The Faithful Watchman

UN-backed report suggests minors may be able to consent to sex – critics accuse org of attempting to normalize pedophilia

A March report by international legal professionals and backed by the United Nations suggested that minors may be able to consent to sex.

The report, titled “The 8 March Principles for a Human Rights-Based Approach to Criminal Law Proscribing Conduct Associated with Sex, Reproduction, Drug Use, HIV, Homelessness and Poverty,” was drafted by the 60 members of the International Commission of Jurists and meant to serve as legal guidance.

“Composed of 60 eminent judges and lawyers from all regions of the world, the International Commission of Jurists promotes and protects human rights through the Rule of Law, by using its unique legal expertise to develop and strengthen national and international justice systems,” the report stated.

It lists several principles intended to provide a “clear, accessible and operational legal framework and practical legal guidance” on human rights concerns, including “consensual sexual activities, including in such contexts as sex outside marriage, same-sex sexual relations, adolescent sexual activity and sex work.”

The report claims that while determining human rights law, certain factors should be considered, including “adolescents’ evolving capacity to consent in certain contexts, in fact, even if not in law, when they are below the prescribed minimum age of consent in domestic law.”

Humans Are on Track to Achieve Immortality in 7 Years, Futurist Says

A new video from the YouTube channel Adagio revisits futurist Ray Kurzweil’s ideas about how for humans, both singularity and immortality are shockingly imminent—as in, potentially just seven years away.

Both concepts may take a stretch of reality to attain, but Kurzweil and his supporters are quite limber. The idea of singularity is the moment AI exceeds beyond human control and rapidly transforms society. Predicting this timing is tricky, to say the least.

But Kurzweil says one crucial step on the way to a potential 2045 singularity is the concept of immortality, possibly reached as soon as 2030. And the rapid rise of artificial intelligence is what will make it happen. Kurzweil believes that our technological and medical progress will grow to the point that robotics—he dubs them “nanobots”—will work to repair our bodies at the cellular level, as reported by Lifeboat, turning disease and aging around thanks to the continual work of robotic know-how. And then, voilà: immortality.

NYC will target food choices in its battle against climate change

The Adams administration has announced a plan to begin tracking the carbon footprint created by household food consumption as well as a new target for New York City agencies to reduce their food-based emissions by 33% by the year 2023.

Mayor Eric Adams announced the plan on Monday along with the Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice as part of the city’s ongoing pledge to reduce the impact of climate change. At the same event, the Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice published a new chart in the city’s annual greenhouse gas inventory that publicly tracks the carbon footprint created by household food consumption — primarily generated by meat and dairy products.

The new analysis is a spin on the emissions data that comes standard with the annual inventory. It was made through a partnership with American Express, C40 Cities and EcoData lab.

Adams, an ardent evangelist of plant-based diets, announced the new tracker and policy at a Brooklyn culinary center run by Health + Hospitals, the city’s public health care system.

Gujarat couple beheads themselves using guillotine-like device as ‘sacrificial ritual’: Report

The family members of the couple said the duo had been offering prayers in the hut every day since the last one year.

A man and his wife allegedly committed suicide by decapitating themselves using a guillotine-like device, which they created at home, so that they could offer their heads for a sacrificial ritual in Gujarat’s Rajkot district, police said on Sunday.

Hemubhai Makwana (38) and his wife Hansaben (35) killed themselves by getting their heads severed by the blade of the device in a hut at their farm in Vinchhiya village, sub-inspector Indrajeetsinh Jadeja of Vinchhiya police station said.

The husband-wife duo executed the plan in such a manner that their heads rolled into the fire altar after getting severed, he said, adding that a suicide note was found at the spot.

“The couple first prepared a fire altar before putting their heads under a guillotine-like mechanism held by a rope. As soon as they released the rope, an iron blade fell on them, severing their heads, which rolled into the fire,” Jadeja said.

Actress Patti LuPone Smears American Christians as No Different from the Taliban

Actress and Broadway star Patti LuPone said during her Tuesday appearance on The View that she has “no idea what the difference is” between “our Christian right and the Taliban.”

After being asked what she thought about “DeSantis and the LGBTQ,” LuPone said, “That is extremely upsetting. These are human beings. And I could cry. They’re not harming anybody.”

“I don’t know why he’s doing this,” LuPone said of Florida Gov. Ron (R). “And I said this before, and I’m going to get in trouble, but I have said this before, and it’s been in print: I don’t know what the difference between our Christian right and the Taliban is. I have no idea what the difference is.”

“I just don’t know what the difference is. What’s happening in this country right now in the name of religion is so dangerous,” the Heist star continued. “And it’s not this country. It’s not America.”

Food Prices Hit Highest Level in Nearly Half a Century Amid Double Digit Inflation

Food prices in Britain have hit their highest level in nearly a half-century amid continued double-digit inflation, while wages fell yet again in real terms.

According to research conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the consumer prices index (CPI) remained in double digits at 10.1 per cent in March. The inflation rate — the highest in Western Europe — was slightly down from 10.4 per cent from the previous month, however, food prices remained high, hitting levels not seen in 45 years.

According to the government statistician agency, the prices of bread and cereals were up 19.4 per cent in the year to March, the highest rate recorded on record since the government began tracking such figures in 1989. Meanwhile, the sharpest price increases were recorded among food items produced with olive oil which were up by 49 per cent on the year, followed by milk products at 38 per cent, and ready-made meals, which were up 21 per cent over last year, the BBC reported.

The annual rates for chocolate, confectionery, and hot beverages also all hit their highest levels on record.

‘Non-Binary’ Sam Smith Performs Sexualized, Satanic-Themed Songs in World Tour with No Audience Age Restrictions

Gender “non-binary” pop star Sam Smith is at it again, performing highly sexualized and Satanic-themed numbers in his current “Gloria” world tour, which doesn’t have audience age restrictions for upcoming U.S. performances.

Social media videos of the tour show Sam Smith — who uses “they/them” pronouns — dressed in a series of racy outfits. including one get-up where the noticeably overweight singer wears a bikini brief, fishnet stockings, and nipple pasties.

In another number, the British performer wears a Satan-themed costume reminiscent the one he wore at this year’s Grammy Awards to perform his single “Unholy.”

Senator Graham Warns About War With China: U.S. Must Boost Military Now Or Face War

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) warned over the weekend that the United States must increase its overall military preparedness or face an almost certain war with communist China in the near future.

Graham made the remarks during an interview on Fox News’ “Fox News Sunday” on Easter while talking about U.S. national security.

Graham’s remarks come as China has conducted aggressive military drills in recent days aimed at intimidating the free nation of Taiwan. The military exercises came after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen met with top U.S. leaders on U.S. soil last week.

“Taiwan’s not the problem,” Graham told host Shannon Bream. “Lindsey Graham’s not the problem. It’s Putin and it’s Xi.”

Graham said that deterrence was the best possible option and that it could only be achieved by having a superior military and technology.

“I would increase training and get the F-16s they need in Taiwan. There’s a backlog. I would solve that backlog. I would move more forces to South Korea and Japan,” Graham said. “I would up our game. If you don’t up your game now, you are going to have a war.”

Macron Says Europe Must Not Become ‘America’s Followers’ In Confrontation With China

French President Emmanuel Macron said over the weekend that Europe should embrace an approach of “strategic autonomy” when it comes to tensions between the United States and China.

The French president said that by allying too closely with the U.S., Europe risks being dragged into conflicts and crises in which it does not have a significant interest. “Strategic autonomy,” as Macron calls it, is his plan to lead Europe into becoming a “third superpower,” according to POLITICO.

“The paradox would be that, overcome with panic, we believe we are just America’s followers,” Macron said on Sunday. “The question Europeans need to answer … is it in our interest to accelerate [a crisis] on Taiwan? No. The worse thing would be to think that we Europeans must become followers on this topic and take our cue from the U.S. agenda and a Chinese overreaction.”

Macron’s theory of “strategic autonomy” has found widespread support in Beijing, where top officials in the Chinese Communist Party have endorsed it and often encourage other European nations to embrace it as well.

The president’s remarks came after he visited Beijing last week and spent roughly six hours with Chinese President Xi Jinping discussing the potential for peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Macron’s visit appears to have had little impact on that account.

Dalai Lama Apologizes After Video Shows Him Kissing Young Boy On Mouth, Asking Him To Suck His Tongue

The Dalai Lama, the Tibetans’ 87-year-old spiritual leader, issued an apology Monday morning after video surfaced of him kissing a young boy on the mouth earlier this year in northern India.

The incident happened in February in the hillside city of Dharamshala during an event for the M3M Foundation, a philanthropy group started by an Indian real estate company.

After the Dalai Lama kissed the boy, he stuck out his tongue and told the boy to “suck my tongue.”

“A video clip has been circulating that shows a recent meeting when a young boy asked His Holiness the Dalai Lama if he could give him a hug,” said a statement on the exiled leader’s Twitter account, which has 19 million followers. “His Holiness wishes to apologize to the boy and his family, as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused.”

“His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras,” the statement continued. “He regrets the incident.”