Author: Ron Chambers

Undercover Journalist Hits Planned Parenthood with Defamation Lawsuit

– September 18, 2020

Undercover journalist David Daleiden filed a defamation lawsuit against Planned Parenthood, alleging that a communications officer gave false statements to a publication regarding organ harvesting operations.

Attorneys for Daleiden at the Thomas More Society said that the nation’s largest abortion organization orchestrated a smear campaign to distract from the content of his work, which featured candid conversations with Planned Parenthood executives about the trade of baby body parts.

“We have not been surprised over their campaign to smear the reputation of Mr. Daleiden, but they are not allowed to falsely besmirch his reputation for exposing the truth,” Thomas More Society president Tom Brejcha said in a statement.

The complaint cites a quote given by a communications officer from Planned Parenthood to Rewire News that accused Daleiden and his organization, the Center for Medical Progress, of having “manufacture[d] a fake smear campaign against Planned Parenthood.” It also cites a tweet from November 2019 that claimed Daleiden, who posed as a prospective buyer of fetal organs, distorted the truth in his videos.

“In reality, as PPFA and its representatives recorded on the Videos readily admit in other fora, Plaintiffs’ videos accurately record Planned Parenthood officials’ own shocking words spoken in real life,” the complaint says.

https://freebeacon.com

Prominent Rabbi Breaks Silence: ‘Messiah Coming this Year!’

Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz – September 18, 2020

There have been 5,780 holidays of Rosh Hashanna since the creation of the world but if a prominent rabbi’s prediction proves true, in just a few short weeks, Rosh Hashanna number 5,781 will be quite special.

Rabbi Shalom Arush, an Israeli Breslov rabbi and founder of the Chut Shel Chessed Institutions, made an entirely uncharacteristic announcement: On September 18, Jews will be celebrating the last New Year without the Messiah.

“I am going to tell you with certainty that Hashem (God, literally ‘the name) will help us meet together after Rosh Hashanna,” Rabbi Arush said in an interview last week. “And remember well what I am telling you, that this Rosh Hashana will be the last one without Moshiach (Messiah). And it could very well be that on this Rosh Hashanna the Messiah will be revealed.”

The rabbi emphasized that he has never made such a statement before.

“Anyone who knows me knows that for over 40 years I am teaching, and have I never spoken about Messiah,” Rabbi Arush said. “But these are things that are clear and everyone sees them. I can’t explain but please, don’t miss out on this. Because this year, you will receive gifts like never before.”

https://www.israel365news.com

Tense India-China border raises fears of inadvertent escalation

DW – September 9, 2020

Tensions between China and India are running dangerously high, as troops from both sides face off in a remote Himalayan region and accuse each other of firing warning shots along their disputed border.

Over the past few months, Chinese and Indian troops have been engaged in aggressive posturing at multiple locations along the two nations’ de facto border, known as Line of Actual Control, raising tensions between the world’s two most populous countries.

The two nuclear-armed neighbors have accused each other of firing in the air during a fresh flare-up in the Ladakh region on Monday, violating long-standing protocols to avoid using firearms along their undemarcated borders.

“The Sino-Indian border conflict has intensified further over the past few weeks, and I still believe that neither side wants a war, but neither side is willing to back down from it either because of the symbolic and psychological consequences,” Derek Grossman, a senior defense analyst at the RAND Corporation, told DW.

“The situation is tense,” an official in New Delhi told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday, adding that Indian and Chinese troops were squaring off in close proximity in at least four locations south of Lake Pangong Tso that both sides lay claim to.

Srikanth Kondapalli, professor of Chinese studies at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, shares a similar view. “The situation on the ground is tense. Yesterday, the Chinese air force was on the second level of alert and surface-to-air missile batteries were activated to counter any adversary air force movement,” he told DW.

“Although the firing was in the air and not against each other, it’s definitely an escalation,” he added.

https://www.dw.com

Bahrain agrees to normalize relations with Israel, Trump announces

Jerusalem Post – September 11, 2020

Bahrain has joined the United Arab Emirates in striking an agreement to normalize relations with Israel, President Donald Trump said on Friday, a dramatic move aimed at easing tensions in the Middle East.

Trump tweeted out the news after he spoke by phone to both Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House said.

Trump also tweeted: “Another HISTORIC breakthrough today! Our two GREAT friends Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain agree to a Peace Deal – the second Arab country to make peace with Israel in 30 days!”

“This is a historic breakthrough to further peace in the Middle East,” the United States, Bahrain and Israel said in a joint statement.

“Opening direct dialog and ties between these two dynamic societies and advanced economies will continue the positive transformation of the Middle East and increase stability, security, and prosperity in the region,” it said.

Netanyahu said the agreement marks a “new era of peace.”

https://www.jpost.com

10 Percent of Oregon Told to Evacuate as US West Wildfires Kill 24

Newsmax – September 11, 2020

Around half a million people in Oregon, or 10% of the state’s population, were ordered to evacuate on Friday and residents of its largest city, Portland, were told to be ready to go as extreme wind-driven wildfires scorched U.S. West Coast states, causing at least 24 deaths.

About 100 wildfires have burned an area nearly as large as the state of New Jersey across the U.S. West, creating smoke that gave California, Oregon and Washington state the worst air quality levels in the world.

Oregon bore the brunt of the destruction, with search teams still unable to enter areas where fires burned through multiple small communities in the Cascade mountains.

Molalla, a community about 25 miles (40 km) south of downtown Portland, was an ash-covered ghost town after its more than 9,000 residents were told to evacuate, only 30 refusing to leave, the city’s fire department said.

The logging town was on the front line of a vast evacuation zone stretching north to within three miles (4.8 km) of downtown Portland, with Clackamas County police setting a 10 p.m. PT (0500 on Saturday GMT) curfew to deter “possible increased criminal activity.”

About 10 percent of the state’s population faced red “GO!” warnings to leave homes immediately, while hundreds of thousands more were under yellow “BE SET” warnings, to leave at a moment’s notice, or green “BE READY” alerts.

Towns southeast of Portland were at the mercy of wind direction and strength after two of Oregon’s largest wildfires merged into one.

https://www.newsmax.com

Giant clouds of mosquitoes are so thick since Hurricane Laura that they’re killing cattle and horses in Louisiana

Strange Sounds – September 11, 2020

Experts in southwest Louisiana say clouds of mosquitoes have been so thick since Hurricane Laura that they’re killing cattle and horses.

According to first estimates, hundreds of cattle and a few horses have been killed in a five-parish area in southwest Louisiana.

Veterinarian Craig Fontenot of Ville Platte says the swarms drain animals’ blood and animals also become exhausted from constantly moving in an attempt to avoid the biting insects.

LSU AgCenter agent Jeremy Hebert said he has spoken to several cattle owners who have lost as many as eight animals. He had also heard of three mosquito-related deaths of horses.

Fontenot estimates that hundreds of cattle and a few horses have been killed in his five-parish area.

“There’s a lot on the verge of dying,” Fontenot said.

LSU AgCenter agents say spraying has begun to thin the hordes pushed out of marshes by the storm that made landfall Aug. 27.

https://strangesounds.org

LGBTQ+ Group Threatens to Burn Down Church after Pastor Says Homosexuality Is a Sin

Milton Quintanilla – September 9, 2020

UK Pastor John Williamson of Newquay Baptist Church is facing violent threats from members of the LGBTQ+ community for insisting that homosexuality is a sin.

According to Christian Concern, a UK based watchdog organization, Williamson simply wrote, ”wonderful news!” in response to a news article that stated that the Cornwall Pride Parade was canceled. The festivities were originally scheduled to take place on August 29.

When an online user asked Williamson why he celebrated the cancellation, the pastor replied, “because I don’t think sin should be celebrated.”

Williamson proceeded to use Scripture to defend his stance on homosexuality. He cited the books of John, James, and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.

The pastor then shared the article on his personal Facebook page, noting that his church had previously prayed for the cancellation of the parade.

“We also prayed that the Lord would save the organizers. One prayer answered, now we wait for the second prayer to be answered,” he added.

But the parade organizers caught wind of Williamson’s page, took a screenshot of his post, tagged his church and posted it together with anti-LGBTQ+ comments by online users.

The names of the users were blocked out by Cornell Pride, in order to make it seem like Pastor Williamson was the one behind the negative comments.

Williamson’s wife received online threats as her husband’s head was superimposed upon an image of homosexual pornography, which was also shared online.

The pastor was then reported by Cornwall Pride’s followers to police for hate speech as well as committing a hate crime.

https://www.christianheadlines.com

Suicides Among U.S. Kids, Young Adults Jumped 57% in Past Decade

Alex Tanzi and Wei Lu – September 11, 2020

(Bloomberg) — Increasing numbers of American children and young adults died by suicide in recent years, and the Covid-19 pandemic threatens to continue the trend.

Suicide rates among youth ages 10 to 24 increased by 57% between 2007 and 2018, data released Thursday from the National Center for Health Statistics shows, rising from almost 7 per 100,000 population to nearly 11. Comparing three-year averages from 2007 to 2009 to the time period between 2016 and 2018 brought the increase down to 47%.

The U.S. suicide rate among all age groups was 14 per 100,000 in 2018.

“There are many reasons to suspect that suicide rates will increase this year too, not just because of Covid-19 but because stress and anxiety seem to be permeating every aspect of our lives,” said Shannon Monnat, co-director of the Policy, Place, and Population Health Lab at Syracuse University.

The 2016 to 2018 suicide rate among those between ages 10 and 24 was highest in more rural states including Alaska, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and New Mexico. Alaska topped that list with 31.4 young suicides per 100,000 population.

Northeastern states — including New Jersey, Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts — showed the lowest rates. Despite their relatively small numbers, New Jersey experienced a 39% rise, New York saw an increase of about 44%, and Massachusetts showed a jump of 64%.

Rates more than doubled in New Hampshire, and the majority of states showed an increase between 30% and 60%.

https://www.msn.com

Trump-Appointed Judge Rules Photographer Doesn’t Have to Shoot Gay Weddings

Marisa Herman – August 17, 2020

U.S. District Judge Justin Reed Walker ruled that a Louisville-based photographer can opt out of providing services to LGBTQ customers, Raw Story reports.

In a Friday ruling, the judge decided that Christian photographer Chelsey Nelson can’t be compelled to take photos of same-sex weddings because photos are “art” and art is a form of speech.

Nelson has not been asked to take photos for any LGBTQ couples or customers. The city of Louisville also has an ordinance prohibiting LGBTQ discrimination.

Despite the local rule, Walker ruled that no government can force people to make any speech against their will. Nelson’s photos are considered speech.

Walker also ruled that requiring Nelson to take photos goes against her religious beliefs.

“Just as gay and lesbian Americans cannot be treated as social outcasts or as inferior in dignity and worth,” the judge wrote, “neither can Americans ‘with a deep faith that requires them to do things passing legislative majorities might find unseemly or uncouth.'”

Last year, Nelson asked the Louisville District Court to issue an injunction so that she would not have to comply with the city’s Fairness Ordinance, which bans discrimination against LGBTQ customers.

According to Raw Story, she made the request in order to protect herself from being sued if the city became aware of her refusal to take photos of shoot same-sex marriages. Walker’s ruling states she can’t be punished for advertising on her website or social media that she only photographs and blogs about opposite-sex ceremonies.

https://www.newsmax.com

Sea of troubles: Tensions flare across Mediterranean as world powers jockey for power

Guy Taylor -September 2, 2020

The Mediterranean — an on-again, off-again geopolitical hot spot since before the pyramids were built — is emerging anew as a sea of division and instability, with powers including Russia, China, Turkey and Israel jostling aggressively for influence, natural resources and military advantage.

Moscow is eyeing a possible military base along the oil-rich shores of Libya. China is seeking investment deals across the region. Turkey is clashing with NATO partner Greece over drilling rights and militarized islands. Newly discovered offshore natural gas deposits have nations scrambling to stake their claims.

Even the Trump administration on Wednesday partially lifted an arms embargo with Cyprus in what was widely interpreted as a shot across Turkey’s bow.

Analysts generally agree that NATO is failing to ease regional tensions. The U.S., despite multiple interests, lacks leverage in many of the disputes, with President Trump accelerating a U.S. pullback begun under President Obama that opened a power vacuum that others are now scrambling to fill.

While a range of unsavory players are making moves — Iran, Hezbollah and the Islamic State are among those seeking to exploit the situation — many in Europe and Washington are pointing the finger at Turkey for escalating the crisis by threatening to use force to take possession of natural gas finds beneath a string of Mediterranean islands that most in Europe say belongs to Greece.

The two NATO member states are now locked in a dangerous maritime standoff that is shaking the alliance to its core, with mediation attempts by Germany and others in the European Union so far going nowhere while the Trump administration warily monitors the situation.

https://www.washingtontimes.com