 60 years of ecumenism, it seems that we are also guilty of doing the same.
Regrettably, Adventist institutions are commemorating Ash Wednesday, a Roman Catholic feast day and a man-made festival. There isn’t a single word or hint concerning Ash Wednesday in the entire Bible. These celebrations are on equal level with Sunday keeping, the immortality of the soul, and papal authority because Ash Wednesday is associated with Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday in Roman Catholic tradition.
According to Catholic tradition, on Ash Wednesday, “all the faithful” are exhorted to have a priest apply ashes to their foreheads. The ashes used in the ceremony are “made from the burning remains of the palms blessed on Palm Sunday of the previous year.” The ashes are mixed with “holy water” and blessed by the bishop or priest. [1]
Ash Wednesday, according to Catholic theology, is the first day that marks the beginning of Lent and takes place six and a half weeks before Easter Sunday. It is a celebration to prepare people for Easter Sunday. [2] Seventh-day Adventist institutions are now submitting to these human traditions. We call out the other churches that teach Sunday sacredness and accuse them of embracing tradition. However, we are doing the same while claiming to defend the Holy Scriptures. We say we are the “People of the Book.” Which book? The Holy Bible or the Catholic Catechism?
Too many of our pastors and leaders are dead asleep and stand silent as Rome’s propaganda, which has no place in any of our institutions, is being celebrated, published, and forced upon our people. Promoting Romanism only helps to heal her deadly wound. We are increasingly seeing more evidence of these activities as church leaders embrace the heathen interfaith fraternity that Pope Francis has been actively promoting in all the churches.
When Catholic beliefs and Catholic mysticism are introduced into our institutions, we should be shocked and dismayed. Why do they allow this to happen? This kind of work or mission did not originate with God. Ultimately, the Holy Scriptures are being replaced by Catholic traditions. Human teachings are a diversion from God’s true mission for us at this time in history, which is to proclaim the Three Angels’ Messages to the entire world.
God cannot condone any of this. The Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy do not approve of bringing Catholic priests into our institutions to perform their rituals. God’s sheep is being led astry by these administrators and their ecumenical clergy team. We become complicit if we keep silent. Silence in the face of the Omega of Apostasy is a form of apostasy in and of itself. Anyone who would accept or condone this action, or who dares to remain silent, should be ashamed.
“But God will have a people upon the earth to maintain the Bible, and the Bible only, as the standard of all doctrines, and the basis of all reforms. The opinions of learned men, the deductions of science, the creeds or decisions of ecclesiastical councils, as numerous and discordant as are the churches which they represent, the voice of the majority,—not one or all of these should be regarded as evidence for or against any point of religious faith. Before accepting any doctrine or precept, we should demand a plain ‘Thus saith the Lord’ in its support” (Great Controversy, p. 595).
Sources
[1] https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01775b.htm
[2] https://www.usccb.org/prayer-worship/liturgical-year/lent
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee demands Russia release Brittney Griner: 'No right'
By
Andrew Mark Miller, Fox News
March 6, 2022 4:25am
Updated
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee demanded the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was detained in Russia.REUTERS/Erin Scott
Texas Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee is demanding the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner who was detained by authorities in Russia for allegedly possessing a vape with cannabis oil.
“We know that there were some issues dealing with vape cartridges and other items but let me be very clear,” Lee, who represents Griner’s hometown of Houston, Texas, in Congress, said on Saturday. “Brittney Griner is a United States citizen, she was a guest in Russia…and I will be demanding her release.”
Lee added that she has spoken with the State Department to “try and get them to focus on her circumstances.”
“I don’t want to disregard a sovereign nation but Putin has disregarded sovereign nations his entire service in this world,” Lee said. “Anyone that is killing and attacking and destroying Ukraine, a neighboring country that is not bothering them, has no right to hold Ms. Griner. Period.”
Lee called for any alleged infraction to be dealt with “diplomatically” and referenced Griner’s “storied history of Olympic gold medals” and said that a Moscow prison is “no place for her” especially when considering the fact that Putin has reportedly thrown thousands of Ukraine war protesters into jail.
Texas Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee is demanding the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner who was detained by authorities in Russia for allegedly possessing a vape with cannabis oil.
“We know that there were some issues dealing with vape cartridges and other items but let me be very clear,” Lee, who represents Griner’s hometown of Houston, Texas, in Congress, said on Saturday. “Brittney Griner is a United States citizen, she was a guest in Russia…and I will be demanding her release.”
Lee added that she has spoken with the State Department to “try and get them to focus on her circumstances.”
“I don’t want to disregard a sovereign nation but Putin has disregarded sovereign nations his entire service in this world,” Lee said. “Anyone that is killing and attacking and destroying Ukraine, a neighboring country that is not bothering them, has no right to hold Ms. Griner. Period.”
Lee called for any alleged infraction to be dealt with “diplomatically” and referenced Griner’s “storied history of Olympic gold medals” and said that a Moscow prison is “no place for her” especially when considering the fact that Putin has reportedly thrown thousands of Ukraine war protesters into jail.
WNBA star Brittney Griner allegedly possessed a vape with cannabis oil.Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Russian state media announced on Saturday that Griner, a member of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, had been arrested last month after allegedly being caught with a vape cartridge that contained hash oil.
The Russian Federal Customs Service released a video of the incident that appeared to show Griner going through security at Sheremetyevo International Airport near Moscow.
According to Russian authorities, Griner could face anywhere between 5-10 years if found guilty.
SEE ALSO
Russian state media announced on Saturday that Griner, a member of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, had been arrested last month after allegedly being caught with a vape cartridge that contained hash oil.
The Russian Federal Customs Service released a video of the incident that appeared to show Griner going through security at Sheremetyevo International Airport near Moscow.
According to Russian authorities, Griner could face anywhere between 5-10 years if found guilty.
SEE ALSO
WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner has been detained for 3 weeks in Russia after drug arrest
Griner was in Russia playing for the women’s basketball team UMMC Ekaterinburg during the WNBA’s offseason. Playing overseas during the WNBA’s offseason is common among WNBA players who have the opportunity to earn lucrative contracts that oftentimes exceed what they earn in the United States.
Griner’s agent told ESPN in a statement on Saturday that it was an “ongoing legal matter” and they are in talks with the WNBA and NBA.
“We are aware of the situation with Brittney Griner in Russia and are in close contact with her, her legal representation in Russia, her family, her teams, and the WNBA and NBA,” the statement from the agent read. “As this is an ongoing legal matter, we are not able to comment further on the specifics of her case but can confirm that as we work to get her home, her mental and physical health remain our primary concern.
Saturday, March 05, 2022
Friday, March 04, 2022
BIDEN’S ORWELLIAN LANGUAGE ON SEXUALITY
Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on President Biden’s State of the Union remarks:
President Biden’s State of the Union address was mostly about the Ukraine-Russia war, the economy, Covid, and energy. That’s understandable given that these issues are paramount. Some, like New York Times columnist Charles Blow, criticized Biden for not mentioning blacks even once. A more serious criticism was Biden’s use of Orwellian language to describe matters sexual.
We all know that abortion means the killing of an unborn baby, but almost none of those in the pro-abortion camp likes to say such things. Biden addressed this issue by saying, “Folks, advancing liberty and justice also requires protecting the rights of women.”
He did not mean the right of women to be free from sexual harassment in the workplace, or the right of women to exclusively compete with other women in women’s sports (which he rejects). He meant the right to abort their child.
“The constitutional right affirmed in Roe v. Wade, standing precedent for half a century, is under attack as never before.” He never said what that right was. Nor did he say why, when the issue of gay marriage was before the courts, he supported overturning two centuries of standing precedent.
“If you want to go forward not backwards, we must protect access to healthcare; preserve a woman’s right to choose—and continue to advance maternal healthcare for all Americans.”
In other words, aborting babies is healthcare. That itself is Orwellian. He never tells us what the woman is choosing to do. To put it differently, what is the object of the verb “choose”? Why can’t he say what it is?
Saying things such as “Maternal healthcare for all Americans” is total nonsense. Maternal healthcare cannot possibly be for men, so why not simply say, “maternal healthcare for women.” That’s because in his mind, sex is not an objective reality—there are only men and women), the Q stands for queer (a classic redundancy), but no one knows who the + people are. Someone needs to ask him about this at a press conference.
Biden said he wants to sign the Equality Act, the most radical, anti-nature, anti-religious liberty piece of legislation ever proposed. Among other things, it would do away with privacy rights—hurting women more than men—and it would force Catholic hospitals to perform abortions.
Anyone who thinks we are exaggerating should read what Kara Dansky has to say about the Equality Act. She is a self-described “radical feminist,” and the author of The Abolition of Sex: How the “Transgender” Agenda Harms Women and Girls.
“What all this means is that if the Equality Act is enacted, any man will be able to gain access to any women’s restroom, changing room, or locker room in all public accommodations, which includes all restaurants, bars, movie theaters, sports arenas, and recreational areas. Grown men will be able to enter areas that are intended to be restricted to women and girls across the country.”
If Americans knew what the Equality Act entailed, they would be overwhelmingly opposed to it. Hence the need to speak about it in a deceitful manner.
Biden ended his comments on this subject by invoking God. Speaking about so-called transgender persons, he said “I’ll always have your back as your President so you can be yourself and reach your God-given potential.”
He is seriously wrong. Sexually confused boys and girls who want to “transition” to the opposite sex do so because they don’t want to be themselves—they want to be something they’re not.
Worse, to say that God’s creatures can reach their potential by rebelling against their God-given nature is to say that the necessary corrective to God’s design is genital-mutilating surgery. That is borderline blasphemous.
Biden’s deceptive language is deliberate. He does not want the American people to ponder exactly what his sexual policies mean. His rejection of nature, and nature’s God, is all the more sick given his self-proclaimed “devout Catholic” status.
We’ve contacted Jen Psaki a lot, so let’s contact her Deputy Press Secretary, Andrew Bates: andrew.j.bates@who.eop.gov
Religious Freedom: A Multifaceted Gift to Humanity
MARCH 4, 2022
Ganoune Diop, Ph.D
There is more to religious freedom than meets the eye. While belief in religious freedom is as old as religion itself, it has only been in the last 250 years that nation states and the international community have more clearly expressed their commitments to preserving this fundamental human freedom. “The American experiment,” written into constitutional guarantees in 1789-1791, clearly articulated a key understanding of this freedom by formally separating church and state, and forbidding legislatures to make any “law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Other constitutions soon reflected similar understandings, but the consensus about religious freedom took longer to develop in the international community.
One catalyzing organization in the development of that international consensus has been the International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA), which has a fascinating history and story. dating from its charter in 1893. The context that prompted the creation of this religious liberty association was proposed legislation in the United States Senate that would have directly violated the constitutional guarantees of the First Amendment.
In 1888, Adventist leaders opposed two bills introduced in the US senate by Senator Henry W. Blair of New Hampshire. The first bill called for a promotion of Sunday, understood as the Lord’s Day, a day of rest, whose observance the bill was supposed to impose as a national requirement. The second bill proposed a constitutional amendment requiring the nation’s public school to teach the ‘principles of the Christian religion.’
One of the leaders among Seventh-day Adventist pioneers, Alonzo, T, Jones, a future editor of the Adventist Review, even testified to the Congress to stop Sunday law and the proposed provision to make America into a Christian nation. It was, as he clearly described it, a religious liberty issue.
One year later in 1889, Seventh-day Adventists created an association in order to promote religious liberty. It was called “The National Religious Liberty Association.” This movement was amplified in 1893 when the association expanded to become the International Religious Liberty Association.
Engaging political and religious actors at the beginning of Seventh-day Adventist church existence became a deliberate choice. Some would say that doing so was a necessity if the Seventh-day Adventist church was to be credible and relevant in the public space. Promoting religious liberty was meant to benefit all. Seventh-day Adventists understand religious liberty as a universal human right that cannot be restricted to a group at the exclusion of others.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)