The Faithful Watchman

UK Angers China With Offer of Citizenship Route to Hong Kong Residents

Newsmax – January 29, 2021

Britain on Friday hailed a new visa offering Hong Kong citizens a route to citizenship after China’s crackdown but Beijing said it would no longer recognize special British passports offered to residents of the former colony.

Britain and China have been bickering for months about what London and Washington say is an attempt to silence dissent in Hong Kong, though Beijing says the West’s views are clouded by misinformation and an imperial hangover.

Britain says it is fulfilling a historic and moral commitment to the people of Hong Kong after China imposed a tough new security law on the city that Britain says breaches the terms of agreements to hand the colony back in 1997.

“I am immensely proud that we have brought in this new route for Hong Kong BN(O)s to live, work and make their home in our country,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, referring to a special British National Overseas (BNO) passport.

“In doing so we have honored our profound ties of history and friendship with the people of Hong Kong, and we have stood up for freedom and autonomy – values both the UK and Hong Kong hold dear.”

But China and the Hong Kong government hit back by saying neither would recognize the BNO passport as a valid travel document from Jan. 31

“Britain is trying to turn large numbers of Hong Kong people into second-class British citizens. This has completely changed the original nature of BNO,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular briefing.

https://www.newsmax.com

First U.S. cases of South Africa COVID-19 variant reported in South Carolina

UPI – January 28, 2021

Jan. 28 (UPI) — Health officials in South Carolina announced Thursday that they have identified two cases of a COVID-19 variant that emerged recently in South Africa — which are the first confirmed cases of the mutated virus in the United States.

Federal officials identified the B.1.351 variant in adults from the state’s Lowcountry and Pee Dee regions, according to South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control.

The patients have not traveled internationally and did not know each other, the department said.

“The arrival of the SARS-CoV-2 variant in our state is an important reminder to all South Carolinians that the fight against this deadly virus is far from over,” interim DHEC Public Health Director Dr. Brannon Traxler said in a statement.

“While more COVID-19 vaccines are on the way, supplies are still limited. Every one of us must recommit to the fight by recognizing that we are all on the front lines now. We are all in this together.”

New variants first reported in Britain and South Africa are said to be more transmissible, but most experts have said the available vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna should also be effective against the mutated strains.

“At this time, there’s no evidence to suggest that the B.1.351 variant causes more severe illness,” the department added.

https://www.breitbart.com

Satanic Temple Sues City of Boston to Obtain ‘Equal Opportunity’ to ‘Invoke Satan’ at Council Meetings

Heather Clark – January 27, 2021

BOSTON — The Satanic Temple (TST) has filed suit against the City of Boston to challenge its practice of allowing council members to choose those who present the invocation during public meetings rather than accepting requests from community members. The group’s legal challenge comes after it was denied requests to participate in 2016 and 2017.

“This case is not a challenge to legislative prayers, generally; and it is not a challenge to offensive prayers, particularly,” the complaint, filed on Sunday, states. “We take no issue with the fact that the City permits many congregations to invoke Jesus before council meetings. We just want an equal opportunity — one guaranteed by the Constitution — to invoke Satan.”

It explains that the City allows its council members to select those who will pray during council meetings, but in doing so, most of the invocations presented are either Christian, Muslim or Jewish.

“As a result, the City broadcasts two constitutionally impermissible messages: those religions who make the cut are endorsed and are therefore insiders of the politically favored community; those who don’t make the cut are not endorsed and are therefore outsiders from the politically favored community,” the lawsuit states.

The Boston chapter of TST had requested in 2016 and 2017 to be able to present an invocation at an upcoming meeting but was told that it lacked sponsorship from a councilor.

In 2018, TST Co-Founder Malcom Jarry sent an email to then-Council President Andrea Campbell to demand inclusion but was again informed that speakers must be invited by a council member as there is no waiting list.

https://christiannews.net

Dramatic shark decline leaves ‘gaping hole’ in ocean: Study

CNA – January 28, 2021

TOKYO: Overfishing has savaged populations of some sharks and rays by more than 70 per cent in the last half-century, leaving a “gaping, growing hole” in ocean life, according to a new study.

Decades of data show an alarming decline in species ranging from hammerhead sharks to manta rays.

Among the worst-affected is the oceanic whitetip, a powerful shark often described as particularly dangerous to man that now hovers on the edge of extinction because of human activity.

Targeted for their fins, oceanic whitetips are also the victims of indiscriminate fishing techniques. Their global population has dropped 98 per cent in the last 60 years.

“That’s a worse decline than most large terrestrial mammal populations, and getting up there or as bad as the blue whale decline,” Nick Dulvy, a professor at Simon Fraser University’s department of biological sciences, told AFP.

Dulvy and a team of scientists spent years collecting and analysing information from scientific studies and fisheries data to build up a picture of the global state of 31 species of sharks and rays.

They found three-quarters of the species examined are now so depleted that they are threatened with extinction.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com

Professor Asserts That Heterosexual Relationships Are ‘Tragic’

Milton Quintanilla -January 28, 2021

A professor from University of California-Riverside asserted that heterosexuality is a tragedy due to toxic masculinity, misogyny and bad opposite-sex relationships, The Blaze reports.

Jane Wade, who is a lesbian and professor of gender and sexuality, told Insider in December of the dislike men and women have for one another.

“It really looks like straight men and women don’t like each other very much, that women spend so much time complaining about men, and we still have so much evidence of misogyny,” or woman-hating behavior, Ward explained. “From an LGBT perspective, [being straight] looks actually very tragic.”

Ward also published a book, The Tragedy of Heterosexuality, last September.

She explained to Insider as to how the COVID-19 pandemic “is revealing the tragedy of heterosexuality to people who might not have otherwise paid attention to it.”

Regarding gender binary, the concept that teaches that male and female are the only two genders, Ward noted how it’s infused into everyday life.

“It’s that straight culture is based in a presumption that men and women are really different kinds of people, that they want different things, that they have different interests, and that they are sort of opposite,” she said. “And they come together sexually and romantically because opposites attract.”

https://www.christianheadlines.com

Israel Defense Forces to Plan Attack on Iran’s Nuclear Program

Amanda Casanova – January 15, 2021

The Israel Defense Forces is reportedly planning an attack on Iran’s nuclear program.

According to the Israel Hayom Daily, the IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi has asked for three proposals to take down Iran’s nuclear program. The newspaper said one of the proposals is a military effort, but also an expensive option.

The Times of Israel reports that Iran has increased the enriching of uranium to a 20 percent concentration last week. In 2015, a nuclear deal capped the enriching of uranium to a 4.5 percent concentration, the BBC reports.

Low-enriched uranium, between 3 to 5 percent concentration, is used to make fuel for commercial power plants. Concentrations of 20 percent and more is largely used in research reactors, and concentrations of 90 percent and more are considered weapons-grade uranium.

Likud minister Tzachi Hanegbi said recently that Israel could attack Iran’s nuclear program if the United States rejoins the nuclear deal, an agreement that US President-elect Joe Biden has said he plans to approve.

“If the United States government rejoins the nuclear deal — and that seems to be the stated policy as of now — the practical result will be that Israel will again be alone against Iran, which by the end of the deal will have received a green light from the world, including the United States, to continue with its nuclear weapons program,” Hanegbi said in an interview with Kan news.

Former president Barack Obama signed the Iranian nuclear deal with world powers in 2015, but in 2018, President Donald Trump withdrew from the accord and imposed economic sanctions on Iran.

Biden has indicated that he would negotiate with Tehran if Washington returns to the deal, and Iran has said it would welcome the return of the Americans to the deal, but only after the economic sanctions are lifted.

https://www.christianheadlines.com

Powerful M7.1 earthquake hits off the coast of Mindanao, Philippines

Teo Blašković – January 21, 2021

A powerful earthquake registered by PHIVOLCS as M7.1 hit off the coast of Mindanao, Philippines at 12:23 UTC (20:23 LT) on January 21, 2021. The agency is reporting a depth of 116 km (72 miles). The USGS is reporting M7.0 at a depth of 96 km (60 miles), EMSC M7.1 at a depth of 114 km (71 miles).

The epicenter was located about 211 km (131 miles) SE of Pondaguitan and 312 km (194 miles) SE of Davao, Philippines.

There are about 100 000 people living within 100 km (62 miles).

6 000 people are estimated to have felt strong shaking and 173 000 moderate.

Based on the depth of the earthquake, a tsunami is not expected, NTWC said.

The USGS issued a green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are a mix of vulnerable and earthquake-resistant construction. The predominant vulnerable building types are unknown/miscellaneous types and heavy wood frame construction.

Recent earthquakes in this area have caused secondary hazards such as tsunamis and landslides that might have contributed to losses.

https://watchers.news

New York Bill Would Let Governor Imprison, Forcibly Medicate People Suspected Of Illness

Jordan Davidson – January 3, 2021

The New York assembly is considering a bill that would allow government officials such as Gov. Andrew Cuomo and health commissioners to “detain or remove” individuals that they deem a risk to public health.

The bill, first introduced by Democrat New York State Assemblyman N. Nick Perry, grants power to Cuomo and state health officials to forcibly confine any individual who is considered a danger due to a contagious disease or a suspected case of that disease to either a medical facility or another type of space appointed by the governor.

“The governor or his or her delegee may, in his or her discretion, issue and seek enforcement of any other orders that he or she determines are necessary or appropriate to prevent dissemination or transmission of contagious diseases or other illnesses that may pose a threat to the public health,” the bill states.

The proposed legislation does not name COVID-19 specifically. Instead, it claims that, in addition to being detained, individuals who are exposed or infected by a “communicable disease” resulting in “severe morbidity or high mortality” may also be subjected to tests, medical examinations, treatment, preventative medication, and vaccination by the state while being held.

Requirements for this legal detention include the production of “clear and convincing evidence” by the state as well as a court order if the custody prolongs 60 days. Judicial review is required if an individual is detained for more than 90 days.

Individuals may be released only after subjective scrutiny from health departments, which will determine “that the person is not infected with the disease or that such contact no longer presents a potential danger to the health of others.”

https://thefederalist.com

Global Persecution: The Number Of Christians Killed For Their Faith Increased By 60 Percent In Just One Year

Michael Snyder – January 17, 2021

For years I have been warning that Christian persecution was rising all over the globe, but we have never seen anything like the past year. Christians are being slaughtered all across Africa, they are being taken to concentration camps in North Korea, thousands of churches have been brutally shut down under a new wave of persecution in China, and millions of believers throughout the Middle East must live knowing that each new day may be their last. Of course most Americans have never heard about any of this because the mainstream media won’t cover it.

Thankfully, there are organizations that do keep track of what is happening to Christians around the globe, and one of them is Open Doors USA. According to the group, the number of Christians that were killed for their faith was 60 percent higher in 2020 than it was in 2019…

The watchdog organization Open Doors USA says levels of Christian persecution are at a record high around the world. Open Doors reports that levels of Christian persecution are at a record high, revealing that the number of Christians murdered for their faith rose 60 percent in 2020.

A 6 percent rise in a single year would be bad.

A 60 percent increase is a nightmare.

Open Doors USA also just released the 2021 World Watch List in which they named the top 50 nations that are persecuting Christians the most.

http://endoftheamericandream.com

President Biden Signs Transgender Executive Order

ETH – January 21, 2021

(OPINION) ETH – President Joe Biden has a pen and has signed a slew of executive orders in just 48 hours of being sworn into office. One of these executive orders that Biden just signed is an executive order mandating all educational institutions receiving federal funding to now permit biological males to join female sports teams, use ladies’ locker rooms, and restrooms, and be eligible for women’s scholarships.

The order has even triggered may into creating a now trending hashtag #BidenErasedWomen on Twitter. The executive order stated, “every person should be treated with respect and dignity and should be able to live without fear, no matter who they are or whom they love.”

It continued: “Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports.” According to Faithwire, Several social media users, including journalist and author Abigail Shrier, wasn’t too happy with the order and wrote

“Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters,” which pointed out how inherently sexist the policy is. Shrier argued the order “unilaterally eviscerates women’s sports,” adding, “A new glass ceiling was just placed over girls.” However, One transgender activist, named Charlotte Clymer, tweeted “transphobes are claiming this attacks the rights of cis women,” meaning biological women. Clymer said that’s not the case and instead accused those concerned of invoking “tragic logic” and “sad bigotry.”

https://endtimeheadlines.org