The Faithful Watchman

Biden Admin. Slammed for Removing Nigeria from Religious Persecution List: Thousands of Christians Have Been Killed

Michael Foust – November 24, 2021

Religious liberty watchdogs are criticizing the Biden administration for removing Nigeria from an annual list of religious freedom violators, charging that it denies reality and is motivated solely by foreign policy interests.

At issue is an annual list released by the State Department that examines the status of religious freedom in every country in the world and designates the worst violators as a “Country of Particular Concern,” which means they are guilty of “particularly severe violations of religious freedom.”

Nigeria was considered a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) in the State Department reports of 2020 and 2019.

Yet Nigeria was missing in the State Department’s 2021 report, which was released last week.

The annual report is required under a 1998 law.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a bipartisan panel that makes recommendations to the State Department, had urged since 2009 the inclusion of Nigeria as a CPC.

Christian groups and religious liberty watchdogs criticized the exclusion of Nigeria, saying thousands of Christians have been killed while the country’s security forces have refused to protect them.

“Removing this largely symbolic sign of concern is a brazen denial of reality and indicates that the U.S. intends to pursue its interests in western Africa through an alliance with Nigeria’s security elite, at the expense of Christians and other victims of widespread sectarian violence, especially in the country’s predominantly Christian Middle Belt region,” said John Eibner, president of Christian Solidarity International (CSI).

https://www.christianheadlines.com

La Palma volcanic eruption update: New vent, new very fast lava flow, 4 new cone collapses, powerful jets and all flights cancelled, yellow warning due to heavy rains

Strange Sounds – November 25, 2021

Today, the eruption is more powerful than the last several days.

The main cone also collapsed at least 4 times between Thursday and early Friday, thus increasing the flow of lava. Moreover, a new vent has opened on the southern part of the main cone of the La Palma volcano early this evening.

As a consequence, a new stream of very liquid and fast moving magma has formed. The new lava flow emerging from the new fissure runs at 600m/hour through new territory in urbanized areas.

The new front has already covered the Las Manchas cemetery (area of more than 1,000 square meters; more than 5,000 niches and the only crematorium on the island).

Meanwhile, State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) has issued a weather yellow warning. The authorities of La Palma have announced that this Friday access to the highway to the south of the island will be closed due to the risk of runoff and landslides due to the expected heavy rains.

All flights to and from La Palma have been cancelled.

https://strangesounds.org

First time since 2nd Temple: Rabbis convene to implement Biblical law on Temple Mount [Watch]

David Sidman – November 18, 2021

In a historic moment and under the protection of the Israeli police, the ‘Rabbis of the Temple Mount’ gathered for talks on Tuesday on the Temple Mount.

The Rabbis of the Temple Mount will convene every month to discuss Torah law, its significance, and its implementation on the Temple Mount in our time. The assembly will discuss what Biblical commandments became applicable in recent years. This is a hot topic as an increase in Jewish visitation have made the pilgrimage onto the Mount along with the daily prayers that take place on the holy site.

The discussions touched on the blessings to be recited on the Temple Mount. Participants included Head of the Temple Institute Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, The head of the Temple Mount Yeshiva Rabbi Eliyahu Webber, The head of the Temple Mount Colel Rabbi Elisha Wolfson, Rabbi Shmuel Moreno, Rabbi Yitzchak Brand, Rabbi Aryeh Lippo, and others.

The main issue that dominated the talks was the question of which blessing should seal the prayer on the Temple Mount: “Blessed God our Lord from the now and forever” (ברוך ה’ אלקי ישראל מן העולם ועד העולם) and which blessings are to be answered with; “Bless God’s kingdom forever” (ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד).

Rabbi Eliyahu Webber, head of the Temple Mount Yeshiva said; “This is a significant celebration that Torah scholars are sitting on the Temple Mount itself and are comfortably discussing Jewish law on the Temple Mount. We were happy to open discussions with the Jewish law regarding the type of prayer that is recited every day during our morning and afternoon prayers on the Temple Mount.” Noting the current unprecedented nature of the current status of the Temple Mount and its relation to the Jewish people, the rabbi added: “After 2,000 years, we have merited to discuss Jewish law that has never been discussed by Torah academics in all of history.”

https://www.israel365news.com

Solar storm warning: Sun ejects 50,000 mile-long ‘canyon of hot plasma’ – impact predicted

Sebastian Kettley – November 25, 2021

A so-called coronal mass ejection (CME) was seen escaping the Sun on Wednesday and may deliver a “glancing blow” to the planet. CMEs are large clouds of charged particles and magnetic field that stream from the Sun’s corona – the outermost layer of the star’s atmosphere. According to the US Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), CMEs can reach the planet at speeds between 250 km per second and 3,000 km per second.

Astronomers at SpaceWeather.com have now warned yesterday’s CME could reach the planet by Saturday.

The warning comes after a large filament erupted from the Sun’s southern hemisphere.

The filament split the Sun’s atmosphere wide open and released a cloud of debris into space.

The website’s astronomers wrote: “Imagine a canyon 50,000 miles long with towering walls of red-hot plasma.

“Yesterday, there was one on the Sun.

“It formed when a filament of magnetism lifted off from the southern hemisphere.

“The erupting filament split the Sun’s atmosphere, carving out the canyon as it ascended.

“The glowing walls remained intact for more than six hours after the explosion.”

The debris trailing from the blast was photographed by NASA’s STEREO-A spacecraft and the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO).

Space Weather added: “First-look data suggest it might deliver a glancing blow to Earth’s magnetic field on November 28.”

https://www.express.co.uk

NATO Increases Military Flights Along Belarus Border As Putin Blames EU For Migrant Crisis

Tyler Durden – November 18, 2021

Previously we noted that despite tiny NATO-member Estonia not actually sharing a border with Belarus, its government ordered snap military drills and the erecting of additional barbed-wire along its border with Russia in a message of solidarity with Poland amid the migrant standoff.

Fresh EU sanctions on Minsk, coupled with persisting clashes at the Belarus-Poland border, mean that things could easily escalate to a military conflict between the two countries, and into a broader NATO-Russia-Belarus standoff, given Moscow is Lukashenko’s closest ally. Alarmingly, on Thursday the Belarusian government cited a noticeable uptick in NATO aircraft activity “along the state border of Belarus”.

The Belarusian Defense Ministry statement was translated by Russian media sources: “Our radio and radar reconnaissance means registered constant increase in the intensity of flights of reconnaissance and combat aviation of NATO member states along the state border of Belarus, including in the airspace of Ukraine,” it said.

More broadly, the defense ministry connected the heightened activity to a threatening NATO build-up at its border – something which was persistently emphasized during last year’s crackdown on anti-Lukashenko protests, for which Minsk was slapped with EU sanctions the first time around (with fresh EU sanctions being readied this week as Lukashenko stands accuses of orchestrating the migrant crisis).

According to further details of the allegation via TASS:

The total number of these flights had doubled recently, while flights by US aircraft increased by 50%, the ministry said. Unmanned surveillance aircraft continue to be used a lot, it said. The aircraft fly as close as 15-20 kilometers from the Belarusian border, according to the statement.

Belarus says the number of NATO flights has “almost doubled” in recent years. “These facts confirm the buildup of military activity near our borders and testify to the further escalation of the situation around Belarus,” the defense ministry said.

https://www.zerohedge.com

U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths Hit Record High

Human Events Staff | November 17, 2021

The U.S. recorded its highest number of drug-overdose deaths in a one year period, according to the CDC.

There were an estimated 100,306 drug deaths in the 12 months running through April, the latest data shows. This marks a nearly 29% rise from the deaths recorded in the same period the previous year, per the Wall Street Journal.

“It’s telling us that 2021 looks like it will be worse than 2020,” Robert Anderson, chief of the CDC mortality statistics branch, said.

Opioid-related deaths, mainly caused by fentanyl, accounted for about 75 percent of the deaths through April.

Indeed, the pandemic worsened opioid overdoses due to isolation. The number of overdoses in 2020 surged to a record of about 93,330.

https://humanevents.com

New Zealand Euthanasia Law Goes Into Effect, Pro-Life Advocates Fight to Save Vulnerable People

Right to Life UK – Nov 10, 2021

As New Zealand’s euthanasia legislation comes into effect, anti-euthanasia campaigners have launched an initiative to begin the path towards repealing the legislation and protecting the vulnerable.

After becoming the first country in the world to introduce assisted suicide and euthanasia by popular vote in a binding referendum, New Zealand’s End of Life Choice Act (EOLCA) came into effect last Sunday. In response, DefendNZ has launched a new campaign to “protect” the vulnerable from the new law, and to “expose and improve” the law as it is written.

Their spokesperson, Henoch Kloosterboer, said: “Some may have wrongly assumed that this debate was over now that the EOLCA has come into force, when what this actually means is that our advocacy for the vulnerable put at risk by this law is more critical than ever before”.

He described the introduction of assisted suicide and euthanasia into New Zealand as “one of the most seismic shifts in law, healthcare and medical ethics in its entire history. As of this moment, some New Zealanders now wield the state-sanctioned legal power to deliberately end the lives of others, or to assist in their suicides”.

“To think that there will be no harms that will come from this is to be unaware of the many problems unfolding overseas in the limited number of places that have also legalised these practices – and this includes the harm of wrongful killings”.

https://www.lifenews.com

DEVELOPING: A bird flu outbreak is now spreading across Europe and Asia

ETH – November 15, 2021

Several outbreaks of severe bird flu in Europe and Asia have been reported in recent days to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), in a sign the virus is spreading quickly again.

According to Reuters, The spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has put the poultry industry on alert after previous outbreaks led to the culling of tens of millions of birds. Outbreaks also often lead to trade restrictions.

According to the Daily Sabah, It is also attracting the attention of epidemiologists as the virus can be transmitted to humans. China has reported 21 human infections with the H5N6 subtype of avian influenza so far this year, more than in the whole of 2020.

South Korea reported an outbreak at a farm of around 770,000 poultry in Chungcheongbuk-do, the OIE said on Monday, citing a report from the South Korean authorities.

All animals were slaughtered. Also in Asia, Japan reported its first outbreak of the 2021 winter season, at a poultry farm in the northeast of the country, the OIE said, confirming a statement last week by Japan’s agriculture ministry. The serotype in this outbreak was H5N8. In Europe, Norway reported an H5N1 bird flu outbreak in the Rogaland region in a flock of 7,000 birds, the OIE said.

https://endtimeheadlines.org

PGA Reporter Fired After Being Denied Religious Exemption From COVID Mandates

John Simmons – November 16, 2021

In the book of Daniel, three young men by the name of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into a fiery furnace after refusing to worship a gargantuan golden god created and instituted by the tyrannical King of Babylon Nebuchadnezzar. While we don’t have a government that is forcing Christians to bow to idols of metal, Christians are increasingly being punished for not bowing to the god of COVID.

Teryn Gregson was a PGA Tour host and reporter as of Monday but was terminated after the company refused to provide her a religious exemption from it’s testing and mask mandates for unvaccinated employees.

Naturally, a person should then adhere to the belief system of whomever they choose to worship. But when a government (like Babylon or the current United States) or businesses decide to encroach within that space and claim ultimate authority over people’s lives, they have done something very ominous: they have declared themselves to be god.

That is why Gregson’s situation is unsettling and should come as a warning sign to everyone. In the sports world, there are repeated instances of teams telling players or employees that their religious beliefs have to be put on hold to comply with what they say. This violates our first amendment right as Americans to have the freedom of religion and becomes a dangerous trajectory for how much power we allow the government to have over our lives.

Fortunately, Gregson, like the three men in Babylon, took this as an opportunity to display her faith more vividly, as well as to promote and more unified country despite being axed for something as ridiculous as this:

“I hope that we can come together and unite on this issue and not treat people differently based on a very private medical decision that they make between themselves, and their family, and their doctor, and God.”

In the Bible, the three men were rewarded for their loyalty to God by surviving being thrown into the fiery furnace. Hopefully, Gregson will experience a similar experience of salvation from her enemies in the near future.

https://newsbusters.org

Congressman Slams Democrats: They Want to Use Our Tax Dollars to Dismember Unborn Babies

Micaiah Bilger – November 19, 2021

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey criticized Democrats on Thursday for trying to force taxpayers to pay for the killing of unborn babies in abortions through a massive spending bill.

Democrats’ $2 trillion “Build Back Better” bill, which passed the U.S. House on Friday, does not include any of the long-standing bans on taxpayer-funded abortions. If it passes the U.S. Senate, Americans could be forced to pay for the killing of unborn babies in elective abortions both in the United States and in other countries.

Smith, a leading pro-life voice in Congress, said it’s shocking that Democrats removed the Hyde Amendment and other measures that protect American taxpayers and unborn babies.

“It is time, I believe, for more of us to face the harsh reality of what abortion does to children and look beyond the sound bites and slogans,” Smith said. “No one in the media ever bothers to expose the violent methods of abortion that include dismemberment of a child’s fragile body, including decapitation, and that drugs like RU-486 starve the baby to death.”

He urged lawmakers to restore the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer funding for abortions in Medicaid and other federal programs, as well as the Helms Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer funding for abortions in other countries.

“Taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize or facilitate the killing of an unborn child,” Smith said, pointing to recent polls showing strong public opposition to taxpayer-funded abortions.

The massive spending bill mandates abortion coverage in the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, and includes a number of other funding measures that could pay for abortions, Smith continued.

https://www.lifenews.com