Author: Ron Chambers

Scientists Start Construction of World’s Largest Fusion Reactor

Victor Tangermann – July 28, 2020

Today, engineers started construction of the world’s largest nuclear fusion project in southern France, The Guardian reports, with operations planned to begin in late 2025.

The project, called ITER, is an international collaborative effort between 35 countries with enormous ambitions: prove the feasibility of fusion energy with a gigantic magnetic device called a “tokamak,” as per the project’s official website.

“Enabling the exclusive use of clean energy will be a miracle for our planet,” ITER director-general Bernard Bigot said during today’s virtual celebration, as quoted by The Guardian.

Fusion power, in theory, works by harnessing the energy released by two lighter atomic nuclei fusing to form a heavier nucleus, and turning it into electricity.

If proven to be economical — that is, if the machine generates more energy than has to be put in to kickstart the process — the technology could lay the groundwork for an entirely new way of generating nearly unlimited clean energy on a commercial scale. Fusion power would be far safer than conventional fission nuclear energy, since there’s no risk of a meltdown or leftover nuclear waste.

But if the last six decades of fusion research are anything to go by, it remains an elusive way of generating net energy. The extremely hot plasma inside the fusion reactors is notoriously difficult to predict and control.

https://futurism.com

Taiwan says threat of military clash with China is ‘on the rise’

Gerry Shih – July 22, 2020

TAIPEI, Taiwan – The prospect of a military clash in the Taiwan Strait is rising precariously, the Taiwanese foreign minister warned Wednesday, urging “extreme caution” in the island’s dealings with a Chinese leadership in Beijing that he described as both increasingly emboldened and insecure.

The Chinese military has held a growing number of exercises that simulate an invasion of Taiwan, a self-ruled island about 80 miles off China’s east coast that considers the United States its main military and diplomatic backer. The pace and scale of China’s drills, as well as those of U.S. naval and air forces deployed to the region, have risen in recent months as relations between Beijing and Washington plummet on numerous fronts.

Relations took another sharp turn Wednesday after the State Department said it ordered China to close its consulate in Houston.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said this week the United States would sell more arms to Taiwan as part of a $10 billion deal approved by Congress. He also said the U.S. military would reposition forces across Asia to prepare for a confrontation with China in flash points including self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its territory and has vowed for decades to take by force, if necessary. Inside China, the government has faced growing calls from hawkish military pundits and nationalist commentators to grasp the current strategic window to seize Taiwan, an accomplishment that could rally the Chinese population and burnish leader Xi Jinping’s political legacy.

Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said Wednesday he was worried China has conducted an “unprecedented” number of sea and air drills around Taiwan in 2020, with the pace rising to nearly once every day since June. “The threat is on the rise,” he said.

https://www.thehour.com

China Orders US Consulate in Chengdu Closed

NewsMax – July 24, 2020

China ordered the United States on Friday to close its consulate in the western city of Chengdu, ratcheting up a diplomatic conflict at a time when relations have sunk to their lowest level in decades.

The move was a response to the Trump administration’s order this week for Beijing to close its consulate in Houston after Washington accused Chinese agents of trying to steal medical and other research in Texas.

The Chinese foreign ministry appealed to Washington to reverse its “wrong decision.”

Chinese-U.S. relations have soured amid a mounting array of conflicts including trade, the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, technology, spying accusations, Hong Kong and allegations of abuses against Chinese Muslims.

“The measure taken by China is a legitimate and necessary response to the unjustified act by the United States,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

“The current situation in Chinese-U.S. relations is not what China desires to see. The United States is responsible for all this,” it said. “We once again urge the United States to immediately retract its wrong decision and create necessary conditions for bringing the bilateral relationship back on track.”

Also Friday, the U.S. State Department sent out a notice warning Americans in China of a “heightened risk of arbitrary detention.”

https://www.newsmax.com

Brexit mastermind Nigel Farage is looking to repeat the impossible by helping Italy liberate itself from the EU’s shackles

RT – July 23, 2020

British politician Farage has been revealed as a behind-the-scenes figure in advising a new ‘Italexit’ party that will campaign for a return of Italy’s sovereignty, fuelled by a rising tide of anti-EU sentiment.

Just when you thought he’d been consigned to history, Mr. Brexit himself, Nigel Farage, is back. Only this time, he’s franchising out his brand to take another swing at the establishment.

Italexit is all systems go after publicly confirming its plan and Farage is on board. The leader of the party that was officially launched on Thursday, Gianluigi Paragone, is an Italian senator who was expelled from the Five Star Movement after refusing to vote in line with the party’s wishes.

Paragone is a charismatic speaker, has right-wing leanings and was formerly the editor of the nationalist party Northern League’s newspaper.

“I met Nigel Farage, leader of the Brexit Party in London, who triumphed in the British referendum by bringing the United Kingdom out of the European Union cage,” Paragone said earlier this week. “I confronted him on the present and future of a truly sovereign country which, even more so after Brexit, is able to give real answers to citizens.”

Even with a solid CV, Paragone is a mere rookie and Farage is the Grand Wizard. No one would dispute that without him, Brexit wouldn’t have happened. Farage drove the bus at top speed, crashing through any obstacle that got in his way. He’s often seen bobbing about in the English Channel documenting the illegal arrival of immigrants.

He beat the drum for national pride and escaped the clutches of EU bureaucrats. His rivals brand him racist, heartless, and arrogant.

What maybe isn’t so widely known is that Farage was the classic Trojan Horse. He had been a member of the European Parliament since 1999. The reason he lost his seat?

https://www.rt.com

Christ Statue Beheaded, Churches Torched, Vandalized with Satanic Symbols Across US and the World

Steve Warren – July 21,2020

As the “cancel culture” crowd continues to rampage across the US and around the world, tearing down statues of historical figures, they have now apparently targeted statues depicting Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary as well as burning church buildings and vandalizing places of worship with Satanic symbols.

In recent days, several Catholic churches have been vandalized by unknown perpetrators who left behind no motivation for the attacks.

The pastor of St. Joseph’s Church in New Haven, Conn., found a satanic pentagram and an anarchist symbol painted in pink paint on the front doors of the church building, according to the New Haven Register.

Archdiocese of Hartford officials posted news of the vandalism on their Facebook page, writing, “This follows an apparent trend of desecrating Catholic spaces throughout the nation, as evidenced by incidents in Chattanooga, Queens, Boston, Sacramento, and Ocala. The underlying motive of these sacrilegious attacks is clear: to intimidate and instill fear in the hearts of those who worship Christ.”

“Therefore, we remain unafraid and resolute in our faith, and we will pray for a conversion of the hearts of those who wish to terrorize us,” it said.

“Today, even in the midst of anti-Christian sentiment and actions, however, we do not answer hate with hate,” it said. “To the contrary, these attacks make our love and unity stronger, and our prayers ever more steadfast.”

https://www1.cbn.com

Biblical Swarms of Voracious Locusts Jump From Argentina to Brazil, Threatening Winter Crops – Devastating Plague Heading North With Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador and Belize Already Reporting Insects – Mexico and the U.S. Next?

Strange Sounds – July 20, 2020

Weather conditions may be forming to send a cloud of locusts in northern Argentina over the border to Brazil, threatening winter crops in the giant farming nation.

The locusts are now about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Rio Grande do Sul state border.

But wind currents on Wednesday may take the insects into Brazil, Celso Oliveira, a meteorologist at Somar Meteorologia in São Paulo, said by text.

The swarm could harm wheat, canola and barley crops in the western part of the state, as well as native vegetation, he said.

In late June, Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry declared a state of emergency in two southern states to allow officials to take precautions.

The locusts have remained in Argentine territory since then, after arriving from Paraguay in May. A second cloud is in Paraguay, about 300 kilometers from the border, Argentine officials said Thursday.

While the phenomena has always been present in South America, excessive dryness and warmer temperatures this year have seem them thrive. The most recent invasions in Argentina were in 2019 and 2017.

And according to the following videos, the locusts seem to move towards north and start invading countries like Colombia:

https://strangesounds.org

11th case of dengue fever confirmed in the Florida Keys

Associated Press – July 8, 2020

KEY LARGO, Fla. – An 11th case of the mosquito-borned dengue fever has been confirmed in the Florida Keys, health officials said.

So far, all 11 cases have been in Key Largo, including 8 cases the last week of June, the Florida Department of Health officials said Tuesday.

Officials are “currently conducting epidemiological studies to determine the origin and extent of these infections,” Florida Keys spokeswoman Alison Kerr told the Miami Herald.

The latest patient has been treated and is expected to make a complete recovery, Kerr said.

Health department officials believe all of the cases were locally acquired, the Herald reported.

One case of dengue fever has been confirmed Miami-Dade County, according to health department spokeswoman Olga Connor.

The disease is transmitted through the bite of the female Aedes aegypti mosquito, an invasive species that also spreads diseases like yellow fever, Zika and chikungunya.

Symptoms typically appear within 14 days of being bitten and include severe muscle aches and pains, fever and sometimes a rash, according to the health department.

The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District said helicopters and trucks are targeting the adult mosquitoes and larvae, said Chad Huff.

District workers are also doing door-to-door house inspections at homes and businesses in Key Largo to check for adult mosquitoes and larvae.

https://www.fox5ny.com

Many Americans See The Hand Of God At Work In Current Events

– July 23,2020

2020 has been an incredibly bizarre year up to this point, and this has many people wondering if the hand of God is at work.  And the worse things get, the more this sort of speculation will heat up.  When things get crazy, people search for answers, and that can be a good thing.  Because the truth is that during normal times most of us are way too self-absorbed and most of us spend far too little time thinking about the things that really matter.  2020 has really shaken up a large portion of the U.S. population, and we should hope that all of this shaking ultimately moves our society in a more positive direction.

Right now, COVID-19 is dominating the headlines day after day, and the debates that I have seen on social media platforms about this pandemic have often gotten quite heated.

I knew that many people had extremely passionate opinions about COVID-19, but what I didn’t realize is that a large percentage of them are also convinced that God is somehow involved.  In fact, an Associated Press/NORC survey found that 63 percent of all religious Americans believe that this pandemic is “a sign from God”…

Sixty-three percent of religious Americans say that the novel coronavirus pandemic is a sign from God, telling humanity to change its ways of living, according a new poll.

The poll, which was conducted by the Associated Press/NORC, surveyed 1,002 U.S. adults who say they believe in God.

I was stunned to see a number that high.  The Bible does tell us that there will be “pestilences” in the last days, and it would have been very interesting to see how many respondents to that survey believe that this COVID-19 pandemic is one of those pestilences.

In any event, if this pandemic actually does inspire vast numbers of Americans to live better lives, that would definitely be a positive outcome.

Unfortunately, that does not appear to be happening.  Instead, surveys have shown that Americans are increasingly turning to drugs, alcohol and television during this pandemic, and a survey that was released just this week found that Bible reading in the United States dropped precipitously “between January and June”.

http://endoftheamericandream.com

Taiwan Holds Drills to Beat Back Chinese Invasion

TruNews – July 16, 2020

Taiwan’s military held a joint air-sea-land live-fire exercise today aimed at simulating the repulsion of an invading Chinese force.

Approximately 8,000 personnel participated in the annual Han Kuang drills, which included American-made F-16 and domestically produced Ching-kuo fighter jets, and tanks. They defended a small strip of coastal land near Taichung.

Afterward, President Tsai Ing-wen praised the military, saying it had proved its determination to defend the island nation:

“The Han Kuang exercises are a major annual event for the armed forces, evaluating development of combat abilities. Even more, it lets the world see our determination and efforts to defend the country’s territory.

“As I have said, national security does not rely on bowing and sraping but on solid national defense. All our officers and soldiers are the core of that.”

She also expressed “grievous pain” over the death of two officers who were killed in a helicopter crash during a combat-readiness mission connected to the Han Kuang exercises. The officers’ helicopter crashed after catching on fire.

Tsai also vowed to continue to reform the Taiwanese military.

https://www.trunews.com

Goodbye to EU: Finnish MEP Predicts Bloc’s Collapse as Brussels Eyes More Power Over Member States

Sputnik News – July 11, 2020

Predictions about the end of the European project have long been bandied about in the corridors of power and in newspaper columns. However, one Finnish MEP has joined the long list of those making the claim that the end may be on the horizon.

The European Union is on track to “inevitably” collapse due to increasing concerns over the bloc’s plan to further centralise power in Brussels, a Finnish MEP has told The Express.

Laura Huhtasaari, an MEP for the Finns Party and a well-known Eurosceptic in her country, has said that the EU’s continued attempts to bring member states under the command of Brussels, and to increasingly concentrate law-making powers there, will result in the union’s demise.

Referring to what she says is the inescapable end of the EU, the Finnish MEP said, “I think it’s inevitable that it will collapse, but probably not right now.”

“I want my country back, I want to get out of the EU. I don’t want to be part of this new Soviet Union-like union. I definitely want to be an independent state, doing a free trade agreement and other kinds of loose operations,” Ms. Huhtasaari added.

https://sputniknews.com