Author: Ron Chambers

China increases military drills as tensions with US heat up

Brad Lendon – August 11, 2020

Hong Kong (CNN)China is stepping up military drills around East Asia as a war of words with the United States heats up over Washington’s military activities and the visit of a US cabinet secretary to Taiwan.

One Chinese think tank even says the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) may consider live-fire exercises near the US island of Guam.

Beijing has stepped up the pace of its war games in recent weeks, after the US sent two aircraft carrier strike groups on rare dual-carrier exercises in the South China Sea twice in the month of July.

But the visit of US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to the self-governed island of Taiwan this week has added fuel to the smoldering tensions. Azar is the highest-ranking US official to visit the island — which Beijing regards as Chinese territory — in decades.

Azar’s presence in Taipei is “a serious breach” of US commitments on Taiwan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Monday afternoon.

“We urge the US side to abide by the one-China principle and the provisions of three China-U.S. joint communiques, stop official interactions and contact of all kinds as well as the upgrading of substantive relations with the island, and handle Taiwan-related issues in a prudent and proper manner, so as not to seriously damage China-US cooperation in major areas as well as peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” Zhao said, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

On Monday morning, China sent fighter jets across the median line in the Taiwan Strait, which Taiwan said its warplanes warned off. The Chinese jets were also tracked by Taiwan’s land-based anti-aircraft missiles, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said.

Though still in international airspace, the Taiwan Strait median line has been an informal but largely respected dividing line for Beijing and Taipei. According to Taiwanese and US government reports, Beijing’s warplanes have only crossed it intentionally three times since 1999 — once in March 2019, in February of this year, and again on Monday.

https://www.cnn.com

Too Soon to Say Brexit Will Lead to EU Breakup But It’ll Have Huge Impact on Bloc’s Economy – Expert

Sputnik News – June 25, 2020

According to statements made public in the British press, the European Union is afraid of being left “fighting for its survival” if the UK secures a strong trade deal at the end of the Brexit transition.

The news follows tense negotiations between Britain and the EU over the level of trade relations they will have once the Brexit transition ends in December. Sputnik has spoken to political commentator Keith Rowe to give more insight into the matter.

Sputnik: How significant are these reported fears from Brussels that the EU will be left fighting for its survival if the UK secures a decent trade deal? What do they represent in your eyes?

Keith Rowe: When you say decent trade deal, do you mean a decent trade deal with the EU? Well, I would have thought that’s in the EU’s advantage if we get a decent trade deal. They want to keep us on side. We buy a lot of stuff, of all types, from the EU. It’s in their interests for us to have a deal.

The point is they wanted it to be as strongly biased in their favour as they can get and I think the British position is that we just want a straightforward, Canada++ style trade deal.

That’s in their best interests, I suspect that they won’t be able to agree with that and unless they really knock some heads together very, very quickly and realise that they’ve got to compromise strongly I suspect that, while it might be in their interests to have a good trade deal with the UK, that they won’t achieve one in time for us to leave. They might achieve one after, but they won’t achieve one in time for us to leave.

https://sputniknews.com

Millions Of Acres Of Crops In The Central U.S. Have Been Destroyed By A Series Of Historic Natural Disasters

– August 12, 2020

While the mainstream media focuses on the upcoming election, COVID-19 and the endless protests going on in our major cities, another great tragedy is unfolding all across the middle of the country.  A nightmarish drought, horrific flooding along the Mississippi River and a giant “derecho” that just hit the farm belt have combined to make this one of the toughest years for farmers ever.  And this comes at a particularly bad time, because the stress that the COVID-19 pandemic has put on food distribution systems has already created periodic shortages of certain items around the nation.  We definitely could have used an uneventful growing season this year, and unfortunately we didn’t get it.

On Monday, an absolutely massive “derecho” roared through the Midwest.  According to USA Today, the storm had winds of up to 112 miles per hour…

The storm had winds of up to 112 mph near Cedar Rapids, Iowa – as powerful as an inland hurricane – as it tore from eastern Nebraska across Iowa and parts of Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois, including Chicago and its suburbs.

Most hurricanes don’t have winds that high once they finally reach shore, and I have personally never experienced wind speeds of such magnitude.

Needless to say, this very unusual storm caused immense devastation.  According to Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, approximately 10 million acres of crops were destroyed in Iowa alone…

Early estimates say the derecho flattened at least one-third of Iowa’s crops – about 10 million acres, according to Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. In addition, tens of millions of bushels of grain that were stored at co-ops and on farms were damaged or destroyed as bins blew away.

And it rocked Marshalltown, Iowa, where an EF-3 tornado destroyed the town’s business district just two years ago. With winds of 99 mph, Monday’s storm damaged some businesses that had recently recovered, even damaging the scaffolding being used to repair the historic courthouse dome.

I can’t remember a storm ever causing this much damage in the middle of the summer.

If about 10 million acres were flattened just in Iowa, how many more acres did this storm destroy in Nebraska, Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois?

Sadly, this one storm is going to completely financially ruin some farmers.  For example, Iowa farmer Tim Bardole is facing losses that could potentially exceed one million dollars.

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com

China Quarantines Region While Second Case Of Bubonic Plague Diagnosed in New Mexico.

ETH – August 13, 2020

(BIN) – While the WHO declares that there is nothing to worry about, China is sealing off entire villages and a man died in New Mexico from a rare form of the plague that once killed off half the world population.

China sealed off several villages in Inner Mongolia in a second attempt to contain the spread of a new outbreak of bubonic plague. A man died in the region’s city of Bayannur from multiple organ failure after contracting the disease. Authorities in Bayannur said:

“The place of residence of the deceased is locked down, and a comprehensive epidemiological investigation is being carried out.” Thirty-five contacts of the man have been sent into quarantine. The statement added: “Currently, there is a risk of the human plague spreading in our city.”

Last Thursday another person died from circulatory system failure due to infection with bubonic plague. The World Health Organization (WHO) says it is “carefully monitoring” a case of bubonic plague in China’s northern Inner Mongolia region, but says that it is “not high risk”.

In a seemingly unrelated case, a man in his 20s died of the septicaemic plague in New Mexico last week. This was the second case of septicaemic plague in New Mexico in less after a man in his 60s was diagnosed with bubonic plague in New Mexico’s Santa Fe County last month.

Septicaemic plague is the rarest of the three plague varieties which include bubonic plague. Like bubonic, septicaemic plague is spread by bites from infected fleas or by direct contact with animals. Animals carrying the disease can include rodents, wildlife, and pets.

https://endtimeheadlines.org

Here We Go: Ventura County, California, Sues Church to Halt Services

Jeff Reynolds – August 07, 2020

Ventura County, Calif., has voted to order a church to stop conducting services and sermons due to the CCP coronavirus pandemic. The pastor, Rob McCoy, has continued to hold services, exerting his First Amendment right to practice his religion. McCoy, pastor of Godspeak Calvary Chapel, says he’s willing to go to jail over the principle. and that the orders for churches in California to shut down while other activities are allowed to continue are arbitrary and discriminatory. A Ventura County Superior Court judge issued a temporary restraining order on Friday halting all services until a hearing on August 31.

Lawyers for Godspeak announced,

The church intends to present expert witnesses for the purpose of establishing that the State of California and the County of Ventura lack a compelling interest for the prohibition of indoor worship services and that the decision to prevent indoor worship services, while allowing other indoor activities, is arbitrary and without a rational basis. Godspeak Calvary Chapel will file a cross complaint against both the County of Ventura, State of California and the officials enforcing the orders.

The Ventura County Star reported:

Ventura County officials on Wednesday sued Newbury Park Pastor Rob McCoy and the chapel he heads to force compliance with public health orders intended to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The filing came a day after the Ventura County Board of Supervisors authorized legal counsel to seek restraining orders and other enforcement actions against individuals and entities who refuse to comply with the orders.

Supervisors Steve Bennett, Linda Parks and John Zaragoza voted in favor. Chairwoman Kelly Long and Supervisor Bob Huber opposed the motion.

In the lawsuit filed in Ventura County Superior Court, the county and Public Health Officer Dr. Robert Levin said McCoy and the Godspeak Calvary Chapel had violated the orders, causing “great and irreparable injury” to the public by creating a significant risk of further community spread. The suit also claims that the defendants have created a public nuisance.

Pastor McCoy has posted regular updates on the situation on the church’s YouTube channel.

https://pjmedia.com

The Satanic Temple Raffles Free Abortion, Admits that Aborting Unborn Babies is a Satanic Ritual

Steve Warren – August 7, 2020

The Satanic Temple (TST) has announced it’s raffling a free abortion to promote the organization’s religious abortion ritual, while it argues that its members’ religious rights are exempt from any state laws or any regulations that might block access to abortion services during the first trimester.

According to TST, the free abortion can be medical or surgical and is transferable upon request.

Headquartered in Salem, Massachusetts, TST describes its new Satanic abortion ritual as a “spiritual experience designed to instill confidence and self-worth in accordance to TST’s religious beliefs.” The organization contends those who practice the Satanic abortion ritual are exempt from being subjected to waiting periods, mandatory counseling, forced viewing of sonograms, and reading materials as required in many states.

“TST bases its assertions of abortion mandate exemptions on the protections provided by State Religious Freedom Restoration Acts or RFRA, which generally prohibits the government from substantially interfering with a person’s free exercise of religion,” TST said in a press release.

The Satanic Temple claims their abortion ritual as practiced by its members is exempt from the existing abortion regulations on the basis of religious liberty. They point to the 2014 Supreme Court ruling that Hobby Lobby as a business had the right not to cover birth control, including abortifacient drugs, as a part of its health care program for its employees, because of its religious beliefs that viewed such a practice as immoral.

TST says all abortions by its members are religious acts of Satanism and protected under the ruling.

https://www1.cbn.com

Scientists Have Warned That A 400 Foot Tsunami Could Hit The East Coast If An Asteroid Hit The Atlantic Ocean

– August 4, 2020

We live at a time when giant space rocks are whizzing past our planet with alarming regularity.  Sometimes we know in advance that they are coming, and sometimes we don’t.  In fact, on July 28th an asteroid the size of a car zipped past our planet “at a range that rivals the orbits of some high-flying satellites”, but we had only spotted it for the very first time on July 26th.  If we couldn’t see that one until it was nearly upon us, could it be possible that there are much larger potential threats hurtling toward our planet that we currently know nothing about?

In 1998, a big Hollywood movie entitled “Deep Impact” imagined what would happen if a very large asteroid hit the Atlantic Ocean.  It is hard to believe that it has been more than 20 years since it first came out, because I can still remember it very vividly.  In one of the most memorable scenes in the film, a massive tsunami that is hundreds of feet tall slams into the east coast of the United States causing immense death and destruction.

But that is just a movie.  Could something similar actually happen in real life?

On Tuesday, a British news source reminded us that scientists have discovered that such a scenario is actually a very real possibility…

A computer simulation of an asteroid impact tsunami developed by scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz (USCS), showed waves as high as 400 feet sweeping onto the Atlantic Coast of the US.

Steven Ward, a researcher at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics at UCSC, and Erik Asphaug, an associate professor of Earth sciences, reported their findings in the Geophysical Journal International.

Of course an asteroid could potentially hit anywhere on the planet, but in their research Ward and Asphaug specifically focused on the Atlantic Ocean, and what their computer simulation came up with was extremely disconcerting…

For the simulation, the researchers chose an impact site consistent with the orientation of the Earth at the time of the predicted encounter – in the Atlantic Ocean about 360 miles from the US coast.

Dr Ward explained that the 60,000-megaton blast of the impact could vaporise the asteroid and blow a cavity in the ocean 11 miles across and all the way down to the seafloor, which is about three miles deep at that point.

Such an impact would send a series of giant waves in all directions, including toward the east coast of the United States.

http://endoftheamericandream.com

Nuke first, ask questions later! Top military officers reveal Moscow could respond to ANY rocket attack with a nuclear strike

Jonny Tickle – August 7, 2020

Fire any ballistic missile at Russia, and Moscow might respond with a nuclear warhead. That’s according to the Russian Defense Ministry, which has publicly disclosed its conditions for launching a nuclear strike.

“Any attacking missile will be treated as a nuclear-equipped missile. Information about the launch of an automatic missile will be communicated to the country’s top leadership, which, depending on the situation, will determine the scale of the nuclear forces’ response,” wrote Andrey Sterlin, a member of Russia’s General Staff and Alexander Khryapin, a top military scientist, in the Defense Ministry’s newspaper Red Star.

The pair explained that the Russian missile attack warning system cannot determine whether a launched missile is nuclear or non-nuclear and will, therefore, be treated as a worst-case scenario. Especially given the short response time available to a nuclear attack.

The New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) nuclear arms reduction agreement between the US and Russia is due to expire on February 5, 2021, with US President Donald Trump refusing to extend the end date, believing it is favorable to Moscow. The treaty limits the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads, and allows both countries to monitor each other, both remotely and on-site.

Sterlin and Khryapin believe that the expiry of the treaty would enable the US to limitlessly build up their stock of weapons and once again leave the planet “teetering on the brink of a global nuclear catastrophe.”

https://www.rt.com

Congressman urges DOJ to investigate ‘disturbing trend’ of attacks on churches across the country

Carlos Garcia – August 6, 2020

A congressman urged the Department of Justice to investigate what he called a “disturbing trend” of attacks and vandalism on churches across the nation.

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) made the request in a letter to U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday after a rash of attacks on Catholic churches in his district.

“Since June, there have been nearly a dozen reported attacks on Catholic churches around the nation. These disturbing attacks range from arson to the beheading of a statue of the Virgin Mary,” wrote Fleischmann, who is Catholic.

“I find these attacks to be a disturbing trend, happening in multiple areas across the nation, including within my own congressional district,” he added.

“In times of uncertainty we naturally turn to religion for comfort and peace, something many Americans are seeking as we combat COVID-19, but these attacks add another level of distress for many across our nation,” Fleischmann continued.

“I commend the Department of Justice’s commitment,” he concluded, “under your leadership, to combating religious discrimination and I look forward to our continued work together to uphold and protect religious freedom in the United States.”

Churches have been targeted for looting and arson across the United States in recent months. Some of the attacks have been a part of the rioting stemming from the protests over the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody in late May.

Some of the rioting focused on statues meant to honor saints of the Catholic church. In San Francisco, California, a group of around 100 rioters toppled a statue of Catholic missionary St. Junipero Serra, despite historic evidence that he defended the rights of Native Americans.

In another recent case of vandalism against a church, someone wrote racist threats on the air conditioning unit of the Murph-Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in North Highlands, California.

https://www.theblaze.com

There Is Currently A Mysterious Outbreak Of Flesh-Eating Bacteria Buruli Ulcer In Australia

Strange Sounds – August 7, 2020

There is currently an outbreak of a tropical disease called Buruli ulcer, which has been centered along a portion of Australia’s southern coast, more precisely in the serene beachside suburbs of Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula.

Australia has seen occasional cases of the disease since the 1930s. However, since 2017, more than 100 people have been infected with this type of flesh-eating bacteria that is rarely seen in this part of the world.

And Victoria’s recent outbreak has mystified researchers over the past few years, particularly regarding its source and how the disease is being spread.

What is Buruli Ulcer?

The little-known illness is caused by a pathogen known as a mycobacterium (Mycobacterium ulcerans).

It’s named for Buruli county in Uganda, which is where scientists first identified the collection of symptoms as a specific condition.

Once the bacterium enters the skin, it releases a unique toxin known as mycolactone and begins breaking down and consuming flesh, leaving painful and debilitating wounds that can be disfiguring if left untreated.

The bacterium not only damages the tissues it inhabits, but also is able to prevent the immune system from mounting a defense.

That’s the same genus of microorganisms that cause tuberculosis and leprosy, among other illnesses.

https://strangesounds.org