M 7.0 - 13km N of Anchorage, Alaska
2018-11-30 17:29:28 (UTC)61.340°N 149.937°W40.9 km depth
TSUNAMI WARNING - ALASKA
Friday, November 30, 2018
Monday, November 26, 2018
Chinese scientist creates the world's first genetically-edited babies
Chinese scientist claims he edited babies' genes with CRISPR
Chinese scientist claims to have created the world's first genetically-edited babies using the CRISPR/Cas9 tool. He Jiankui (pictured) told the Associated Press that twin girls, Lulu and Nana, were born earlier this month following embryo-editing using CRISPR to disable the CCR5 gene, which allows the HIV virus to infect cells. An American scientist, Michael Deem, also reportedly assisted He on the project at the Southern University of Science and Technology of China.
According to He, embryos were edited for seven couples affected by HIV, with one pregnancy resulting thus far. He added that the patients refused to be identified or interviewed -- he also wouldn't say where the work was done.
Chinese scientist claims to have created the world's first genetically-edited babies using the CRISPR/Cas9 tool. He Jiankui (pictured) told the Associated Press that twin girls, Lulu and Nana, were born earlier this month following embryo-editing using CRISPR to disable the CCR5 gene, which allows the HIV virus to infect cells. An American scientist, Michael Deem, also reportedly assisted He on the project at the Southern University of Science and Technology of China.
According to He, embryos were edited for seven couples affected by HIV, with one pregnancy resulting thus far. He added that the patients refused to be identified or interviewed -- he also wouldn't say where the work was done.
Tension escalates after Russia seizes Ukraine naval ships
BBC
Russia has fired on and seized three Ukrainian naval vessels off the Crimean Peninsula in a major escalation of tensions between the two countries.
Two gunboats and a tug were captured by Russian forces. A number of Ukrainian crew members were injured.
Each country blames the other for the incident. On Monday Ukrainian MPs are due to vote on declaring martial law.
The crisis began when Russia accused the Ukrainian ships of illegally entering its waters.
The Russians placed a tanker under a bridge in the Kerch Strait - the only access to the Sea of Azov, which is shared between the two countries.
Russia has fired on and seized three Ukrainian naval vessels off the Crimean Peninsula in a major escalation of tensions between the two countries.
Two gunboats and a tug were captured by Russian forces. A number of Ukrainian crew members were injured.
Each country blames the other for the incident. On Monday Ukrainian MPs are due to vote on declaring martial law.
The crisis began when Russia accused the Ukrainian ships of illegally entering its waters.
The Russians placed a tanker under a bridge in the Kerch Strait - the only access to the Sea of Azov, which is shared between the two countries.
Sunday, November 25, 2018
Give Thanks To The Lord
PSALM 50
14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,[b]
and perform your vows to the Most High,
15 and call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
...
23 The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
to one who orders his way rightly
I will show the salvation of God!”
See more biblical thanksgiving references:
14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,[b]
and perform your vows to the Most High,
15 and call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
...
23 The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
to one who orders his way rightly
I will show the salvation of God!”
See more biblical thanksgiving references:
Saturday, November 24, 2018
Will Pope Francis Resign In February?
The meeting with the Pope in Rome will take place in the Vatican from 21st to the 24th of February 2019, exactly 6 years after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, and during this occasion some trusted sources say Pope Francis will announce his own resignation, conveniently issuing a papal conclave for all present entitled to vote.
Sunday, November 18, 2018
U.S. Bishops Lead Mass of Deception
"...A lengthy investigative report by the Boston Globe in conjunction with the Philadelphia Inquirer, published one day after the Sullins report was issued, details the extent of prelates’ culpability and seems to confirm Sullin’s conclusion about the U.S. bishops.
“More than 130 US bishops – or nearly one-third of those still living – have been accused during their careers of failing to adequately respond to sexual misconduct in their dioceses,” and, “at least 15, including Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington who resigned [from the College of Cardinals] in July, have themselves been accused of committing such abuse or harassment,” according to the Globe investigation.
The Boston Globe report continues:
Most telling, the analysis shows that the claims against more than 50 bishops center on incidents that occurred after a historic 2002 Dallas gathering of US bishops where they promised that the church’s days of concealment and inaction were over. By an overwhelming, though not unanimous, vote, church leaders voted to remove any priest who had ever abused a minor and set up civilian review boards to investigate clergy misconduct claims.But while they imposed new standards that led to the removal of hundreds of priests, the bishops specifically excluded themselves from the landmark child protection measures. They contended only the pope had authority to discipline them and said peer pressure – public or private shaming they euphemistically called “fraternal correction” – would keep them in line.It hasn’t.
Saturday, November 17, 2018
The Belly of the Beast
Is the United States of America, by design, set to fulfill an ancient, esoteric prophecy, charted by mystics of ages past? For thousands of years, mystery religions and diverse occultists have shrouded prophecies of a great continent of the Western Hemisphere that would become the catalyst of a final kingdom. This globally sovereign empire would lead the entire world into a golden age of spiritual enlightenment, posturing itself as a true Utopia while it ushers in a revival of ancient magick rites, as well as a return to the worship of old gods and goddesses.
Now, in a groundbreaking new documentary titled Belly of the Beast—featuring Dr. Thomas Horn, Justen Faull, Wes Faull, LTC. Robert Maginnis, William Ramsey, Russ Dizdar, Carl Teichrib and several others—you will learn the chilling truth
Thursday, November 15, 2018
Churches Beware of Homo-Communist Plot
Any church can learn from what has taken root in Roman Catholicism and guard against the wolves in sheep's clothing...
Jude 4 English Standard Version (ESV)
4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Vatican, Pope Sued for Sexual Abuse Harm
U.S. Catholic church hit with two national lawsuits by sex-abuse victims
Class-action suit names Holy See in Vatican as defendant, cites federal racketeering laws.
By Tom Jackman November 14 at 9:08 PM
Two groups of victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy members have launched simultaneous lawsuits against the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, with one class-action suit also naming the Holy See as a defendant. The suit accuses the Catholic church of conspiracy and operating a continuing criminal enterprise under federal racketeering statutes, and attempts to be the first to hold the Vatican liable in the United States for the actions of its clergy.
The suits demand that the church produce the names of all accused sex offenders listed in the church’s secret archives nationwide. Both suits were filed Tuesday, apparently by coincidence, the lawyers said. But the class-action suit, filed in federal court in the District, also seeks financial damages for assault, gross negligence, emotional distress and wrongful death, for the families of those who committed suicide after being abused by a priest or other Catholic official. And the class action seeks to triple those financial damages under the federal Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, originally written to target organized crime but appropriate for a church accused of “cheating and defrauding Plaintiffs and Class members out of their childhood, youth, innocence, virginity, families, jobs, finances, assets — in short, their lives,” according to the lawsuit.
The suit filed in Washington notes that the Holy See has successfully avoided liability in the United States by claiming it did not have direct authority over priests. But then on Monday, as the bishops were meeting at their national conference in Baltimore to address the issue, they were directed by a letter from the Vatican to stop the discussion, and did. “If that’s not command responsibility, I don’t know what is,” said Mitchell A. Toups, one of the lead attorneys in the class-action case.
Editor's note:
“Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues
Class-action suit names Holy See in Vatican as defendant, cites federal racketeering laws.
By Tom Jackman November 14 at 9:08 PM
Two groups of victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy members have launched simultaneous lawsuits against the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, with one class-action suit also naming the Holy See as a defendant. The suit accuses the Catholic church of conspiracy and operating a continuing criminal enterprise under federal racketeering statutes, and attempts to be the first to hold the Vatican liable in the United States for the actions of its clergy.
The suits demand that the church produce the names of all accused sex offenders listed in the church’s secret archives nationwide. Both suits were filed Tuesday, apparently by coincidence, the lawyers said. But the class-action suit, filed in federal court in the District, also seeks financial damages for assault, gross negligence, emotional distress and wrongful death, for the families of those who committed suicide after being abused by a priest or other Catholic official. And the class action seeks to triple those financial damages under the federal Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, originally written to target organized crime but appropriate for a church accused of “cheating and defrauding Plaintiffs and Class members out of their childhood, youth, innocence, virginity, families, jobs, finances, assets — in short, their lives,” according to the lawsuit.
The suit filed in Washington notes that the Holy See has successfully avoided liability in the United States by claiming it did not have direct authority over priests. But then on Monday, as the bishops were meeting at their national conference in Baltimore to address the issue, they were directed by a letter from the Vatican to stop the discussion, and did. “If that’s not command responsibility, I don’t know what is,” said Mitchell A. Toups, one of the lead attorneys in the class-action case.
Editor's note:
“Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues
Science Discovers the Sins of the Father
How Dad’s Stresses Get Passed Along to Offspring
A stressed-out and traumatized father can leave scars in his children. New research suggests this happens because sperm “learn” paternal experiences via a mysterious mode of intercellular communication in which small blebs break off one cell and fuse with another.
Carrying proteins, lipids and nucleic acids, these particles ejected from a cell act like a postal system that extends to all parts of the body, releasing little packages known as extracellular vesicles. Their contents seem carefully chosen. “The cargo inside the vesicle determines not just where it came from but where it’s going and what it’s doing when it gets there,” says Tracy Bale, a neurobiologist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
Preliminary research Bale and others, announced this week at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego, shows how extracellular vesicles can regulate brain circuits and help diagnose neurodegenerative diseases—in addition to altering sperm to disrupt the brain health of resulting offspring.
See: The Sins of the Father
A stressed-out and traumatized father can leave scars in his children. New research suggests this happens because sperm “learn” paternal experiences via a mysterious mode of intercellular communication in which small blebs break off one cell and fuse with another.
Carrying proteins, lipids and nucleic acids, these particles ejected from a cell act like a postal system that extends to all parts of the body, releasing little packages known as extracellular vesicles. Their contents seem carefully chosen. “The cargo inside the vesicle determines not just where it came from but where it’s going and what it’s doing when it gets there,” says Tracy Bale, a neurobiologist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
Preliminary research Bale and others, announced this week at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego, shows how extracellular vesicles can regulate brain circuits and help diagnose neurodegenerative diseases—in addition to altering sperm to disrupt the brain health of resulting offspring.
See: The Sins of the Father
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
The Vatican asked Conference of Bishops to delay vote
The delay on the vote is likely to infuriate American Catholics
The Vatican has angered many Catholics by urging American bishops to delay voting on two proposals relating to the child sex abuse crisis scheduled for discussion at their annual meeting this week.
Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), announced Monday morning during the organization’s annual fall assembly in Baltimore that the Vatican had asked them to delay votes on two scheduled proposals involving the USCCB’s fight against clerical child sex abuse until after a global conference on the subject scheduled to take place at the Vatican in February.
Pope Francis’s handling of the crisis has been widely criticized, with just 53 percent of American Catholics approving of his papacy as of October. Although he issued a 2,000-word apology for the church’s legacy of handling the sex abuse crisis shortly after it began, he has steadfastly refused to comment on Viganò’s allegations against him and has not announced any concrete policy proposals to combat clerical sex abuse — or improve accountability for past crimes — moving forward.
The Vatican has angered many Catholics by urging American bishops to delay voting on two proposals relating to the child sex abuse crisis scheduled for discussion at their annual meeting this week.
Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), announced Monday morning during the organization’s annual fall assembly in Baltimore that the Vatican had asked them to delay votes on two scheduled proposals involving the USCCB’s fight against clerical child sex abuse until after a global conference on the subject scheduled to take place at the Vatican in February.
Pope Francis’s handling of the crisis has been widely criticized, with just 53 percent of American Catholics approving of his papacy as of October. Although he issued a 2,000-word apology for the church’s legacy of handling the sex abuse crisis shortly after it began, he has steadfastly refused to comment on Viganò’s allegations against him and has not announced any concrete policy proposals to combat clerical sex abuse — or improve accountability for past crimes — moving forward.
Monday, November 12, 2018
Catholic bishops delay vote on sex abuse scandals
Catholic bishops delay vote on sex abuse scandals
BALTIMORE, M.D. (NBC News) – The nation’s Catholic bishops have delayed a vote on steps to increase accountability in the midst of the sexual abuse scandal that has been rocking the church for decades.
Meeting in Baltimore, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops offered an apology Monday.
“Allow me now to address survivors of abuse directly, where I have not been watchful or alert to your needs, wherever I have failed, I am deeply sorry,” Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, the conference president, said.
That apology comes without immediate action.
Bishops had planned to vote on new accountability standards for church leaders and to establish a commission which would review sexual abuse claims, but the church asked them to delay the vote until after a meeting at the Vatican next year.
“Although I am disappointed that we’ll not take these actions tomorrow in terms of vote, I remain hopeful this additional consultation will ultimately improve our response to the crisis we face,” DiNardo said.
A support group for church sex abuse survivors says it too is disappointed by the delay, and one survivor suggests it might be up to the courts to do what the church has been unable or unwilling to do.
“They don’t do a very good job of policing themselves,” said Larry Antonsen. “They need to have outside people. I think grand juries in every state would be a good idea with subpoena power.”
Read more here.
BALTIMORE, M.D. (NBC News) – The nation’s Catholic bishops have delayed a vote on steps to increase accountability in the midst of the sexual abuse scandal that has been rocking the church for decades.
Meeting in Baltimore, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops offered an apology Monday.
“Allow me now to address survivors of abuse directly, where I have not been watchful or alert to your needs, wherever I have failed, I am deeply sorry,” Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, the conference president, said.
That apology comes without immediate action.
Bishops had planned to vote on new accountability standards for church leaders and to establish a commission which would review sexual abuse claims, but the church asked them to delay the vote until after a meeting at the Vatican next year.
“Although I am disappointed that we’ll not take these actions tomorrow in terms of vote, I remain hopeful this additional consultation will ultimately improve our response to the crisis we face,” DiNardo said.
A support group for church sex abuse survivors says it too is disappointed by the delay, and one survivor suggests it might be up to the courts to do what the church has been unable or unwilling to do.
“They don’t do a very good job of policing themselves,” said Larry Antonsen. “They need to have outside people. I think grand juries in every state would be a good idea with subpoena power.”
Read more here.
UK home to 23,000 jihadists!
Huge scale of terror threat revealed: UK home to 23,000 jihadists
Intelligence officers have identified 23,000 jihadist extremists living in Britain as potential terrorist attackers, it emerged yesterday.
The scale of the challenge facing the police and security services was disclosed by Whitehall sources after criticism that multiple opportunities to stop the Manchester bomber had been missed.
About 3,000 people from the total group are judged to pose a threat and are under investigation or active monitoring in 500 operations being run by police and intelligence services. The 20,000 others have featured in previous inquiries and are categorised as posing a “residual risk”.
Intelligence officers have identified 23,000 jihadist extremists living in Britain as potential terrorist attackers, it emerged yesterday.
The scale of the challenge facing the police and security services was disclosed by Whitehall sources after criticism that multiple opportunities to stop the Manchester bomber had been missed.
About 3,000 people from the total group are judged to pose a threat and are under investigation or active monitoring in 500 operations being run by police and intelligence services. The 20,000 others have featured in previous inquiries and are categorised as posing a “residual risk”.
Sunday, November 11, 2018
Saturday, November 10, 2018
Anti-Semitism reminder: Kristallnacht, 80 years ago
Anti-Semitism reminder: Kristallnacht, 80 years ago, must be remembered
...On Nov. 9 1938, mobs burned synagogues, destroyed Jewish homes and businesses, vandalized Jewish hospitals, orphanages and cemeteries, and dragged thousands of Jewish men, women and children into the streets, where they were beaten and humiliated. The Germans later called this night "Kristallnacht" — The Night of Broken Glass —- because of the tons of shattered glass that scattered throughout German cities, after it had taken place. The Jews began to call that date the beginning of the Holocaust because of the tremendous violence, which started on that night and grew even more dreadful as time had passed.
On Nov. 7, 1938, the Third Secretary of the German embassy in Paris, Ernst Von Rath, was murdered by Herschel Grynzpan, a 17-year-old German-Jewish refugee. Herschel wanted to avenge his parent's expulsion, together with 15,000 other Polish Jews from Germany to Zbonszym. The Nazis used the murder as an excuse to start the mobs and riots that began the "final solution," the extermination of Jews.
The German government attempted to disguise the violence of those two days as a spontaneous protest on the part of the Aryan population. But in reality, Kristallnacht was organized by the Nazi chiefs and their thugs with technical skill and precision. The Nazi chiefs commanded the Gestapo and the storm troopers to incite mob riots throughout Germany and Austria.
...On Nov. 9 1938, mobs burned synagogues, destroyed Jewish homes and businesses, vandalized Jewish hospitals, orphanages and cemeteries, and dragged thousands of Jewish men, women and children into the streets, where they were beaten and humiliated. The Germans later called this night "Kristallnacht" — The Night of Broken Glass —- because of the tons of shattered glass that scattered throughout German cities, after it had taken place. The Jews began to call that date the beginning of the Holocaust because of the tremendous violence, which started on that night and grew even more dreadful as time had passed.
On Nov. 7, 1938, the Third Secretary of the German embassy in Paris, Ernst Von Rath, was murdered by Herschel Grynzpan, a 17-year-old German-Jewish refugee. Herschel wanted to avenge his parent's expulsion, together with 15,000 other Polish Jews from Germany to Zbonszym. The Nazis used the murder as an excuse to start the mobs and riots that began the "final solution," the extermination of Jews.
The German government attempted to disguise the violence of those two days as a spontaneous protest on the part of the Aryan population. But in reality, Kristallnacht was organized by the Nazi chiefs and their thugs with technical skill and precision. The Nazi chiefs commanded the Gestapo and the storm troopers to incite mob riots throughout Germany and Austria.
Yemen war: US to end refuelling of Saudi-led coalition aircraft
ABC NEWS
The United States is halting refuelling of aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition engaged in Yemen, ending one of the most divisive aspects of US assistance to the Saudi war effort.
The United States is halting refuelling of aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition engaged in Yemen, ending one of the most divisive aspects of US assistance to the Saudi war effort.
Key points:
- Saudi Arabia says it can now aerial refuelling itself
- US Defence Secretary says his government was consulted
- The move comes amid outrage over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi
Saudi Arabia, in a statement released by its embassy in Washington on Friday (local time), said it had decided to request an end to US aerial refuelling for its operations in Yemen because it could now handle it by itself.
US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis backed the decision and said the US Government was consulted.
The move comes at a time of international outrage over the murder of US-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and after Democratic and Republican politicians threatened to take action in Congress next week over the refuelling operations.
Critics of the Saudi campaign — including Democrats, who won control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections this week — have long questioned US involvement in the war, which has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced more than 2 million and led to widespread famine in Yemen since it began in 2015.
California fires Woolsey, Camp and Hill scorch thousands of acres
California fires live updates: Woolsey, Camp and Hill scorch thousands of acres
Three fires are raging throughout California, forcing evacuations and leaving a destructive path.
- The Woolsey fire has scorched 35,000 acres and continues to burn in Malibu, Topanga Canyon and most recently, the San Fernando Valley community of West Hills. At least 250,000 residents have been evacuated.
- The Hill fire pushed through canyons to the edge of Camarillo Springs and Cal State Channel Islands. At least 6,000 acres have burned.
- The Camp fire in Northern California’s Butte County has left nine dead and destroyed more than 6,700 structures. It's one of the state's most devastating fires.
- Officials released lists of evacuation centers where displaced folks can find help — their animals too.
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Yemen aid: End US complicity in this slaughter and starvation
The Sentinel Source
This summer, a Saudi-led coalition fighter jet delivered an airstrike on a bus in northern Yemen. The Saudi government claimed there were Houthi rebels aboard the bus.
When rescue workers arrived, they learned who the passengers were. No rebels, just 60 Yemeni children ages 8 to 14 on a summer camp field trip, along with their teachers. In all, 51 people died, 40 of them children. “It’s the people of Yemen, not the warring parties, who are paying the ultimate price,” an official with the aid group Save the Children told The Washington Post.
The scorched-earth tack that the Saudi kingdom takes in its prosecution of the 3½-year-old war against Iran-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen has turned that Arabian Peninsula nation into the world’s worst man-made humanitarian disaster. More than 16,000 civilians have been killed or injured in the conflict, the U.N. says. As many as 14 million people — nearly half of the country’s population — are on the verge of famine. Yemen also is home to the world’s worst cholera epidemic in modern history, with more than a million Yemenis contracting the disease.
See also
Bombings and Starvation: Focus Turns to Saudi’s War in Yemen
This summer, a Saudi-led coalition fighter jet delivered an airstrike on a bus in northern Yemen. The Saudi government claimed there were Houthi rebels aboard the bus.
When rescue workers arrived, they learned who the passengers were. No rebels, just 60 Yemeni children ages 8 to 14 on a summer camp field trip, along with their teachers. In all, 51 people died, 40 of them children. “It’s the people of Yemen, not the warring parties, who are paying the ultimate price,” an official with the aid group Save the Children told The Washington Post.
The scorched-earth tack that the Saudi kingdom takes in its prosecution of the 3½-year-old war against Iran-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen has turned that Arabian Peninsula nation into the world’s worst man-made humanitarian disaster. More than 16,000 civilians have been killed or injured in the conflict, the U.N. says. As many as 14 million people — nearly half of the country’s population — are on the verge of famine. Yemen also is home to the world’s worst cholera epidemic in modern history, with more than a million Yemenis contracting the disease.
See also
Bombings and Starvation: Focus Turns to Saudi’s War in Yemen
Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Report: Priest pedophilia is on the rise
FINDINGS
(1) Catholic clergy mainly prey on boys: Whereas two-thirds of victims in U.S. sex abuse of minors are girls, the vast majority of clergy sex abuse victims — over 8 in 10 victims — were boys. As girls became more prevalent as altar servers, abusers of boys “responded to the presence of fewer younger boys primarily by turning to older boys, not to female victims.” Comparable reports in Germany indicate that up to 90% of abuse victims of Catholic clergy have been male, compared to about half of victims in Protestant or non-religious settings in that country.
(2) By comparing the share of homosexual Catholic priests with the incidence and victim gender of minor sex abuse victims by Catholic priests from 1950 to 2001, the study found a strong correlation between sexual abuse of minors and two factors:
(a) A disproportionate number of homosexual clergy:
The study found that the increase in the number of homosexual men in the priesthood is “almost perfectly” correlated with more overall abuse and more boys abused compared to girls. The correlation is 0.98, where a correlation of 1.0 is an absolute positive correlation. That means that the number of child victims increased at almost the same rate as the percentage of homosexual priests — the greater the percentage of homosexual priests, the greater the number of child, mainly male, victims. While the correlation was lower among victims under age 8, it was still strong, at 0.77. Researchers usually consider correlation association above 0.3 or 0.4 to be a strong effect.
Saturday, November 3, 2018
Drone Shot Down After Spotting Russian Missile System In Eastern Ukraine
OSCE Mission's Drone Shot Down After Spotting Russian Missile System In Eastern Ukraine
Germany and France say Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine likely shot down a drone being used by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) monitoring mission, demanding that those responsible “be held accountable.”
In a joint statement on November 1, Berlin and Paris also noted that in recent weeks, the drone had observed convoys entering Ukrainian territory across a nonofficial border crossing from Russia on "multiple occasions" and spotted a surface-to-air missile system before the loss of communication.
Fighting between Ukrainian government forces and the separatists has killed more than 10,300 people in eastern Ukraine since April 2014. Russia has repeatedly denied financing and equipping the separatist forces despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, insisting that the fighting was a civil, internal conflict.
Germany and France say Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine likely shot down a drone being used by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) monitoring mission, demanding that those responsible “be held accountable.”
In a joint statement on November 1, Berlin and Paris also noted that in recent weeks, the drone had observed convoys entering Ukrainian territory across a nonofficial border crossing from Russia on "multiple occasions" and spotted a surface-to-air missile system before the loss of communication.
Fighting between Ukrainian government forces and the separatists has killed more than 10,300 people in eastern Ukraine since April 2014. Russia has repeatedly denied financing and equipping the separatist forces despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, insisting that the fighting was a civil, internal conflict.
Eleven States Now Investigating Catholic Church Abuse Scandal
Eleven States Now Investigating Catholic Church Abuse Scandal
The vise is tightening on the Catholic Church.
DOUG MATACONIS · SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2018
The vise is tightening on the Catholic Church.
DOUG MATACONIS · SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2018
Axios is taking note of the fact that the number of state Attorneys General who have opened investigations into the Catholic Church abuse scandal is quickly expanding:
The Attorney General of Virginia Mark Herring announced Wednesday that his office was launching an “ongoing investigation” into possible sexual abuse and coverups by the Catholic dioceses in the state, the Washington Post reports.The big picture: Herring is not alone. Since the Pennsylvania grand jury’s bombshell August report of egregious child sex abuse at the hands of Catholic priests, several other allegations of sexual abuse and ignorance on behalf of the Church have come to light. As a result, several other state investigations have followed.
The states investigating
- Maryland: Attorney General Brian Frosh informed Archbishop William Lori that his office is conducting “an investigation and thorough review” of records relating to child sex abuse from the Church. (Baltimore Sun)
- Vermont: Attorney General T.J. Donovan has appointed a task force to investigate abuses from a Catholic orphanage detailed by a major BuzzFeed News investigation. (CNN)
- Michigan: An “independent, thorough, transparent, and prompt” statewide investigation was launched by the Attorney General’s Office. (Detroit Free Press)
- New Jersey: A task force was created by Attorney General Gurbir Grewal to investigate allegations of abuse in the dioceses of New Jersey. (NJ.com)
- New York: Every Catholic diocese in the state was subpoenaed by the attorney general’s office as part of a civil investigation by the AG’s Charities Bureau. (Washington Post)
- Nebraska: Three Catholic dioceses were directed by the Attorney General’s Office to hand over 40 years’ worth of abuse allegation records. (Omaha World-Herald)
- D.C.: Attorney General Karl Racine said his office was investigating sex abuse in the District. (Washington Post)
- Kentucky: Attorney General J. Michael Brown’s office told The Record that they would soon be “preparing draft legislation that allows for a multi-district/statewide grand jury in Kentucky” to investigate sex abuse.
- Missouri: Attorney General Josh Hawley opened an investigation led by a veteran sex crimes prosecutor. (The Hill)
- New Mexico: Attorney General Hector Balderas asked the state’s three Catholic dioceses to turn over records related to abuse allegations by priests. (CBS)
Friday, November 2, 2018
Islamic attack kills at least 7 Christians in Egypt
Islamic attack against Coptic Christians pilgrims kills at least 7 in Egypt
CAIRO – Islamic militants on Friday ambushed two buses carrying Christian pilgrims on their way to a remote desert monastery south of the Egyptian capital of Cairo, killing seven and wounding up to 16, according to the Interior Ministry and security officials.
Coptic Orthodox Church spokesman Boulos Halim said the death toll was likely to rise. Local church officials in Minya province where the attack took place put the death toll at 10, but the higher figure could not be confirmed.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which bore the hallmarks of Islamic militants who have for years been fighting security forces in the Sinai Peninsula and along Egypt's porous desert border with Libya. The extremist Islamic State group has repeatedly stated its intention to target Egypt's Christians as punishment for their support of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi who, as defense minister, led the military's 2013 ouster of an Islamist president, whose one-year rule proved divisive.
Pope's Silence On Allegations Is A Criminal Conspiracy
EWTN panel: Francis is damaging himself and Church by not answering Viganò’s allegations
WASHINGTON, D.C., November 1, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – The U.S. Church has a serious problem with negligent bishops in the clergy sex abuse crisis, and Pope Francis must act, noted Catholic commentators said on the Oct. 25 broadcast of EWTN’s World Over program.
Canon lawyer and priest for the Archdiocese of New York Father Gerald Murray said in the discussion that homosexuality is very much a factor in the sexual abuse crisis, and Editor-in-chief of The Catholic Thing Robert Royal said both the pope’s legacy and the Church’s credibility hang in the balance with Francis’s response to the scandal.
Host Raymond Arroyo questioned in the waning days of the Youth Synod why so little attention had been given to the story of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s third testimony dispelling and answering back the open letter to him from Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
“I think that Archbishop Viganò responding to Cardinal Ouellet has said very eloquently what’s at stake here,” Murray told Arroyo, and said that Viganò’s testimony may have been lost in the news on the Synod and other things.
“We have a serious problem in the United States with negligence by bishops concerning priests who committed sexual abuse,” Murray said.
He went on to detail the significance of the McCarrick situation as related to how the Church hierarchy has responded to it.
Why hasn’t McCarrick been removed from the priesthood?
“We have the problem of Cardinal, now ex-Cardinal McCarrick,” he said. “Cardinal McCarrick when he was, back in June still Cardinal, he was accused, and reliably accused, according to the Holy See, of having abused an altar boy in St. Patrick’s Cathedral.”
“We’re now at the end of October,” Murray stated. “Why hasn’t Cardinal McCarrick’s trial happened? Why hasn’t he been removed from the priesthood?”
“He wasn’t simply negligent about what other people did,” said Murray. “He’s the one causing the harm.”
“He was then accused by a second person of having abused him since he was 11 years old,” Father Murray added. “The Holy See’s reaction cannot be slow and simply issuing apologies. Victims have been coming forward based on the Pennsylvania matter, now other probes are happening. The Holy See has to act.”
This must include a tribunal set up so that the Church investigates Her own crimes, he said, and doesn’t leave it up to the secular authorities to do it.
Lost Secrets of the Reformation
Lost Secrets of the Reformation was created and read by Bill Heid.
Bill is the Executive Producer of the award-winning Audio Adventure Series: The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty. His mission is to provide the next generation with real Christian heroes by bringing Christian history to life through his Audio Adventures and Live The Adventure Club.
He is married to Kim, is the father of five, grandfather of 17 and is passionate about training up the next generation with sound Christian apologetics and God’s providential history.
You can read more of his challenging thoughts and articles at BillHeid.com