Watching – Page 8 – The Faithful Watchman

Old people should embrace ‘mass suicide’, says Yale professor

Old people in Japan should kill themselves to avoid burdening the state, a professor at Yale University has said.

Yusuke Narita, an assistant professor of economics, has also suggested that euthanasia could be made compulsory.

Last year, official statistics in Japan revealed that over-75s accounted for 15 per cent of the country’s population for the first time. Those over 65 account for 29.1 per cent of the total, making the Japanese population the oldest in the world.

“I feel like the only solution is pretty clear,” said Mr Narita, 37. “In the end, isn’t it mass suicide and mass ‘seppuku’ of the elderly?” – referring to the act of disembowelment employed by dishonoured Samurai in the late 19th century.

Prof Narita told The New York Times his comments had been taken out of context, adding that they related to demands for older people in leadership positions to make way for the younger generation. He said his primary concern was how old people dominated positions of influence in Japanese society.

The references to “mass suicide” and “mass seppuku” touched a raw nerve in a country which honoured kamikaze pilots during the Second World War.

Universities Scrap SAT, Scramble To Stay Diverse Ahead Of Affirmative Action Ruling

Advocates claim standardized tests harm minority students.

Last week, Columbia University became the first Ivy League school to permanently scrap its standardized test requirement, allowing hopeful applicants to skip the dreaded SAT and ACT.

The move makes the prestigious New York City school the latest in a string of elite institutions to move away from the tests as the argument that standardized testing harms minority students picks up steam. Previously, a low SAT or ACT score meant automatic elimination at many top-tier schools.

In a March 1 release, Columbia University wrote that “students are dynamic, multi-faceted individuals who cannot be defined by any single factor.” The admissions process respects the “varied backgrounds, voices and experiences” of students in order to determine whether a student will thrive at the school, Columbia said. Students may still submit test scores, but those who do not will not be at a disadvantage.

During the pandemic, many universities — including Harvard and Princeton — jumped at the chance to indefinitely suspend their standardized test admission requirements while in-person testing was on hold. Now, some like Columbia don’t want to go back.

This fall, more than 80% of undergraduate colleges will not require ACT or SAT scores from students, according to one estimate.

The SAT and ACT are also not the only standardized tests schools are ditching over “equity” concerns. Dozens of law schools have scrapped their LSAT test requirement. Advocates are even pushing for medical schools to stop requiring the MCAT, alarming critics who worry that schools could end up graduating less qualified doctors, putting patients at risk.

The argument that standardized tests are inherently racist has given rise to eyebrow-raising explanations for why minority students on the whole do worse on these tests. Black students perform poorly on standardized tests because they fear incorrect answers will confirm negative stereotypes about their race — they perform badly because they’re afraid of performing badly, essentially — a 2011 Stanford University study found.

First UAE synagogue is ‘a historic event not just for the Middle East, but the world’

“My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. ISAIAH 56:17 (THE ISRAEL BIBLE)

On a 75-degree February day in Abu Dhabi, JNS had the chance to view the Abrahamic Family House site on Saadiyat Island on its opening day in the United Arab Emirates. Three houses of worship—Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue, His Holiness Francis Church (Roman Catholic) and Eminence Ahmed El-Tayeb Mosque—stand in equal proportion. At first glance, they seem identical, but closer inspection reveals that each has features iconic to the respective customs.

Elie Abadie, the senior rabbi of the Jewish Council of the Emirates, told JNS that it is very notable for an Arab country to build a Jewish house of worship.

“In fact, this is the first one built in the region in almost a century,” he said. “By doing this, the government sends out a great message—one of tolerance and acceptance, as they allow the different Abrahamic faiths to come together here to worship. In fact, we worship the same God.”

“It is a great gift from Sheikh Mohammed to the Jewish People,” David Rosen, international director of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee and former chief rabbi of Ireland, told JNS. “Myriads of people from around the world visiting the country will visit this complex simply because of its location and beauty.”

Those who come to the site can see the three Abrahamic faiths represented.

“For a people that have suffered and still suffer from prejudice and bigotry born out of ignorance and misrepresentations, this place offers an amazing opportunity to educate the world about the beauty and true values of Jewish tradition,” said Rosen.

The Abrahamic Family House opened to the public on March 1. No one associated with the site was immediately available for comment.

Third Temple Preparations Are in Full Swing

Somewhat under the radar, a group of religious Jews have been eagerly preparing for the day a Third Temple will stand in Jerusalem.

During Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, Jewish priests (kohenim) and Levites wearing white robes draw water from the Pool of Siloam in order to perform the traditional “Pouring of the Water” (Nissuch HaMayim). This is a biblical ceremony according to which water is drawn in silver vessels from the pool on the eastern slope below the Western Wall, and is then poured out on an altar especially erected for this purpose.

The ceremony that accompanies this water libation is called Simchat Beit HaShoeva, rejoicing at the place of the drawing of water. This water is called, according to Isaiah 12:3, Waters of Salvation:

“You will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation.”

The kings of the House of David were anointed at this source.

Jesus was also familiar with this water-drawing ceremony (John 7:37).

“Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, “From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.”’”

Jesus was thereby proclaiming that he is the long-awaited redeemer and Messiah. Jesus also healed the blind man at this pool (John 9).

FBI Internal Memo Warns against ‘Radical Traditionalist Catholic Ideology’

The FBI’s Richmond field office released an internal memo last month warning against “radical traditionalist Catholic ideology,” and claiming it “almost certainly presents new mitigation opportunities,” according to a document shared by an FBI whistleblower on Wednesday.

Kyle Seraphin, who was a special agent at the bureau for six years before he was indefinitely suspended without pay in June 2022, published the document, “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities,” on UncoverDC.com.

“In making this assessment, FBI Richmond relied on the key assumption that [racially or ethnically motivated extremists] will continue to find [radical-traditionalist Catholic or RTC] ideology attractive and will continue to attempt to connect with RTC adherents, both virtually via social media and in-person at places of worship,” the document from January 23 states.

It adds that “RTCs are typically categorized by the rejection of the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) as a valid church council; disdain for most of the popes elected since Vatican II, particularly Pope Francis and Pope John Paul II; and frequent adherence to anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ, and white supremacist ideology. Radical-traditionalist Catholics compose a small minority of overall Roman Catholic adherents and are separate and distinct from ‘traditionalist Catholics’ who prefer the Traditional Latin Mass and pre-Vatican II teachings and traditions, without the more extremist ideological beliefs and violent rhetoric.”

Dem suggests aborting special-needs babies so they don’t drain school resources, later apologizes

A Massachusetts Democrat is facing tremendous backlash after he suggested at a recent city council meeting that special-needs babies should be aborted so that they can never become a drain on public resources.

On February 7, the city council of Framingham, Massachusetts, about 20 miles west of Boston, held a meeting. During the meeting, council members were considering revisions to the draft of a proclamation which supports unfettered access to abortion and denounces crisis pregnancy centers — which encourage vulnerable, pregnant women to choose life for their unborn children — as “misleading” and “deceptive.”

Michael Hugo, the chair of the Framingham Democratic Committee, spoke during the meeting and expressed his belief in the necessity of abortion. However, the argument he used to support his opinion has angered many, including some so-called pro-choice advocates in his own party.

Hugo claimed that crisis pregnancy centers were a threat to the Framingham community because they might prevent women from aborting babies with special needs. Hugo said he feared that special-needs babies might then grow up and become a financial burden on the system.

UN report: Uranium particles enriched to 83.7% found in Iran

Inspectors from the United Nations nuclear watchdog found uranium particles enriched up to 83.7% in Iran’s underground Fordo nuclear site, a report seen Tuesday by The Associated Press said.

The confidential quarterly report by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency distributed to member states likely will raise tensions further between Iran and the West over its nuclear program. That’s even as Tehran already faces internal unrest after months of protests and Western anger over sending bomb-carrying drones to Russia for its war on Ukraine.

The IAEA report only speaks about “particles,” suggesting that Iran isn’t building a stockpile of uranium enriched above 60% — the level it has been enriching at for some time.

The IAEA report described inspectors discovering on Jan. 21 that two cascades of IR-6 centrifuges at Iran’s Fordo facility had been configured in a way “substantially different” to what had been previously declared. The IAEA took samples the following day, which showed particles up to 83.7% purity, the report said.

Kamala Harris Claims Biden Admin Reduced Electricity Costs. Here Are Some Facts.

Vice President Kamala Harris claimed on Wednesday that the Biden administration has decreased electricity prices for American families even as data indicate the exact opposite.

Harris remarked during a speech at Bowie State University in Maryland that efforts from the White House to lower costs have translated to lower power bills. “For working families,” she said, “we have reduced heating and electricity bills so folks have more money in their pocket to buy things like school supplies, replace the dishwasher, or take a family vacation.”

The national average cost of electricity has nevertheless increased from $0.136 per kilowatt-hour in January 2021 to $0.168 per kilowatt-hour in January 2023, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, constituting a 24% increase over the two years since President Joe Biden assumed office. Electricity costs had remained relatively stable for the previous decade, never exceeding $0.150 per kilowatt-hour until March 2022.

Power costs in the northeastern United States increased 39%, from $0.169 per kilowatt-hour to $0.235 per kilowatt-hour, between January 2021 and January 2023, while western and midwestern cities, respectively, saw prices rise 17% and 15% over the same time horizon.

Even more severe trends exist for utility natural gas: national average prices for the fuel rose 63% between January 2021 and January 2023, according to more data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Prices for utility gas increased 112% for cities in the western United States, while prices rose 55% and 47% in the midwestern and northeastern portions of the country.

Woke Left Pushed to Remove Discipline From Classrooms. Consequences Have Been Tragic, Teacher Says.

Children are always going to misbehave, teacher Daniel Buck says, and that’s why discipline is needed in the classroom.

“I think the idea that we’re going to solve misbehavior is kind of utopian,” Buck says, adding that is “what the progressive idea is.”

“If we just get the system right, then kids are going to behave. And that’s never going to happen,” he says. Instead, Buck advocates for a strong disciplinary “system in place that anticipates and responds to misbehavior.”

The lack of such discipline in the classroom is leading some teachers to resign and harming students’ ability to learn, says Buck, the author of “What Is Wrong With Our Schools?: The Ideology Impoverishing Education in America and How We Can Do Better for Our Students.” The book was published in December.

Buck joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain how the agenda of the woke Left has led to a lack of discipline in American classrooms, and why a restoration of discipline would improve learning outcomes for students.

Christian teacher loses job after refusing to deceive parents on kids’ gender transitions: ‘From the devil’

Jessica Tapia went into teaching because of how ‘amazing it would be to be a light to [kids] coming from very rough homes like I did when I was a child’

A California teacher, who lost her job after refusing to comply with a California district’s gender policies, citing Christian beliefs, is blowing the whistle on the expectations she felt as a teacher to not only hide students’ gender transitions from parents, but also to keep them in the dark through lying.

“I knew immediately, like in my gut, in my heart, in my soul, that there was a decision I had to make because, you know, these two things were totally butting heads,” Jessica Tapia, who worked at the Jurupa Unified School District, told Fox News Digital. “I essentially had to pick one. Am I going to obey the district in the directive that are not lining up with… my own beliefs, convictions and faith? Or am I going to stay true…, choose my faith, choose to be obedient to… the way the Lord has called me to live. And so it was crazy to be in the position where I realized that I couldn’t be a Christian and a teacher.”

In a notice under Superintendent Trenton Hansen’s letterhead, reviewed by Fox News Digital, the district said they couldn’t accommodate Tapia’s Christian beliefs which prohibited her from withholding information on gender transitions from kids’ parents.

“Consequentially, the District will release you from your employment effective at the end of the day on January 31, 2023,” the notice said.