Those who with God's help have welcomed Christ's call and freely responded to it are urged on by love of Christ to proclaim the Good News everywhere in the world.
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Site: Fr Hunwicke's Mutual EnrichmentSince the Council, an idea has been spreading that Judaism is not superseded by the New Covenant of Jesus Christ; that Jews still have available to them the Covenant of the old Law, by which they can be saved. It is therefore unnecessary for them to turn to Christ; unnecessary for anybody to convert them to faith in Christ. Indeed, attempting to do so is an act of aggression not dissimilar to theFr John Hunwickehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17766211573399409633noreply@blogger.com11
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Site: Fr Hunwicke's Mutual EnrichmentS Paul loved his fellow Jews, his 'kinsmen' and believed "the gifts and call of God are irrevocable". He believed that at the End, those among them who had rejected Christ would be brought in to the chosen people. He believed that they were like olive branches which had been cut off so that the Gentiles, wild olive branches, could be grafted in. But, when the fulness of the Gentiles had entered Fr John Hunwickehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17766211573399409633noreply@blogger.com3
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Site: Fr Hunwicke's Mutual EnrichmentLex orandi lex credendi. I have been examining the Two Covenant Dogma: the fashionable error that God's First Covenant, with the Jews, is still fully and salvifically valid, so that the call to saving faith in Christ Jesus is not made to them. The 'New' Covenant, it is claimed, is now only for Gentiles. I want to draw attention at this point to the witness of the post-Conciliar Magisterium of theFr John Hunwickehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17766211573399409633noreply@blogger.com13
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Site: Fr Hunwicke's Mutual EnrichmentWe have seen that the Two Covenant Theory, the idea that Jewry alone is guaranteed Salvation without any need to convert to Christ, is repugnant to Scripture, to the Fathers, even to the post-Conciliar liturgy of the Catholic Church. It is also subversive of the basic grammar of the relationship between the Old and the New Testaments. Throughout two millennia, in Scripture, in Liturgy, in her Fr John Hunwickehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17766211573399409633noreply@blogger.com7
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Site: Fr Hunwicke's Mutual EnrichmentThe sort of people who would violently reject the points I am making are the sort of people who would not be impressed by the the Council of Florence. So I am going to confine myself to the Magisterium from the time of Pius XII ... since it is increasingly coming to be realised that the continuum of processes which we associate with the Conciliar and post-Conciliar period was already in operationFr John Hunwickehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17766211573399409633noreply@blogger.com0
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Site: Fr Hunwicke's Mutual EnrichmentIn 1980, addressing a Jewish gathering in Germany, B John Paul II said (I extract this from a long sentence): " ... dialogue; that is, the meeting between the people of the Old Covenant (never revoked by God, cf Romans 11:29) and that of the New Covenant, is at the same time ..." In 2013, Pope Francis, in the course of his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium, also referred to the Old Fr John Hunwickehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17766211573399409633noreply@blogger.com10
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Site: Henrymakow.comAssimilation......or Clannishness?Western nations are reaching a tipping point.They are about to rise up against the migrantsand their Masonic Jewish sponsors.by Edward Menez(henrymakow.com)Close to 20 years ago I asked a question of my predominantly Hispanic high school students, almost all of those of Mexican decent.The question was this: "Do you consider yourself and your loyalties to Mexico or America?"I first asked those who were born in Mexico to raise their hands and give me their verdicts. Answer: they all considered themselves Mexican.I then asked those who were born in the US but whose parents were born in Mexico to raise their hands. Their answer: Mexican.Finally, I asked those whose parents and themselves were born in the US, but whose grandparents were born in Mexico to raise their hands. The verdict: they considered themselves Mexicans still, three generations after their family came from that country to the US.Even back then about 20 years ago, my first thought was: "How can we have a united society and a patriotic country when these people don't even consider themselves Americans?"IRELAND AND VIRTUALLY ALL OF WESTERN EUROPENow we have the Irish fed up with immigrants who don't want to assimilate into their culture. Riots have broken out after an immigrant supposed to have been deported about 15 years ago stabbed Irish children. https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2023-11-29/some-clear-thinking-about-riots-irelandThe same riots could just as easily be sparked in countries such as France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Germany, and England. All of Western Europe, it seems, has been forced to accept immigrants from third-world countries in recent years. In what other countries in the world has this also been the case? Well, in Canada and the USA for sure. What is the commonality between all of these countries? They were white Christian societies for over a thousand years in the case of the European countries, and as for the US and Canada, they were founded by white Christians from Europe hundreds of years ago. All of these countries lived as white Christian-majority societies until the present.There's no doubt in my mind who did this to us. Who hates white Christians the most, and has hated them for 2000 years?Who has infiltrated and been kicked out of every white Christian country at some point for spreading usury? Pedophilia? The sacrificial murder of children for their feasts and for the adrenochrome?Who poisoned Europe's wells in the Black Plague? Who caused the "Spanish Flu" by vaccinating us a hundred years ago? Who tried to vaccinate us all again with kill shots during the past two years?Who started a war to make white Christians fight each other in WWI? WWII? The Ukrainian-Russian War currently going on? Why is it always white Christian soldiers killing each other?THEY KNOW THE MIGRANTS WON'T ASSIMILATE AND NEITHER WILL THEYWhite Christians have been duped to kill themselves in every war because of the "blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan" (Revelation 2:9 KJV). The Synagogue of Satan is the country now known as Israel, because 90% of its citizens are not Semitic and have no connection to the Jews of Jesus' time. Instead, they are Ashkenazi Jews, or Khazars from their ancient homeland in Ukraine that they are now taking over once again.Why don't we send Israel some of these immigrants? Because Israel is the only country in the world that doesn't allow assimilation. They have their own country just for Jews (or Synagogue of Satan-Jews). They even persecute the Sephardic Jews (the other 10% of Israel's citizens) who are originally from Palestine.Israel knows that the immigrants going to Europe, the US, and Canada will not assimilate because they are not white Christians. The people who settled the US in the 1700s, 1800s, and the early 1900s, for example, came from all over Europe--Italy, Germany, Ireland, England, France, Scandanavia--but they all assimilated for the most part because they had something in common: they were white Christians.Israel wants to destroy our Western societies now by sending in immigrants who are not white Christians to:1) Keep us constantly on edge against the intrusion of our culture;2) Destroy Christianity through repopulation of non-Christians;3) Keep the attention off of them, the Azhkenazim Jewish mafia, who are our real enemies;4) Destroy our economies by supporting all these immigrants on welfare with taxpayer money.Did the citizens of Western Europe, Canada, and the US ever get to vote on whether we'd like to allow these immigrants into our countries? Did we agree to pay for them to live here with our tax money? Did we agree to have 90% of Biden's Cabinet be dual Israeli-American citizens making these decisions for us? No, no, y NO!HYPROCRISYI have heard it said that for a Christian, being honest equates to humility before God. For a Synagogue of Satan-Jew, being honest equates to a sin because they are of their father, the devil, who is the father of all lies (in paraphrasing John 8:44). This article sums up Jewish Israelis' thought pretty well: https://www.unz.com/runz/american-pravda-gaza-and-the-anti-semitism-hoax/In the end, the entire Chapter of Matthew 23 has Jesus calling the Jews (scribes and Pharisees) hypocrites seven times for their deceit. I think we've all endured their lies in seventy times seven instances at least, and my forgiveness is hard pressed to endure it any longer. But what can we in white Christian countries do now to both obey Jesus and yet rid ourselves of the devil?I think a good start would be for Israel to begin accepting immigrants. They can start with accepting Palestinians. No, wait, they already have them. And wait, Palestinians are not immigrants as they have been there for thousands of years! So maybe Israel can begin by accepting some Somalians, Syrians, Afghanis, and Senegalese. That might show sympathy with our plight. But Israel would never do that....would they? Not in a million years.
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Site: Novus Motus LiturgicusMost of the dioceses of France have traditionally kept today as the feast of St Eligius (“Éloi” in French), who was born near Limoges in about 590, and died on this day in 660 after serving as bishop of Noyon for 19 years. In youth, he was trained as a goldsmith, and has long been honored as the heavenly Patron of that art; his biography attributes to him reliquaries of several prominent French Gregory DiPippohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295638279418781125noreply@blogger.com0
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Site: LifeNews
Pro-abortion MPs, Stella Creasy and Diana Johnson, have hijacked a Government Bill by tabling amendments that propose removing offences that make it illegal to perform a self-abortion at any point right through to birth.
After Tuesday’s debate on the Second Reading of the Government’s Criminal Justice Bill,, Stella Creasy and Diana Johnson, tabled their extreme amendments to the Government’s flagship Criminal Justice Bill.
Neither of the amendments outlines circumstances in which it would continue to be an offence to perform a self-abortion – the changes to the law would apply throughout nine months of pregnancy and would not exclude sex-selective abortions.
Stella Creasy’s amendment, if it became law, would also repeal Section 60 of the Offences Against the Person Act, which is currently used to make it illegal to hide the body of a dead newborn baby, including in circumstances when the baby has been killed through infanticide. Section 60 is also important in stopping individuals from preventing an investigation into the cause of a baby’s death when infanticide is suspected.
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These amendments would likely lead to an increased number of babies’ lives being ended through late-term abortions performed at home, as well as the lives of many more women being endangered.
No criminal sanctions for abortion at any stage of pregnancy
Johnson’s amendment would ensure there are no criminal sanctions for a woman who has an abortion at any stage of pregnancy. However, by amending the abortion law in this way, self-abortions will, de facto, become possible up to birth as women could deceive abortion providers about their gestational age (as in the case of Carla Foster, who pretended to be 7 weeks pregnant but took pills at 32-34 weeks gestation).
In such circumstances, neither the woman nor the abortion provider (who only has to act in “good faith” and does not need to verify gestational age via an in-person appointment) could be held accountable for a late-term abortion.
Prior to her tabling the amendment, during the debate on the Criminal Justice Bill, Johnson insisted that her proposal “would not change any law regarding the provision of abortion services within a healthcare setting in England and Wales”. However, since the majority of abortions now take place away from a clinical setting, women would be able to take abortion pills at home at any stage of their pregnancy up to birth without committing an offence.
Creasy amendment
Stella Creasy’s amendment would have similar effects to Johnson’s but goes further insofar as it also calls for the repeal of Section 60 of the OAPA, which concerns “[c]oncealing the birth of a child’.
Section 60 is currently used to make it illegal to hide the body of a dead newborn baby, including in circumstances when the baby has been killed through infanticide. Section 60 is also important in stopping individuals from preventing an investigation into the cause of a child’s death when infanticide is suspected.
MP admits DIY abortions may have led to an increase in illegal abortions after 10 weeks gestation
During their speeches on the Criminal Justice Bill, both MPs drew attention to the increased instances of illegal abortions since DIY at-home abortions have been introduced.
Johnson made an apparent reference to Carla Foster, who was prosecuted after the British Pregnancy Advisory Service sent out abortion pills to her leading to the death of her baby, Lily, 22 weeks beyond the legal limit for at-home abortions.
However, this case would not have happened had the gestation of baby Lily been accurately identified by ultrasound or a physical examination during an in-person appointment. If this appointment had taken place, the gestation of the baby would have been accurately identified and an abortion could not have taken place.
When asked why there had been an increase in prosecutions for illegal abortions by Independent MP for Beckenham Bob Stewart, Creasy admitted the legalisation of abortions outside of a clinical setting was a possible reason.
She said: “I wish I could tell the hon. Gentleman what I think is the cause for sure. There are a number of pressures—perhaps the move towards telemedicine or a renewed interest in the issue…”Conservative MP Maria Miller, while supporting decriminalisation, questioned whether the Criminal Justice Bill was “the right place to do that, when there is perhaps not sufficient time to go through all the details”.
Serious health concerns
Government data released last week demonstrates that self-performing a late-term medical abortion away from a clinical environment without in-person medical supervision puts the lives of women at considerable risk.
The data shows that a medical abortion performed at 20 weeks and over has a complication rate 160 times that of an abortion under 10 weeks. The complication rate is likely to be much higher for women performing their own abortions at home without medical supervision well beyond the current 24-week time limit.
Right To Life UK spokesperson Catherine Robinson said: “The obvious reason why there were so few prosecutions in the first 160 years following the legal prohibition on abortion established in the Offences Against the Person Act (1861), but an increase in the last few years, is because of the fact that over half of all abortions now happen without any in-person medical oversight”.
“In at-home abortions, since there is no mechanism to establish the gestation of the unborn baby, an unknown number of abortions are now taking place after the 10 week limit. The baby Lily case is the most high-profile of these cases in which a woman had an at-home abortion without medical supervision at 32 weeks gestation, and it is likely just the tip of the iceberg”.
“Incredibly, even those pushing for a change in the law acknowledge that the move to ‘telemedicine’ abortion – in which there is no in-person consultation with a medical professional – is a likely reason for the increase in prosecutions”.
“The in-person requirement for abortion which existed up until 2020 acted as a safeguard to protect women and their babies not only from abortion which becomes increasingly dangerous for women at later gestations, but also from the threat of coercion”.
“Instead of pushing for fewer safeguards through these amendments, MPs who care about women and their babies should be seeking greater oversight and protections, including an ending of abortion outside of a clinical setting”.
LifeNews Note: Republished with permission from Right to Life UK.
The post British MPs Push Amendment Trying to Legalize Abortions Up to Birth appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: LifeNews
Operation Rescue published a report on October 20 concerning alleged fraudulent activity at Abortion Clinics Org INC of Nebraska in the city of Bellevue.
Not much has changed since that report titled, “Fraudulent Practices at ‘Don’t Care’ Abortion Center in Bellevue, Nebraska: Is a Dead Man Committing Abortions at 1002 West Mission Avenue? ” The name of the former medical director, LeRoy Carhart, who died in April 2023, is still prominently displayed on the large sign outside the building, and his name is still on the abortion facility’s website.
However, at least one thing has changed.
Less than two weeks after Operation Rescue’s report identifying a number of abortionists seen stealthily entering the building’s one-car garage, one followed so closely in Carhart’s footsteps that he also died — quite suddenly.
Garry Siegel, the abortionist who was listed on the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services website as a dispensing practitioner at the notorious Bellevue facility, succumbed to brain cancer.
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He was seen entering the building on October 27, just five days before his “brief battle with brain cancer” came to an end on November 1. Siegel’s dispensing practitioner license was rendered “null and void” as a result.
Operation Rescue regrets that both men, Carhart and Siegel, committed abortions at the 1002 Mission Avenue location in Bellevue, neither ever showing any evidence of repentance – both killing babies to the very end.
Those managing this killing center apparently saw no reason to delay the killing after Siegel’s death. Just one day later, eyewitnesses observed nine clients entering the facility while three clinic escorts were present – an unfailing indication that abortions are taking place.
Abortionist Jill Meadows was seen entering the facility that morning. No evidence has been located that Meadows holds a Nebraska dispensing license, so it is unclear, if not suspicious, concerning the legality of what occurred that day.
Operation Rescue and a Bellevue resident have already filed formal complaints with the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office after a whistleblower provided information about alleged illegal activity involving abortionists who distributed abortion-inducing drugs without Nebraska dispensing licenses on May 3, 2023. Therefore, the possibility of another day of illegal dispensing is certainly not farfetched.
Just today, another abortionist was seen leaving the scene. Aaron Campbell, the son of deceased abortionist Morris Campbell, was previously employed as a funeral assistant. Operation Rescue verified that he recently secured both his Nebraska medical license and dispensing practitioner pharmacy license, but he also has a history of ignoring legal requirements in his anxiousness to commit abortions.
Incidentally, today after sidewalk counselors witnessed Campbell leaving, Janine Weatherby, the administrator and daughter of the late Carhart, expressed her unhappiness with the observant sidewalk counselors by waving goodbye using her middle finger.
“The blood-thirsty, money-hungry individuals running the Bellevue killing center obviously have no conscience and believe they will never be held accountable for their evil, reckless, fraudulent behavior,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.
“But, ultimately they will stand before God, just as LeRoy Carhart and Garry Siegel now have. We will continue to keep a close watch on this dangerous abortion facility and do everything within our power to ensure the state of Nebraska holds it accountable.”
LifeNews Note: Anne Reed writes for Operation Rescue.
The post Abortionist Dies Just Five Days After Killing Babies in Abortions appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: LifeNews
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has scored a substantial victory in his legal challenge to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rules that circumvented Congress’ judgment regarding how Title X family planning funds can be used.
In a 2-1 opinion in Ohio et al. v. Becerra et al., the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday granted Ohio an injunction against a significant part of the HHS rules. The court called the rules “contrary to” Title X law, saying they “impermissibly permit” taxpayer funding for family planning programming that provides abortion.
“Whatever your opinion on abortion as a moral matter,” Yost said, “the court vindicated Congress’ considered judgment that tax dollars should not fund programs that use abortion as a method of family planning.”
The appeals court decision stems from a lawsuit filed in 2021 by Ohio and 12 other states seeking a preliminary injunction against the Biden administration’s rules changes, calling them “arbitrary and capricious” and in violation of the Title X law.
A lower court denied the preliminary injunction, and the state appealed the ruling.
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In its ruling this week, the appeals court granted an injunction exclusively to Ohio, not the co-plaintiff states, saying that only Ohio had demonstrated a substantial loss of funds that warrants an injunction. Ohio showed how the Ohio Department of Health’s grant money decreased significantly after the rule changes allowed Planned Parenthood to re-enter the Title X program.
Yost and his team are currently assessing the full impact of the injunction.
Planned Parenthood may be compelled to make program adjustments or forfeit the Title X funds in Ohio.
The post Ohio Wins Injunction Against Biden That Could Take Tax Money Away From Planned Parenthood appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Euthanasia Prevention CoalitionAlex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention CoalitionSt. Paul's HospitalThe British Columbia government is building a euthanasia center next to St Paul's Hospital in Vancouver in response to a complaint that palliative care patients did not have access to euthanasia at the Catholic hospital.
Shannon Paterson reported for CTV news Vancouver on November 29 that:The provincial government is constructing a new clinical space adjacent to St Paul's Hospital so palliative care patients who choose to undergo medical assistance in dying or MAID don’t have to be loaded into transfer vans or ambulances and driven elsewhere to get the end-of-life procedure.
On Wednesday, the province announced the construction of the new clinical space for MAID, which will not be part of the existing St Paul’s, but on adjacent property. It will be connected to the hospital with a corridor.The euthanasia lobby is continuing its campaign to pressure the BC government to force Catholic hospitals to provide euthanasia. Paterson reported that Jim O'Neill the father of Samantha O'Neill, who had been transferred from St. Paul's hospital to die by euthanasia, stated:the decision to build an outside space for MAID totally absurd.
“It makes zero sense. It’s not easy access and not cost effective,” O’Neill said. “I just think it’s outrageous. I think Minister Dix completely misses the mark on this.”I reported on June 27, 2023 that the euthanasia lobby group, Dying With Dignity, was lobbying the British Columbia (BC) government to force Catholic hospitals to provide euthanasia.At that time I reported that Alex Muir, the Chair of the Metro Vancouver chapter of Dying With Dignity wrote in a letter to the editor in the Vancouver Sun announcing their campaign to force Catholic hospitals to kill their patients rather than transfer their patients.This is not the first time that Dying With Dignity (a registered charity) lobbied the BC government to force Catholic hospitals to kill their patients by euthanasia.
I published an article on March 8, 2022 entitled: Canada's euthanasia lobby demands that religious medical facilities kill. The euthanasia lobby wants to stop transfers of people who request euthanasia by forcing denominational medical institutions to provide euthanasia. -
Site: Eccles is savedA special article by Austen "Spindoctor" Ivereigh for the Where Pachamama is blog. The Pope is an astonishly patient man, and will sink his enemies even if it takes him ten years to do it. Seeing all the bad publicity he was getting for his merciful and patient attacks on Cardinal Burke, he summoned me to Rome as a matter of urgency so that I could explain to the world what he was up to. Did I mention that I am an expert on papal matters? I flew to Rome from Bristol airport, stopping on the way at the Multifaith Bus Shelter for a spot of Pachamama devotion, also in order to pin up a mural by my favourite artist Marko Rupnik. The place was deserted apart from an Incan sacrifice taking place at the same time. A sacred place! Patient merciful Pope Francis the Humble was not in good health - a sprained wrist through slapping too many Chinese girls - but he explained to me that he loved Cardinal Burke - after all, we are commanded to love our enemies, and Burke was one of his worst enemies. With their Dubia, Burke and his fellow-conspirators had asked Pope Francis to explain some aspects of Amoris Laetitia several years ago, knowing perfectly well that clear and unambiguous teaching is against the rules of the Jesuit order. Burke had also dared to criticise the Synod on Synodal Synodality of Synodhood, arguably the most important Catholic event since Pentecost, saying that it was a complete waste of time. Having myself attended as an expert, I know that getting barmy old ladies sitting round tables and moaning is the true future of the Church! We must all be Synod! At this point in our discussion, Francis found his patience tried beyond all limits, and he humbly kicked Rupnik, the Vatican cat, through the window. "Don't worry," he said. "Pick up the body and give it to Mike Lewis. He'll eat anything." Instead of living in a broom cupboard, as the humble Holy Father does, Cardinal Burke has a much larger apartment, and this is now required by other cardinals who wish to hold "get-togethers" there. I know that Cardinal Coccopalmerio has already put in a bid. Who is this shadowy figure? Of course Burke is still a member of two dicasteries, and of the Apostolic Signatura, but as Pope Francis explained, he should regard these positions as honours, and not expect to be paid. So what message am I to take away from my meeting with the Humble Father? First, although in our conversation he described Burke as his enemy, he has now sent me a note saying "I never used the word 'enemy' nor the pronoun 'my'." Obviously we all misheard - it's easily done. Also he certainly never said "We hates him we hates him, nasty Burkies, we hates him, my precious, and we is going to throw him out on the streets!" I hope I have made it clear, and let me repeat this: Pope Francis is patient, kind and merciful, and Cardinal Burke is a meanie. Strickland has fallen! Burke has fallen! Who will be next? Aha! Great stuff, Austen. And the cat pie was delicious! Mike. Mike Lewis!
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Site: LifeNews
The parents of little 8-month-old Indi Gregory laid her to rest today in a funeral service with family, friends, and supporters.
Last month, Indi died has after a British hospital yanked her life support over her parents’ objections and after a court rejected their plea to let her live.
During the ceremony, father Dean Gregory called Indi his “beautiful warrior” and said he finds comfort in knowing that she’s in Heaven.
“But, my greatest comfort at this difficult time is knowing where Indi is and with whom she is with now. I had Indi baptized to protect her and so she would go to heaven. It gives me peace to know she is in Heaven and God is taking care of her,” Gregory said.
Here’s more on today’s ceremony:
Before a service led by the Bishop of Nottingham, Reverend Patrick McKinney, at Nottingham Cathedral on Friday (December 1), Indi’s white coffin, adorned with pink and white flowers, was carried through the city’s streets in a horse-drawn carriage. A procession of eight Rolls-Royce cars transported Indi’s family behind the carriage.
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Inside the cathedral, over 100 people, including a delegation from the Italian government, gathered for the 10.15am service. The ceremony featured a choir and organ music. During the service, a tribute was read by Canon Paul Newman on behalf of Mr Gregory, describing Indi as a “true warrior.”
He said: “I honestly and truly feel, deep in my heart, that Indi was not only beautiful, strong and unique. I just knew, from the start, she was very special. Nonetheless, I could never have imagined the sort of journey we and Indi would have to go through to fight for her life.
“She didn’t only have to battle against her health problems, she had to battle against a system that makes it almost impossible to win. Yet, it was her weakest point, her health problems, that distinguished Indi as a true warrior.
“Indi overcame so much: she had seizures, two operations, sepsis, e-coli, including other infections, that even another child would struggle to beat. But Indi’s determination to fight for a chance of life really inspired me.
“The strength she had for an eight-month-old child was incredible. And this is one of the reasons I would have done anything for Indi to have the chance to live which was denied her.”
Before her death, a UK appeals court ruled that a hospital can proceed with ending Indi’s lifesaving medical care despite her parents desperate efforts to get her to a hospital that would provide it. The hospital removed her life support yesterday and Indi died this morning.
The 8-month-old Gregory died in her mother’s arms in a hospice at 1:45 a.m. on Nov. 13, according to British advocacy group Christian Concern.
After her death, Indi’s parents said they “are angry, heartbroken and ashamed. The NHS and the Courts not only took away her chance to live a longer life, but they also took away Indi’s dignity to pass away in the family home where she belonged.”
Indi suffered from a rare degenerative mitochondrial disease. She had been receiving life-sustaining treatment on a ventilator at the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham, England.
As LifeNews had reported, a Vatican hospital had stepped up and agreed to provide care for 8-month-old baby Indi Gregory, where a British court ruled her life support could be revoked even though her parents are fighting for her life. But, that was not enough for the parents of this little girl to get a British appellate court to rule in their favor.
Indi’s parents got her baptized after a UK appeals court ruled a hospital could yank her life support without their consent.
After that decision, Indi’s parents, who are not religious, have decided to get their daughter baptized, saying they have seen the “pull of hell” in this entire spectacle with the courts denying their daughter the care she needs and blocking their efforts to transport Indi to an Italian hospital for appropriate care and treatment.
“When I was in the court, I felt as if Hell pulled at me,” said Dean Gregory, Indi’s dad. “I thought that if Hell exists, then Heaven must exist too.”
“It was like the devil was there,” he told an Italian newspaper. “I thought that if the devil exists, then God must exist too.”
“I have seen what hell is like and I want Indi to go to heaven.”
In fact, Dean says that he’s decided he should also be baptized. “We want to be protected in this life, and go to heaven.”
Dean praised the testimony of a Christian volunteer who has visited Indi every day, and who told him that baptism “opens Heaven’s gates.” He also noted the work of his legal team provided by the Christian Legal Centre.
The post Funeral Held for “Beautiful Warrior” Indi Gregory, Father Rejoices That She’s in Heaven appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Global Research
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The post The War on Gaza: Might vs. Right, and the Insanity of Western Power appeared first on Global Research.
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Site: Catholic ConclaveFrancis repeatedly causes a stir with his spontaneous actions and statements. What seems likeable is, however, not unproblematic, because it reflects on the reputation of the Pope and the Church, comments Benedikt Heider.While Pope Benedict XVI repeatedly stumbled over the alleged mistakes of his employees, Pope Francis often seems immune to any advice. However, what happens when the Pope acts Catholic Conclavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06227218883606585321noreply@blogger.com0
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Site: From RomeEditor’s Note: Here Gänswein presents his own view of his life with Pope Benedict XVI. At 8:20 he begins speaking about the events of Feb. 13, 2013, which however studiously avoids a discussion of what kind of resignation he made,w whether of the office or of the ministry of the Papacy. — An omission, which … Continue reading Archbishop Gänswein: My Life beside Benedict XVI →
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Site: LifeNews
Sometimes, in the course of pregnancy, testing reveals a genetic or developmental problem with the unborn child—a “defect,” “abnormality,” “anomaly,” “deformity,” or condition “incompatible with life” (an odd way of saying “fatal”).
These revelations can be gut-wrenching. Many people think abortion is justified. In fact, medical professionals have frequently presented abortion to parents as the only or default option.
In a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Sen. Elizabeth Warren once pointed to such “devastating stories” as a reason to oppose any legal limit on abortion late in pregnancy. Denying abortion would be “cruel,” she said.
Is she right?
A disability, disease, or deformity doesn’t justify killing
An unexpected prenatal diagnosis often isn’t fatal. Non-terminal conditions range from cleft palate and Down syndrome to heart defects and sickle-cell disease.
These diagnoses pose real challenges to families. But is abortion an appropriate response? Not if the unborn child is a valuable human being.
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Parents may not kill their toddler if they learn that she will be less intellectually capable than other children. They may not execute a 10-year-old with spina bifida because they think she would be better off dead. They may not terminate a Down syndrome teenager because raising her has become too burdensome.
If unborn human beings have a right to life, like toddlers, 10-year-olds, and teenagers, then killing them because of a disability or disease is equally unjustified.
Of course, some people think that unborn humans (whether or not they are sick or disabled) do not have the same value and right to life as older human beings. But this is only a different form of wrongful discrimination. Just as ability and health are irrelevant to human rights, so too are age, size, location, and the desires and decisions of others.
All human beings are equal by virtue of their shared humanity. That’s why killing disabled, sick, or “deformed” people, whether in the womb or out, is unjust.
The fears that drive abortion, moreover, are often unfounded. Many parents worry about the difficulties of raising a child with special needs. But caring for sick or disabled children, though hard, is enriching and rewarding, as many parents and caregivers attest.
Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital found that 79 percent of parents of children with Down syndrome say their child has given them a better outlook on life. Only 4 percent regret having their child in the first place.
“[T]he experience of Down syndrome is a positive one for most parents, siblings, and people with Down syndrome themselves,” the researchers conclude.
Some parents express concern about their child’s future “quality of life.” Yet people with disabilities or medical limitations live meaningful and often happy and fulfilling lives. A major study published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics, for example, found that 99 percent of people with Down syndrome are happy.
“In our [survey], people with Down syndrome encouraged parents to love their babies with Down syndrome, mentioning that their own lives were good,” the researchers note. “They further encouraged healthcare professionals to value them, emphasizing that they share similar hopes and dreams as people without Down syndrome.”
Frank Stephens, a man with Down syndrome, testified before a congressional committee. “[People with Down syndrome] are the canary in the eugenics coal mine,” he said. “We are giving the world a chance to think about the ethics of choosing which humans get a chance at life.”
Everyone deserves that chance.
A life-limiting condition doesn’t justify killing
What about when a child in the womb is diagnosed with a lethal condition, such as anencephaly, Trisomy 18, or Potter’s syndrome? She will likely die before, during, or shortly after birth. Surely, many people think, a pregnant woman should not have to endure such a traumatic pregnancy.
But the fact that someone will soon die is no justification for killing her. We may not kill terminal patients in the cancer ward or elderly grandparents in the nursing home. Indeed, all of us will die at some point in the future, but we ought to be treated with dignity and respect in the present.
Natural death (by disease) doesn’t make unnatural death (intentional killing) okay.
Nor is the alleviation of trauma a good reason for killing. Imagine a father whose 5-year-old daughter is dying of leukemia. This is an agonizing experience for him. May he end her life to “get it over with,” avoid painful conversations when someone asks about his family, and “move on” to his next child? Of course not.
If unborn human beings really matter—like cancer patients, grandparents, and 5-year-old daughters—then they likewise may not be killed on account of a terminal condition.
Moreover, abortion in these circumstances does not actually serve the emotional and psychological health of pregnant women. Research suggests that it does precisely the opposite.
A study in the Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology, for example, concludes that abortion after a terminal diagnosis is a “traumatic event” that “entails the risk of severe and complicated grieving.” A 2016 Swedish study finds that “women who terminate a pregnancy due to a fetal anomaly express considerable physical and emotional pain, with psychosocial and reproductive consequences.”
Another study, published in 2015 in the journal Prenatal Diagnosis, compares women who aborted because of a fatal condition to women who did not. “Women who terminated reported significantly more despair, avoidance, and depression than women who continued the pregnancy,” the Duke University authors conclude. “There appears to be a psychological benefit to women to continue the pregnancy following a lethal fetal diagnosis.”
Abortion in life-limiting cases isn’t healthy for pregnant women—or for their unborn children.
A better way: Dignity, equality, and love
Human beings in utero are valuable members of the human family. We ought to treat them accordingly.
That means we should respect their dignity, recognize the equal rights of those who have disabilities or diseases, and love them even when their time is short. It means that, at the very least, we should never choose to dismember or poison them to death.
None of this, of course, is to deny the challenges of an adverse prenatal diagnosis. But support and options are available. Numerous organizations and programs help families deal with unexpected diagnoses. Many couples seek to adopt children with special needs.
In the case of a life-limiting diagnosis, perinatal hospice and palliative care is a healthy alternative to abortion. It acknowledges terminally ill unborn children as real patients and real children. It gives parents time to process and to make memories. It provides support and closure to grieving families.
One study found that 75 percent of parents choose this option if it is simply offered to them. Another study determined that 85 percent make that life-affirming decision.
Amy Kuebelbeck, a Minnesota writer, authored a book recounting her own pregnancy with a child who received a terminal diagnosis. It’s called Waiting with Gabriel: A Story of Cherishing a Baby’s Brief Life.
“I believe that [abortion] would have caused us real emotional harm,” she writes, “as well as closed us off from the extraordinary gifts that we and our families and close friends were able to experience as we all waited with Gabriel.”
Many parents tell a similar story of meaning, beauty, and life in the midst of hardship. Testimonies can be found through organizations and websites like Prenatal Partners for Life, Be Not Afraid, Carrying To Term, and PerinatalHospice.org.
“Yes, Gabriel was going to die,” Kuebelbeck says. “But first he was going to live.”
LifeNews.com Note: Paul Stark is a member of the staff of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, a statewide pro-life group.
The post Don’t Kill Babies in Abortions Just Because They Might be Disabled appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Fr. Z's BlogBackground on Fr. Mark Rogers HERE (20 February 2019) – HERE (17 June 2023) – HERE (5 July 2023). November 30, 2023 Dear Diary, Fr. Mark Rogers. Loved Latin and all that stuff. I had to come down on … Read More →
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Site: Zero HedgeNew Video Reveals McDonald's Secret Spinoff Restaurant Called "CosMc's"Tyler Durden Fri, 12/01/2023 - 15:15
McDonald's has maintained a high level of secrecy about its new spinoff restaurant chain called "CosMc's." This small-format concept restaurant was first announced in July with very few details. However, fast-food-obsessed internet sleuths have revealed they found a CosMc's under construction in Illinois.
TikToker snackolator, who posts only about junk food, recently shared a video showcasing what seems to be the construction of one of the first CosMc's stores in Bolingbrook, Illinois.
"The kind of conventional thinking is that this is going to be something of a competitor to like Starbucks, where it's going to focus on the McCafe stuff and the coffee and the drinks as opposed to serving burgers and fries, which makes even more sense when you realize that this CosMc's is being built directly next to an existing McDonald's," snackolator said, who was quoted by Bussiness Insider.
Here's the video:
@snackolator I have no idea what CosMc's will serve, but I'm very excited to find out what McDonald's has up their sleeve for this new concept. Are you excited for this new chain? What are you hoping they have? #mcdonalds #mcdonaldslife #mcds #cosmc #cosmcs #fastfood #mccafe #fastfoodlife #macdonalds #newfastfood ♬ original sound - snackolator The name for the new brand comes from CosMc's, an intergalactic character in McDonald's advertisements in the 1980s and 90s.
In July, McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski told investors on a second-quarter earnings call that the new restaurant is a "small format concept with all the DNA of McDonald's, but with its own unique personality."
The move for a CosMc spinoff restaurant comes as the fast-food giant has had huge success in driving sales with the revival of another McDonald's mascot, Grimace.
McDonald's revival of advertisement characters from decades ago appears to be a great non-woke ad strategy. Remember, the company scrubbed "ESG" from its website months ago.
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Site: AsiaNews.itThe Franciscan Custos of the Holy Land talks about the situation between Israelis and Palestinians. Mistrust is growing between the two communities even in daily life. He fears a new Christian exodus when the war ends. Those in the international community who want to help should not take sides, but ought to 'understand the suffering of both' in a war in which 'we have all already lost.'
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Site: LifeNews
In a major setback to the abortion lobby in Arkansas, the state’s Republican Attorney General Tim Griffin has denied an attempt to put an Ohio-style pro-abortion constitutional amendment on the state’s 2024 ballot for the time being.
The rejected measure was known by the popular name of “The Arkansas Reproductive Healthcare Amendment.” It was shepherded by “Arkansas For Limited Government,” a pro-abortion group explicitly formed to put the measure on the ballot, similar to the group that was behind Ohio’s successful Issue 1 amendment.
The amendment’s text stated that if it passed Arkansas would not be able to “penalize, delay or restrict access to abortion within 18 weeks of conception, or in cases of rape, incest, in the event of a fatal fetal anomaly, or when abortion is needed to protect the pregnant female’s life or health.”
In a Tuesday letter to a representative of “Arkansas For Limited Government,” Griffin stated that he took issue with the amendment’s ambiguous wording and “misleading” title.
“Having reviewed the text of your proposed constitutional amendment, as well as your proposed popular name and ballot title,” he wrote,
I must reject your popular name and ballot title due to ambiguities in the text of your proposed measure that prevent me from ensuring that the ballot title you have submitted, or any ballot title I would substitute, is not misleading.
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Specifically, the attorney general indicated that the amendment did not provide clear definitions of the terms “access” and “health” to its prospective voters.
“My decision to certify or reject a popular name and ballot title is unrelated to my view of the proposed measure’s merits,” Griffin added. “I am not authorized to consider the measure’s merits when considering certification.”
Jordan Boyd of The Federalist pointed out that Griffin’s action could make all the difference where pro-life efforts in Ohio failed.
“Ohio’s recently passed constitutional amendment was so deceptively worded that it left even the most staunch of abortion activists scratching their heads,” Boyd noted:
By demanding clarity and exposing abortion activists’ deceptive petitioning practices, Griffin and other Republican Attorneys General like Ashley Moody in Florida and Marty Jackley in South Dakota ensured their states would not immediately fall prey to the unlimited abortion-for-all activism sweeping the nation.
In October, Moody penned an op-ed in Florida’s Voice blasting the proposed pro-abortion ballot initiative in her state as “one of the worst I have seen.”
“As just one example of how misleading this initiative is, the initiative creates a right to abortion through ‘viability,’” she explained. “As any mother knows, ‘viability’ has two meanings when it comes to pregnancy.”
In early November, Jackley conveyed a similar tone in a letter to a representative of the pro-abortion group behind South Dakota’s proposed referendum.
“Any suggestion that your proposed abortion amendment makes abortion legal only for the first trimester is contrary to the language of the proposed amendment,” he wrote.
LifeNews Note: Joshua Mercer writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.
The post Arkansas Attorney General Blocks Attempt to Legalize Abortions Up to Birth appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Mises Institute
Austria is one part of the name “Austrian economics.” How has the country of Austria prospered by applying Austrian economic concepts? The nation regained full sovereignty in 1955. Their form of government is a parliamentary coalition with a prime minister as head of state and a ceremonial office of president.
How would Ludwig von Mises view Austria today implementing Austrian economics? He would not recognize the country he fled in 1934 ahead of the German war machine and its purposeful discrimination of people of Jewish descent. He would probably be thankful Austria’s Jewish population is thriving. He would also see its standard of living and economy flourishing today.
Austria has large services and industrial sectors, and it has a small, highly developed agricultural sector. The nation’s ongoing challenges are assimilation of migrants, strains on labor markets and public finances caused by an aging population, and reliance on Russian energy.
The 2023 Index of Economic Freedom from the US-based Heritage Foundation measures the principles of economic freedom in an annual guide. According to the study, “Economic freedom is the fundamental right of every human to control his or her own labor and property.” The Index covers twelve freedoms composed of four economic freedom pillars, with three categories under each one, in 184 countries using a scale of one to one hundred. A country’s overall score is derived by averaging these twelve economic freedoms, with equal weight being given to each. Each pillar and category is shown below:
- Rule of law (property rights, government integrity, judicial effectiveness)
- Government size (government spending, tax burden, fiscal health)
- Regulatory efficiency (business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom)
- Open markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom)
Austria’s economic freedom score is 71.1, making its economy the twenty-third freest in the 2023 Index. Austria is ranked sixteenth out of forty-four countries in the Europe region, and its overall score is well above the regional and world averages.
Austria’s high scores for property rights and government integrity reflect its strong rule of law and the expansion of economic freedom. The nation does not have a commitment to limited government. Expansionary public spending generates budgetary pressure. The transparent and competitive business environment has been effective.
The overall rule of law is very well respected in Austria. The country’s property rights score is 97.0; its judicial effectiveness score is 95.2; and its government integrity score is 80.9. Each of the three scores is above the world average.
The top individual and corporate tax rates are, respectively, 55 percent and 25 percent. The tax burden equals 42.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Three-year government spending and budget balance averages are, respectively, 53.8 percent and −4.5 percent of GDP. Public debt equals 82.9 percent of GDP. The tax burden score is 45.7, fiscal health is 54.5, and government spending is 13.0. Their federal government has some size.
The overall regulatory framework is transparent and efficient, encouraging business innovation and productivity growth. No nationally mandated minimum wage exists. Fringe benefits costs are among the highest in the world. The business freedom score is 78.5, labor freedom is 78.8, and monetary freedom is 80.4.
The nation has more than six hundred European Union–mandated nontariff measures in force. Red tape is a problem in European countries. Their government policies generally do not interfere with foreign investment. The banking sector offers a wide range of financial services. The trade freedom score is 78.6, investment freedom is 80.0, and financial freedom is 70.0.
Ludwig von Mises might say property rights and rule of law appear to be on track. High taxation of business and personal income paralleled by high government spending is not healthy for the economy in the short and long term. He would encourage much lower business and personal tax rates and government spending. He would recommend the high number of EU regulations be greatly reduced and those regulatory powers be transferred from Brussels, Belgium (EU headquarters), to Vienna, Austria. He could see the healthy per capita income and international trade as hopeful for the country. He might say with long-term optimism that some things are going well and many areas need improvement.
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Site: Mises Institute
According to a Brown University professor, ExxonMobil threatens our democratic republic by purchasing another company. The totalitarian woke atmosphere in American higher education is the real threat.
Original Article: Is ExxonMobil's Acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources a "Threat to Democracy"?
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Site: Zero HedgeLatin America On Edge As Venezuela's Maduro Holds Referendum Whether To Invade Oil-Rich Neighbor GuyanaTyler Durden Fri, 12/01/2023 - 14:58
In a move that has prompted many to wonder which is the bigger banana republic, Venezuela or the US, Joe Biden's new BFF, Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro (who has promised to export a few barrels of oil to the US president - now that draining the SPR is no longer an option - to keep gas prices low ahead of the 2024 presidential election in exchange for sanction relaxation and defacto recognition by the White House that Maduro is the dictatorially "democratically" elected president of Venezuela, making a mockery of a decade of Western virtue-signaling sanctions), on Sunday Caracas is set to hold a referendum among Venezuelans on annexing (i.e., invading and taking over) a whopping 160,000 sq km of extremely oil-rich land in neighbouring Guyana.
Why now? Why only now when Caracas has for more than 200 years claimed rights over Essequibo, a vast swath of the territory Guyana? Simple: because as we said several days ago, it was only a few months ago that Maduro realized he has leverage over the US president of the "most powerful nation in the world" and get away with anything... even invading a sovereign nation.
Biden courts Maduro to get a few hundred thousands barrels of oil so his record low approval doesn't drop even more, and now an emboldened Maduro is preparing to annex most of the sovereign state of Guayana https://t.co/75USHVR9WT
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) November 30, 2023Of course, (oil rich but extraction poor) Venezuela's heightened interest at this expanse of Amazon jungle springs in part from its resource riches, including offshore oil deposits that have since 2019 made Guyana the world’s fastest-growing economy. Another reason lies closer to home for Venezuela’s strongman leader Nicolás Maduro: elections next year. But at the end of the day, had Biden not signed a smoky back-room deal with Maduro, admitting he needs the dictator's oil in exchange for what appears to be a diplomatic blank check, none of this would have happened. Instead, we are now facing actual war between two nations which between them have some of the largest oil deposits in the world.
As the FT notes, the potential for Venezuela, an ally of Russia, to follow the referendum with an incursion into western-leaning Guyana has raised concerns in the region. Brazil this week said it had increased the military presence in its northern areas, which border both countries.
“On Sunday December 3, we will respond to the provocations of Exxon, the US Southern Command, and the president of Guyana with a people’s vote,” Maduro said during a broadcast of his weekly television program on November 20.
Guyana correctly fears that the referendum is be a pretext for a land grab, and has appealed to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to halt the referendum — a move that Caracas has rejected, though its claim to the land is largely internationally unrecognised.
It isn't: on Friday, judges at the World Court on Friday ordered Venezuela to refrain from taking any action that would alter the situation on the ground. The court did not expressly forbid Venezuela to hold a planned Dec. 3 referendum over its rights to the region around the Esequibo river, the subject of the long-running border dispute, as Guyana has requested. However, judges at the International Court of Justice - as the World Court is formally known - made clear that any concrete action to alter the status quo should be stopped.
"The court observes that the situation that currently prevails in the territory in dispute is that Guyana administers and exercises control over that area," presiding judge Joan Donoghue said. "Venezuela must refrain from taking any action which would modify that situation," she added
“This is a textbook example of annexation,” Paul Reichler, a US lawyer representing Guyana before the ICJ, said in The Hague last month, claiming that Venezuela was preparing a military build-up in the Essequibo region in case it wished to enforce the outcome of the referendum.
For its part, Caracas said that its troops were carrying out anti-illegal mining operations near the territory, a sparsely populated region that is home to about 200,000 Guyanese who speak English and indigenous languages, though little Spanish.
Meanwhile in pro-Maduro Brazil, local media reported that a senator for the state of Roraima said the defense minister had agreed to his requests for military reinforcements in the municipality of Pacaraima, a strategic location for access to Essequibo. The defence ministry said: “Defence actions have been intensified in the northern border region of the country, promoting a greater military presence.” It wasn't immediately clear if Brazil's socialist leader Lula is planning on aiding his comrade Maduro in invading and pillaging Guyana's oil, but it would be par for the socialist course, especially when the US president is implicitly approving your actions.
That said, analysts question whether Venezuela will genuinely seek to annex the territory. They argue the referendum exercise is aimed at bolstering Maduro’s domestic support ahead of elections that Venezuela agreed to hold in exchange for relief from debilitating sanctions imposed by the US.
“Political calculations are driving Maduro to escalate tensions in an attempt to stir up nationalist sentiment, but those same political calculations also limit his military options,” said Theodore Kahn, director for the Andean region at the consultancy Control Risks.
“An actual invasion would shut the door to further negotiations with the US and force the Biden administration to reimpose oil sector sanctions.”
Come to think of it, that's a joke of a deterrent, considering Maduro had no problem living with sanctions for years. If Maduro were to get his grubby hands on some of the most state of the art oil facilities in the world - as a reminder, Guyana is where Exxon has invested billions to extract much of the country's oil- he would do so in a heartbeat.
Still, Maduro needs to mobilise party loyalists to defend two decades of socialist rule during which his party and its predecessors have turned Caracas into an international pariah, shattered its state-run oil industry, fueled mass emigration and empowered violent gangs.
Luis Vicente León, who runs Caracas-based research company Datanálisis, said the government was using the referendum to reduce the perceived impact of a pre-election primary held by the opposition in October despite government disapproval. The primary drew 2.4mn voters to the polls, well above expectations.
“It’s also a test of the government’s capacity to engage its political machinery and mobilise voters,” León said. “Alongside that, it pressures the opposition to take a position on a sensitive subject and gives [Maduro] a potential excuse to declare a state of emergency and avoid the election altogether.”
Maduro, in office since his firebrand predecessor Hugo Chávez died of cancer in 2013, has yet to officially announce his candidacy in the upcoming elections. However, he is widely expected to run despite approval ratings of just 20 per cent, according to Datanálisis, amid an economic and humanitarian crisis.
Hilarious, Maduro’s re-election in 2018 was regarded by the US and its allies as fraudulent, but so much has changed since then, well not that much: just Biden becoming president and folding to Maduro's demands in exchange for oil. Seeking to entice him into allowing a “free and fair” election this time (please don't laugh) the US last month relaxed sanctions on oil, gold and secondary financial markets for six months. The move followed a deal between Maduro and a US-backed faction of the opposition to resume political talks.
Yet hopes of a political opening were tempered when just days later, the government-backed Supreme Justice Tribunal suspended the results of the opposition primary, which was convincingly won by María Corina Machado.
Machado, a pro-market former lawmaker who once called for external military intervention in Venezuela, is banned from holding office at present, something she claims will not stop her from running.
While the government and the fractious opposition agree that the Essequibo region is part of Venezuela’s territory, Machado has said the referendum is a “distraction” that must be suspended. She advocates settling the dispute at the ICJ.
The referendum will put five questions to Venezuela’s public. One seeks approval for granting all residents of the Essequibo region Venezuelan citizenship and creating a new state within Venezuela, while another asks voters if they recognise the jurisdiction of the ICJ to rule on the matter. Both would likely lead to a military invasion.
In April, the ICJ ruled that it had jurisdiction to decide on the territorial dispute, following a request from Guyana in 2018 to confirm the border that was drawn in arbitration in 1899 between Venezuela and what was then British Guiana, a colony. A final ruling could take years, however.
“It is not an exaggeration to describe the current threat to Guyana as existential and the need for provisional measures as urgent,” Carl Greenidge, who leads Guyana’s delegation at the ICJ, told judges in The Hague with reference to the referendum.
A specialised US army delegation visited Guyana this week, and discussed “processes to enhance both countries’ military readiness and capabilities to respond to security threats,” said the US embassy in Georgetown. Bharrat Jagdeo, Guyana’s vice-president, said last week that “all the options available for us to defend our country will be pursued. Every option.”
Caracas has long held that the Essequibo river to the region’s east is its natural border, as it was during Spanish rule before 1899. But Venezuela’s interest in pressing that claim has fluctuated. In 2004, while seeking international support for his Bolivarian revolution, Chávez said in Guyana that Georgetown had the right to grant concessions in the Essequibo territory.
But since 2015, when ExxonMobil announced it had found oil beneath the waters off the Essequibo coast in the Stabroek Block, Caracas has adopted a more bellicose tone (well, of course).
In October this year, the US major — which leads a consortium producing oil in the South American country — made another find in the waters claimed by Venezuela. Drilling bids were awarded to companies including Exxon, French major Total, and local company Sispro. Francisco Monaldi, a Latin America energy expert at Rice University in Houston, said: “So far Exxon’s wells and discoveries are in the area north of Guyana’s undisputed land territory, but the awarded oil blocks do go into the disputed waters.”
Oil is transforming the Guyanese economy, which grew 62 per cent last year, according to the IMF, and is projected to expand another 37 per cent this year. With around 11bn barrels in reserves and a population of just 800,000, the country has the largest amount of oil per capita in the world.
Meanwhile, Venezuela has the world’s largest proven reserves, and in its heyday at the turn of the century pumped about 3mn barrels per day, but mismanagement, corruption and sanctions led production to collapse. In September this year, it pumped 735,000 bpd.
Exxon said that “border issues are for governments and appropriate international organisations to address”.
Still, we wouldn't be surprised if Darren Woods is quietly putting together a mercenary army to quietly take out Maduro. It should cost him at most 2-3 days worth of oil extraction revenues.
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Site: Zero HedgeBlackstone's Flagship BREIT Gates Redemption Requests For 13 Consecutive MonthsTyler Durden Fri, 12/01/2023 - 14:35
Blackstone has limited investor redemption requests from its $64 billion commercial real estate trust for high-net wealth investors for the thirteenth consecutive month. However, the good news: the "backlog is easing," according to Bloomberg.
According to a shareholder letter, Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT) recorded investor outflows of $1.8 billion in November. The fund fulfilled 67% of its requests, and demand redemptions fell to the lowest since September 2022.
BREIT limits redemptions to 2% of net asset value monthly and 5% quarterly to curb sudden runs. This process of gating investors has been ongoing for 13 months due to surging fears of high interest rates and deteriorating conditions for commercial real estate markets.
Recall:
The fund is heavily invested in housing, such as multi-family and student housing, as well as industrial properties and data centers.
Most of the properties are located in the southern and western portions of the US.
Fund performance has been dampened by deteriorating macroeconomic conditions, only delivering 2.3% this year through October for high-net wealth investors. Last year, it delivered 8.4% in 2022. And since its inception, it has routinely delivered 11.3% annual returns.
The good news, as explained by a Blackstone spokesperson: Investors who requested to pull their money out of the fund two months ago have received "nearly all" their money back.
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Site: Rorate CaeliAdvent is a beautiful time of year to restore traditional practices, countering the implementation of the novus ordo liturgy, which was done on the First Sunday of Advent in 1969.Advent is also an ideal time to clean up or correct liturgical details, starting the liturgical year anew.One such example can be how a choir is to respond to the celebrant during the dialogue at the Preface of a sung orKenneth J. Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04483319369640034300noreply@blogger.com
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Site: Zero HedgePolitics Is Never Having To Say You're Sorry: Mayorkas Refuses To Apologize To Del Rio Agents
Over two years later, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas finally held a private meeting with the Border Patrol agents that he threw under the bus after they were falsely accused of whipping Haitain migrants near Del Rio, Texas.
There was reportedly no apology from Mayorkas.
We have discussed how Mayorkas was warned that the allegations were false, but still denounced them.
Mayorkas failed to protect the agents even after the President promised that they would be punished before any investigation. Mayorkas joined the chorus of critics in condemning the agents as an example of “systemic racism” in the government.
The media went into a frenzy despite a videotape showing that the story was clearly false.
A photographer captured the scene, which showed agents using bridle reins to guide their skittish horses. The entire videotape clearly shows the agents using the reins on their mounts, not on the migrants. Not only did the photographer quickly deny seeing any officers whip migrants, the videotape clearly refuted that allegation. However, for many in politics and the media it did not matter because it played into a racial-justice claim of the “whipping (of) Haitian asylum seekers.”
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) condemned “the inappropriate use of what appear to be whips by Border Patrol officers on horseback to intimidate migrants.”
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) decried “images of inhumane treatment of Haitian migrants by Border Patrol — including the use of whips.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris emoted on “The View” about how the brutality “invoked images of some of the worst moments of our history, where that kind of behavior has been used against the Indigenous people of our country, it has been used against African Americans during times of slavery.”
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Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) described the incident as “worse than what we witnessed in slavery” and “white supremacist behavior.”
President Biden rushed to express his own revulsion and rage, too:
“It was horrible what — to see, as you saw — to see people treated like they did: horses nearly running them over and people being strapped. It’s outrageous. I promise you, those people will pay.”
At the time, some of us objected that the president had, once again, declared the guilt of accused persons without evidence or investigation. The possible innocence of these officers simply did not matter to the president or to many in the press.
Now, with the passage of time, some of us had hoped that Mayorkas would apologize to the agents even if President Biden has refused to do so.
He didn’t.
The agents after all were just props used by the media and politicians.
They do not have families or careers that need to be considered.
They whipped migrants on the water’s edge because the media and politicians needed them to be whipping migrants.
Yet, Mayorkas wanted to convey his love for the agents in finally meeting with the men that he previously portrayed as Bull Connor’s on horseback.
Fortunately, the global staff of investigative reporters at Res Ipsa was able to find a video of the Secretary meeting with the agents:
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Site: Zero HedgePowell, You Have A Problem: Gold Hits All Time High As Markets Price In Rate Cuts As Soon As MarchTyler Durden Fri, 12/01/2023 - 14:07
Ahead of the looming Fed blackout period - which lasts until the Dec 13 FOMC meeting - Powell had once last chance to tame euphoric markets after the best November in the past 40 years... and he blew it. Instead of pushing forcefully against the meltup in risk assets after the biggest easing in financial conditions on record during November...
... the Fed chair appeared largely nonchallant, and in his fireside chat earlier today, what the market focused on was Powell's comment that rates are "well into restrictive territory" which not only assured there would be no more rate hikes, but steamrolled Powell's other, hawkish warning, that it is premature to speculate when the Fed might ease. The result was a collapse in yields, a surge in stocks, bitcoin spiking to new 2023 highs above $38,000, all driven by renewed bets that the Fed will cut rates as soon as March where the market now assigns odds of a rate cut as high as 80%, roughly double from yesterday.
And while it is unclear if it was Powell's intention to give markets the green light to keep rallying into year-end, a problem has emerged, the same problem that emerges every time the market views the Fed as willing to sacrifice the dollar to prop up risk assets: gold.
After surging from a ytd low of $1820 in early October, to a high of $2,040 last week, largely thanks to a relentless gold buying spree out of China as we reported previously, gold has finally realized which way the wind is blowing and as shown below, it exploded higher amid a frenzy of institutional, ETF and retail buying (and perhaps continued Chinese buying), all of which managed to finally push the yellow metal to hit new all time highs of $2,075.41, the highest on record.
That's just the start. As Bloomberg notes, gold calls were also in strong demand, both for futures and the biggest ETF tied to the metal, as bullion marched closer to a record high Friday. As shown in the chart below, the buildup of open interest between $2,000 and $2,500 has been relentless over the past week on growing optimism that rates are primed to decline:
That, alongside continued Chinese buying, and perhaps a reversal in ETF selling now that gold is clearly breaking out to new all time highs, means that the Fed has a new "old" problem on its hands: wholesale flight from fiat and into the safety of hard currencies, such as gold. No wonder "digital gold", aka bitcoin, is also surging... although that one still has a ways to go to reach its previous all time high.
Then again, if the Fed is indeed set to cut rates as soon as March, and then proceed with more QE which will be inevitable to monetize the soaring US budget deficit and exploding interest payments, then we are set for new all time highs in everything - gold, bitcoin, stocks... oh and oil; because after the current bout of CTA selling is finally over, oil and commodities will be the next asset class to hit record highs at which point Powell's mutation into Arthur Burns will be complete, confidence in the Fed will be crushed as the next - and far sharper inflation cycle kicks in - and the countdown to the end of the Dollar reserve currency system can finally begin.
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Site: Zero HedgePowell Live Webcast Round 2: Fed Chair Holds Roundtable DiscussionTyler Durden Fri, 12/01/2023 - 14:05
Update (2:00pm ET): Having sparked a furious rally in risk assets earlier with what the market interpreted as dovish comments, which doubled the odds of a March rate hike overnight to 80% from 40% on Thursday and which sent the price of gold to all time highs, the Fed chair is back for round two: at 2pm ET, Powell and Fed Board Governor Lisa Cook are participating in a roundtable discussion to hear from local leaders in the tech innovation and entrepreneurship community during visit to Spelman College. While it is unclear if he will make comments on monetary policy, let's see if Powell manages to spark another buying frenzy... or if this time he will actually be hawkish. Watch live below.
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Update (11:00am ET): Powell's prepared remarks are out and, as expected, they lean on the hawkish side. Here are the highlights:
- *FED'S POWELL: PREMATURE TO SPECULATE ON WHEN POLICY MAY EASE
- *POWELL: FED PREPARED TO TIGHTEN MORE IF IT BECOMES APPROPRIATE
- *POWELL: FOMC MOVING CAREFULLY AS RISKS BECOMING MORE BALANCED
- *POWELL: FED POLICY RATE IS 'WELL INTO RESTRICTIVE TERRITORY'
The bottom line, Powell is a mix of hawkish and dovish, On one hand, he leans hawkish:
"It would be premature to conclude with confidence that we have achieved a sufficiently restrictive stance, or to speculate on when policy might ease. We are prepared to tighten policy further if it becomes appropriate to do so."
But on the other, he counters dovishly:
"The strong actions we have taken have moved our policy rate well into restrictive territory, meaning that tight monetary policy is putting downward pressure on economic activity and inflation. Monetary policy is thought to affect economic conditions with a lag, and the full effects of our tightening have likely not yet been felt."
Or as Bloomberg notes:
"Powell points to how the Fed’s past tightening moves will continue to have an impact on the economy -- the full impact hasn’t been felt yet. If anybody thought the Fed wasn’t finished raising rates, his prepared remarks today sure put a fork in it. They are done."
And adds:
“Powell’s prepared remarks sounded pretty balanced to us -- perhaps not as hawkish as some have feared. The market seems to latch on to one or two phrases from speeches and not take speeches in totality. The Q&A portion may be more market-driving than the modest market reaction we’ve seen since the release of the prepared remarks.”
The only outstanding question is when do cuts begin now (we and Bill Ackman said March).
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Here are Powell 's full prepared remarks:
Thank you, President Gayle, and thank you for the invitation to visit today. I am fortunate to have been accompanied from Washington by a very distinguished graduate of Spelman College, Class of 1986 and member of Delta Sigma Theta, my Federal Reserve colleague Governor Lisa Cook. There is no greater testament to Spelman's historic legacy than the achievements of outstanding women like Governor Cook. One part of that legacy is Spelman's tradition of promoting education in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Governor Cook's research highlights the key role of such education in preparing individuals to be inventors and innovators who can generate ideas that will add to our body of knowledge, increase productivity, and generate higher living standards.1 Her work is just one example of how Spelman women continue to make historic contributions in science, the arts, technology, medicine, and other fields.
I look forward to our conversation, and I thought I might frame it by talking about the Federal Reserve's actions to promote a healthy economy, and how those actions relate to questions students in this audience may be asking about the future. For example, I am sure that students are wondering what kind of a job market and economy you will be entering when you complete your education.
Congress assigned the Fed the dual mandate goals of maximum employment and price stability. Both goals are essential aspects of a healthy economy. Congress also gave the Fed a precious grant of independence from direct political control to allow us to pursue those goals without consideration of political matters. Other major central banks in democratic societies have similar grants of independence, and this institutional arrangement has a strong track record of producing better policy outcomes for the benefit of the public.
To begin with our maximum employment goal, I am glad to say that, by many measures, conditions in the labor market are very strong. A couple of years ago, as the pandemic receded and the economy reopened, the number of job openings grew to greatly exceed the supply of people available to work, leaving a widespread shortage of workers. Today, labor market conditions remain very strong, and the economy is returning to a better balance between the demand for and supply of workers. The pace at which the economy is creating new jobs remains strong, and has been slowing toward a more sustainable level. That gradual slowing has come in part due to the efforts of the Fed to slow the growth of the economy to help reduce inflation. After declining sharply during the pandemic, the supply of workers has bounced back, as people have come back into the labor force and as immigration has returned to pre-pandemic levels. Partly because of that labor force growth, the unemployment rate has edged up over the second half of the year, though it remains historically low at 3.9 percent. The increase in participation has been particularly strong among women in the prime working ages of 25 to 54, which surged to an all-time high earlier this year, and which remains well above pre-pandemic levels. Wage growth remains high but has been gradually moving toward levels that would be more consistent with 2 percent price inflation over time, and real wages are growing again as inflation declines.
As for price stability, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has a longer-run goal of 2 percent inflation.2 After running below 2 percent for over a decade, inflation increased sharply in 2021, in the United States and in many other countries around the world. High inflation imposes a significant hardship on all households and is especially painful for those least able to meet the higher costs of essentials like food, housing, and transportation. Beginning in early 2022, we reacted forcefully, raising our policy interest rate and decreasing the size of our balance sheet to help slow the economy and bring down inflation. Inflation has declined to 3 percent over the 12 months ending in October, but after factoring out energy and food prices, which tend to be volatile, what we call "core" inflation is still 3.5 percent, well above our 2 percent objective.
Over the six months ending in October, core inflation ran at an annual rate of 2.5 percent, and while the lower inflation readings of the past few months are welcome, that progress must continue if we are to reach our 2 percent objective. High inflation initially emerged from a collision between very strong demand and pandemic-constrained supply. The normalization of supply and demand conditions has played a critical role in the disinflation so far, as has the substantial tightening of monetary policy and overall financial conditions over the past two years.3 The strong actions we have taken have moved our policy rate well into restrictive territory, meaning that tight monetary policy is putting downward pressure on economic activity and inflation. Monetary policy is thought to affect economic conditions with a lag, and the full effects of our tightening have likely not yet been felt. The forcefulness of our response to inflation also helped maintain the Fed's hard-won credibility, ensuring that the public's expectations of future inflation remain well-anchored. Having come so far so quickly, the FOMC is moving forward carefully, as the risks of under- and over-tightening are becoming more balanced.4
As the demand- and supply-related effects of the pandemic continue to unwind, uncertainty about the outlook for the economy is unusually elevated. Like most forecasters, my colleagues and I anticipate that growth in spending and output will slow over the next year, as the effects of the pandemic and the reopening fade and as restrictive monetary policy weighs on aggregate demand.5 The FOMC is strongly committed to bringing inflation down to 2 percent over time, and to keeping policy restrictive until we are confident that inflation is on a path to that objective. It would be premature to conclude with confidence that we have achieved a sufficiently restrictive stance, or to speculate on when policy might ease. We are prepared to tighten policy further if it becomes appropriate to do so.
We are making decisions meeting by meeting, based on the totality of the incoming data and their implications for the outlook for economic activity and inflation, as well as the balance of risks.
That is an overview of what my colleagues and I at the Fed are trying to accomplish. The bottom line, if you are a student, is that we have made considerable progress in reducing high inflation while maintaining a strong labor market, with a lot of opportunity for new graduates. The unemployment rate has risen a bit, but it is still very low by historical standards, and by many measures it is a great time to start your career. You will face challenging decisions soon about what professions to enter, and what companies and institutions to work for. Some of you will become entrepreneurs. You have already made one really good decision, and that is coming to Spelman. Whatever opportunities and challenges emerge, education will continue to be a key to success. Higher education is an investment, and not just of money. You are investing your time and great effort to gain knowledge and skills that are preparing you for successful careers. Your success will make for a stronger economy. For our part, at the Fed we are doing our best to foster an economy that gives you the best opportunity to succeed. With that, I will hand it back to you, President Gayle.
* * *
As noted earlier, November was a scorching blockbuster month for markets after a run of three fairly weak ones, which has led to a big turnaround in some of the YTD numbers for 2023. In fact, it was the best month for global bonds since December 2008, the best month for US bonds since May 1985, as well as the strongest month for the S&P 500 this year and the second best November for US stocks since 1980 (only the insane 2020 was better).
There is a reason for that: as the chart below shows, November saws the biggest easing in financial conditions in history.
This is how Goldman's Tony Pasquariello described the action:
- Beneath the hood, it was a clean sweep, and of significant magnitude: stocks up, rates down, dollar weaker, credit tighter.
- While there’s always a chicken-or-egg dynamic here -- and, perhaps the Fed chair will temper some of this impulse -- the fact is this: the markets have moved a lot, and they have done so in a way that is supportive of US growth.
- To put a line under the piece of the FCI equation that is comprised by equities, November was a ripper by any measure.
- To illustrate the point: S&P was up in 16 of 21 trading days and had its best month of the year (to say nothing of -- ahem -- the 11% rally in NDX).
- In many ways, it was one of those rolls where what could have gone right ... mostly went right.
Ok that was November, what now? Well, according to DB's Jim Reid, whether the trends of November continue into year-end will in part depend on Powell’s speech later today, or rather two speechs, which take place just before the FOMC blackout (ahead of the Dec 13 FOMC statement).
According to Reid, "market moves have been so great since he suggested that tight financial conditions were doing some of the Fed's job for them (November 1st) that you have to think he will address the subsequent moves and either push back or endorse." On balance the DB strategist thinks he may take a similar tone to Williams yesterday and push back a little while acknowledging the progress that has seemingly been made.
Source: AI, ForexLive
On that theme, NY Fed President Williams' remarks yesterday helped the month end on a soggier tone, especially for bonds. He said he expects “it will be appropriate to maintain a restrictive stance for quite some time to fully restore balance and to bring inflation back to our 2% longer-run goal on a sustained basis .” Separately, San Francisco President Daly said that “I’m not thinking about rate cuts at all right now”.
So going back to Powell's not one but two appearances today, first, at 11am ET, the Fed Chair is scheduled to sit down for a fireside chat with Helene D. Gayle, the president of Spelman College in Atlanta, in which they address the challenges of our post-COVID economy.
Then, three hours later, at 2pm ET, Powell and Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook will participate in roundtable to hear from local leaders in the tech innovation and entrepreneurship community during visit to Spelman College. It is less likely that he will discuss monetary policy here although one never knows what questions may be lobbed his way.
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Site: Zero HedgeIsrael Pounds Southern Gaza As Officials Say 'Long War' Expected For A Year Or MoreTyler Durden Fri, 12/01/2023 - 14:05
Update(1405ET): All hell has broken loose on the first day of renewed fighting in Gaza post-truce. A UNICEF spokesperson said of the Friday bombardment, "This nightmare for people today just somehow got so much worse." Already, Palestinian sources have said that over 100 have been killed in the last hours of IDF bombing of the Strip. Israeli media is reporting that at least 50 rockets have been launched from Gaza onto southern Israel.
The aerial campaign has even expanded to include the southern half of the Strip, after throughout the early phase of the conflict Gazans were told to abandon their homes in the north and flee south for safety:
Footage verified by Al Jazeera shows numerous plumes of smoke in the sky from Israeli army strikes on Khan Younis. ...Khan Younis in southern Gaza is where thousands of Palestinians have fled from bombing farther north.
Earlier in the day, the Israeli army dropped leaflets on the city, instructing Palestinians there to flee farther south to Rafah.
The White House has said it supports Israel, and has blamed Hamas for the ceasefire's collapse. Israeli officials have explained that Hamas refused to release ten more women captives. Israel says "This violated the terms of the agreement, which specified that Hamas would first release all women and children being held in Gaza in exchange for Israel agreeing to a truce for as long as nine days."
Perhaps the biggest and most ominous development in terms of what the future holds is seen in Israeli officials' words to Financial Times. The Netanyahu is planning for a "long war" which could reach over the next year or more. FT writes in a new report:
Israel is planning a campaign against Hamas that will stretch for a year or more, with the most intensive phase of the ground offensive continuing into early 2024, according to several people familiar with the preparations. The multi-phase strategy envisages Israeli forces, who are garrisoned inside north Gaza, making an imminent push deep into the south of the besieged Palestinian enclave.
The goals include killing the three top Hamas leaders — Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Marwan Issa — while securing “a decisive” military victory against the group’s 24 battalions and underground tunnel network and destroying its “governing capability in Gaza”.
“This will be a very long war . . . We’re currently not near halfway to achieving our objectives,” said one person familiar with the Israeli war plans. Israel’s overall strategy for Gaza is flexible, with timing dictated by multiple “clocks”, including operational progress on the ground, international pressure and opportunities to free Israeli hostages, the people said.
#Watch: Wow, IDF strikes in Khan Younis, Gaza
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) December 1, 2023
Tunnels? pic.twitter.com/yQOOf89OtiWe're only eight weeks in, and already there are signs this could easily spark a broader conflict. Another year of the bloodshed certainly opens the likelihood for a Mideast-wide conflagration involving possibly the US, Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, and Yemen's Houthis.
Blinken's meager "efforts" to achieve continued ceasefire... he packed up and left Israel as IDF warplanes went airborne.
Parody account: https://t.co/MGkHop6KR0
— Aaron Maté (@aaronjmate) December 1, 2023* * *
The Gaza truce has collapsed and Israel has resumed its bombing campaign of the Strip, following a full week of ceasefire and seven rounds of hostage/prisoner exchanges.
Qatar and Egypt were reportedly pressing to extend the temporary pause in fighting for another two days, but Israel was not satisfied with the list of captives offered. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been looking into Hamas claims that the two young Bibas brothers were killed. "Israeli military has informed Bibas family members it is assessing a Hamas claim that the youngest Israeli hostage, 10-month-old Kfir Bibas, his brother Ariel, 4, and their mother Shiri are no longer alive," CNN reports.
This grim and tragic revelation is likely what left Israel with less incentive to keep the ceasefire going, also as pressure has mounted from ultra-conservative circles within Netanyahu's own ruling coalition to take the fight back to Hamas, and to see through the vow of eliminating the terror group.
Another big factor was Thursday's terror attack involving a pair of Palestinian gunmen who unleashed M16 and pistol fire on a crowd waiting at a Jerusalem bus stop, killing three Israelis and injuring 16. Shortly after the attack, Hamas claimed responsibility.
It's likely that negotiators in Doha are still scrambling to get a ceasefire urgently back in place. After all, Israel says there are still 137 hostages in Hamas captivity, which also includes some Americans. In total 110 were returned home over the past week, with hundreds of Palestinian prisoners released as part of the swap. The Times of Israel details of those who remain captive:
Among those still in captivity after the end of the truce Friday are 115 men, 20 women and two children, government spokesperson Eylon Levy says. Ten of the hostages are 75 and older, he says. The majority, or 126, are Israeli and 11 are foreign nationals, including eight from Thailand.
Levy lists the youngest hostage, 10-month-old Kfir Bibas, his 4-year-old brother Ariel and their mother Shiri as among the hostages. The military has said it is investigating a Hamas claim that the boys and their mother were killed.
Dozens of Palestinians have been reported killed after airstrikes started again Friday morning...
Israel renewed its bombing campaign of the Gaza Strip on Friday morning after talks to extend the truce which went into effect a week ago had failed.
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) December 1, 2023
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed by the new bombardments, which hit buildings in Khan Younis, Rafah and northern Gaza. pic.twitter.com/ZGCXSycNaGIsrael and mediators in Qatar were able to secure the release of most of the women and children hostages, as the last days have seen, but still 20 women remain along with the possibly still alive Bibas brothers, fate unknown. Israel as of Thursday welcomed eight more Israelis back from Hamas captivity.
The IDF is meanwhile already dropping leaflets over parts of southern Israel telling civilians to leave their homes and leave the area. Prior to the truce, there were sporadic bombardments of parts of the south. But now it looks like the IDF will take the fight to the southern half too, even after Secretary of State Blinken's urgings not to, conveyed to PM Netanyahu yesterday.
Blinken flew out of Tel Aviv as IDF warplanes began the renewed bombing campaign...
As Israel resumed its attack on Gaza today, @SecBlinken's "motorcade sped out of his hotel in Israel on its way to the Tel Aviv airport... Asked onboard his plane, Blinken declined to comment."
— Aaron Maté (@aaronjmate) December 1, 2023
Reminds me of when Ford and Kissinger visited Indonesia in December 1975 and gave the… pic.twitter.com/HOHe6VHjurRockets have resumed being fired from Gaza, and Israel is again evacuating some southern communities, as both sides could once again be settling in for a 'long war'. Rockets could also once again be coming from southern Lebanon. Hezbollah is likely to rejoin the fight. On Thursday Blinken had urged Netanyahu to avoid killing civilians and that the soaring Gaza death toll is increasingly turning world opinion against Israel.
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Site: From RomeEditor’s Note: This report confirms what I have reported, that the Vatican Narrative is not telling us the truth about the health problems of Pope Francis, but is claiming that he is suffering from a malady, while he acts as suffering from something else. Could it be that he was disinvited from the Dubai Meeting … Continue reading VATICAN: Pope Francis holds 9 audiences on Thursday despite Bronchitis Narrative →
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Site: PeakProsperity
How much protection does SIPC really offer to individual investors and what is, and is not, covered? Also, why do foreign central banks trade US agricultural derivative contracts as well as Natural gas and silver? It's weird, to say the very least. Paul Kiker and I discuss this and the current state of the economy and markets.
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Site: LifeNews
“Is it okay to have a child?” That question lay at the center of a book review titled, “The Morality of Having Kids in a Burning, Drowning World,” which ran in Monday’s print edition of The New Yorker magazine. By the title’s framing, you might well guess that the question received remarkably serious treatment from the author, New Yorker editor Jessica Winter. The 3,000-word article pitted climate alarmism against the “private and primal” desire to bear offspring, with self-conscious philosophical ignorance framing the contest. Conspicuously absent was the Source of all truth and Standard of all morality, who has plenty to say on the ethics of childbearing.
Winter reviewed two recent books, “The Quickening: Creation and Community at the Ends of the Earth” by Elizabeth Rush and “The Parenthood Dilemma: Procreation in the Age of Uncertainty” by Gina Rushton. Rush decided “to try to grow a human being inside of my body” the same year she visited Antarctica, which she used as a metaphor of motherhood. Rushton “had resolved to remain child-free” because of climate change until a medical emergency nearly compromised her reproductive system and threw her into a philosophical crisis.
In both books, not having children was portrayed as the only rational response to climate change, while having children was portrayed as an irrational choice but an overwhelmingly instinctual one. “Should I have a child, their greenhouse gas emissions will cause roughly fifty square meters of sea ice to melt every year that they are alive. Just by existing, they will make the world a little less livable for everyone, themselves included,” wrote Rush, who wanted a child anyway.
On the other hand, Rushton had made up her mind not to have children because of “climate anxiety” and various reasons related to feminist theory and intersectionality, but when she nearly lost an ovary in a medical emergency, “she was saddened and panicked by the prospect of her fertility being compromised. … She felt free in her choice until, all at once, it no longer seemed hers to make.” Her ensuing confusion felt “like an identity crisis: if you don’t know what you want or what you think, can you say with any confidence who you are?” After exploring various philosophical reasons for the indecision, she concluded the solution to the problem “rest[ed] in the author’s relationship with her own mother,” which had grown icy after her parents divorced.
Please follow LifeNews on Rumble for the latest pro-life videos.
Winter defined the genre as “commentary on parental ambivalence.” Strictly speaking, this term would mean not caring one way or the other about having children. But she and the writers she discussed care intensely about the question. The way she actually uses the term, “parental ambivalence” is a euphemism for when anti-motherhood ideology — either feminist or environmental — clashes with the God-given desire to produce offspring.
These two authors are not the first to consider parental ambivalence a logical reaction to climate change. Winter noted “the short-lived BirthStrike movement” of the past decade, in which women “renounced having children on account of the ecological emergency, although their message was often misconstrued as a Malthusian appeal for population control.” This is likely because Thomas Malthus endorsed not having children to avoid an ecological emergency. In 2010, Princeton bioethicist Peter Singer — known for endorsing “post-birth” abortion, also known as infanticide — asked in The New York Times, “Should This Be the Last Generation?” Winter herself once “declared, ‘I am never having children,’” due to climate change. But, like the women who abandoned the BirthStrike movement, Winter later had two children of her own.
In a sense, Winter voices the confusion of a whole culture adrift with no compass. “Among people who already have kids, more than half say that climate anxiety does influence how many children they plan to have,” she wrote, citing a 2023 Morning Consult poll of multiple Western countries. But, among those without children who were unlikely to do so, only 5% listed climate change as the determining factor in a 2021 Pew survey. In any event, “the freedom to hem and haw over having kids is a recent development in human history,” only made possible by the 20th century innovations in birth control and abortion, she mused, “and not a dilemma faced by those who currently lack reproductive rights” — again, code for abortion.
Indeed, while she emphasized the human-interest elements, Winter could not avoid politics. She mentioned the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and a “lodestar” essay, “Is It OK to Have a Child?” In that essay, Columbia University writer Meehan Crist claimed, “Having a child is at once the most intimate, irrational thing a person can do, prompted by desires so deep we hardly know where to look for their wellsprings, and an unavoidably political act.” Many women throughout history would likely be surprised.
The overall tone of Winter’s essay was that of a people perishing for lack of knowledge. She lamented “the perils” of resolving parental ambivalence based upon anecdotes and feelings alone but confessed it was “probably inevitable.” According to Yale professor of philosophy and cognitive science Laurie Ann Paul, cited by Rushton, someone who has never had a child before is in “an impoverished epistemic position” (epistemology is the study of knowing). “In other words, you cannot know ahead of time what it is that you are choosing,” summarized Winter. “You haven’t even met the people you are choosing for — not your future child, not your transformed future parent-self, and definitely not the parent-self whom your partner, if you have one, will become.”
This framing seemingly reduces decisions about childbearing to a utilitarian thought experiment, where the right answer depends on unknowable future circumstances. “Your happy childhood is no guarantee of the same for your kid, especially if they will grow up on a planet that will be warmer by nearly three degrees Fahrenheit,” wrote Winter. For people with unhappy childhoods, Winter endorsed writer Sigrid Nunez’s reasoning, which assumed she would perpetuate the cycle of abuse, making the question “Is it OK for a child to have me?”
“Perhaps having a child under any circumstances, given the unimaginably high emotional, financial, ecological, and existential stakes, is an act of outrageous presumption,” concluded Winter. She articulated a “fear of doing harm not to the planet but to the person on it whom you love most, who likely has to live on it much farther into the future than you do. It was you, after all, no one else, who asked her to be born, who never wanted anything so badly, and she obliged you, and now look what you’ve done.”
On that sour note, Winter’s article ended.
Setting aside any question of climate change or politics, a worldview that results in “parental ambivalence” represents a sadly diminished view of every human being’s inherent worth. It also represents a tragic rejection of family, gender, and God himself.
When God created the heavens and the earth, he created a man and a woman — male and female — in his own image and blessed them with the mandate, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it …” (Genesis 1:28). Children are a blessing. Not just one or two or whatever number is currently fashionable, but enough to “multiply and fill the earth.”
Some people who spend most of their time in densely crowded urban areas may think the world is filled enough already. I’d encourage them to sometime visit America’s many wide-open spaces. Did you know there is a county in Texas, three-fifths the size of Rhode Island, which had a population of 64 people in the 2020 census? That’s slightly less than 0.1 people per square mile. Humans haven’t filled the earth so much as clustered together in certain places.
Utilitarians will counter that some children are doomed to lead lives of poverty, sickness, or suffering. But that doesn’t change the fact that children are still a blessing. After mankind sinned, and God placed the world under a curse that brought pain to the woman’s childbearing and the man’s toil, Scripture reaffirmed that children are a blessing, heritage, and reward:
“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.
“Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.
“Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!
“He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate” (Psalm 127:3-5).
This is the only expert testimony that matters. God is utterly truthful, utterly good, and utterly in control. He created mankind, creates every new human being, and ordained the institution of marriage to provide children a safe, protective, loving context for their early years.
Winter and those she quotes are correct that non-parents cannot know quite what it will be like to become a parent, how they will change, or who the child they bring into the world will grow up to be. They can observe parents, read about them, or ask them for advice, but they still don’t know what it is like to become a parent until they become one. One might similarly say that a high schooler does not really know how college will change him, what career path he will settle on, what friendships he will form, or whether he will meet a spouse. Learning and growing is the whole point. Is that a reason not to go? Parenthood is better than college because it is founded, organized, and overseen by a kind and loving heavenly Father, not imperfect human administrators.
Recall Winter’s conclusion: “Perhaps having a child under any circumstances, given the unimaginably high emotional, financial, ecological, and existential stakes, is an act of outrageous presumption.” Let’s first clarify that she means choosing to have a child or, more accurately, not choosing to abort or artificially prevent the conception of a child that would otherwise be born naturally. As she acknowledges, this choice is a luxury of recent origin.
In other words, having a child was not ethically presumptuous or controversial — an entirely natural and normal phenomenon — at some point in the past. Then came technological innovations that allowed people to prevent childbirth, but that it in itself didn’t make childbearing evil. Other technological innovations allowed us to monitor and track global climate patterns, leading some scientists to infer a warming trend caused by mankind. But technological innovations that increase our knowledge of the natural world should not, in and of themselves, transform a good act into an evil one. How exactly did childbearing come to be controversial or presumptuous? I suggest the answer lies more in the author’s feminist assumptions than in climate science.
Another word in Winter’s claim that requires clarification is “presumption;” toward whom (or what?) is it presumptuous to have a child? The author makes no mention of accountability to God. Is nature the offended party? Oneself? One’s spouse? Society at large? From reading further, Winter seems to suggest that bearing a child is presumptuous toward that child. You wanted a child, so you brought it into a world full of suffering (and with climate change!) without asking its permission first, she argues. Of course, a child that has not yet been conceived in the womb cannot possibly grant consent to its own conception and birth. To insist that such consent is ethically required to bring such a child into the world is to commit a logical fallacy known as “begging the question.”
I think Winter’s logic goes astray here because she misunderstands the nature of the family and family relationships. Nowhere in her lengthy discussion of childbirth does she mention “marriage” or “husband.” The word “partner(s)” appears only three times in as many thousands of words. And there were only a couple other oblique references to males in any context. Winter seems to think of members of a family as autonomous individuals, where parent, child, husband, wife, father, and mother are just so many interchangeable labels. That’s not how families work at all. There is a God-ordained structure of authority in the family, which provides an order, security, and beauty greater than the sum of its parts.
Most relevant here is that parents have a God-given authority over their children. Children are commanded to obey their parents, while parents are to “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:1-4). Why do parents have authority over their children? Because they created them in their own likeness and image, as God created them (see Genesis 5:1-3). To say that it is presumptuous to have a child is logically quite similar to saying that God was presumptuous to make mankind.
The real act of presumption is for a person created by God, in his image, to transgress his commands, or to disregard the user’s manual for life, his own Word. God created human beings as men and women, male and female. One man and one woman are joined together in marriage to form a new family unit. Within the exclusive, protective, covenant bond of marriage, man and wife “hold fast” to one another and “become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24) — language both metaphorical and literal. Children are the natural fruit of that union, as husband and wife enjoy another of God’s good gifts — a uniquely pleasurable one — which he designed only to be enjoyed within the covenant of marriage. Any attempt to distort, alter, or disregard the natural order God designed for marriage, family, and childbearing is a rebellion against his law.
Sadly, too many in our world don’t know about God’s good design for marriage and family. Either they have never seen it modeled, or they have never even heard about it. In Rushton’s book, she evidently recorded the lack of love and warmth in her own broken childhood home, events that shaped her later resolution not to have children of her own. Family brokenness has even marred and scarred many families and people in churches.
Christians have an opportunity to show a better way. Churches should preach on God’s good design for family. Christian families should model it. Perhaps some people will be attracted by Christians’ happy alternative to the lonely brokenness of the world, and thereby be drawn to Christ.
This charge begins with the men. The biblical model of a Christian family is not complete without us displaying godly authority as husbands and fathers, leading our families spiritually and in other ways. Godly authority begins in the fear of the Lord and ends in the good of those under authority. It requires “lov[ing] your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). It requires loving the Lord and knowing his commands so that you can “teach them diligently to your children” (Deuteronomy 6:7).
The call may be challenging, but it reaps abundant rewards. It consists largely of sowing self-sacrifice and reaping the flourishing of not only you, but everyone under your authority. “Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord” (Psalm 128:3-4).
LifeNews Note: Joshua Arnold is a staff writer at The Washington Stand, where this column originally appeared.
The post Ignore the Radical Environmentalists, Having Children is a Good Thing appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Zero HedgeIRS Warns Taxpayers That Hiring Of Tax Enforcers Will 'Ramp Up' SoonTyler Durden Fri, 12/01/2023 - 13:35
Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) plans to increase its hiring of tax enforcers in coming months, the agency's chief has revealed, putting taxpayers on higher alert as the IRS bolsters the ranks of its enforcement army.
IRS commissioner Danny Werfel made the remarks on the sidelines of the Association for Federal Enterprise Risk Management’s (AFERM) annual summit on Nov. 28.
In a keynote speech at the event, Mr. Werfel said he's "cautiously optimistic" that the IRS can tap the $60 billion or so in extra federal funding to modernize its outdated IT systems, enhance employee training, and generally rebuild its capacities.
But in an interview with the Federal News Network after his speech, Mr. Werfel revealed that it's been a "very busy fall" when it comes to the agency's recruitment efforts—and that he hopes to bolster the ranks of the IRS' tax enforcement agents.
“I would expect hiring activity on the enforcement side to ramp up as we enter into 2024,” Mr. Werfel told the outlet.
'Army' of Tax Enforcers?
While Mr. Werfel didn't specify what kind of hiring numbers he's targeting, the IRS said in mid-September that it was fast-tracking the hiring of 3,700 people to assist with "expanded enforcement work" that is meant to focus on complex partnerships, big corporations, and high-income earners.
The tax enforcement positions will be open in more than 250 locations across the United States, and they are part of what the IRS has promised would be a "sweeping, historic" tax enforcement crackdown that leverages cutting-edge technology, including artificial intelligence, to catch tax evaders more effectively.
Republicans have warned that the IRS' $60 billion cash infusion from the Inflation Reduction Act would be used to hire an "army" of 87,00 tax enforcers whose work would lead to an increase in the rate of tax audits targeting ordinary Americans.
While Mr. Werfel, President Joe Biden, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and others in the administration have all promised that the IRS' enhanced enforcement work would target corporations and high-income individuals (and that the tax audit rates would not increase for Americans earning less than $400,000 per year), a watchdog has cast doubt on this pledge.
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), which is the watchdog overseeing the IRS, said in a recent report that the tax agency could end up (perhaps inadvertently) breaking its promise not to target ordinary Americans because the IRS doesn't have a clear definition of "high income."
"The high-income terminology is being used loosely inside the IRS with no common understanding of what the term means,” the watchdog said.
TIGTA explained that the IRS continues to rely on old tax examination activity codes adopted half a century ago with the Tax Reform Act of 1976, which used a $200,000 threshold to measure high-income returns.
Currently, "there is no way to identify the complete population of taxpayers that meet the criterion of $400,000 or more specified by the current Treasury Secretary," the watchdog said in its report, warning that the IRS' tax enforcers could end up casting their net more widely than its chief promised.
"When the high-income thresholds are set too low, the result can be higher numbers of inefficient examinations," the watchdog said. "When the definition is too low, the base of taxpayers earning those incomes is wider so that the IRS does many more audits in that category in order to achieve desired audit coverage."
IRS Hiring Levels
Hiring at the IRS has risen by over 13 percent over the past year as the number of employees at the agency has reached a level not seen in over a decade.
Mr. Werfel told reporters this summer that the IRS was close to reaching 90,000 full-time employees.
The agency employed 79,070 full-time equivalent positions in 2022, according to the IRS’ 2022 Data Book. An increase in staffing levels to 90,000 workers represents a 13.79 percent increase in roughly a year.
The last time the IRS employed more than 90,000 people was 2012 when the agency had 90,280 full-time equivalent positions.
Staffing dipped below 80,000 in 2015 and remained below that level until now.
Not only is the IRS looking to bolster the ranks of its tax enforcers, it's also looking to hire more armed agents for its criminal investigations division.
Dubbed “gun-toters,” the armed special agents in the IRS Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) unit are responsible for enforcing those parts of the tax code whose violations amount to crimes.
Mr. Werfel told lawmakers at an April 27 hearing of the House Ways and Means Committee that the IRS-CI division would hire an estimated 360 new armed agents per year over the next five years for a net gain of 1,200 after attrition due to resignation and retirement.
The IRS chief insisted, however, that the additional hires would not be used to increase the number of tax audits.
Currently, the IRS-CI division has around 2,100 armed agents. In the mid-1990s, the unit had around 3,500 special agents. Carissa Cutrell, a public affairs officer at the agency, told The Epoch Times in an earlier statement that IRS-CI loses between 150 and 175 agents each year due to retirement and attrition.
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Site: LifeNews
There’s no such thing as a drama-free December in D.C. — even without a government shutdown on the holiday horizon. Before Congress calls it quits on 2023, there are plenty of things for the parties to squabble over, including the mammoth National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). In a city where consensus is rarer than a Santa sighting, the troop bill is probably the only area of consistent compromise. In fact, the military’s budget passes so reliably that it hasn’t missed a year since “West Side Story” was in theaters and gas cost $.27 a gallon. But that six-decade streak is on the line right now, and there’s no one to blame but radical Democrats.
As most people in D.C. have learned, getting the military funded is usually a battle in itself. “I’m optimistic we will find a reasonable compromise that both chambers can support,” House Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) told reporters this week. It was a sanguine view for a debate mired in everything from abortion politics to cryptocurrency fights.
As onlookers know, the House and Senate each passed versions of the NDAA earlier in the year — the trouble now is finding language that the two chambers, both led by different parties, will support. For the last several weeks, one of the most significant snags centers around a 2022 decision by President Joe Biden to put taxpayers on the hook for military abortions, a policy that Republicans (rightly) fume is illegal without Congress’s approval. It’s that same White House decision that sparked Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville’s (R) move to put a hold on high-ranking military promotions. He’d hoped his stand, now nine months strong, would force Democrats to the negotiating table.
Instead, the White House has preferred to battle it out in the press, absurdly blaming Tuberville for everything from the military’s recruitment woes to readiness issues. Realizing the Left has no interest in actually solving the problem, conservatives are turning to the NDAA in the hopes that they can not only break the logjam on military promotions but also stop the Biden administration from crossing a bright red statutory line.
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Fortunately, there’s language in the House bill that rolls back Biden’s taxpayer-funded abortion con. But as both sides of the Capitol hammer out the final text, the big question is whether Republicans will have the stomach to hold the line on what Family Research Council President Tony Perkins calls “a very, very significant issue.”
“If Republicans fold on this basic principle of life, post-Roe, it’s a policy disaster — and it’s also a political disaster,” he told The Washington Stand. “Because the pro-life community will see the Republicans surrender, and it will cause more elected officials to walk away from the life issue, which means more pro-lifers will walk away from the ballot box. So this is very, very significant.”
The predominate view among Senate Republicans, Perkins said, “is that after a little pressure, we’ll wave a white flag on social issues and move on.” It’s a trend pro-lifers have watched unfold as more GOP liberals openly attack Tuberville. “I don’t think it’s that way in the House,” Perkins insisted.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) was living proof of that on “Washington Watch” Wednesday, when he reemphasized his support for the House NDAA. Asked if the amendment he and Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) attached to stop the Pentagon’s radical policy would have sufficient support, he replied, “That is certainly my position. It’s certainly the position of the Freedom Caucus, and I hope it will continue to be. … The position of the current administration, the Biden administration, has been to expand — contrary to law — the ability of members of the military and the Department of Defense to travel to go get abortions, all at taxpayer expense. … Well, that’s against the law,” he argued.
“We worked in July to pass in the National Defense Authorization Act limits on that to constrain the abuse of the law by the Biden administration. And unfortunately, they’re trying to ignore that in the Senate,” Roy explained. “What’s happening right now is that [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer and some of the Republicans in the Senate are trying to pregame out a compromise on this to water it down, take out the abortion protections, take out the transgender surgeries restrictions, take out the critical race theory and DEI [prohibitions] that we put in there to limit the abuses and the woke stuff.” Walking away from that bill, the Texas congressman agreed, should be a “nonstarter.”
What’s different this time around, Roy pointed out, is that the House has a very strong conservative as Speaker of the House. “And so I’m hopeful that [Speaker Mike Johnson] … will adhere to those agreements that we made in January and force the Senate to do their job. … We need to make sure that we’re fighting to defend the House’s position. We passed a good bill.”
For Democrats and squishy Republicans, who are desperately looking for a way to move the 350-plus military promotions forward, this is an easy fix. “Is this not the off-ramp they’ve been looking [for]?” Perkins asked. “Just adopt the NDAA as passed by the House that addresses this issue. This takes care of the promotion issue as well.”
“One hundred percent,” Roy agreed. “And let’s be clear to everyone out there listening. Coach Tuberville deserves praise for having the courage to stand up and try to [stop the] taxpayer funding of abortion and abortion tourism. I wish more of his Senate colleagues were standing alongside him.” Then, after a pause, he said, “I want to be very clear. There are a lot of senators who run as pro-life senators who are not standing with Coach Tuberville and who are all too happy to move an NDAA that removes our protection for life.”
Presumably, he was pointing the finger at the outspoken social liberals in the Senate GOP: Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Todd Young (R-Ind.), and Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who not only voted to redefine marriage but openly sided with Biden on this issue of taxpayer-funded abortion.
And yet, as Perkins pointed out, there’s absolutely no reason for Republicans to cave on this issue. “No reason. This is a 60, 65, 70% issue across the board in America.”
Roy agreed. “I know that the vast majority of the American people, regardless of where they fall on the spectrum on abortion … don’t want taxpayer funding. They want us to stay focused on a military doing its job. So let’s pull all that out. It’s Democrats who want to politicize our defense, and we’re the ones who want to get it focused on its job.”
FRC’s Quena Gonzalez has been disgusted by the media’s biased characterization of this debate. “We didn’t change the ground rules, President Biden did. We did not inject these issues into the military, Democrats did. Voters need to remind their senators and congressmen of that and tell them to keep taxpayer-funded abortion out of the Defense bill.”
It’s been an uncontroversial, bipartisan principle for decades that Americans shouldn’t be on the hook for the killing of innocent unborn life. “And we shouldn’t be the ones that have to surrender that stated policy,” Perkins insisted. And yet incredibly, Roy said, “Democrats are complaining that we’re the ones injecting social issues into this.” He shook his head. “No, they’re the ones that injected cultural and social issues. And Coach Tuberville stood up. We stood up in the House. And, dadgummit, the Senate needs to stand up and … help us hold the line with the House-passed bill from July.”
LifeNews Note: Suzanne Bowdey serves as editorial director and senior writer at The Washington Stand, where this originally appeared.
The post House Republicans Fight to Stop Joe Biden From Funding Abortion Tourism appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: AsiaNews.itGeneral Min Aung Hlaing blames unnamed 'foreign experts" for the rebels' advance in Shan State. Entire army battalions are reportedly surrendering, but in Yangon, the junta continues its crackdown. Some 600 organisations call on ASEAN to drop the inclusive dialogue and demand the military be brought to justice for their crimes.
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Site: Fr. Z's BlogRaymond Arroyo interviewed Archbp. Georg Gänswein on his recent show. (BTW… that ä means his name is pronounced like “gens-vine” not “gans-wine”). Please. At a certain point, Raymond asked Gänswein about what Benedict XVI thought about his own motu proprio Summorum … Read More →
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Site: Zero HedgeRogan: Democrats Have "No Cards To Play" For 2024, Except Imprisoning TrumpTyler Durden Fri, 12/01/2023 - 12:55
Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news
Podcast king Joe Rogan noted earlier this week that he believes there is no strategy for 2024 on the part of Democrats, and the only play they have is to imprison Donald Trump.
“I think at this point they kind of have to run [Biden] unless he dies,” Rogan asserted, adding “We have one year now, we’re in late November, we have less than one year. What are they going to do? If Biden died tomorrow, what do they do with Kamala Harris? Put her on the moon? What are they going to do, she’s the vice president. If he dies, she becomes the president, which is fucking wild when you hear that lady talk.”
Rogan further noted that throwing someone like California Governor Gavin Newsom in as the nominee in place of Harris would expose how lacking in direction the party has been.
“I think they have no cards and they’re looking at this game and I think they’re depending upon party loyalty and they’re depending upon Trump getting convicted and arrested and imprisoned,” Rogan contiuned.
“I don’t know if that’s going to happen. I don’t think it is. It just seems like it’s a bunch of trumped-up charges, no pun intended,” he added.
“It does make sense if you want to look at banana republic tactics, when you’re imprisoning and trying to convict your political opponents,” Rogan further stated, adding “The problem with that is, even if you think Donald Trump is a crook and should be arrested, this sets a precedent for future presidents.”
“What if someone further right than him steps in? What if a war breaks out? What if things get even crazier? What if nationalism really upticks? Then you have someone who is now in power that is far right, like happened all over the world. If that happens and that precedent has been set for prosecuting your political opponents and going after them with trumped-up charges, that is a horrible situation,” Rogan warned.
“That is one of the reasons why we have to stick with the rule of law, the way this country was founded on. These principles were set up because they wanted to mitigate corruption at its base level, they wanted to stretch it out so no one could be an authoritarian dictator and run America,” the host concluded.
Watch:
Rogan: Democrats Have "No Cards To Play" For 2024, Except Imprisoning Trump https://t.co/YHy789Uhdd #Trump2024 #JoeRogan #BidenHarris2024 pic.twitter.com/YkGljHXcyS
— m o d e r n i t y (@ModernityNews) November 30, 2023* * *
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Site: LifeNews
During the debate last night between himself and pro-life Governor Ron DeSantis, radical pro-abortion governor Gavin Newsom refused to support any limits on abortion.
Host Sean Hannity asked Newsom if there “should there be any restrictions on the issue of abortion that you support at all?”
He refused to answer the question but called DeSantis “extreme” on abortion because of his six-week abortion ban, protecting unborn babies with beating hearts. He then turned to attacking Hannity, accusing him of covering for DeSantis.
Late-term abortion is “an extreme, extreme exception,” he claimed, something that should be “up to the mother and her doctor and her conscience.”
Newsom’s refusal to answer the question is no surprise because he knows Americans oppose abortions up to birth.
SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser slammed Newsom for his refusal to support any limits.
“Last night’s debate shocked the national conscience when California Governor Gavin Newsom refused to support any protections for babies in the womb. Even when given several opportunities, No-Limits Newsom would not list a single limit he supports on abortion – not even in the seventh, eighth or ninth month. This stunning declaration from Newsom confirms to the American people that the former Democratic platform of ‘safe, legal and rare’ abortions is now in the ash heap of history. Today’s Democratic Party stands for all-trimester abortions, for any reason on demand. That position is not only inhumane but wildly out of step with the nearly three fourths of Americans who want limits on abortion after 15 weeks when science shows babies feel pain.”
But this isn’t the first time…
It wasn’t that long ago that Democrats were allowed to dissent on the issue of abortion. There were routinely Democrats who were proudly pro-life. Today, pro-life Democrats are verboten. Today’s Democratic Party talking points forbid them from answering even one limit they would support on abortion. Just look at when Fox News directly asked Sen. Ben Cardin if Democrats support abortion up to birth and if he supported any cut-off point, he gave a firm, “No.”
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Unfortunately, Democrats’ lack of diversity of thought on abortion never gets shown to the American people because the corporate media and reproductive rights journalists run cover.
Just look at what happened when an NBC reporter tried to factcheck Gov. Ron DeSantis in real time after he truthfully shared Democrats’ up-to-birth abortion stance. She hastily spit out, ”There is no indication of Democrats pushing for that.” She felt the need to gatekeep the truth from her audience despite having the facts at her fingertips.
A quick check reveals that there are already six states plus Washington D.C. that allow abortions up until birth for any reason. Forcibly gaslighting the American people and running cover for the extreme abortion position of the Democrats has become a full-time job for these reporters.
The post Gavin Newsom Refuses to Support Any Limits on Killing Babies in Abortions appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Zero Hedge"A November To Remember": The Best And Worst Performing Assets In November And YTDTyler Durden Fri, 12/01/2023 - 12:38
With December starting off strong, largely thanks to what the market is interpreting as dovish comments from Fed Chair Powell at his fireside chat, it is November that was truly a memorable month; in fact thanks to the biggest easing in financial conditions in history...
... November was the 2nd strongest November for the S&P since the 1980s (with 2020 the only stronger exception).
Courtesy of Deutsche Bank, here is an extended performance review of various assets in November, which, as DB's Jim Reid and Henry Allen write, "saw a major rally after several weak months for markets as hopes for a soft landing and a dovish central bank pivot gathered pace." In fact, it was...
- The best month for the S&P500 since July 2022, which reversed three months of losses and recorded its best month of 2023 so far.
- The best month for a global 60:40 portfolio of equities and bonds since the positive vaccine news in November 2020.
- The best month for the Bloomberg US Bond Ag Index (+4.53%) since May 1985. This includes all IG-rated fixed debt, including Treasuries and spread products.
- Brent Oil (-5.2%) bucked the global risk-on trend in November, but Gold (+2.6%) hit a 6-month high.
Overall, it was an incredibly strong month across the board, with 33 out of 38 of the non-currency assets in DB's sample in the green. Below we share more details across various assets:
The high-level macro overview
The biggest global story in November was the renewed speculation of a dovish pivot by the Fed, as investors grew increasingly confident that central banks were at the end of their hiking cycle. The rally can be traced back to the last FOMC meeting on November 1, where it was repeated that financial conditions had tightened ‘significantly’. The rally then got further support after a downside surprise in the US CPI report for October, with headline roughly unchanged at +0.04% and core rising by just +0.23%. Fedspeak added further encouragement and was cemented by an upward revision of US GDP for Q3 that showed annualised growth of +5.2%. This meant that over the course of November, markets raised their expectations of Fed rate cuts to fully price in a cut by the May meeting, having seen that as just an 8% chance at the start of the month.
The good news narrative meant that the Bloomberg US aggregate bond index achieved its best month since May 1985, with a +4.53% gain. For instance, the 10yr yield fell from 4.93% to 4.33%, breaking a streak of six months of consecutive losses for 10yr Treasuries. That was also the biggest monthly decline for the 10yr yield since July 2021. The story was similar at the ECB as well, with a cut now fully priced by April, and the good news continued right to the end of the month after Eurozone inflation for November cooled more than expected to 2.4%. This in turn supported European fixed income as bunds rose +2.6%. And that optimism was evident globally, as Bloomberg’s global bond aggregate index achieved its best month since the height of the GFC in December 2008, up +5.04%.
While fixed income advanced, we also saw a boost in risk appetite as the S&P 500 broke three months of consecutive losses to rise +9.1% in total return terms. The NASDAQ outperformed relative to the S&P 500, up +10.8%, as much of the rally remained concentrated in the tech sector. Meanwhile, the VIX index dropped - 5.22pts to 12.92pts, the largest monthly drop for the volatility measure since last November. Towards the end of the month it even closed at a post- pandemic low.
European equities were also strong across the board, as the STOXX 600 finished the month up +6.7%. This demand for risky assets and the rally in US Treasuries likewise supported corporate debt in November, and US IG spreads tightened - 25bps to 104bps.
The commodities space was more divergent in November, with energy prices seeing a decent decline, whereas others like precious metals saw a strong advance. For instance, oil prices fell in November with Brent crude down -5.2%, although there was a recovery towards the end of the month. That came after several outlets including Bloomberg reported the OPEC+ group would be announcing production cuts at the end of the month. Cuts were eventually confirmed yesterday, but the market remained concerned compliance may be weak, sending oil lower. By contrast, gold prices hit a 6-month high in November, ending the month up +2.6% at $2,036/oz.
Which assets saw the biggest gains in November?
- Global Sovereign Bonds: Hopes for a soft landing drove the rally in sovereign bonds, as US Treasuries rose +3.6% in November, their best performance since August 2019. EU Sovereign bonds gained +3.0%, with specific advances for bunds (+2.6%), BTPs (+3.3%), as well as gilts (+3.1%).
- Equities: The risk-on tone meant that the S&P 500 gained +9.1% in its best month since July 2022, and the STOXX 600 rose +6.7% in its best month since last November 2022. The Hang Seng was an outlier, which traded flat at -0.2%, marking its fourth consecutive monthly decline.
- Credit: Demand for risky assets and the global bond rally saw US IG non-fin credit rise +6.2%, and European IG non-fin gained +2.4%. European HY and US HY rose +2.8% and +4.6% respectively.
Which assets saw the biggest losses in November?
- Oil: As fears of regional escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict abated, Brent and WTI crude fell -5.2% and -6.2% respectively. Record high US crude oil production also added to the downward price pressure
Summarizing the above, here is an abridged selection of global assets from the DB universe.
Next, a detailed chart of the best and worst performing assets in November (in local currency and USD)...
And finally, the same for the YTD period.
More in the full note available to pro subs in the usual place.
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Site: Fr. Z's BlogPhoto from The World’s Best Sacristan™ Welcome new registrant: TradmumUK Meanwhile, Fabiano Caruana won the Sinquefield Cup in Saint Louis for the third time (2014, 2018). Sole 2nd was Leinier Dominguez. My guy Wesley So was third. Wesley is also … Read More →
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Site: Zero HedgeRecessionary Indicators Update: Soft Landing Or Worse?Tyler Durden Fri, 12/01/2023 - 12:15
Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,
I previously discussed a slate of recessionary indicators with high correlations to recessionary onsets. However, as we head into 2024, many Wall Street economists predict a “soft landing” or “no recession” outcome for the economy. Are these recessionary indicators with near-flawless track records wrong this time? Will it be a soft landing in the economy or something worse?
We must start our recessionary indicator review with the “Godfather” of them all – “Yield Curve Inversions.”
Bonds are essential for their predictive qualities, so analysts pay enormous attention to U.S. government bonds, specifically the difference in their interest rates. As such, there is a high correlation between the yield curve’s slope and where the economy, stock, and bond markets generally head longer term. Such is because everything from volatile oil prices, trade tensions, political uncertainty, the dollar’s strength, credit risk, earnings strength, etc., reflects in the bond market and, ultimately, the yield curve.
Regarding yield curve inversions, the media always assumes this time is different because a recession didn’t occur immediately upon the inversion. There are two problems with this way of thinking.
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The National Bureau Of Economic Research (NBER) is the official recession dating arbiter. They wait for data revisions by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) before announcing a recession’s official start. Therefore, the NBER is always 6-12 months late, dating the recession.
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It is not the inversion of the yield curve that denotes the recession. The inversion is the “warning sign,” whereas the un-inversion marks the start of the recession, which the NBER will recognize later.
As discussed in “BTFD Or STFR,” if you wait for the official announcement by the NBER to confirm a recession, it will be too late. To wit:
“Each of those dots is the peak of the market PRIOR to the onset of a recession. In 9 of 10 instances, the S&P 500 peaked and turned lower prior to the recognition of a recession.“
Here is the analysis in table form. It is worth noting that the market’s lead to the economic recession has shrunk markedly since 1980. As such, given the rally in the market this year, it is not surprising a recession has not been recognized as of yet.
Which Yield Curve Matters
Which yield curve matters mostly depends on whom you ask.
DoubleLine Capital’s Jeffrey Gundlach watches the 2-year vs. 5-year spreads. Michael Darda, the chief economist at MKM Partners, says it’s the 10-year and the 1-year spread. Others say the 3-month and 10-year yields matter most. The most-watched is the 10-year versus the 2-year spread.
While most mainstream economists focus on a specific yield curve, we track ten different economically important spreads from short-term consumption to long-term investments. Most yield spreads we monitor, shown below, are inverted, which is historically the best recessionary indicator. However, technically, the UN-inversion of the yield curve is the recessionary indicator.
Notably, when numerous yield spreads turn negative, the media will discount the risk of a recession and suggest the yield curve is wrong this time. However, the bond market is already discounting weaker economic growth, earnings risk, elevated valuations, and a reversal of monetary support. As such, a recession followed when 50% or more of the tracked yield curves became inverted. Every time. (Read this for a complete history.)
But it isn’t just the yield curve as a recessionary indicator that we are watching.
Are Leading Indicators Wrong?
We wrote “Economic Cycles Will Recover” in July after a significant drop in many leading economic indicators. To wit:
“As with market cycles, the economy cycles as well. There is little argument that the current economic data is fragile, whether you look at the Leading Economic Index (LEI) or the Institute Of Supply Management (ISM) measures. As with the market cycle, long periods of slowing economic activity will eventually bottom and turn higher. The Economic Composite Index, comprised of 100 hard and soft economic data points, clearly shows the economic cycles. I have overlaid the composite index with the 6-month rate of change of the LEI index, which has a very high correlation to economic expansions and contractions.”
As shown, the data has bottomed since July and has started to improve. Notably, these economic measures are at levels that previously marked the bottoms of economic contractions outside financial crises or economic shutdown events. As noted in July, the improvement in economic activity seen in Q3 and Q4 was expected. That improvement also supports the earnings cycle we have seen as of late.
While there are reasons to remain suspect of an upturn in the current economic and market cycles, it is difficult to discount the historical evidence completely. Yes, the Federal Reserve has hiked rates aggressively, which weighs on economic activity by reducing personal consumption. However, the government continues to increase spending levels sharply, i.e., the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPs Act, which support economic activity.
We see that same support to economic activity in the monetary supply (M2) as a percentage of the economy. While those monetary and fiscal supports are reversing following the “pandemic-related” spending spree, both are reversing.
Eventually, the support provided by those massive infusions into the economy will fade. The hope is that the economy will return to normal functioning by then. The only issue is that we have no historical precedent to base those hopes on.
Soft Landing Or Recession?
The question of a “soft landing” or an outright “recession” is difficult to answer. It is certainly possible that all of the tell-tale signs of economic recession may be wrong this time. There is another possibility. Given the massive increase in activity due to a shuttered economy and massive fiscal stimulus, the reversion may take longer than expected. Both scenarios support the rising optimism of Wall Street economists in the near term. However, such also brings to mind Bob Farrell’s Rule #9:
“When all experts agree something else tends to happen.”
As noted previously, we would already be in a recession if we had entered this current period at previous growth rates below 4%. The difference is the contraction began from a peak in nominal GDP of nearly 12%. As noted above, a bounce in activity is not surprising after a significant contraction in the economic data. The question is whether that bounce is sustainable. Unfortunately, we won’t know the answer for quite some time.
We know that Federal Reserve actions regarding hiking rates have about a 6-quarter lead over changes to economic growth. Given the last Fed rate hike was in Q2 of this year, such would suggest a further slowing in economic activity into the end of 2024.
Investor Implications
As noted above, the massive surge in monetary stimulus (as a percentage of GDP) remains highly elevated, which gives the illusion the economy is more robust than it likely is. As the lag effect of monetary tightening continues to weigh on consumption, the reversion to economic strength may surprise most economists.
For investors, the implications of reversing monetary stimulus on prices are not bullish. As shown, the contraction in liquidity, measured by subtracting GDP from M2, correlates to changes in asset prices. Given that there is significantly more reversion in monetary stimulus to come, this suggests that lower asset prices will likely follow. However, the markets have recently been betting that a reversal of liquidity is coming. Given the inflationary implications of providing monetary accommodation, i.e., rate cuts and quantitative easing, it seems unlikely the Federal Reserve will act before the onset of a recession. If that assumption is correct, investors may set themselves up for disappointment.
As we update our recessionary indicators, there is still no clear visibility regarding the certainty of a recession. Yes, this “time could be different.” The problem is that, historically, such has not been the case.
Therefore, given this uncertainty, we must continue to weigh the possibility that Wall Street economists are correct in their more optimistic predictions. However, we must remain open to the probabilities that still lie with the indicators.
No one knows what the future holds with any degree of certainty. Therefore, we must remain nimble in our investment approach and trade the market for what it is rather than what we wish it to be.
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Site: Henrymakow.comPlease send links and comments to hmakow@gmail.comHostages THANK Hamas For Compassionate Treatment!Time will reveal that the Oct 6 attack was staged by Israel, and that most of the Jewish casualties were by Israel. Hamas was busy taking hostages. Israel was busy killing them in order to heighten moral indignation.Israeli mother's letter to Hamas: 'Thank you for extraordinary humanity'Danielle Aloni pens an emotional letter expressing gratitude to the Hamas fighters for the care they given to her daughter Emilia during their 49-day captivity in besieged Gaza.In her handwritten letter in Hebrew, Danielle said: "She (Emilia) acknowledges feeling like all of you are her friends, not just friends, but truly beloved and good".Aloni acknowledged the good care given to hostages in Gaza and wrote: "Thank you for the many hours you spent as caregivers."She further stated her daughter has not only bonded with Hamas but also felt like a queen. "Children should not be in captivity, but thanks to you and other kind people we met along the way, my daughter felt like a queen in Gaza," she said.In the long journey we have been on, we have not met anyone who has not been kind to her, you have treated her with kindness and compassion.Aloni ended her letter with compassion for Hamas, stating: "I will remember your kind behaviour shown in spite of the difficult situation you faced and the severe losses you suffered here in Gaza.""I wish in this world we could truly be good friends," she wrote and added her well wishes to Gazans "I wish you all health and well-being... health and love to you and your families' children."----TWISTED: Israeli kids sing a song about "annihilating everyone" in Gaza"Autumn night falls over the beach of Gaza. Planes are bombing; destruction, destruction," the song's first two lines said. It also promised that "in another year, there will be nothing there" and "within a year, [Israel] will annihilate everyone" - lines that clearly promote the genocide of the Gazan people. The song's final line ominously warned: "We will show the world how today, we destroy our enemy." (Related: WATCH: Israeli children sing 'we will annihilate everyone' in Gaza.)-Targeted assassination is part of Zionist toolboxIsrael planning global assassination campaign - WSJOfficials told the newspaper that they intend to kill Hamas leaders in Lebanon, Türkiye, and Qatar-Russ Winter--Hollywood Reprobates Attend MOCA Spirit Cooking Gala-95% OF ALL THE WORLD'S PROTESTS ARE PRO-PALESTINE & AGAINST ISRAEL!!!Political scientist and international relations scholar John Mearsheimer has been monitoring the international response to the recent flare-up of violence between Israel and Hamas, and he's noticed a trend. While support at rallies and other gatherings around the globe was initially running at 2-1 support for Palestine over Israel, of late that ratio has increased dramatically to 19-1.-Bank of Canada survey reveals 86% of Canadians opposed to creating digital 'dollar'The main findings show that Canadians place a 'high value on holding cash that is backed by their central bank and want to maintain access to bank notes.'--Iceland Bans Covid mRNA Shots as Sudden Deaths Skyrocket"Everyone knows everyone else in a tiny country, and we were told the top officials are now extremely nervous."--Gonzalo Lira is alive!Last update was Nov.7th, when his pre-trial detention was extended until Jan.6th. Write to Anthony Blinken to say releasing Lira would make the US and Ukraine look good!-Pastor Chuck BaldwinVery Powerful Message of Chuck Baldwin to Evangelical Leaders (Ralph Reed, James Doson, Robert Jeffress, Jonathan Falwell, John Hagee, Richard Land, Jack Graham, Et Al.) regarding horrors taking place in Gaza.These fools are willingly ignorant.-----BBC News NI: "Irish Lives Matter!" Being Treated as Hate Crime1984 is Organized Jewish supremacy. Hate is anything they hate to hear, especially the truth--Pilot Incapacitation - Air Transat Flight TS-186 (YYZ-PUJ) from Toronto, Canada to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (Nov.20, 2023) - pilot became incapacitated and was replaced by a pilot passenger-Texas Sues Pfizer For "Misrepresenting COVID-19 Vaccine Efficacy" And "Conspiring To Censor Public Discourse"The suit, filed Thursday, alleges that Pfizer violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by engaging in false, deceptive and misleading acts as it promoted the drug."The facts are clear. Pfizer did not tell the truth about their COVID-19 vaccines," said Attorney General Kenneth Paxton in a statement revealing the suit."We are pursuing justice for the people of Texas, many of whom were coerced by tyrannical vaccine mandates to take a defective product sold by lies."-Biden wear both Commie and Zionist Jew hatsShot Dead - The Movie They don't Want you To SeeFor the first time ever, hear the stories of covid shot deaths as told by the parents who lost their children.--Top Russian court bans LGBT movement as 'extremist'A Reuters reporter in court heard it announce that it had approved a request from the justice ministry to recognise what it called "the international LGBT social movement" as extremist and to ban its activities-Psychiatric drugs are incredibly destructive and neurotoxicDr Peter Breggin is an American psychiatrist and author. He was instrumental in stopping lobotomies being carried out in the USA and has, on multiple occasions, represented plaintiffs in legal cases against drug companies. Throughout his sixty plus years working in the mental health field, he has been a leading advocate of drug-free approaches and believes that psychiatric drugs fail to deal with the underlying causes of patients' conditions and, if anything, only make matters worse.In this interview, Dr Breggin talks about how psychiatric drugs are incredibly destructive and neurotoxic. They poison brain, liver and thyroid cells and patients experience apathy, indifference and sometimes bouts of euphoria with an overall feeling that nothing quite matters anymore.He describes what he calls medication spellbinding, where a patient cannot comprehend the effect that the drugs are having on them. They are confused and can have a tendency to walk around like zombies, while their close relatives see a completely different picture.Dr Breggin also reveals for the first time how, when he opposed certain companies and individuals, they tried to destroy him through intimidation and covertly attacked him and his family, when all of them suddenly became ill for no apparent reason.More information: www.breggin.com
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Site: From RomeEditor’s Note: As one who was, for “the crime” of praying the Our Father in public, detained for 5.5 hours by 17 policemen in the Piazza of Santa Maria Maggiore, on May 1, 2021, the Communist Day, and then taken into custody by a half dozen Rome Police, I laud this effort of Catholics to … Continue reading SPAIN: PM bans Rosary recitation in public to suppress protests against his pardon of Terrorists →
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Site: Mises Institute
How States Think: The Rationality of Foreign Policy
by John J. Mearsheimer and Sebastian Rosato
Yale University Press, 2023; 304 pp.How States Think surprised me. John Mearsheimer is a well-known critic of American foreign policy, and his analysis of the Ukraine war has been deservedly influential. As result, I anticipated that this book would expand his critique. The book does contain some critical discussion of American foreign policy, but, for the most part, the aims of Mearsheimer and his coauthor, Sebastian Rosato, lie elsewhere.
They endeavor to show that most of the time states are rational actors in their relations with one another, and their arguments for this thesis take them into areas that students of Austrian economics will find of great value. Their criticisms of competing theories of rationality have parallels in Austrian theory. After Mearsheimer and Rosato set forward their theory of rational action, they apply it to a number of case studies. In these studies they proceed to show that the states they discuss were rational actors, distinguishing between “grand strategy,” roughly a state’s long-term plans, and “crisis situations.” They also give examples in which states acted irrationally, but they conclude that these are atypical.
I have said that Mearsheimer and Rosato raise points of interest to Austrians, but you might suspect from the book’s title that they ignore a basic fact about human action often stressed by Ludwig von Mises: only individuals act and, one presumes, think. If that is so, how can the authors ask how states think? States aren’t individuals. But the authors are well aware of this issue, contending that state actions must be “cashed out” in the plans and decisions of the leaders of these states.
But if state actions consist of the actions of those in charge of state policy, what determines whether these actions are rational? Do rational actors try to maximize expected utility? According to this approach, an actor ranks the utility of each course of action open to him numerically or quasi numerically. Each course of action results in different possible outcomes, depending on what other actors do. The utility ranking of each action is then multiplied by the probability of its outcome, and the action with the highest product is said to have the greatest expected utility.
Mearsheimer and Rosato sound like Austrians in what they say about this theory of rationality. The utilities of the courses of action cannot be ranked cardinally, and the probability estimates of the outcomes are often unknown. They discuss Frank Knight’s views on uncertainty and then say:
In an uncertain world, actors cannot acquire the information needed to evaluate the likely consequences of pursuing different strategies. When “knowledge” is “uncertain,” observes John Maynard Keynes, “there is no scientific basis on which to form any calculable probability estimate whatever.” . . . The difference between worlds of risk and uncertainty—or what are called “small” and “large” worlds—cannot be overemphasized.
The defenders of expected utility have a response to this. Even if the relevant numbers are unknown, we can act as if they were known so long as doing so leads to successful predictions. Austrians will recognize that this was Milton Friedman’s strategy, and Mearsheimer and Rosato reject it:
Friedman went so far as to maintain that the best theories “will be found to have ‘assumptions’ that are wildly inaccurate descriptive representations of reality, and, in general, the more significant the theory, the more unrealistic the assumptions.” This assertion is implausible: a theory whose starting assumptions are descriptively false is unlikely to offer a good explanation of how the world works. As Ronald Coase wrote in response to Friedman’s claim, “Realism in our assumptions is needed if our theories are ever to help us understand why the system works in the way it does. Realism in assumptions forces us to analyze the world that exists, not some imaginary world that does not.”
What do Mearsheimer and Rosato propose to put in place of expected utility theory? They tie rational action to having a credible theory about the way the world works. As they put it, “rationality is about process rather than outcomes.” As it turns out, a whole host of theories meet these requirements, so passing the test amounts to less than the authors take it be. The test doesn’t require that the state actor’s theory of the world be better than competing accounts but only that it has something to be said for it. The authors count as reasonable theories that they themselves believe are bad ones. For example, Mearsheimer was a trenchant critic of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s expansion after the end of the Cold War, but the expansionist theory still counts as reasonable. Among the credible theories are several others, such as mutually assured destruction, which could result in the annihilation of human life on earth. This is a low bar indeed for what counts as a credible theory. (By the way, we learn that the technical term for having so potent a nuclear arsenal that you can wipe out your enemy’s ability to retaliate is a “splendid” first-strike capacity.) There is an additional requirement for rational state action, but this too is not very demanding. The policy chosen must result from deliberation among the main policy makers rather than be the decision of a leader in “splendid” isolation.
If Mearsheimer and Rosato’s account of reasonable state action isn’t very demanding, it isn’t vacuous either. Some theories are unreasonable, for example those that go counter to clear historical evidence.
Forcible democracy promotion theory and domino theory [which holds that a revolution tends to spread to neighboring states] are both noncredible. It is clear from the historical record that attempts to force democracy on other states almost always fail. . . . The United States’ dismal track record before the Iraq invasion made this clear. . . . There is also hardly any evidence that domino theory works as advertised.
Though the authors make many valuable distinctions in their discussion of alternative theories of rationality, and though their work rests on prodigious scholarship, they need to toughen up what they require of a credible theory. My readers won’t be surprised that I criticize a view for too much tolerance.
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Site: Zero HedgeBill Ackman Points Out Inconvenient Truth Of X's 'Unfair Treatment by Advertisers'Tyler Durden Fri, 12/01/2023 - 11:55
X has been attacked by activist organizations such as Media Matters and legacy corporate media. These groups view the platform as a threat to their ideological agenda and the interests of their financial backers and thus aim to sabotage it by misleading companies to pull ad spending.
At The New York Times' DealBook Summit on Wednesday, Elon Musk silenced a room full of liberal elites as he proclaimed that: "...if someone wants to blackmail me with advertising, they can go f*ck themselves."
NYTimes noted this morning that at least half-dozen marketing agencies said they would keep their clients off X. Others have spoken with clients about reducing ad spending.
"There is no advertising value that would offset the reputational risk of going back on the platform," Lou Paskalis, the founder and CEO of AJL Advisory, a marketing consultancy, told NYTimes.
Over the years, ZeroHedge has also gone through similar ad monetization hell, having lost most of our advertisers because they did not approve content on this website, and as a result, they - together with such members of the Censorship Industrial Complex such as Newsguard, Sleeping Giants and CheckMyAds and various three-letter US government agencies - did everything in their power to attempt to kill the site. Still, thankfully, we survived because of our premium subscribers.
Commenting on the advertiser boycott of X, billionaire Bill Ackman posted on X that Musk "is entirely correct that he and @X are treated unfairly and inconsistently by advertisers."
Ackman pointed out that other social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and others have "enormous amounts of problematic content, antisemitic and otherwise, but the advertisers don't boycott those platforms."
Weird, right?
"Musk is targeted because the other media organizations view @X as a competitor and any time his name is in an article about controversies, it draws clicks. MSM is incentivized to attack him as it actually drives attention to their sites and therefore more revenues. It is these attack articles by other media organizations that put pressure on the @Disney's of the world to stop advertising on X," the billionaire said.
As Ackman explained, perhaps Disney's Bob Iger should "carefully examine the facts" and not cave to public pressure. He said, "Meanwhile, Disney invests heavily on TikTok, likely alongside videos of kids teaching other teenagers to be anorexic and worse."
He added: "I am sure Nelson Peltz can fix this when he joins the Disney board."
Ackman said his investment in the "Twitter privatization" was about "free speech," adding, "Whether we make a profit on our investment is not important to us as we never intend to sell our interest."
I thought @elonmusk’s interview with @andrewrsorkin was one of the great interviews ever. Musk is a free speech absolutist which I respect. I think he is entirely correct that he and @X are treated unfairly and inconsistently by advertisers. @tiktok_us @instagram @facebook and… https://t.co/Rtrv4WgEoK
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) December 1, 2023Suppose Musk is successful with X in the long run and can weather constant bombardments by corporate media and rogue activist groups. In that case, he will break the information matrix that the industrial-corporate media complex has held for decades.
The coming fracture of the corporate media bubble will be epic, and we have already seen billionaires such as Ackman and those associated with 1789 Capital invest in alternative forms of media.
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Site: Global Research
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The post From Shutting Down Farms to Global Control: Is This the End of Good Beef Products? appeared first on Global Research.
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Site: Global Research
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
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The post Nancy Pelosi’s Daughter: January 6 Was an “Insurrection” and a Hoax appeared first on Global Research.
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Site: AsiaNews.itThe UN leader says that ice in Antarctica and glaciers in Nepal are melting, a "symptom of the sickness bringing our climate to its knees'. The host country, UAE, is setting up a US$ 30 billion fund. The Vatican Secretary of State will speak on behalf of the pontiff who was forced to cancel his visit due to health problems. The environment is a topic of interfaith dialogue.
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