Besides Locust Invasion and Coronavirus Pandemic, There’s One More Plague Going on in the World

– August 18, 2020

A locust invasion has been sweeping parts of East Africa and South Asia since the start of the year, leading to food shortages across the region. But it appears that this isn’t the only insect plague the world is currently facing – and one no less severe than the former.

More than seven hundred million cubic metres of trees were wiped out in British Columbia between 2000 and 2015 by mountain pine beetles, a tiny species native to North American forests, according to Bloomberg, as decades-worth of lumber supplies are being eradicated across the world as a result of the pest’s invasion. With around 2.2 million hectares having already been affected by beetles, the outbreak is expected to continue for the next six years.

The tiny creature, just 5mm in length, was once part of the forest cycle, but as winters grew warmer due to climate change, the beetles were able to survive in greater numbers and chew through tree bark, with flowing resin attracting even more of them. As a result, with thousands of the insects eating on the trees and laying their eggs inside, hundreds of millions of pines across Canada’s timber-rich region were doomed to die.

British Columbia is Canada’s largest supplier of logs to the United States, Bloomberg notes, with the beetle plague eventually signaling potential shortages for both the American and global housing market. The pests have already destroyed 15 years’ worth of timber supplies in the province, material sufficient to build around nine million one-family houses. According to estimates by the Vancouver-based Spar Tree Group, the allowable production in British Columbia has been reduced by 40%, as it is believed that more than half of the region’s marketable pine trees will be dead by 2020.

https://sputniknews.com

China removes over 900 church crosses in first half of 2020: report

Leah MarieAnn Klett – August 28, 2020

In the first half of 2020, over 900 crosses were removed from state-run churches across China amid Xi Jinping’s ongoing crackdown on places of worship, according to the Italian-based magazine Bitter Winter.

According to the religious liberty magazine, crosses were removed from over 250 state-run Three-Self churches in the eastern province of Anhui, which has the second-largest Christian population in China, in the first four months of the year. Additionally, 656 state-run Protestant churches in the province saw their crosses removed during the first half of this year.

A Three-Self church in the city’s Yingdong district, which lost its cross in April, was told by authorities that the cross-demolition campaign was part of national policy.

“If a church refuses to remove its cross, congregation members may lose their social benefits, like pensions and poverty-alleviation subsidies, and possibilities for their children’s future employment will be affected,” a church member explained.

United Front Work Department officials who removed the cross from a church in Hanshan county informed church congregants that any crosses taller than government buildings “must be demolished because they overshadow state institutions,” a church member told Bitter Winter.

“Only churches that look like enterprises are considered legal. To ‘sinicize’ Christianity, Xi Jinping does not allow churches to have Western crosses.”

The believer also revealed that government officials warned an elder in the church that “protesting cross demolitions means protesting against the government.”

https://www.christianpost.com

Austin City Council Allots $250K for ‘Abortion Access’ While Cutting $150 Million From Police Budget

– August 26, 2020

AUSTIN, Texas — The city council of Austin, Texas has voted to not only to cut and redistribute $150 million from its $423 million police department budget, but to also earmark $250K for assisting mothers with the logistics of obtaining an abortion.

While state lawmakers last year passed a law banning funding of abortion facilities, the City is reportedly attempting to work around the law by making the funds available for abortive mothers seeking transportation and lodging, rather than giving the funds to the abortion facilities themselves.

Senate Bill 22, which went into effect last September, declared, “a governmental entity may not enter into a taxpayer resource transaction with an abortion provider or an affiliate of an abortion provider.”

Soon after the legislation became law, Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza and Council Member Gregorio Casar put forward an amendment to allot $150K for the expenditures of abortive mothers, such as those traveling for an abortion or obtaining childcare while they are away.

According to The Statesman, this year, Council Member Leslie Pool proposed allotting another $100K for “abortion access,” on top of the $150K that was marked last year but never utilized.

She stated that economic hardships due to the coronvirus pandemic necessitated the additional funding, telling the outlet, “We know the need is out there in the community, and we know we have an increase in need.”

https://christiannews.net

Appeals Court Rules Va. School District ‘Discriminated’ by Not Allowing Girl to Use Boys’ Restroom

– August 27, 2020

RICHMOND, Va. — A 2-1 panel with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has again ruled that a Virginia school district discriminated against a female student who identifies as male by declining to allow her to use the boys’ restroom.

“[W]e hold that the board’s restroom policy constitutes sex-based discrimination and, independently, that transgender persons constitute a quasi-suspect class,” wrote Judge Henry Floyd, appointed to the bench by then-President Barack Obama.

He stated that “[n]o one questions that students have a privacy interest in their body when they go to the bathroom,” but the school district “ignores the reality of how a transgender child uses the bathroom: ‘by entering a stall and closing the door.’” Further, those with gender identity issues do not present a “peeping tom” threat as they will “mind[] their business like any other student.”

“Put another way, the record demonstrates that bodily privacy of cisgender boys using the boys restrooms did not increase when Grimm was banned from those restrooms,” Floyd said. “Therefore, the board’s policy was not substantially related to its purported goal.”

He also opined in his ruling that “[j]ust like being cisgender, being transgender is natural and is not a choice.”

Floyd asserted that transgenderism is “not a psychiatric condition,” but simultaneously stated that those who struggle with their gender “are up to three times more likely to report or be diagnosed with a mental health disorder as the general population” and noted that “[g]ender dysphoria is defined in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.”

Floyd was joined in his opinion by Judge James Wynn, Jr., also an Obama nominee. Judge Paul Niemeyer, nominated by then-President George H.W. Bush, dissented.

https://christiannews.net

Five asteroids pass Earth this week BUT were only discovered 2 weeks ago

Strange Sounds – August 27, 2020

The near-constant bombardment of space rocks buzzing our planet continues, with planetary defenses alerted to a trio of asteroids measuring over 25 meters in diameter en route to Earth’s backyard this week.

To kick things off on Monday, not one but two space rocks over 25 meters (82 feet) in diameter flew past, both of which were detected just this month, leaving little time and space for error in calculating their trajectories. 

Asteroid 2020 PP3, 34 meters wide, passed us by at a distance of 6.1 million kilometers (3.7 million miles), having only been spotted 13 days ago. It was followed shortly afterwards by 2020 PJ6, 26 meters wide, at a distance of 5.3 million kilometers, which was spotted four days later on August 15.

Next up, on Wednesday, asteroid 2020 FF3, measuring 25 meters in diameter came far closer, though maintaining a safe distance of 2.4 million kilometers. This space rock was only spotted on August 14.

Punctuating the mid week are two smaller asteroids, 2016 AH164 (3.9 meters) and 2020 QQ2 (15 meters), which will pass at a distance of six million and 3.2 million kilometers on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.

To put the danger in context, the Chelyabinsk meteor which exploded above Russia in February 2013 was just 18 meters in diameter, proving that it doesn’t take much for a meteorite or asteroid to cause a vast amount of destruction. 

Meanwhile, the recently-discovered asteroid 2020 PG6 is expected to hit the Earth on August 31, 2029, and measures 14 meters in diameter, highlighting once again the need for humanity to remain vigilant lest we be caught off guard and face a catastrophic impact event.

https://strangesounds.org

Israel prepares for Gaza showdown after 7 rockets notch up Palestinian aggression

Debkafile – August 21, 2020

Palestinian terrorists launched three salvos of 7 rockets overnight Thursday, Aug. 20 – one a direct hit to a Sderot home, six intercepted. The IDF hit back in three waves against Hamas military sites, including a rocket factory near Khan Younes. During a night broken by repeated Palestinian rocket fire, three women were treated for shock and a third was hurt when stumbling while running for shelter.

This was the IDF’s 12th day in a row of strikes against Hamas military sites and it continued up until 6 am Friday morning, when the Southern Command urgently reviewed the deteriorating situation for its next decisions. . Local farmers told not to work in the fields adjoining the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian rocket fire came on top of the hundreds of arson and incendiary balloons launched against Israel in the past two weeks. During the day, 42 fires were ignited by balloons from the Gaza Strip; three more early Friday. The IDF reported that 15 incoming clusters were intercepted by the new “Light Flame” device devised to counter terrorist balloons for the Border police force

From a safe place in friendly Turkey, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh threatened to raise the stakes with a renewed cycle of violence, unless Israel complied with the long list of demands submitted by the terrorists via Egyptian intelligence officers who  shuttled between Tel Aviv and Gaza this week. Hard cash may be the only answer acceptable to the Palestinian Hamas for buying calm. Tensely awaited is a decision by Qatar about whether or not to continue its $25m aid program to Gaza when it runs out next month. Meanwhile, the Erdogan government is being solicited for terrorist funding.

https://www.debka.com

Brexit: ‘Clock is ticking,’ warns EU’s Michel Barnier

DW – August 21, 2020

The EU’s chief post-Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier was left ‘disappointed’ at the slow pace of the trade negotiations about the UK’s exit from the European Union, while his UK counterpart David Frost said the EU made talks “unnecessarily difficult.”

“Those who were hoping for negotiations to move swiftly forward this week will have been disappointed,” said Barnier. “Unfortunately, I too am frankly disappointed and concerned.”

“The clock is ticking,” he warned.

Trade discussions between the EU and UK began after Britain officially left the bloc in January.

Both sides are pushing to have a deal in place by the end of a post-Brexit transition period that ends on December 31. The EU said this requires an agreement by October – in two months’ time.

If no deal is struck by then, trading relationships between the two sides will have to use minimum standards set by the World Trade Organization that will see tariffs raised.

“No progress whatsoever” had been made on fisheries, said Barnier. Fair competition rules were also proving to be a sticking point.

“Too often this week it felt as if we were going backwards rather than forwards,” said Barnier.

https://www.dw.com

Sinabung volcano erupts again just hours after twin M6.8 and M6.9 quakes hit off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia – M6.6 earthquake the day before in Malaysia

Strange Sounds – August 20, 2020

A pair of powerful earthquakes has rocked the Indonesian coast on August 19, 2020.

The M6.8 and M6.9 quakes shook the island of Sumatra maybe triggering the latest eruption of Sinabung volcano just hours later.

The two quakes struck off Sumatra’s western coast on Wednesday morning, with an estimated depth of 22km (13 miles) and 26km (16 miles) respectively. The first tremor impacted an area some 144km (89 miles) away from Bengkulu, while the second came closer to the city at 130km (80 miles).

There are no reports of injuries as of yet, however local media said the quakes shook the homes of island residents “as if a truck had passed” and did “minor damage,” particularly to buildings with “poor construction.”

Though the jolts were strong and shallow, Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) reported that there was “no tsunami potential” in the quakes’ aftermath.

In addition to being prone to quakes, Indonesia also features some of the most active volcanoes in the Ring – including Krakatoa, whose infamous 1883 eruption became one of the most deadly volcanic blasts in recorded history.

But a few hours after the two big jolts, the Sinabung volcano started erupting again – and not the Krakatoa.

A day before, a M6.6 earthquake hit the Philippines on Tuesday, killing at least one person and damaging roads and buildings.

It was the strongest earthquake in eight months in the Philippines, which, like Indonesia, lies on the “Ring of Fire,” a seismically active belt of volcanoes circling the Pacific Ocean.

https://strangesounds.org

750 million genetically engineered mosquitoes has just been approved for release in Florida Keys

ETH – August 20, 2020

(ETH) – Local authorities in the Florida Keys has just approved the plan to release over 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes in 2021 and 2022 despite the disapproval of many local residents and a coalition of environmental advocacy groups.

The purpose of these mosquitoes being released is to reportedly test if a genetically modified mosquito is a viable alternative to spraying insecticides to control the Aedes aegypti. However, there is a heated opposition against this proposal from not only residents but other agencies as well.

“With all the urgent crises facing our nation and the State of Florida — the Covid-19 pandemic, racial injustice, climate change — the administration has used tax dollars and government resources for a Jurassic Park experiment,” said Jaydee Hanson, policy director for the International Center for Technology Assessment and Center for Food Safety, in a statement released Wednesday.

“Now the Monroe County Mosquito Control District has given the final permission needed. What could possibly go wrong? We don’t know, because EPA unlawfully refused to seriously analyze environmental risks, now without further review of the risks, the experiment can proceed,” she added.

This genetically modified mosquito, named OX5034, has been altered to produce female offspring that die in the larval stage, long before it hatches and grows large enough to bite and spread diseases such as Zika, dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever.

Only the female mosquito bites for blood, which is required for her to mature her eggs. Males feed only on nectar and are thus not a carrier for the disease. According to CNN, The mosquito is also approved to be released into Harris County, Texas, Also beginning in 2021, according to Oxitec, the US-owned, British-based company that developed the genetically modified organism (GMO).

https://endtimeheadlines.org

The Ignored Genocide of Christians in Nigeria

Raymond Ibrahim – August 19, 2020

The mass slaughter of Christians in Nigeria, which some international observers have classified as genocide, is reaching unprecedented levels.

According to an August 4 report, at least 171 Christians were slaughtered by Muslim Fulani herdsmen in the space of roughly three weeks:

And these are only those we know of. In reality, the toll is likely to be far higher. Many thousands are also being displaced by the violence from homes and such livelihoods as they had left after covid lockdown brought economic havoc…. Our news desk has been swamped by such stories for many months, yet this relentless and bloody toll of Christian lives is disturbingly absent from wider mainstream media.

In one of the recent raids, on July 10, Muslim herdsmen massacred 22 Christians — “mostly women and children” — and torched many homes in a farming community. “The Fulani came in and were shooting,” recalled Bilkisu James from her hospital bed. “They killed two of my children [and husband].” They also “hacked another five of Bilkisu’s relatives to death with machetes including a mother and her baby daughter and a mother and her two sons.”

A Muslim neighbor had apparently exposed the Christian family to his invading coreligionists: “Before I was shot,” Bilkisu continued, “I saw the Fulani man who is my neighbour, he even identified me. I surrendered to him on my knees” — to no avail. They shot her in the chest and back and left her for dead, even as she “heard them light the match and set the house on fire.”

The next day, a neighboring village was raided: “ten women, a baby and an elderly man were burnt to death in a house where they had taken refuge. Another seven villagers were injured and four houses burnt out.” On July 19, people attending a wedding celebration were among at least 32 Christians massacred in Fulani attacks.

In a separate “horrific night attack during a torrential rain storm on 23 July, at least seven Christians died… as militants brutally hacked unarmed men and women and children to death with machetes.” The report adds that “This was the second attack on the village within days, with seven murdered in an attack days earlier on 20 July.”

On July 29, Muslim herdsmen murdered another 14 Christians — 13 of whom belonged to one extended family. Only one member of the family remained alive; his wife, all his children, aunt, uncle, brother, and other relatives were slaughtered.

Most recently, armed jihadis stormed the Lion of Judah Church in Azikoro and opened fire on worshippers; four Christians were killed.

https://www.frontpagemag.com