“What is perfection in love? Love your enemies in such a way that you would desire to make them your brothers … For so did He love, Who hanging on the Cross, said ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’” (Luke 23:34)
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JPY Plunges To Fresh 34-Year-Lows After BoJ Does Nothing... Again
JPY Plunges To Fresh 34-Year-Lows After BoJ Does Nothing... Again
Tyler Durden
Fri, 04/26/2024 - 10:50
Having already lost more than 10% of its value versus the US dollar this year, the yen plunged further overnight after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda indicated monetary policy will stay easy as he kept rates unchanged and showed little to no support for the embattled currency during the press conference.
While investors had not expected the BoJ to change its policy this week, there was an expectations that Ueda would strike a hawkish tone regarding future rate rises to slow the yen’s decline.
Instead, Ueda said at a news conference on Friday that the central bank’s board members judged there was “no major impact” from the weaker yen on underlying inflation for now.
“Currency rates is not a target of monetary policy to directly control,” he said.
“But currency volatility could be an important factor in impacting the economy and prices. If the impact on underlying inflation becomes too big to ignore, it may be a reason to adjust monetary policy.”
And that sent the currency reeling (amid chaotic swings) back above 157/USD...
Source: Bloomberg
“There is no intention by the BoJ to stop the yen’s decline, at least looking at its statement and its outlook report,” said UBS economist Masamichi Adachi.
“The finance ministry will have to act [to stem the yen weakness]... It would have been more effective if both the government and the BoJ faced the same direction,” he added.
Blowing further below the 'interventionist' levels seen previously to a fresh 34-year low...
Source: Bloomberg
“Markets remain on high alert for any indication of whether the yen’s current weakness will be interpreted as a lasting inflationary signal,” said Naomi Fink, global strategist at Nikko Asset Management.
“The BoJ however is likelier to find any knock-on impact from yen weakness upon inflation as more concerning than short-term currency moves.”
Driving the depreciation is the yawning gap between the interest rates in the US - which are at highest in decades after the Fed’s aggressive tightening cycle last year - and those in Japan, where borrowing costs remain stubbornly low near zero.
“Intervention is possible at anytime, but it could have been just someone selling a large lot, which stoked intervention speculation and spurred follow-through moves,” said Koji Fukaya, a fellow at Market Risk Advisory Co. in Tokyo.
“It does not look like intervention, but the only way to confirm is to check data that will be released later by the Ministry of Finance.”
Policymakers have repeatedly warned that depreciation won’t be tolerated if it goes too far too fast.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki reiterated after the BoJ meeting that the government will respond appropriately to foreign exchange moves.
Potential triggers for interventions are public holidays in Japan on Monday and Friday next week, which bring the risk of volatility amid thin trading.
“Should the yen fall further from here, like after the BOJ decision in September 2022, the possibility of intervention will increase,” said Hirofumi Suzuki, chief currency strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.
“It is not the level but it’s the speed that will trigger the action.”
But so far, nothing! And so the market continues to call Ueda and Suzuki's bluff, knowing full well that a sudden intervention will perhaps briefly support the currency but will pancake the current gains in Japanese stocks.
However, not everyone is convinced intervention is imminent.
In a note this morning, Deutsche Bank says the currency's decline is warranted and finally marks the day where the market realizes that Japan is following a policy of benign neglect for the yen.
We have long argued that FX intervention is not credible and the toning down of verbal jawboning from the finance minister overnight is on balance a positive from a credibility perspective. The possibility of intervention can't be ruled out if the market turns disorderly, but it is also notable that Governor Ueda played down the importance of the yen in his press conference today as well as signalling no urgency to hike rates. We would frame the ongoing yen collapse around the following points.
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Yen weakness is simply not that bad for Japan. The tourism sector is booming, profit margins on the Nikkei are soaring and exporter competitiveness is increasing. True, the cost of imported items is going up. But growth is fine, the government is helping offset some of the cost via subsidies and core inflation is not accelerating. Most importantly, the Japanese are huge foreign asset owners via Japan’s positive net international investment position. Yen weakness therefore leads to huge capital gains on foreign bonds and equities, most easily summarized in the observation that the government pension fund (GPIF) has roughly made more profits over the last two years than the last twenty years combined.
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There simply isn't an inflation problem. Japan's core CPI is around 2% and has been decelerating in recent months. The Tokyo CPI overnight was 1.7% excluding one-off effects. To be sure, inflation may well accelerate again helped by FX weakness and high wage growth. But the starting point of inflation is entirely different to the post-COVID hiking cycles of the Fed and ECB. By extension, the inflation pain is far less and the urgency to hike far less too. No where is this more obvious than the fact that Japanese consumer confidence are close to their cycle highs.
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Negative real rates are great. There is a huge attraction to running negative real rates for the consolidated government balance sheet. As we demonstrated last year, it creates fiscal space via a $20 trillion carry trade while also generating asset gains for Japan's wealthy voting base. This encourages the persistent domestic capital outflows we have been highlighting as a key driver of yen weakness over the last year and that have pushed Japan's broad basic balance to being one of the weakest in the world. It is not speculators that are weakening the yen but the Japanese themselves.
The bottom line, Deutscxhe concludes, is that for the JPY to turn stronger the Japanese need to unwind their carry trade. But for this to make sense the Bank of Japan needs to engineer an expedited hiking cycle similar to the post-COVID experiences of other central banks. Time will tell if the BoJ is moving too slow and generating a policy mistake. A shift in BoJ inflation forecasts to well above 2% over their forecast horizon would be the clearest signal of a shift in reaction function. But this isn’t happening now.
The Japanese are enjoying the ride.
But there is potential for yen upside as Bloomberg's Simon White notes that profit taking on foreign asset positions might soon prompt some yen repatriation and pressure USD/JPY lower.
If it is perceived that the yen won’t get much cheaper due to intervention risk, domestic investors might choose to start switching some of their US equity positions back to the domestic market, repatriating yen and pressuring USD/JPY lower in the process.
The chart below shows that on the year, the Nasdaq in yen terms and the Nikkei are both up by the same 13%-14% on the year. A stronger yen would present an ongoing headwind to the US position.
Equity positions are typically less FX hedged than bond positions, meaning that the repatriation of the currency is not neutered by the unwind of the hedge.
The dynamics of spot trading, options barriers and potential intervention as well as US PCE data released later today will dominate the currency’s short-term gyrations, but the slightly longer-term considerations of profit taking on foreign positions will start to drive the medium-term outlook.
Once that trend establishes itself, longer-term drivers of the yen will come into focus. Japan is the world’s largest net creditor, and there is a significant structural short in the yen.
The country’s net international investment position is $3.3 trillion, but its net position in portfolio assets, i.e. so-called hot flows that could be liquidated quickly, is $4.4 trillion.
Only a fraction of that being repatriated has significant potential to drive the yen considerably higher.
The question is, how much pain is China willing to take from its regional neighbor's 'devaluation'?
Yuan Devaluation Fever Heats Up As China Stockpiles Metals
Yuan Devaluation Fever Heats Up As China Stockpiles Metals
Tyler Durden
Fri, 04/26/2024 - 10:35
Authored by Simon White, Bloomberg macro strategist,
Gold trading in China has exploded and stocks of copper have risen sharply prompting speculation that policymakers are on the brink of a yuan devaluation. Even though it’s still a tail-risk, it’s one requiring greater vigilance as the economy becomes increasingly deflationary, redoubling capital outflow pressures.
The yuan has been steadily falling versus the dollar this year. So far the decline has been measured, but activity in commodities has prompted conjecture that China is about to orchestrate a significant one-off yuan devaluation. Futures gold trading in China has moved sharply higher, and the net long position has been rising.
Also, there has been a sharp rise in China’s copper stocks. Copper as well as other commodities is used as a source of collateral in China.
USD/CNY has been bumping up against the upper band of the PBOC’s fix for the currency pair.
China has a nominally closed capital account, but it is de facto leaky. Capital outflow is rising, and this puts further pressure on the economy as it has a geared negative effect on domestic liquidity.
Allowing the yuan to depreciate against the dollar (it is appreciating against most other currencies) takes some of the pressure off.
China, though, has been unofficially intervening, via the state banks, to stabilize the yuan’s fall.
Nonetheless, it is still less likely than not they will countenance a significant devaluation of the yuan versus the dollar.
-
First, it would compromise the financial stability that China has sought to obtain.
-
Second, it risks a tariff backlash from the US.
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Third it may be counter-productive if it looks panicky and prompts even more capital outflow.
The stockpiling could well be for other reasons.
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Rising global inflation risks (there is more to come, and even China will likely soon face consumer inflation);
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reserve diversification in a more multi-polar world;
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and raw materials for solar (AI needs a lot of energy) and EVs, and so on.
-
China planning for an invasion of Taiwan is another tail-risk that can’t be completely discounted.
Falling bond yields, though, show China is nearing a crunch point (read why here) and will need to do something soon to avert a debt deflation.
Even though a full-scale devaluation is less likely, it’s a non-negligible risk that can’t be ignored.
George Soros Paying Student Agitators To Whip Up Anti-Israel Protests
George Soros Paying Student Agitators To Whip Up Anti-Israel Protests
Tyler Durden
Fri, 04/26/2024 - 10:15
George Soros and his far-left movement is paying student agitators to co-opt and amplify anti-Israel protests at colleges across the country, the NY Post reports.
The protests, which began at Columbia University, have expanded nationwide - with copycat tent cities erected at colleges including Harvard, Yale, Berkeley in California, the Ohio State University and Emory in Georgia, with organized branches of the Soros-funded Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) having organized them.
Biden has sparked a wildfire. pic.twitter.com/YXbHCKONcm
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) April 25, 2024Which might explain this:
Something odd about those campus tent encampments. Almost all the tents are identical - same design, same size, same fresh-out-of-the-box appearance. Which suggests that rather than an organic process, whereby students would bring a variety of individual tents, someone or some… pic.twitter.com/86JV5BD9NM
— Afshine Emrani MD FACC (@afshineemrani) April 23, 2024The parent organization of SJP has been funded by a constellation of nonprofits which all lead to Soros.
At three colleges, the protests are being encouraged by paid radicals who are “fellows” of a Soros-funded group called the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR).
USCPR provides up to $7,800 for its community-based fellows and between $2,880 and $3,660 for its campus-based “fellows” in return for spending eight hours a week organizing “campaigns led by Palestinian organizations.”
They are trained to “rise up, to revolution.”
The radical group received at least $300,000 from Soros’ Open Society Foundations since 2017 and also took in $355,000 from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund since 2019. -NY Post
The group has three "fellows" who have helped propel the protests into a nationwide phenomenon, which you can read more about here...
We're sure if the protests get violent, prosecutors will take appropriate action, yes?
And while many of the protesters are just morons...
“I wish I was more educated.”
Video captured at New York University shows that some of the students protesting there have no idea why. Full report: https://t.co/iYSbhaxxEf pic.twitter.com/iqXpoZexiP
Some of them are quite spicy, like the leader of Columbia's encampment...
“Be glad — be grateful — that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists. I’ve never murdered anyone in my life, and I *hope* to keep it that way.” This is a top leader of @Columbia’s encampment, with whom the school is “negotiating,” expanding on his thoughts about how Israel… pic.twitter.com/ugodO4O7M5
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) April 25, 2024
UMich Inflation Expectations Accelerated In April To 2024 Highs
UMich Inflation Expectations Accelerated In April To 2024 Highs
Tyler Durden
Fri, 04/26/2024 - 10:09
Short-term inflation expectations rose... again... according to the latest UMich sentiment survey with 1-year expectations at 3.2% final, up from preliminary 3.1% for April, and 2.9% for March. This is the highest level since Nov 2023...
Source: Bloomberg
The headline sentiment also declined in April from three-year-highs. Consumers’ perceptions of their current financial situation and the economic outlook over the next year both slid to four-month lows. The current conditions gauge dropped to 79 from 82.5. A measure of expectations fell to 76 from 77.4.
Source: Bloomberg
While “consumers’ frustration over high prices in their day-to-day spending decisions grew this month, price concerns for large purchases - durable goods, vehicles, and homes - were all little changed from last month,’’ Joanne Hsu, director of the survey, said in a statement.
About 38% of consumers reported that high prices were weighing down their living standards, up from 33% who said so last month.
Sentiment gauges also provide insight into voters’ feelings about the economy and their finances leading up to the presidential election in November. President Joe Biden’s recent polling bump in key battleground states has mostly evaporated amid economic pessimism, the latest Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll found.
“Consumers continue to express uncertainty about the future trajectory of the economy pending the outcomes of the upcoming election,” Hsu said.
Partisan differences in views of the economy remain pronounced. While Democrats and Independents saw little change in sentiment this month, sentiment for Republicans fell about 6 index points.
Republicans reported declines for four of the five components of the sentiment index, reflecting their deteriorating views across multiple facets of the economy. Despite these declines, sentiment for Republicans remains well above 2022 and 2023 levels.
In fact, the current reading for Republicans’ Expectations Index is the second highest (after last month) since the end of 2020, as the Trump presidency came to a close.
WATCH police fire taser at pro-Palestinian protester at US college
Officers used tear gas to disperse activists at Emory University campus amid a nationwide crackdown
Police officers in the US state of Georgia used tear gas and tasers to disperse a pro-Palestinian student encampment on Thursday, as law enforcement targeted activists at university campuses nationwide.
The clashes took place at Emory University in Atlanta, where protesters – including students from several nearby universities – had set up tents. They were rallying against what they termed “the genocide of Palestinians” by Israel, and against Cop City, a local police and fire department training center currently under construction.
“We are demanding total institutional divestment from Israeli apartheid and Cop City at all Atlanta colleges and universities,” an organizer said. “We are occupying Emory, not because it is the only institution that is complicit in genocide and police militarization, but because its ties are some of the strongest.”
READ MORE: US campus protesters akin to 1930s Nazis – Netanyahu
The university said in a statement that several dozen people had “trespassed” on its campus, and warned that it would “not tolerate vandalism or other criminal activity.” Members of the Emory Police Department, Atlanta Police, and Georgia State Patrol were called to the scene, according to local media.
”Atlanta community members were indiscriminately attacked today with pepper bullets, tear gas, and tasers for the simple act of camping out on a school lawn,” the organizers said.
Extremely disturbing footage. Atlanta cops tasing a restrained student protester at Emory university minutes ago.
pic.twitter.com/Iq9p98za8y
A video purportedly filmed at the location shows several officers holding down a handcuffed man, as one of them appears to fire a taser into his leg.
The APD confirmed using “chemical irritants,” but stressed that its officers did not “deploy rubber bullets,” contrary to some reports circulating online.
While the university initially claimed that the activists were “not members of our community,” it later acknowledged that out of 28 people arrested in the raid, 20 were from Emory.
Read more
Pelosi insulting Americans – Moscow
Pro-Palestinian activists faced crackdowns across the US this week. The wave of campus demonstrations was triggered last week by a protest at Columbia University in New York, and then spread to some 40 universities and colleges in the US and Canada, according to NBC News. On Thursday, police reportedly targeted encampments at Indiana University Bloomington and Ohio State University.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has welcomed the US police crackdown, branding the protesters “anti-Semitic mobs” and comparing them to Nazi sympathizers in the 1930s.
Jonathan Greenblatt, leader of the US pro-Israel group Anti-Defamation League, claimed in an interview with MSNBC this week that the wave of protests was organized by “campus proxies” of Iran.
Israel attacked Gaza in October last year in retaliation for a deadly incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas, in which 1,200 Israelis were reportedly killed. The death toll in the enclave has since surpassed 35,000, according to Palestinian officials.
Categories: News, Non-Catholic
WATCH police fire taser at pro-Palestinian protester at US college
Officers used tear gas to disperse activists at Emory University campus amid a nationwide crackdown
Police officers in the US state of Georgia used tear gas and tasers to disperse a pro-Palestinian student encampment on Thursday, as law enforcement targeted activists at university campuses nationwide.
The clashes took place at Emory University in Atlanta, where protesters – including students from several nearby universities – had set up tents. They were rallying against what they termed “the genocide of Palestinians” by Israel, and against Cop City, a local police and fire department training center currently under construction.
“We are demanding total institutional divestment from Israeli apartheid and Cop City at all Atlanta colleges and universities,” an organizer said. “We are occupying Emory, not because it is the only institution that is complicit in genocide and police militarization, but because its ties are some of the strongest.”
READ MORE: US campus protesters akin to 1930s Nazis – Netanyahu
The university said in a statement that several dozen people had “trespassed” on its campus, and warned that it would “not tolerate vandalism or other criminal activity.” Members of the Emory Police Department, Atlanta Police, and Georgia State Patrol were called to the scene, according to local media.
”Atlanta community members were indiscriminately attacked today with pepper bullets, tear gas, and tasers for the simple act of camping out on a school lawn,” the organizers said.
Extremely disturbing footage. Atlanta cops tasing a restrained student protester at Emory university minutes ago.
pic.twitter.com/Iq9p98za8y
A video purportedly filmed at the location shows several officers holding down a handcuffed man, as one of them appears to fire a taser into his leg.
The APD confirmed using “chemical irritants,” but stressed that its officers did not “deploy rubber bullets,” contrary to some reports circulating online.
While the university initially claimed that the activists were “not members of our community,” it later acknowledged that out of 28 people arrested in the raid, 20 were from Emory.
Read more
Pelosi insulting Americans – Moscow
Pro-Palestinian activists faced crackdowns across the US this week. The wave of campus demonstrations was triggered last week by a protest at Columbia University in New York, and then spread to some 40 universities and colleges in the US and Canada, according to NBC News. On Thursday, police reportedly targeted encampments at Indiana University Bloomington and Ohio State University.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has welcomed the US police crackdown, branding the protesters “anti-Semitic mobs” and comparing them to Nazi sympathizers in the 1930s.
Jonathan Greenblatt, leader of the US pro-Israel group Anti-Defamation League, claimed in an interview with MSNBC this week that the wave of protests was organized by “campus proxies” of Iran.
Israel attacked Gaza in October last year in retaliation for a deadly incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas, in which 1,200 Israelis were reportedly killed. The death toll in the enclave has since surpassed 35,000, according to Palestinian officials.
Categories: News, Non-Catholic
Help Us Publish These Three New Books
Help us bring crucial truths about economics and history to laymen by supporting our publication efforts this year!
"Such Terror as Shall Shake the British Empire..."
Programming note: Please join us this Sunday at SteynOnline for some special musical programming. ~Just ahead of Episode Eight of our current Tale for Our Time, a word from your host: As I predicted three-and-a-half years ago, just ahead of America's
Low Time Preference Leads to Civilization
Economists use time preference to explain the existence of interest, but the ability of people to postpone some present consumption in order to save for the future has much broader social ramifications.
Ron DeSantis Leads Fight Against Florida Amendment for Abortions Up to Birth
With its dual rulings on abortion, the Florida Supreme Court delivered Governor Ron DeSantis both a major victory and one of the greatest challenges yet to his legacy as governor. Babies with a heartbeat will be protected starting May 1. However, a constitutional amendment to enshrine all-trimester abortion will appear on the ballot this November.
I was recently in Florida talking with donors about the implications of the ballot measure and Big Abortion’s attack on the states. Rewriting state constitutions is key to the abortion lobby’s national strategy after Dobbs. Out-of-state billionaires and far-left groups like the ACLU and Planned Parenthood are going around the country, picking off pro-life states with deceptive ballot measures that override existing laws to create a right for second- and third-trimester abortion.
But until now, they haven’t had to contend with Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis recently called out the amendment for being too extreme and misleading. This clarity from the governor will be worth more than millions of dollars in deception from the abortion industry, and is an example for every pro-life governor facing an abortion amendment.
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At a press conference for a bill signing, the governor said the ballot measure is like a California abortion law which would remove parental consent laws from the books. He also said, “These things cost tens of millions of dollars . . . so somebody’s paying for that and somebody’s going to benefit from that.”
That somebody is Big Abortion. Nearly one-third of the money raised for Florida’s abortion measure comes straight from the abortion industry. Mona Reis, an owner of a large abortion facility in the state, is a key driving force behind the measure, as she and others in the industry stand to realize a major ROI when they can perform abortions at any time, with zero state regulations and without parents standing in their way.
The millions coming from the abortion industry and the ACLU will center upon one key message: the lie that women will have to leave the state to receive care for a miscarriage or a life-threatening pregnancy complication. In Ohio last year, the pro-abortion side lied 14 times about this during a televised debate. Pro-abortion forces spent a staggering $66.7 million promoting these deceptions, outspending pro-life advocates two to one.
In Florida, CNN is already parroting the abortion lobby’s lie on a “public health crisis,” despite the fact that a small fraction of abortions are for medical reasons, and the heartbeat law contains no fewer than five different exceptions including the mother’s life and a fatal prenatal diagnosis.
If anyone can cut through the lies, DeSantis can.
The truth is, Prop 4 threatens to erase years of progress on life made during the DeSantis administration.
Florida would again become a southeastern sanctuary state for barbaric late-term abortions when babies feel pain. In Ohio, abortion supporters conceded that their amendment failed to define what a “health” reason means, leaving it up to the abortionist who directly profits.
Florida’s law requiring parental consent – not merely notification – for minors before an abortion, which DeSantis signed in 2020 with the support of nearly three quarters of Florida voters, would be eviscerated. The governor recently pointed out the deceptive way the ballot measure mentions parental notification after a minor has had an abortion but eliminates parental consent. “Don’t be fooled though, that is severing the parental consent for minors,” he said.
Prop 4 would also gut health and safety standards that have led the state to shut down abortion facilities that severely injure women. Any “healthcare provider” – not even a doctor – would be free to perform abortions regardless of medical expertise.
Florida has one advantage that Ohio did not: the amendment must get 60 percent of the vote to pass. The state has a Republican voter registration advantage of nearly one million and growing. Passage is not a certainty, even with virtually unlimited money (and paid pro-abortion activists who are willing to cheat). It is a winnable fight – but only if voters really understand what’s at stake and Republicans especially turn out to vote NO.
Gov. DeSantis understands how to win on abortion. By combining clarity, compassion and contrast, DeSantis fended off a challenge from former U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist after signing the 15-week late-term abortion limit into law. DeSantis was clear and unapologetic about his own stance. He showed that Floridians care about women while at the same time humanizing the unborn child. He went on offense to expose the extremism of his opponent, who refused to protect babies even when they are born alive after failed abortions.
While federal candidates who chose the “ostrich strategy” of avoiding the issue suffered heavy losses, DeSantis won re-election by nearly 20 points.
With the support of 62 percent of Florida voters, DeSantis then signed the Heartbeat Protection Act, which also allocated $25 million immediately for the state’s pregnancy centers to serve more moms during pregnancy and beyond. In his presidential campaign, DeSantis defended heartbeat protections against critics in the media and in his own party.
Right now, pro-abortion Democrats wrongly believe they have an unbeatable formula, with abortion as the silver bullet that will save them from an unpopular incumbent and failed administration. President Biden rolled out a “seven-figure” ad campaign and an abortion tour with his latest stop in Florida this week. Hillary Clinton weighed in, as did DeSantis’ nemesis in California, Governor Gavin Newsom. But as DeSantis says, Florida isn’t California. In their overconfidence, seizing on a bombastic goal of flipping Florida may prove a big mistake.
This moment poses DeSantis’ greatest opportunity yet – to save lives and defeat the Left. As the governor says, Florida is “where woke goes to die” and with his help, it will be where Big Abortion’s plans die too.
LifeNews Note: Marjorie Dannenfelser is president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and author of “Life is Winning: Inside the Fight for Unborn Children and Their Mothers.” Jeanne Mancini is the president of the March for Life.
The post Ron DeSantis Leads Fight Against Florida Amendment for Abortions Up to Birth appeared first on LifeNews.com.
Bergoglio Says You Are Foolish to Believe Almighty God Knew How to Adequately Create the World
Yes, that’s right, God’s providence and omnipotence are no match for “carbon”, “greenhouse gases”, or whatever other meaningless dreck the globalists accuse you of doing to ruin the planet.
One can legitimately ask if this man has any supernatural faith. The alternative theory is far, far worse.
Categories: Lay, Traditional
This Catholic University Claims Its Student Health Insurance Plan Doesn’t Cover Abortions
Jesuit-affiliated Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH, appears to list abortion on its student health insurance plan. The university maintains that it does not cover abortion.
“[Xavier’s] plan not only appears to cover abortion – it looks like the school specifically added it into the coverage,” Hope College student William Hurley wrote in The College Fix Tuesday.
“A ‘policy endorsement’ on the plan appeared to delete an ‘exclusion’ of abortion,” Hurley indicated:
The plan lists abortion as a “Non-EHB [Essential Health Benefit] added to plan via additional endorsement.” It includes, like other covered benefits, the amount the plan pays for in-network and out-of-network providers.
…
“Benefits will be paid at the benefits levels indicated in the schedule of benefits,” the endorsement states.
The “policy endorsement” in question “appears to be signed by university President Colleen Hanycz,” added Hurley.
An Xavier public relations employee denied that the plan covered abortion when he was asked by the Fix.
“He said ‘nothing has changed regarding this policy from previous years,’” Hurley noted. The employee also claimed that “there are few enrollees in the plan.”
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Last month, Xavier spokesman David Hamilton told the Fix: “The confusion regarding the wording is definitely understandable — but again, the answer to your question is, no, elective abortions are not a covered benefit under the policy.”
A PDF of the plan linked in Hurley’s article mentions abortion a total of nine times.
“Benefits for therapeutic abortion are provided only when the therapeutic abortion is performed: To save the life of the mother [or] [a]s a result of a case of rape or incest,” the plan states under its “Medical Expense Benefits” section.
An April 2022 post to Xavier Students For Life’s X (then known as Twitter) account featured a picture of three members of the student pro-life group meeting with President Hanycz.
So glad for the opportunity to meet with @PrezHanycz today to discuss ways of promoting an open dialogue of the life issues on campus, as well as ways to build a culture of life and serve the most vulnerable in our community! #AllForOne #LetsGoX pic.twitter.com/rp7WSDWwWl
— Xavier Students For Life (@xustudents4life) April 6, 2022
“So glad for the opportunity to meet with [Hanycz] today to discuss ways of promoting an open dialogue of the life issues on campus, as well as ways to build a culture of life and serve the most vulnerable in our community!” the post states.
Hanycz is the first lay president in Xavier’s 193-year history. She previously served as president of two other Catholic institutions of higher education: La Salle University in Philadelphia, and Brescia University College in London, Ontario, Canada.
Her profile page on the Jesuit university’s website declares: “President Hanycz has been an active proponent of Catholic education as a means to advance the common good and to celebrate the dignity of each person, and will continue this commitment in a Jesuit setting at Xavier.”
Readers can find Hurley’s full article in The College Fix here.
LifeNews Note: Joshua Mercer writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.
The post This Catholic University Claims Its Student Health Insurance Plan Doesn’t Cover Abortions appeared first on LifeNews.com.
Why Are There So Many Americans That Can't Find A Job Even Though They Are Desperate To Be Hired?
Why Are There So Many Americans That Can't Find A Job Even Though They Are Desperate To Be Hired?
Tyler Durden
Fri, 04/26/2024 - 09:50
Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,
According to the absurd numbers that the government feeds us, the unemployment rate is very low and there are lots of jobs available. But if what they are telling us is true, why are so many Americans not able to find work? As you will see below, some people haven’t been hired even though they have literally applied for hundreds of jobs.
There seems to be an enormous disconnect between what is actually happening in the real economy and the economic narrative that they are constantly pushing. By the time you are done reading this article, I think that you will agree with me.
Earlier this week, I received an email from a reader that has not been able to find work after seven months of searching.
He gave me permission to share part of that email with you, and it is certainly quite heartbreaking…
Hi Michael,
I am a long-time reader of theeconomiccollapseblog.com, and your recent article comparing the economy to the movie “Weekend at Bernie’s” really stood out to me.
I’m really trying to figure out WHY it is so hard to find a job.
I was laid off from my job as a Custodial Foreman in September 2023, and have had ZERO results for my countless hours spent searching for comparable work.
I don’t know if you want to use any of this for an article or not, but if you do, please just keep doing what you normally do: Praising Jesus Christ. Without my faith in him I don’t know what I’d do.
When I wake up, I make coffee and turn on the computer and go through the state’s unemployment job search sites they provided me when I was laid off. I have been looking and also applying for jobs DAILY since September 2023. And these are not “rocket science” positions; I’m simply looking for Maintenance or Custodial or Groundskeeper type jobs. You know, “normal working class” type jobs.
But after ~300 applications (And these are all just to the jobs that I not only have experience for but also would actually want to do), I have had 1 interview. One interview in 7 months of applying and sending tailored cover letters with, daily!
If the economy is doing so “great”, why can’t he find employment?
Some of you may be tempted to think that he is just an isolated case.
Well, here is another example of an experienced worker that has applied for approximately 300 jobs without any success…
Royal Siu, who lives in Seattle and is trained as a pharmacist, likes to make his friends guess how many jobs he’s applied to. They’ll often toss out some number around 40, he told BI. He’ll tell them to keep going. Most give up by the time they reach 100. That’s when Siu drops that he’s applied to about 300 jobs. “It’s usually a shock factor to them,” he said.
Siu, who’s trying to use his pharmacy degree to work in other parts of healthcare, is finding it harder to land interviews than in a prior job search. The 28-year-old was getting more phone screenings and first and second interviews in the past. This time, it’s been a couple of months since he had a screening call. So he continues to turn to his network but also doesn’t stop applying.
What in the world is going on here?
I thought that there were “millions” of good jobs just waiting for someone to step into them.
Something definitely does not add up.
Even Americans with advanced degrees from top schools are increasingly finding themselves out of work.
If you doubt this, just check out these numbers…
Even at some top business schools, the number of recently minted M.B.A.s without jobs has roughly doubled from a couple of years ago, when U.S. companies were rushing to hire as many workers as they could, according to data from the schools.
At Harvard Business School, 20% of job-seeking 2023 M.B.A. graduates didn’t have one three months after graduation, up from 8% in 2021. At Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, 18% didn’t, compared with 9% in 2021. About 13% of those at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management didn’t have a job within three months, up from about 5% in 2021.
How are those numbers possible if the unemployment rate is hovering near “historic lows”?
Of course the truth is that we have been sold a lie.
If you do not have a job, you are classified by the U.S. government as either “unemployed” or “not in the labor force”.
In 2008 and 2009, the combined total of those two categories never even reached 90 million.
Today, the combined total of those two categories is over 106 million.
The Biden administration says that only 6,429,000 Americans are officially “unemployed”.
The other 99,989,000 Americans without a job are considered to be “not in the labor force”.
And more will be lumped into those two categories soon, because large employers all over the nation continue to conduct mass layoffs.
For example, thousands of Tesla workers in California and Texas were just notified that they will be losing their jobs…
The notifications in California and Texas, where the electric vehicle (EV) maker has large presences, came in the form of WARN notices, according to reports.
In California, the planned Tesla headcount reductions will hit approximately 3,300 workers, The San Francisco Standard reported Tuesday.
They will apparently occur at locations in a total of four different cities in the Golden State.
Meanwhile, Texas will see almost 2,700 employees in Austin lose their jobs, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
Sadly, the pace of layoffs is likely to increase during the months ahead, because business activity in the U.S. is declining…
The U.S. economy lost momentum in April, a pair of S&P surveys found, as businesses reported a decline in new orders and reduced employment for the first time since the pandemic.
The flash U.S. manufacturing purchasing managers index slipped to a four-month low of 49.9 in April from 51.9 in March.
The S&P flash U.S. services PMI fell to a five-month low of 50.9 this month from 51.7 in March.
The surveys are the first indicators of each month to give a sense of how the U.S. economy is performing.
Meanwhile, the cost of living crisis just continues to escalate.
Shockingly, at one station in California gasoline now costs $7.29 per gallon…
Soaring gas prices have skyrocketed to a whopping $7.29 per gallon in some parts of California – which is above the current the national hourly minimum wage.
While the average price for a gallon of gas varies from state to state – drivers in a certain Silicon Valley town are facing particularly extortionate rates that set them back almost $150 for a full tank.
The Chevron gas station in Menlo Park was exposed on Sunday by a bewildered customer who posted on X that the price per gallon was four cents ‘above the federal hourly minimum wage.’
If you think that this is bad, just wait until the war in the Middle East transforms into the apocalyptic conflict that I believe it will become.
I am entirely convinced that inflation will continue to be a major problem even as economic activity in the U.S. slows down even more.
We are already experiencing “stagflation”.
What is eventually coming will be so much worse than that.
Of course the economic pain that we are going through is just one of the factors that is systematically destroying our nation.
A Warning to America: 25 Ways the US is Being Destroyed | Explained in Under 2 Minutes pic.twitter.com/qwmBO8DmMt
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) April 22, 2024Just about all of our major institutions are crumbling, just about every sector of our society is in the process of melting down, and conditions are rapidly getting worse all around us.
And now we are heading into the most chaotic election season in the entire history of our country.
This is a recipe for disaster, but there is no turning back now.
* * *
Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.
Tin Soldiers and Nixon Coming…
A version of this article first appeared as an exclusive update to RPI subscribers. Subscribe for free here.
Student action on university campuses against US involvement in Israel’s slaughter of Gaza has exploded across the country. Suddenly there is the distinct feel in the air of the anti-Vietnam war protests once they finally caught on in 1968 and soon thereafter changed the course of US history.
Both protest movements were fully demonized by the same forces of the mainstream Left/Right regime and what libertarian writer Jacob Hornberger rightly calls the “National Security State.” I would add the mainstream media from Fox to MSNBC. But these days there is relatively more freedom of expression available to Americans via some of the social media outlets. The US government war on one of these outlets – TikTok – may also be fueling protests, as this outlet is particularly popular among younger Americans and has become the platform for them to hear more objective and independent views on what is happening in Gaza. It should not be considered a coincidence that not long after Anti-Defamation League’s Jonathan Greenblat was caught on tape panicking over the shift in opinion away from fealty to Israel among the younger generation, a big PR operation about “Chinese infiltration” of the platform emerged as did calls to ban the popular application.
“We have a major, major, major generational (TikTok) problem,” Greenblat said. This past week both Houses of Congress voted to ban TikTok. Problem solved? Not exactly.
So back to the protests.
Tens of thousands of students from New York’s Columbia University to the University of Southern California have risen up to demand an end to US support for Israel’s 200 day – and counting – total demolition of Gaza in retribution for the October 7th Hamas bloody incursion into Israeli territory.
To date, more than 35,000 Palestinian civilians in Gaza have been killed including an estimated 15,000 children. Hamas, by contrast, is reportedly not significantly degraded and its massive tunnel system remains intact. Former Israeli Defense Forces General Yitzhak Brick told Israeli newspaper Maariv that Israel has already lost the war against Hamas and must admit it.
The wild disproportionality of the Israeli response has animated and ignited the sense of repulsion and demand for justice among the nation’s youth. Most recently the grisly details of Israel’s apparent mass slaughter of hundreds of patients at the Nasser Hospital in Gaza – many discovered with their hands and feet bound – may have been the last straw that led to mass student action across the country.
When the wave of student protests settled in the Lone Star State on Wednesday, Texas Governor Gregg Abbott wasted no time at all calling in the Texas State Troopers to smash the protest at the University of Texas. Heavily-armed Troopers – some on horseback – marched onto campus attempting to force the crowd of protesters to disburse. As might be expected, the situation very quickly got out of hand, with Troopers assaulting and arresting those participating in what began as a peaceful protest.
Shortly after siccing the heavily armed state militia on student protestors, Abbot released this Tweet:
Arrests being made right now & will continue until the crowd disperses.
These protesters belong in jail.
Antisemitism will not be tolerated in Texas. Period.
Students joining in hate-filled, antisemitic protests at any public college or university in Texas should be expelled. https://t.co/XhLlQdvUl0
Abbott’s blanket accusation that these protests are prima facie anti-Semitic is belied by the fact that Jews across the country are participating in the mass action, including on university campuses.
There is clearly a major attempt being made to conflate legitimate concern over tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians being slaughtered – and hundreds of thousands facing starvation – with blanket hatred of Jewish people. But the youth are not buying it. So it’s time to send in the militarized police to shut down peaceful protest and the First Amendment.
In the case of Texas, one cheeky conservative Twitter/X user pointed out that, “Abbott sent more troops to shutdown peaceful protests at UT than he did to secure the border.”
Ouch – but revealing.
Other observers have similarly pointed out the hypocrisy of the massive deployment of militarized police to quell a peaceful political protest, commenting on a video montage of police beating and arresting American university students that, “imagine if this video was out of Tehran University in Iran, our politicians & media would have endless calls for regime change.”
Throughout the country, many “influencers” on the professional political Right are acting like the “woke snowflakes” they have derided, demanding that our fundamental liberty to freely assemble and speak our minds be amended in this particular instance due to the subject matter.
Many “professional right-wingers” have done their best to try and convince us that these protesters are identical to the BLM protesters of several years ago. Matt Walsh at the Daily Wire put out a podcast today claiming that, “The ‘Free Palestine’ Movement Is Just BLM Repackaged.”
The problem in his and the rest of their calculus is that the state and local authorities would not lift a finger to stop the BLM riots, yet they are cracking heads robustly among the Palestine protests.
Walsh even seemed to sense the inconsistency in his logic, questioning Governor Abbott’s move against the protesters by Tweeting, “Did Abbott ever arrest BLM protesters for antiwhiteism? Is antisemitism the only hateful ideology not permitted in Texas? Are you legally allowed to hate some groups but not others?”
He added, in a criticism of Abbot’s suggestion that the protesters were being arrested for “antisemitism,” that, “If you’re arresting them for an illegal encampment or for making threats then say that. But arresting people for ‘antisemitism’ is obviously a clear violation of the First Amendment. I can’t stand these protesters but you can’t arrest people simply for having ‘hateful’ views.”
He deserves credit for this observation.
As is often the case, action by state actors against this protest movement will only strengthen the movement. We have not even seen the beginning of what is in store
Polls clearly show that a considerable majority in America believes Israel has gone way too far in its reaction to October 7th. America for the first time in my lifetime is in the majority opposed to Israel, and that shift is more than anything else a generational shift. Hence Greenblat’s panic.
This movement is picking up steam and threatens to turn Biden’s big Democratic Convention coronation ceremony into the disastrous 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, where the Lyndon Johnson campaign went to die. Ironically the Democratic Party convention this year is to be held in…Chicago!
May 4th will be the 54th anniversary of Nixon’s National Guard killing four students at Ohio’s Kent state University for protesting our killing squads in Vietnam (My Lai massacre). Will soldiers in the US start cutting protesters down again?
The New ‘Texas Antisemitism Lottery’ Should Pay Out Big in Lawsuit Awards and Settlements
The Texas Lottery has paid out many millions of dollars to winners of its games of chance since voters in the state approved its creation in 1991. This week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced a new lottery of sorts — the “Texas Antisemitism Lottery” — that could rival and maybe even surpass the original Texas Lottery in cash payouts.
One of the more sure things in constitutional law is that a person subjected to punishment by government because of the content of his communication has had his free speech rights violated and, therefore, should be compensated for the harm. This is especially the case when that communication is centered on political matters, such as actions of the Israel government undertaken in its United States government funded and armed war effort. Thus, it is unusual to see government publicly declaring its intention to take action to wipe out the expression of a particular viewpoint.
Nonetheless, that is just what the governor of Texas did on Wednesday when he posted the following message at Twitter above another individual’s Twitter post including video of police in riot gear walking en masse down a street at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) — a Texas state school:
Arrests being made right now & will continue until the crowd disperses.
These protesters belong in jail.
Antisemitism will not be tolerated in Texas. Period.
Students joining in hate-filled, antisemitic protests at any public college or university in Texas should be expelled.
By the way, for Abbot the word “antisemitism” has a much broader meaning than it does for most people. Abbott even defines as antisemitism saying things critical of the government of Israel. Abbott made this clear in his March 27 executive order focused on countering “antisemitism” at Texas higher education institutions. That executive order directed all Texas higher education institutions, UT included, to, among other things, “Include the definition of antisemitism, adopted by the State of Texas in Section 448.001 of the Texas Government Code, in university free speech policies to guide university personnel and students on what constitutes antisemitic speech.”
The referenced Texas statutory provision’s definition of antisemitism includes the following: “Examples of antisemitism are included with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s ‘Working Definition of Antisemitism’ adopted on May 26, 2016.” Looking through those examples, one encounters several that concern criticizing the government of Israel. “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor” and “[d]rawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” are two examples.
There may have been articulable reasons to shut down or at least impose some limits on the protest at UT that courts would find acceptable. But, Abbott managed to offer instead a reason that pretty much assures people roughed up, arrested, or jailed will come out of the experience in a strong position for asserting a claim for free speech violation. The same goes for people the state university expels at Abbott’s direction for taking part in the protest.
The police and Abbott have had their day at UT. And they may keep suppressing speech similarly at colleges across the state. Next should be their comeuppance. Lawyers are busy now communicating with victims of the speech content targeting crackdown and preparing court action.
Anglo American Rejects BHP's Takeover Deal, Calls It "Highly Unattractive"
Anglo American Rejects BHP's Takeover Deal, Calls It "Highly Unattractive"
Tyler Durden
Fri, 04/26/2024 - 09:35
The world's largest global diversified miner, BHP, is being forced to significantly raise its buyout offer of Anglo American or walk away from the proposed all-share deal valued at £31.1 billion ($38.9 billion).
"The BHP proposal is opportunistic and fails to value Anglo American's prospects, while significantly diluting the relative value upside participation of Anglo American's shareholders relative to BHP's shareholders," Anglo chairman Stuart Chambers wrote in a statement on Friday.
Chambers continued, "The proposed structure is also highly unattractive, creating substantial uncertainty and execution risk borne almost entirely by Anglo American, its shareholders and its other stakeholders."
The first indication that Anglo executives would reject the deal came Thursday afternoon when Reuters reported two sources familiar with talks with top Anglo investors who said the offer was 'unattractive.'
Anglo owns massive copper mines in South America. The miner has become an acquisition target of BHP solely to create the world's largest copper mining giant, with control of about 10% of the global copper mining supply. Copper mining supplies are dwindling, and demand is expected to soar as power grids worldwide are upgraded to support the green energy transition.
The Financial Review quoted hedge fund manager Rafi Lamm of Melbourne's L1 Capital as saying BHP would have to increase its bid for Anglo's assets, which have been underappreciated by the market and make strategic sense for BHP.
"We think it's a sensible move by BHP and we think they can afford to pay the proposed deal pricing and a lot more," Lamm said.
James Whiteside, head of mining and metals corporate research at consultancy Wood Mackenzie, said BHP will have to raise its offer to bring its value "closer to the share price in 2023 before operational issues emerged."
On Thursday, BHP proposed an all-share deal valued at £31.1 billion ($38.9 billion). The transaction depends on Anglo spinning off its South African iron ore and platinum businesses to its shareholders. The offer is conditional and non-binding at £25.08 a share, or about a 14% premium to Anglo's closing share price on Wednesday.
BHP investor Equity Trustees Asset Management told the Sydney Morning Herald that BHP's bid to buy Anglo American made sense strategically, "but much will depend on what BHP will eventually pay."
"Having a bit more copper in the portfolio is a positive. If copper can move up from here this will likely offset any errors made in its purchase price of Anglo," Equity Trustees head of equities Chris Haynes said.
Haynes added, "As we know, large acquisitions like this always have problems and will likely weigh on the BHP stock price in the short term."
Shares in BHP fell on Friday, ending the Australian session at 4.6% lower.
Meanwhile, copper prices hit $10,000 a ton for the first time in two years, fueled by speculation of dwindling supplies and robust demand from the green energy transition.
Copper bulls like BlackRock and Trafigura Group have said the base metal must move higher to spur new mine development.
BofA recently warned, "The copper supply crisis is here."
Let's not forget our note titled "The Next AI Trade," which explains the investment opportunities in upgrading America's grid as generative AI data centers increase power demand.
And Jefferies is on it: "Copper Demand in Data Centers."
Recall billionaire mining investor Robert Friedland, who explained last year on Bloomberg TV that "copper prices might explode ten times."
Blinken in Beijing: The US tried to turn China against Russia – but did it work?
Washington wants Beijing to disown Moscow so that it is isolated in a potential confrontation
Antony Blinken traveled to China this week to warn Beijing about sanctions for supplying military technology to Russia, according to the Financial Times and Bloomberg in their previews of the US secretary of state’s visit.
They didn’t specify which sanctions might follow, although FT sources suggested that financial and other institutions in China could face restrictions. Meanwhile, the Izvestia newspaper has revealed that several Chinese banks, including the largest, ICBC, are already not accepting payments in yuan from Russia, for fear of secondary sanctions. Almost 80% of payments to China have been returned, the newspaper claimed.
Washington is apparently convinced that China’s support for the Russian defense industry, although not publicized, is genuine and that this is having a significant impact on the course of the Ukraine conflict.
Even with all this in mind, it was hard to imagine that Blinken would communicate in the language of threats and ultimatums. The first experience of this type of rhetoric between the administration of US President Joe Biden and the Chinese showed that hard and fast pressure does not work with the current leadership in Beijing.
In fact, it has the opposite effect. Proof of this was the failed meeting in Alaska in March 2021, when Blinken and National Security adviser Jake Sullivan tried to pressure their Chinese counterparts, only to be met with a harsh rebuke – and a public one at that – which was a far cry from the spirit of Beijing’s traditionally restrained diplomacy.
Blinken subsequently adopted a much more subtle game. He likely tried to drive a wedge between Moscow and Beijing by exploiting the fact that China’s peace initiatives to resolve the Ukraine conflict do not match the maximalist demands of Russian officials (at least in public).
Read more
Here’s why Iran decided not to attack Israel again
That may not have worked, considering that the Chinese openly stated on Friday that NATO was responsible for the Ukraine crisis.
Beijing is calling for a cessation of hostilities, in effect a freezing of the conflict, but has made no mention of Ukraine’s demilitarization, denazification,or regime change in Kiev.
Recently, there have been signals that could be interpreted as a willingness by Beijing to distance itself from Moscow.
Specifically, an article in The Economist by Feng Yujun, a professor at Peking University, has caused a stir. This methodical, official expert on Russia and the Ukraine conflict speaks very much in the spirit of Western political thought: he criticizes Moscow, predicts its defeat, praises Kiev for its “strength and unity of its resistance,” and even suggests that if Russia doesn’t change its power structure, it will continue to threaten international security by provoking wars.
Knowing how Chinese society is organized, it’s hard to imagine that the professor who penned this article was acting at his own risk without the support of responsible comrades in Beijing. The recent refusal of four major Chinese banks to accept payments from Russia, even in yuan, can also be seen as an alarming signal to Moscow. In other words, it may turn out that the Russian-Chinese alliance, so strong in words, is far from being effective and trouble-free in practice. And Blinken would certainly have tried to consolidate this trend.
There is a problem, however: the overall context of US-China relations doesn’t make it any easier for Washington.
The package of military aid to Taiwan recently passed by the US Congress certainly doesn’t create a favorable emotional background for the delicate negotiations that Blinken tried to conduct in Beijing. Washington’s efforts to create anti-Chinese military and political alliances in the region – from the Philippines to Australia, from India and Vietnam to Japan – also aren’t conducive to mutual understanding between the two superpowers. American strategists make no secret of the fact that the main, most dangerous and most principled geopolitical opponent of the United States is not Russia, but China.
If that’s the case, what’s the point of Beijing meeting Washington’s demands and joining its pressure on Moscow? Only so that later, when the US achieves its goals in Russia, Beijing will have to confront it alone? This is hardly in the plans of Comrade Xi and his team.
This article was first published by Kommersant, translated and edited by the RT team
Categories: News, Non-Catholic
Watch: Drag Queen Makes Tiny Kids Chant "Free Palestine"
Watch: Drag Queen Makes Tiny Kids Chant "Free Palestine"
Tyler Durden
Fri, 04/26/2024 - 09:15
Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,
Video has emerged of a drag queen leading children barely older than toddler age in chanting “Free Palestine” during a so called “Queer Storytime for Palestine” event in Massachusetts.
The event, featuring a drag queen going by the name of ‘Lil Miss Hot Mess’, took place earlier this month at the Northampton Center for the Arts.
The event was advertised by the organisers as “dancing, celebrating Palestine culture, learning about queer heroes and doing arts and crafts.”
According to the hosts, Valley Families for Palestine, profits from the event were donated to alQaws, a Palestinian organisation that is “working for queer liberation.”
Video captured at the event shows ‘Hot Mess’ reading her book titled “If You’re a Drag Queen and You Know It,” and ordering the kids “If you’re a drag queen and you know it shout ‘Free Palestine.'”
Video has emerged of a drag queen leading children barely older than toddler age in chanting “Free Palestine” during a so called “Queer Storytime for Palestine” event in Massachusetts. Full report here: https://t.co/RLzl7S1ZC2 pic.twitter.com/cbcnVkQh6I
— m o d e r n i t y (@ModernityNews) April 26, 2024First off, gay people are at best severely disrespected, and at worst murdered in Gaza and other Palestinian areas. In terms of how gay-friendly it is, The LGBT Equality Index ranks Palestine as 192 out of 197 countries. Syria, Somalia and Yemen are ranked as more open to homosexuality.
It’s safe to say that a drag queen encouraging American kindergarteners to say ‘free Palestine’ is not really going to shift the needle as far as that situation is concerned.
Amherst, MA - Valley Families for Palestine puts on ‘Queer Storytime for Palestine’ in which toddlers are recorded chanting “Free Palestine”.
The harsh reality? Members of the LGBTQ+ community are often murdered in Gaza and other Palestinian areas such as Ramallah. pic.twitter.com/b8qwU4ycR3
Secondly, these children are clearly being subjected to a double dose of ideological and political indoctrination.
What’s next? Queer Palestine vaccine furry Ukraine drag queen story time?
Who in their right minds are taking their kids to this kind of thing? What do they expect will come of it?
Some people don't deserve to be parents: pic.twitter.com/ALAGhKXHdw
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) April 25, 2024* * *
Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.
A FORETASTE OF HEAVEN…
I returned to the parish that I was pastor from 1991 to 2004, for a foretaste of heaven, the wedding liturgy and banquet following. I witnessed the marriage vows of the daughter of a very good friend of mine who I have known since 1991 before he married. I married him and his wife in June of 1996 and had to privilege of celebrating their daughter’s wedding this past Saturday in the very same church.
The Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Augusta, Georgia photographs very well as does the wedding party!
And if I do say so myself, this is how you renovate/restore a historic church as yours truly oversaw it. It was begun in 1857 and completed and consecrated in April of 1863 as the Civil War was raging. The tabernacle remained dead center, never placed on a side altar. Please note the altar—it is the original altar consecrated in 1863 and in continuous use until this day. In the late 1960’s the altar was separated from the reredos so Mass could be celebrated facing the nave. In the mid 1990’s I had the entire structure, altar and reredos, dismantled. The reredos was pushed closer to the back wall of the apse, the altar placed in its original place with supports beneath. When it was pulled forward, no supports were placed in the basement for the new location which cause the floor of the sanctuary to sag a bit. My reorientation of the altar-table also allowed for the celebration of the Mass ad orientem or facing the nave. I knew this would return even in 1996!!!! The previous set up did not allow for the Mass to be ad orientem as the altar was placed on the edge of the last step up to the altar.
The pipe organ, also historically restored during my reign, was delayed in arriving from New York due to the war. Father Abram Joseph Ryan, the priest-poet of the Confederacy became the parochial vicar of the Church of the Most Holy Trinity in 1866 and helped to raise funds to bring the Jardine Tracker Pipe Organ to the church from New York by giving recitals of his poetry.
Trump plans to sanction countries for refusing to use dollar – Bloomberg
Advisers to the former US president are considering penalties for nations seeking to trade in national currencies, the outlet has reported
Economic aides to former US President Donald Trump are looking for options to stop countries from shifting away from the US dollar as it faces a growing challenge from emerging markets, including BRICS nations, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
The presumptive Republican nominee for the November presidential election and his team are discussing penalties against both allies and adversaries who seek to divert their trade from the greenback to other currencies. The options could include export controls, currency manipulation charges, and tariffs, the outlet said, citing people familiar with the matter.
The global trend toward using national currencies in trade instead of the dollar gained significant momentum after Russia was cut off from the Western financial system and had its foreign reserves frozen in 2022, as part of Ukraine-related sanctions.
A bill with provisions authorizing the US to confiscate frozen Russian assets, which Biden signed on Wednesday, could further spur de-dollarization, financial experts have warned. The so-called REPO Act, which was incorporated in the $61 billion military aid package for Kiev, authorized the US president to seize Russian state assets held in American banks.
Read more
US seizure of Russian assets would accelerate de-dollarization – ex-IMF official
As quoted by Bloomberg, Trump warned on Thursday that with US President Joe Biden, “you’re going to lose the dollar as the standard. That’ll be like losing the biggest war we’ve ever lost.”
According to the news agency, Trump’s economic advisers and his campaign team have specifically considered curbing de-dollarization efforts by BRICS countries.
The group – which recently expanded and now comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Ethiopia, Iran, Egypt – is boosting the use of national currencies in mutual trade. It has even signaled the possibility of introducing a new single currency in the coming years.
Trump has repeatedly said that he wants the dollar to remain the world’s reserve currency.
“I hate when countries go off the dollar,” Trump told CNBC in March. “I would not allow countries to go off the dollar because when we lose that standard, that will be like losing a revolutionary war,” he said, adding that it would be a “hit” for the US.
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