The Faithful Watchman

Mystery hepatitis surge in children in the UK causing liver failure

Ricky Scaparo – April 15, 2022

Parents have been urged to be on the lookout for signs of hepatitis in kids after 74 cases were detected in the UK. The condition can, in serious cases, lead to liver failure and experts have not yet pinned down the reason for the mysterious outbreak.

Prof Graham Cooke, NIHR Research Professor of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London explained that hepatitis is a broad term to describe inflammation of the liver.

He said that this could be down to a range of issues – such as a virus of exposure to a toxic substance, including alcohol and some medications. “Globally, the most important causes are viruses that have adapted to infect the liver. “Early tests appear to have excluded these as a cause in the hepatitis currently under investigation.

So far, there have been 60 cases in England and 11 in Scotland of unexplained hepatitis, or liver inflammation, since the start of the year, most of them in children who are 2 to 5 years old. Case numbers in Wales and Northern Ireland haven’t been released.

Although no child has died, a “small number” have needed a liver transplant, said the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on 8 April. This means they will have to take drugs that suppress the immune system for the rest of their lives, which will leave them at risk of infections.

Hepatitis is often associated with specific pathogens, such as the hepatitis C virus, but it can be triggered by many other things. There have previously been small clusters of cases caused by the hepatitis A virus, which can be spread by fecal contamination of food or water.

The hepatitis viruses A to E have all been ruled out in the current outbreak, though. Finding the cause will require carefully investigating every case to see if they have factors in common, says Graham Cooke, an infectious disease specialist at Imperial College London.

https://endtimeheadlines.org

Leading Into Passover and Easter Weekend, The New York Times Calls on Readers to Kill God

Robert Spencer – April 17, 2022

Passover started Friday and Sunday is Easter for most Christians (Orthodox Christian Easter, or Pascha, is next Sunday). In keeping with the season, The New York Times thought Thursday was the perfect day to publish a rancorous anti-God screed written by an angry former believer. The Times is now openly proselytizing for atheism, and while that’s certainly its prerogative, it also must be asked: why now, in the lead-in to two of the holiest of times for both Jews and Christians? And also, cui bono — who benefits?

The Times op-ed was the work of Shalom Auslander, the author of a book called Foreskin’s Lament: A Memoir, in which he bitterly recounts his Orthodox Jewish upbringing and how he has said goodbye to all that. He does essentially the same thing in the Times piece, presenting some acid recollections of being an eight-year-old learning about Passover, and adding, “In this time of war and violence, of oppression and suffering, I propose we pass over something else: God.”

This is because God’s judgment on the Egyptians in the Exodus story seems to Auslander to be excessive. “God, it seems, paints with a wide brush. He paints with a roller. In Egypt, said our rabbi, he even killed first-born cattle. He killed cows. If he were mortal, the God of Jews, Christians and Muslims would be dragged to The Hague. And yet we praise him. We emulate him. We implore our children to be like him.” Auslander adds, “Perhaps now, as missiles rain down and the dead are discovered in mass graves, is a good time to stop emulating this hateful God. Perhaps we can stop extolling his brutality. Perhaps now is a good time to teach our children to pass over God — to be as unlike him as possible.” That’s the Times’ message for Passover and Easter.

Auslander doesn’t explain, of course, where he thinks he got the moral sense that he used to judge God’s actions in the Exodus account as he understands them. The Times, of course, has no space to consider answers to Auslander’s theological questions, which have been considered by Jews and Christians throughout the ages who were far more thoughtful than Auslander himself is. It does, however, have plenty of space for Auslander’s practical conclusion: “Killing gods is an idea I can get behind.”

https://pjmedia.com

Parent dressed as Easter Bunny ‘hands out condoms’ outside elementary school

Kendall Tietz – April 19, 2022

A parent reportedly handed out Easter eggs containing condoms outside a Texas elementary school Friday, KXAN reported.

A parent at Gullett Elementary School in the Austin Independent School District (AISD) reportedly handed out Easter eggs to students that contained both candy and unopened condoms, according to a letter sent to families, KXAN reported. School administrators said they spoke to the parent about the “inappropriate nature of their activity,” which was not planned or authorized by the school.

The parent was asked to leave the school, but continued to pass out Easter eggs on a public sidewalk, AISD told KXAN.

“We are working to review our safety protocols to ensure this does not happen again,” an AISD spokesperson told KXAN. “It was an incredibly careless and inappropriate action of a parent.”

“A parent showed up at my kids’ elementary school dressed as an Easter Bunny during pickup,” parent and University of Texas professor Nathan Jensen tweeted. “He handed out eggs, mostly filled with candy. Some with unopened condoms. Not sure this is the Austin weird I signed up for.”

Jensen later tweeted that the parent was picking up her child from school and handed out the wrong eggs from a safe sex clinic she allegedly ran earlier in the day.

“A pharmacist ran a clinic in a bunny suit about safe sex,” he later tweeted in an update. “She picked up her 2nd grader in costume and handed out some candy. Got mobbed by kids, ran out of candy and called her husband. Her husband brought the wrong eggs. Chaos ensued.”

https://www.wnd.com

Long COVID: The search for a cure

Joel S. Hirschhorn – April 19, 2022

The COVID pandemic is far from over. It has now morphed into long COVID with millions of people suffering.

Sometimes what seems like a miraculous new medical remedy comes along. And without government involvement. In those cases, millions of long COVID sufferers have an opportunity to use a new remedy and judge whether it’s safe and truly effective. In contrast, the medical establishment and specialists work at fixing the many diverse symptoms and illnesses of long COVID patients.

So, what are long COVID sufferers to do? There are no easy choices.

This analysis and discussion aim to help them make informed and difficult decisions.

Over the past year or so a great many victims of long COVID believe they have found a medical cure. There is a lot of skepticism among medical professionals treating long COVID patients, often at specialized hospital centers – and that skepticism is warranted.

A recent article is titled, “66 hospitals, health systems that have launched post-COVID-19 clinics.” It notes: “Many hospitals and health systems have created COVID-19 recovery programs, or post-COVID clinics, to support patients who experience lingering symptoms weeks or months after being cleared of the illness – a population now widely known as COVID-19 long-haulers. Most COVID-19 recovery programs currently involve an initial evaluation and, as needed, referrals to a network of specialists such as pulmonologists, cardiologists and neurologists, among others.”

Several excellent, detailed investigative reports examine the system that the impressively credentialed Dr. Bruce Patterson and his company IncellDX have created. His treatment has also built a large following on social media sites. No surprise. COVID long-haulers want to restore their quality of life.

One big problem in fairly examining the new revolutionary medical solution is the vast array of long COVD symptoms, as shown in the figure below. Physicians face the daunting challenge of addressing many symptoms successfully to fully satisfy patients.

https://www.wnd.com

Russia Could Use Nuclear Weapons in Ukraine War, Zelenskyy Warns

Jay Clemons – April 15, 2022

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sounded an alarm to the rest of the world Friday, warning that Russia could resort to using nuclear weapons in its war with Ukraine.

While appearing with CNN host Jake Tapper, Zelenskyy said Russian President Vladimir Putin does not value the lives of Ukrainian citizens, and that he could potentially go to extremes to win this war.

“I think all of the world, all the countries, have to be worried, because it can be not real information, but it can be truth,” said Zelenskyy, when pressed if Putin would ever authorize the usage of tactical nuclear weapons on the neighboring Ukraine.

Zelenskyy added: “[The Russians] could do it, for them the life of the people [means] nothing. … We should think, not be afraid, be ready. But that is not a question … only for Ukraine, but for all the world.”

Zelenskyy’s messaging is a tangible shift from last month, when the leader characterized Putin’s threat of implementing nuclear weapons on Ukraine as a “bluff.”

Back in March, Putin ordered that his nuclear forces be placed on higher alert after Zelenskyy repeatedly called for NATO to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

On Thursday, CIA Director William Burns echoed Zelenskyy’s weapons warning about Russia, while giving a speech in Atlanta.

“Given the potential desperation of President Putin and the Russian leadership, given the setbacks that they’ve faced so far militarily, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential resort to tactical nuclear weapons or low-yield nuclear weapons,” said Burns, the CIA director since March 2021.

https://www.newsmax.com

World Economic Forum calls for one-world currency; A ‘Tower of Babel’ doomed to collapse, Israeli economist warns

Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz – April 5, 2022

Dr. Phillipa “Pippa” Malmgren, a technology entrepreneur and economist, spoke at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum being held in Davos, Switzerland, this week, dropping a bombshell prediction that the world is well on its way to implementing an electronic banking system that would open every transaction of every person to government scrutiny.

“I was very privileged. My father was the adviser to Nixon when we came off the gold standard in ’71, so I was brought up with a kind of inside view of how very important the financial structure is to absolutely everything else,” Malmgren said.

“And what we’re seeing in the world today is I think we are on the brink of a dramatic change where we are about to – and I’ll say this boldly – we’re about to abandon the traditional system of money and accounting and introduce a new one, and the new one – the new accounting – is what we call blockchain.”

“It means digital,” she continued. “It means having an almost perfect record of every single transaction that happens in the economy, which will give us far greater clarity over what’s going on.”

Unlike current cryptocurrencies, the system Malmgren describes will give the central banks complete control over people’s money. The banks will be able to track every transaction and even control how it is spent, blocking it from being transferred to people or organizations it deems undesirable.

This may sound like a dystopian sci-fi scenario of the distant future, but this was already seen in Canada when, without a court order, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used emergency powers to order banks to freeze accounts of individuals who donated to the Freedom Convoy. Crowdfunding sites were also forced to return millions of dollars that had been collected for the truckers.

The Biden administration also accessed bank records to track bank account debit card or credit card purchases made in Washington, D.C, during the Jan. 6 riot investigation.

https://www.israel365news.com

Earthquake rattles unusual location in Illinois, Precursor to New Madrid activity?

Ricky Scaparo – April 14, 2022

(OPINION) – Since we live near the New Madrid Fault, it’s normal to have earthquakes in our region. However, there was an earthquake that was felt by many that just happened in a weird part of Illinois.

According to the USGS, there was a 2.6 earthquake, but it wasn’t in the normal area near New Madrid. It was in the southeastern part of the state. This relatively tiny shaker occurred at 1:40 am early Wednesday morning, but was felt by 18 as of this writing.

Along with the non-typical location, it’s odd to me that a quake of only 2.6 magnitude would actually be felt in the middle of the night. A quake that small would be hard to detect even in the middle of the day if you were wide awake.

It’s close enough to what the USGS considers the New Madrid Fault Zone that it’s likely related to activity there. However, it’s just strange enough to pass along in case it’s the forerunner of something more major.

https://endtimeheadlines.org

Health officials warn of ‘large’ outbreak of serious bacterial illness in Florida that is primarily affecting gay and bisexual men

Ricky Scaparo – April 13, 2022

Health officials are warning Florida residents about a “large” outbreak of a potentially fatal bacterial illness known as meningococcal disease that’s primarily affecting gay and bisexual men.

So far this year, there have been 21 confirmed cases of meningococcal disease as of Monday, according to Florida Department of Health data. That’s higher than the state’s five-year average of cases of the disease.

“[Florida Department of Health] epidemiologists are investigating each case as well as contacting people with potential or direct exposure to known cases to provide them with information and treatment options,” the department said in a statement.

Most of the cases are in central Florida, and more than half are in people between the ages of 20 and 39, according to state health department data. The “large, ongoing” outbreak is primarily among men who have sex with men, including those living with HIV, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In addition, the Florida health department recommends the meningococcal conjugate vaccine to the following groups during this outbreak: College and university students, people with weakened immune systems (immunocompromised) and people with HIV.

Multiple cases of meningococcal disease have also been reported among Florida college students over the last few months, but at this time, there is no evidence that the cases among college students are related to the larger outbreak among men who have sex with men, CDC officials said.

https://endtimeheadlines.org

China has now banned the word ‘Christ’ on Social Media platforms claiming it causes ‘Incitement’

Michael Foust – April 7, 2022

China has banned “Christ” and other religious words from social media apps under a new policy that went into effect on March 1. According to a new report, the policy also requires licensing and training to post Christian and religious content on the internet.

The Chinese Communist Party’s new law – dubbed the “Measures for the Administration of Internet Religious Information Services” – prohibits individuals and organizations from posting religious information on the internet unless they have first obtained permission from a provincial government department, according to China Aid, which monitors religious freedom within the country.

Early Rain Covenant Church, a Chinese congregation, recently discovered the far-reaching impact of the new law. Using the messaging app WeChat, a church member tried posting the names of eight books for members of a reading group, asking them to vote on their favorite. Among the titles: The Defense of the Faith by Cornelius Van Til, Tradition and the Individual Talent by T. S. Eliot and The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis.

But the WeChat app rejected the post, saying the word “Christ” was not allowed.

“The word ‘Christ’ you are trying to publish violates regulations on Internet Information Services, including but not limited to the following categories: pornography, gambling, and drug abuse; excessive marketing; incitement.”

The issue could only be resolved by editing the post, which the church member did.

“Unfortunately, the group administrator had to replace part of the word ‘Christ’ to pass censorship,” China Aid said.

https://endtimeheadlines.org

Abortion is the Leading Cause of Death Worldwide, Killing 73 Million People Every Year

Micaiah Bilger – April 14, 2022

A startling new report estimates the world now is killing 73 million unborn babies in abortions every year.

The number from the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, United Nations and World Health Organization is much higher than other recent estimates. One figure, which LifeNews.com reported about earlier this year, put the number of abortions world-wide at 42.6 million in 2021.

Live Action News reports the Guttmacher study came to the 73 million estimate by looking at abortion data from more than 100 countries between 2015 and 2019. In those five years, the researchers believe a horrific 365 million abortions took place across the world.

According to the study, 61 percent of women facing unintended pregnancies had abortions, an 18-percent increase compared to abortions in the 1990s.

However, the study also suggests pro-life laws do save babies’ lives.

Guttmacher researcher Jonathan Bearak found that 70 percent of women with unintended pregnancies have abortions in countries where abortion is “broadly legal,” compared to 50 percent in countries where abortions are restricted or banned, according to Live Action.

“This study adds to the body of data which shows that an important reason behind the long-term decline in the U.S. abortion rate is because a higher percentage of unintended pregnancies are being carried to term,” Dr. Michael New, a research associate at the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute, told Live Action News.

https://www.lifenews.com