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| The FBI Doubles Down on Christians and White Supremacy in 2023 - UncoverDC |
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Posted by: ThyWillBeDone - 3 hours ago - Forum: Great Reset
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www.uncoverdc.com
https://www.uncoverdc.com/2023/02/08/the...y-in-2023/
The FBI Doubles Down on Christians and White Supremacy in 2023 - UncoverDC
Kyle Seraphin
9 - 11 minutes
The FBI’s Richmond Division would like to protect Virginians from the threat of “white supremacy,” which it believes has found a home within Catholics who prefer the Latin Mass. An intelligence analyst within the Richmond Field Office of the FBI released in a new finished intelligence product dated January 23, 2023, on Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists (RMVE) and their interests in “Radical-Traditionalist Catholics” or RTCs. The document assesses with “high confidence” the FBI can mitigate the threat of Radical-Traditionalist Catholics by recruiting sources within the Catholic Church.
The acronym, new to many in the Domestic Counterterrorism field, comes with a footnote by the writer explaining RTCs are “typically characterized by the rejection of the Second Vatican Council.” The writer makes an unsubstantiated leap that a preference for the Catholic Mass in Latin instead of the vernacular and a number of more traditional views on other world religions can amount to an “adherence to anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ and white supremacist ideology.” This writer draws the important distinction between “traditional Catholics,” who simply prefer the Traditional Latin Mass and pre-Vatican II teachings, and RTCs, who espouse “more extremist ideological beliefs and violent rhetoric.”
A discerning reader may wonder why the writer believes such divisions exist and if there is evidence of the extremist and violent rhetoric within the Catholic church. The analyst’s note doesn’t provide specifics. When the FBI generates an intelligence product, it is important to note the analyzed sources. Typically, strict source vetting removes partisanship and bias, so a product is both consistent with federal law and can add value to the FBI’s overall mission. Of note, this document was reviewed and approved for release by the FBI Richmond Chief Division Counsel, who is the office’s top lawyer.
The attached appendices refer to a number of articles and the out-of-FBI-policy Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) at the end of the document. For example, Appendix D is a direct copy of the SPLC list of “Radical Traditional Catholicism Hate Groups,” including the web address accessed. The SPLC appears to be a source for the intelligence analyst’s beliefs that RTCs exist and that they are anti-Semitic. The SPLC description for this “hate group” states RTCs “may make up the largest single group of serious anti-semites in America.” Often in the intelligence world, this type of statement without any established evidence is often followed by the acronym “NFI” or “No Further Information” to indicate it is an unsubstantiated opinion. Additionally, SPLC states RTCs “embrace extremely conservative social ideals with respect to women.” Nothing reported by the SPLC indicates the number of adherents to this alleged ideology nor any instances of violence. This lack of evidence and blatant partisan blindness is one of many reasons the FBI has distanced itself from the SPLC as a source in the past 10 years.The intelligence product includes endnote citations from two other sources: the far-Left online magazine Salon and the equally left-leaning The Atlantic.
The Salon articles cited are typical of partisan click-bait writing: “Traditional Catholics and White Nationalist Groypers Forge a new Far-Right Youth Movement” and “White Nationalists Get Religion: On the Far-Right Fringe, Catholics and Racists Forge a movement.” These articles were released a day apart as a series but include substantially the same information. The articles offer only circumstantial suggestions of affiliations between inflammatory figures like Milo Yiannopoulos and Nick Fuentes and a man pictured standing on the steps of a Catholic church in New York after the Dobbs decision. The Salon writer makes the wild leap that using a photo of someone at a church indicates the pictured individual or his beliefs are relevant within a religious institution with 70 million adherents in the United States alone and over 2000 years of tradition and history.
The writer determines that the “threat picture” involving RMVE, again in this case, referring to white supremacists, will increase, but that the “RTC Community is likely to remain relatively stable or show modest growth” over the next one to two years. The basis for this assessment is not annotated and appears to be speculative. The speculative increase in RMVE interactions with RTC leads the writer to suggest mitigation strategies, including recruiting Confidential Human Sources (“source development”), tripwire, and liaison contacts. Tripwires and liaisons are overt contacts with trusted members of a community or an industry. They can advise law enforcement about potentially illegal activity. Due to the fact that “white supremacy” is itself a First Amendment-protected belief, to say nothing of proponents of the most established Christian denomination in the world, the Bureau tries to cover documents like these with a caveat excusing their intrusion into the sacrosanct grounds of free exercise of religion and free association. In another typical intrusion into First Amendment concerns, the document implies a strategy of monitoring social media for RTC ideology in online posts.
The impetus of the writer can be assessed by the fixation on abortion and the repeated use of the phrase “abortion rights.” Documents like these can be used to drive the FBI’s priorities in specific regions and boost the visibility of non-existent threats. There is a reason the writer refers to the document as a “first of its kind” Domain Perspective: it is generally out of bounds. However, intelligence products like this help focus on alleged “hostility towards the abortion-rights advocates,” which the FBI has used to justify significant enforcement actions tied to the FACE Act (18 USC 248). Americans will remember a flood of conservative news outlets covering arrests of numerous pro-life protesters at the end of 2022, which are coming back into focus after the January 30, 2023 acquittal of defendant Mark Houck. While over 100 instances of attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers occurred in 2022, the SPLC reported an unsubstantiated 200 “bombings or arson attacks” on abortion clinics in the past 20 years.
This tremendous statistical mismatch usually would have led federal law enforcement to focus on the highest threat, but the increasingly Leftist bend of FBI enforcement actions appears to have ignored this trend. It also appears the writer is simply assuming RMVEs share common cause with Conservatives, including practicing Catholics, on issues about abortion, immigration, affirmative action, and LGBTQ protections. This editorial bias should give the reader of this document a medium to high confidence the intelligence analyst is the product of left-leaning higher education and leftist values.
The piece concludes with the incredible leap that RMVEs or white supremacists pose a threat to use “RTC social media sites” (no examples) or “places of worship as facilitation platforms to promote violence.” This intelligence product is indicative of a permissive tolerance within the FBI for Left-leaning ideological actors who use academic-sounding rhetoric to cover a dearth of personal experience. The weaponization of the FBI against conservative Americans can be seen in the way documents like this are published and distributed. Poorly sourced and highly speculative intelligence products lead to opening badly articulated predicate investigations into Americans in violation of their God-given, First Amendment-protected civil liberties.
While most Americans are familiar with criminal investigations, which explore the allegation or information that a crime has been committed, many are not familiar with intelligence investigations. In contrast to the linear nature of a criminal case, counterintelligence and counterterrorism cases follow a circular path that can continue indefinitely without any articulated goal. Indeed, information is the goal of these types of cases. Many counterterrorism cases never articulate or uncover a single criminal act. Yet, they continue in order to develop more understanding of the “threat landscape” or “threat pictures,” as quoted in this document. Intelligence investigations often beget more investigations. The relevance of this product should not be lost on the reader.
Products like this can be used to support the opening of information-only cases, and there is no reason to expect Radical-Traditionalist Catholics are the end point of this train track – they will be the beginning. Opening the door to associating white supremacists with traditional religious practices based on common Christian positions on abortion and the LGBTQ political agendas is a dangerous step. Such investigations can easily lead to the same analysis of Radical Traditional Baptists, Radical Traditional Lutherans, and Radical Traditional Evangelicals. The FBI is forbidden from opening cases or publishing products based solely on First Amendment-protected activities. By tolerating the publishing of intelligence products as shoddy as this, they are crossing a line many Americans will find themselves on the wrong side of for the first time in history. This is what a politicalized FBI looks like; it should not be tolerated if Americans expect to enjoy the protections of our Bill of Rights.
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| Pope Francis once again calls for Conciliar 'Fraternity' |
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Posted by: Stone - Today, 08:24 AM - Forum: Pope Francis
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I always find it interesting that these 'conservative' news outlets never reference where the errors of Pope Francis start from. The implication is nearly always that these errors originate with Francis himself. But that is rarely the case. Rather, as he himself will often quote or reference, Vatican II is the foundation from which he acts and speaks.
Quote:Lumen Gentium 16
“But the plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator. In the first place amongst these there are the Muslims, who, professing to hold the faith of Abraham, together with us adore the one and merciful God, who on the last day will judge mankind.”
Explained by Fr. Hesse: What about the Incarnation? What about the Holy Trinity? The Koran, the Muslims’ holy book calls the idea of the Trinity an “excremental idea.” And now Vatican II tells us that they, together with us, adore the one merciful God?!? What about the First Commandment? They have another God, they have the lonely one-person Allah. We have Father, Son and Holy Ghost. “Et Verbum caro factum est,” says the last Gospel at Mass, “And the Word became flesh” I’ve never heard that Allah became flesh. This is blasphemy. It is heresy and it is blasphemy.
The idea that Muslims, Jews and Catholics are basically all the same anyway is a Freemasonic idea. It was being promoted by the Freemasons long before Vatican II, and now we have a so-called Ecumenical Council telling us the same thing too. Give me a Catholic interpretation of that quote about the Muslims together with us adoring the same God. It’s not possible. It’s just a heresy.
See also The SiSiNoNo study of Vatican II regarding the False Representation of Non-Christian Religions for a more detailed look at the errors rampant in the V-II documents regarding other religions.
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Pope Francis reiterates belief that ‘religions’ must unite in ‘service of brotherhood’
Pope Francis once again championed the notion of 'fraternity' through interreligious action in various ecumenical speeches over the weekend.
![[Image: pope-ecumenical-810x500.jpg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/pope-ecumenical-810x500.jpg)
Pope Francis, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Iain Greenshields give a blessing on February 4, 2023.
Screenshot/Vatican News
Feb 6, 2023
JUBA, South Sudan (https://www.lifesitenews.com/analysis/po...otherhood/) –– Both in his ecumenical “pilgrimage of peace” and in his message for the International Day of Human Fraternity, Pope Francis recently called for religions to “increasingly intertwine” in the “service of brotherhood.”
Over the past few days, Pope Francis has once more renewed his oft-spoken calls for increased interreligious dialogue and activity, reawakening concerns that leading prelates have made in the wake of such statements over the years.
Religions must ‘increasingly intertwine’ to promote ‘fraternity’
The first came during his recorded February 4 video-message for the third International Day of Human Fraternity, which is born out of his 2019 Abu Dhabi document on human fraternity – a document which stated that a “pluralism and diversity” of religions is “willed by God.” Francis’ video was also to mark the awarding of the accompanying Zayed Prize for Human Fraternity.
His statement mentioned God, but did not mention Christ or Catholicism. Instead, Francis spoke in a much more abstract manner, describing the purpose of religion as “reminding us that man’s destiny goes beyond earthly goods and lies in a universal horizon.”
Francis argued that religions must be “at the service of fraternity” and consequently “enrich each other:”
Quote:Religions, in order to be at the service of fraternity, need to engage in dialogue with each other, to get to know each other, to enrich each other, and above all to develop that which unites and to collaborate for the good of all.
Without highlighting the Catholic Church, the Pope called for “various religious traditions” to draw “from its own spiritual heritage” to “make a great contribution in the service of fraternity.”
Pope Francis’ video message
The Pontiff appeared to also downplay the importance of Catholicism, instead implicitly supporting a more general, accepting stance of many different churches, stating that by having different religions “increasingly intertwine,” humanity can achieve its “common destiny.”
Quote:Men and women of different religions walk towards God along roads that increasingly intertwine. Every encounter can be an opportunity to oppose one another or, with God’s help, to encourage each other to go forward as brothers and sisters. Indeed, we share not only a common origin and descent, but also a common destiny, that of fragile and vulnerable creatures, as the historical period we are living shows us so clearly.
Employing language traditionally used in Catholic spirituality to describe a soul’s pursuit of sanctification, Francis described the “path of fraternity” as “a long and difficult one.” While Catholic spirituality also traditionally highlights the sign of the cross, Francis instead promoted the “sign of fraternity,” which would “counter the many conflicts, in the shadows of a closed world, with the sign of fraternity.”
South Sudan ecumenical prayer assembly
On the same day, the Pope also took part in an ecumenical prayer event in Juba, South Sudan, as part of his ecumenical “pilgrimage of peace” to the African nation with the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Iain Greenshields.
Addressing the thousands of participants, Francis concentrated on the themes of “peace” and “prayer.” He did not promote Catholic teaching on the issue but instead urged greater interreligious cooperation.
As has become commonplace at such ecumenical events, Francis referenced the Scriptural passage “That they may all be one” (Jn 17:21).
“That is Jesus’ heartfelt prayer to the Father for all of us who believe,” he stated.
However, Francis’ exhortations of a “fraternity” and a “unity” divorced from the Catholic faith are controversial, especially when viewed in light of Catholic Tradition.
In his 1949 document, “On the Ecumenical Movement,” Pope Pius XII warned against such an interpretation and use of this Scriptural passage. The Pontiff used the phrase to note the importance of evangelization efforts, adding that “care must be taken lest…the purity of Catholic doctrine be impaired, or its genuine and certain meaning be obscured.”
As used by Francis, the Scriptural passage was truncated, since the full text actually reads:
Quote:As thou Father, in me, and I in thee; that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou hast given me, I have given to them; that they may be one, as we also are one: I in them, and thou in me; that they may be made perfect in one. (John 17: 21-23)
The Traditional teaching of the Church observed the important aspect of unity in Christ, not simply unity in something outside of the Church.
The Church is the bride of Christ, founded by Him and charged with teaching His word. As taught by previous popes, the phrase “one in us” cannot refer to any unity outside the fullness of the Church, but is a reference to others becoming members of the Church and consequently of the mystical body of Christ.
So also, the phrase “perfect in one” does refer not to a union made by the watering down of Catholic teaching, but to the union only found in the Church as expressed in the fullness of Her teaching.
Additionally, when reading this chapter of John’s Gospel, in lines 2-19 the third person pronouns refer to Christ’s disciples. Yet from halfway through line 20, “they/them” refers to those men who are not yet in the Church:
Quote:And not for them only do I pray, but for them (non-Catholics) also who through their word (the word of the disciples) shall believe in me.
The desired unity for which Christ prays is not some unity which the Church will gain by others merging with Her at ecumenical events, but is a unity which is only realized by all men coming to the fullness of the faith by joining the Catholic Church. Thus the passage quoted by Francis does not refer to the various disciples, but the men of the world who have yet to join the unity of the Church.
Pope Leo XIII condemned such arguments, so commonly employed today, in his 1888 encyclical Libertas. Referring to the Church’s relationship with other religions, Leo wrote that the Catholic Church tolerates:
Quote:certain modern liberties, not because she prefers them in themselves but because she judges it expedient to permit them, she would in happier times exercise her own liberty; and, by persuasion, exhortation, and entreaty would endeavor, as she is bound, to fulfill the duty assigned to her by God of providing for the eternal salvation of mankind.
Leo additionally noted that “one thing, however, remains always true — that the liberty which is claimed for all to do all things is not, as We have often said, of itself desirable, inasmuch as it is contrary to reason that error and truth should have equal rights.”
The ecumenical event, reportedly attended by over 50,000 people, concluded with Francis, Welby and Greenshields issuing a joint blessing in English.
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| Police arrest Josh Alexander, who protested boys in girls’ bathrooms, for attending class |
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Posted by: Stone - Today, 07:47 AM - Forum: General Commentary
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Ontario police arrest Josh Alexander, who protested boys in girls’ bathrooms, for attending class
'I chose to attend school regardless of an unlawful exclusion order,' the teenager told LifeSiteNews.
![[Image: Josh-Alexander-810x500.jpg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Josh-Alexander-810x500.jpg)
Josh Alexander
Ottawa CityNews
Feb 6, 2023
RENFREW, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) — Canadian high school student Josh Alexander was arrested and charged this morning at his school for attending class.
“I have just been arrested and charged at my Catholic high school for attending class after being excluded for indicating my intent to adhere to my religious beliefs,” tweeted Alexander this morning.
Alexander protested his Catholic school, St. Joseph’s, last year allowing gender-confused males to use girls’ bathrooms and was then suspended. His tweet today included a photo of him in front of his school and being taken into custody by members of the Ontario Provincial Police.
“I was arrested and charged with trespassing today,” Alexander told LifeSiteNews. “I chose to attend school regardless of an unlawful exclusion order. I respectfully declined multiple demands to leave class.”
“The entire class was dismissed while the staff handled my situation,” the boy continued. “Shortly after, Ontario Provincial Police arrived and asked me to leave. Once again, I respectfully declined and they arrested me.”
Josh’s attorney, James Kitchen, the chief litigator for Liberty Coalition Canada (LCC), told LifeSiteNews that Alexander’s decision to go back to school today was “an intelligent choice of a young man who knows what he is doing.”
Kitchen noted that Alexander’s arrest was “not entirely unexpected.”
“Did we know he might get arrested? Well, of course we did,” said Kitchen.
“Today was not entirely unforeseen. If they’re [the school] going to continue to double down and enforce that discrimination, yes, they’re going to arrest him.”
Kitchen confirmed that Alexander has now been released but has not yet seen exactly what he has been charged. The lawyer noted it’s most likely a trespass-related offence.
Alexander was in police custody for only a few hours and was served his charges in a police cruiser.
Kitchen said Alexander will continue to express his “religious beliefs” while attending his Catholic high school.
“Unfortunately it takes this sort of drastic confrontation for people to just realize the insanity [of the reasons behind Alexander’s suspension and then arrest],” Kitchen told LifeSiteNews.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, Alexander was handed a 20-day suspension on November 23, 2022, after organizing a school walkout in support of girls’ rights to access their facilities without the presence of male students.
The teenager had told LifeSiteNews that, in accordance with Catholic teaching and the Bible, he believes that there are only two sexes.
Before his arrest this morning, Alexander posted a Bible verse on Twitter.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. Romans 1:16,” he tweeted.
Kitchen told LifeSiteNews that the Renfrew County Catholic District School Board wouldn’t “permit him to attend school for the rest of the year because, according to them, Josh’s beliefs constitute ‘bullying of trans students.’”
According to the LCC, Alexander was hoping to return to school on February 6, 2023. However, after he said he would “continue to adhere to his religious beliefs regarding Biblical sexuality and gender,” the school board responded by “excluding Josh from attending St. Joseph’s for the rest of the school year.”
Kitchen told LifeSiteNews last week that the “technicality” the school board used as the reason for not allowing an appeal “has to do with standing.”
“A 16-year-old only has standing if they have ‘withdrawn from parental control’,” said Kitchen.
“In what would appear to be a move to avoid having to hear and decide the appeals, the school board is unreasonably taking the position Josh has not withdrawn from parental control.”
He told LifeSiteNews that at this time they are considering “next steps” for Alexander, which will “include but will involve more than a human rights complaint.”
The suspension and now arrest of Alexander comes amid a noticeable push in western nations to promote gender ideology to young people, particularly in the United States and Canada.
Developing…
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| Dictatorship in Nicaragua sentences seven more clergy and laity to 10 years in prison |
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Posted by: Stone - Today, 07:34 AM - Forum: Global News
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Dictatorship in Nicaragua sentences seven more clergy and laity to 10 years in prison
CNA Newsroom | Feb 7, 2023
In a new attack on the Catholic Church, the Nicaraguan dictatorship led by President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, sentenced three priests, a deacon, two seminarians, and a layman from the Diocese of Matagalpa to 10 years in prison.
According to reports from the local newspaper La Prensa and the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH), the sentence was issued on Feb. 6 by Judge Nadia Tardencilla of the Second Criminal Trial District.
The sentence consists of five years for the crime of “conspiracy to undermine national security and sovereignty” and five years for “spreading fake news” with an additional 800 days monetary fine based on the convicted person’s daily salary.
The convicted priests are Ramiro Reynaldo Tijerino Chávez, 50, rector of the John Paul II University; Sadiel Antonio Eugarrios Cano, 35, former vicar of the Matagalpa cathedral; and José Luis Díaz Cruz, 33, current vicar of the Matagalpa cathedral.
Also sentenced were Deacon Raúl Antonio Vega González, 27; seminarians Darvin Esteylin Leiva Mendoza, 19, and Melkin Antonio Centeno Sequeira, 23; and photographer Sergio José Cárdenas Flores, 32.
The seven were found guilty on Jan. 27 and were awaiting sentencing. In a separate trial, Father Oscar Benavidez was also found guilty of the same charges and sentenced Feb. 4 to 10 years in prison.
The regime announced Jan. 10 that the bishop of Matagalpa, Rolando Álvarez, who has been under house arrest since Aug. 19, 2022, will stand trial accused of conspiracy. The prelate has not yet been sentenced.
The CENIDH charged that the sentence issued against these seven men is “a new legal aberration” that also “disqualified them for life from holding public office and popular election.”
“We at the CENIDH condemn these perverse actions of the regime that violate human rights. We demand immediate freedom for them and all political prisoners,” the organization added.
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| UK Is "Likely" To Need Digital Currency, Says BoE & Treasury |
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Posted by: Stone - Yesterday, 09:29 AM - Forum: Global News
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UK Is "Likely" To Need Digital Currency, Says BoE & Treasury
ZH | FEB 07, 2023
Authored by Ana Paula Pereira via CoinTelegraph.com,
The Bank of England (BoE) and His Majesty’s Treasury believe the United Kingdom is likely to need to create a central bank digital currency (CBDC) by 2030, according to a Daily Telegraph report on Feb. 4.
The “digital pound” roadmap is set to be introduced next week, a government source told the newspaper. Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe is scheduled to give an update on the BoE’s work on the CBDC on Feb. 7
Quote:“On the basis of our work to date, the Bank of England and HM Treasury judge that it is likely a digital pound will be needed in the future,” BoE Governor Andrew Bailey and Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt told the Telegraph.
The BoE declined to comment on the article but announced that a joint consultation on the digital pound would be released soon.
The U.K. reportedly experienced a 35% drop in cash and coin payments in 2020. Cash accounts for approximately one in six payments; debit and credit cards account for the other five. A central bank digital currency is a digital version of government-issued currency tied to fiat reserves at a 1:1 ratio.
The news comes just a few days after HM Treasury posted an open position on LinkedIn for a head of central bank digital currency. The job description presented the role as “important, complex, and cross-cutting”, requiring an “extensive engagement across and beyond the HM Treasury.”
The digital pound is one of many CBDCs expected to be introduced across the world in the years ahead. The European Central Bank has been discussing the future of a digital euro, with several countries, including Sweden and Denmark, also exploring the concept of digital currencies.
Last year, China’s digital yuan was launched in beta for iOS and Android local app stores. Recent developments include upgrades to smart contract functionality alongside a series of use cases, Cointelegraph reported.
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| World Is Walking Into WW3 With "Eyes Wide Open" - UN Chief Tells General Assembly |
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Posted by: Stone - Yesterday, 09:24 AM - Forum: Global News
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World Is Walking Into WW3 With "Eyes Wide Open" - UN Chief Tells General Assembly
![[Image: unchieffile.jpg?itok=be_FErq-]](https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/unchieffile.jpg?itok=be_FErq-)
ZH | FEB 07, 2023
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned on Monday in a speech delivered before the 193-member UN General Assembly that the world is headed toward a "wider war" in Ukraine due to the ever-increasing risk of escalation.
"The prospects for peace keep diminishing," Guterres said. "The chances of further escalation and bloodshed keep growing." He then sounded the alarm that "I fear the world is not sleepwalking into a wider war. I fear it is doing so with its eyes wide open."
His starkly negative outlook for the crisis comes as Ukraine is warning that the Kremlin's largest offensive since the opening weeks of the war is looming, according to The New York Times, which further wrote:
Quote:The Ukrainian General Staff, which is responsible for military strategy, said in its daily battlefield update that the Russians fired on some two dozen towns and villages around Bakhmut, the ruined city that has become the focal point of Moscow’s campaign to seize all of the eastern area known as Donbas.
By many recent accounts the changes of Ukrainian forces holding on the Bakbmut look bleaker by the day, as Russian troops are busy encircling the strategic city in Donetsk.
Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said Monday that the battle for the east is rapidly "heating up" as the Russian side throws "new units into the battle and eradicating our towns and villages."
Last month Ukrainian leaders began warning their Western backers that Putin has ordered hundreds of thousands more troops to muster along the border for a major new offensive; but such a potential escalation has failed to materialize thus far.
Also of note is something President Zelensky said in an interview with Fox News days ago...
While discussing the broader war, the Ukrainian leader said "If Ukraine falls, it would be the start of World War 3" - given that this would trigger major Western powers jumping in to back Kyiv directly in a bigger collective effort to defeat Russia.
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| New Zealand: Fire at Waikato farm kills 50,000 chickens |
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Posted by: Stone - 02-06-2023, 12:28 PM - Forum: Global News
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Fire at Waikato farm kills 50,000 chickens
NZ Herald | 6 Feb, 2023
Thousands gathered for the Waitangi Day dawn service, more heavy rain and winds are expected in parts of the country, and China respond after the US shoot down a suspected spy balloon in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald
A fire at a chicken farm in Orini has killed 50,000 egg-laying hens.
Zeagold Nutrition chief executive John McKay confirmed there was a fire at its egg-laying farm in Waikato.
“A supervisor on-site at our farm called the fire department at 7.40am today. All 12 staff members on site are safe and unharmed,” McKay said earlier today.
“Ten emergency vehicles are currently on site to contain the spread of the fire.”
McKay said the cause of the fire had not been determined and the focus was on the welfare of their hens.
McKay confirmed about 1pm that the fire had been contained.
“We’re pleased to report the fire has been contained, with Fire and Emergency NZ remaining on site to monitor any hot spots. At this stage, we still have to assess the full extent of the damage, but it was not as extensive as initially reported, with only two sheds affected.”
Initially, McKay said it had involved four sheds and had killed 75,000 hens. He later said 50,000 chickens died.
This evening he said “we have a specialist avian vet at Orini currently assessing and caring for the birds in the remaining sheds.
“His initial report is that the birds seem to be in good health. They will continue to be closely monitored in the coming days.
“It’s expected the onsite packing facility will be operational from this evening to ensure all the eggs unaffected by the fire can be packed and delivered to customers.”
It would take time to rebuild the sheds and restore flock numbers. In the meantime, the business would be “working hard to continue to supply eggs and get back to full capacity as soon as possible”.
“I know New Zealanders will be worried about what this means when eggs are in short supply. The reality is the losses at Orini, represent only 1.4 percent of the layer hen population nationally so while it’s a tragic loss it won’t have a significant impact on egg supply.”
A Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) spokesman said they received a report about 7.45am this morning of a fire at the farm on Old Rd.
“When we arrived the shed was well-involved with fire. We sent five fire trucks and three water tankers.”
There have been no injuries reported and a fire investigator was at the scene.
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Last month, New Zealand supermarket chains told customers to only buy what they need over the coming weeks, as a national shortage of eggs continues.
Those popping into local supermarkets have noticed a distinct lack of packaged eggs on the shelves and, in some cases, stores have gone completely without.
Egg Producers Federation executive director Michael Brooks said more than 75 per cent of chicken farmers were impacted due to a ban on battery-caged hens.
The ban was announced in 2012, when 84 per cent of all the country’s eggs were from battery farms.
The rules came into effect at the turn of 2023.
“The supermarkets’ announcement to refuse colony cage eggs, the end of the cage system, plus Covid, plus the grain cost rising because of the Ukraine war have all come together,” Brooks said.
Foodstuffs’ Emma Wooster echoed the federation’s reasoning behind the egg shortage.
The Foodstuffs brand oversees major supermarket brands Pak’nSave and New World. Wooster agreed the 2012 legislation has seen a “temporary decrease” in overall egg supply.
“It’s a significant change for the egg supply industry.
“To help support the transition and to make sure customers get a fair shake when they shop, Foodstuffs have put temporary limits on eggs.”
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| Canada: Seafood Processing Plant Goes Up in Violent Blaze - It's a Total Loss |
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Posted by: Stone - 02-06-2023, 12:16 PM - Forum: Global News
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Seafood Processing Plant Goes Up in Violent Blaze - It's a Total Loss
WJ | February 5, 2023
A food processing plant in the Canadian province of New Brunswick went up in flames Friday.
Jim LeBlanc, owner of W.E. Acres Crabmeal Ltd., said the structure was a “total loss,” according to the Canadian Television Network.
The fire erupted at about 2 p.m.
LeBlanc told CTV News the fire was started by an explosion in an oil drum.
However, Ronald Cormier, fire chief of the village of Cap-Pelé, said the cause of the fire is still unknown, but that it did not appear to have been arson, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
Although Cormier was quoted as saying no one was in the building when the fire started and no one was injured, LeBlanc said four people were inside and that he and one worker suffered minor injuries.
“Myself and one of my co-workers were injured, like burnt… first and second-degree burns. We’ll heal,” he told CTV.
LeBlanc told CTV his co-worker who was injured went to the hospital for treatment of second-degree burns.
The building produces fertilizer and animal feed, LeBlanc said.
Cormier told the CBC six fire departments spent more than four hours fighting the blaze.
According to the CBC, the fire was the fourth fish plant fire in the region including two fires that took place in 2021 and one from 2019.
After the second of the 2021 fires, which took place on two successive weekends, Louise Landry, mayor of the village of Beaubassin-est, said the incidents were unusual, according to CBC.
“We’re quite concerned,” she said at the time.
“The authorities will have to do the inquiries and we don’t want to jump to any conclusions. It’s also a loss of businesses, of jobs as well. And of course, all the residents that had to be evacuated today, [it] was quite scary for them also,” she said.
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| Departing from Africa, Pope Francis renews call to end anti-sodomy laws |
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Posted by: Stone - 02-06-2023, 11:17 AM - Forum: Pope Francis
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Departing from Africa, Pope Francis renews call to end anti-sodomy laws
The pontiff repeated his January 25 assertion that 'the criminalization of homosexuality is a problem that cannot be ignored.'
![[Image: Screenshot-2023-02-06-111827-e1675682438868-810x500.jpg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-06-111827-e1675682438868-810x500.jpg)
Pope Francis speaks aboard the papal plane as he departs Africa on February 5, 2023
YouTube/Screenshot
Feb 5, 2023
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (LifeSiteNews) — In a novel in-air press conference with the head of the Church of England and the head of the Church of Scotland, Pope Francis repeated his remarks first made on January 25 about the need for an end to anti-sodomy laws.
Noting that some 50 countries have anti-sodomy laws, Francis said as he was returning from a six-day trip to Africa, “The criminalization of homosexuality is a problem that cannot be ignored.”
While the laws criminalize behaviors and not inclinations, Pope Francis conflated the two concepts in his remarks, saying of the anti-sodomy laws: “Persons with homosexual tendencies are children of God. God loves them. God accompanies them… condemning a person like this is a sin. Criminalizing people with homosexual tendencies is an injustice.”
Rt. Rev. Iain Greenshields, the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, which permits homosexual “marriage” in their churches, praised Francis for his remarks, as did the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the lead bishop of the Church of England, which permits homosexual blessings in their churches. “I entirely agree with every word he said there… I shall certainly quote the Holy Father. He said it so beautifully and accurately,” Welby said.
In his January 25 remarks, Pope Francis said that the Catholic Church needs to be involved in the dismantling of laws that criminalize homosexuality and that the Catholic bishops of Africa and other places that have such laws need a “conversion.”
The Pope’s mounting pressure on Africa in particular comes at the same time as a heavy push from the West to have Africa embrace homosexuality. The pressure has come in the form of loans and grants being contingent on such moves.
African Catholic bishops, however, remain firmly in support of anti-sodomy laws that protect school children form LGBT indoctrination in classrooms and also protect society from pedophilia, bestiality, pornography, adultery, prostitution and other sexual perversions that destabilize society.
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| UK inks 10-year deal with Moderna to produce 250m vaccines in event of another pandemic |
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Posted by: Stone - 02-06-2023, 11:10 AM - Forum: COVID Vaccines
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UK inks 10-year deal with Moderna to produce 250m vaccines in event of another pandemic
![[Image: Moderna-pic.jpg?resize=742,495]](https://www.cityam.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Moderna-pic.jpg?resize=742,495)
Health Secretary Steve Barclay meets with Moderna’s UK General Manager Darius Hughes after finalising a partnership to protect the UK against global health threats. Picture by Lauren Hurley / Department of Health and Social Care
City AM | December 23, 2022
The UK government has signed a 10-year deal with Moderna to produce upwards of 250m vaccines a year in the event of a pandemic.
The investment will give NHS patients access to UK-made mRNA vaccines while a new innovation and technology centre will be created, with 150 highly skilled jobs.
In a major boost for the UK as a life sciences superpower, it will also boost health research and lead to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) working with Moderna in vaccine development.
The partnership, led by the Vaccine Taskforce , was announced in June of this year.
By producing vaccines in the UK, it will allow production to be massively scaled up in the event of a major health emergency, such as another pandemic or new covid variant.
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Steve Barclay, said: “This time 2 years ago, the UK was the first country in the world to administer a COVID vaccine outside of a clinical trial. Since then, countless lives have been saved across the world and more than 150 million doses have been given in the UK alone.”
“It is vital we invest in fighting future variants of this disease as well as other deadly viruses that are circulating, such as seasonal flu and RSV, and this partnership with Moderna will also strengthen our ability to respond to any future pandemics.
“By boosting our onshore vaccine manufacturing capability, we are a step closer to becoming the leading global hub for life sciences. This partnership will support our crucial mission to protect the people of the UK and across the world through the development of revolutionary vaccines and research.”
The deal was heralded by Dr Jenny Harries, Chief Executive of UKHSA, who said it “will now be taking this forward as a vital part of our preparedness against future respiratory virus threats, including COVID-19.”
“Our scientists have been monitoring the evolution of the virus throughout the pandemic, and assuring continued protection for the population. This partnership will take the winning ways of working with industry and build the nation’s resilience, giving us rapid access to vaccines. We look forward to working closely with Moderna and playing a key role in supporting the government’s ambitious life sciences strategy.”
Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna, said: “Our new state-of-the-art facility will bring mRNA manufacturing to UK shores, providing the UK public with access to pandemic response capabilities through Moderna COVID-19 vaccines and future respiratory virus vaccine candidates.”
Richard Torbett, Chief Executive, Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) said: “This partnership is fantastic news for British manufacturing and UK-based science and research. It is an important reminder that the Life Sciences Industry has the potential to be a key growth driver for the UK economy.”
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![[Image: 2pmgbygzscvh7r5bzexa4fis4fzalpbwnxrg6s0....ormat=webp]](https://assistant.gloria.tv/1z94gyaCTBei3D8MsGrYwjE6j/2pmgbygzscvh7r5bzexa4fis4fzalpbwnxrg6s0.webp?secure=x7mUrFVDjUU4WmLsPPuQRA&expires=1676650794&format=webp)
