BIRD OF PREY Mutant bird flu more infectious than Covid poses ‘high’ risk of transmission between humans, Russia warns

Will Stewart – March 12, 2021

Russia has warned today that mutating H5N8 Bird Flu has a high risk of human-to-human transmission.

The alert appears to contradict the low threat position of the World Health Organisation.

This comes almost a month after scientists detected the first case of H5N8 transmission to humans at a poultry farm in southern Russia.

The Kremlin’s health watchdog chief Anna Popova said there was “a rather high probability” of transmission between humans.

“It is likely to happen,” she told TASS.

“Colleagues say that the mutation is continuing very actively.”

But she said that scientists had spotted the threat “before a disaster happened”.

Popova spoke after a report from popular Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda (KP) warning of the threat of a “second Wuhan – or even worse”.

Scientists at Russia’s Porton Down – Vector State Research Centre of Virology  and Biotechnology, once a Cold War biological warfare research plant in Siberia – are working on a vaccine, she said.

https://www.thesun.co.uk

Bill could ban Christians from becoming police officers

WND Staff – March 18, 2021

A California state lawmaker wants to ban from service police officers and police officer candidates who are members of “hate groups” or have used “hate speech” in the past, even in private discussion forums.

The news curator Press California reported the bill’s broad definition of the term “hate” could apply the ban to “police officers expressing conservative religious or political views on abortion, marriage, and gender or with membership in a political party or a church that does.”

Pacific Justice Institute Senior Staff Attorney Matthew McReynolds said the bill would usher in a “new era of McCarthyism” that would target Muslims, Catholics, evangelicals and even registered Republicans.

“Under the guise of addressing police gangs, the bill at the same time launches an inexplicable, unwarranted, and unprecedented attack on peaceable, conscientious officers who happen to hold conservative political and religious views,” he said.

“Indeed, this is one of the most undisguised and appalling attempts we have ever seen, in more than 20 years of monitoring such legislation, on the freedom of association and freedom to choose minority viewpoints.”

The sponsor of AB 655 is Bay Area Assemblyman Ash Kalra, a Democrat from San Jose.

The plan would require police candidates to receive a background check for “official membership in a hate group, participation in hate group activities, or other public expressions of hate,” noted Press California, which was founded by a former CNN.com and NYT Digital multimedia journalist.

Police officers could be fired as a result of a complaint from the public.

https://www.wnd.com

Pope Francis Calls for ‘New World Order’ After the Pandemic

Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D. – March 15, 2021

ROME — Pope Francis insists in a new book things will never be the same in a post-pandemic world, calling instead for the establishment of a “new world order.”

In a book-length interview with journalist Domenico Agasso titled God and the World to Come, scheduled for release in Italian on Tuesday, the pontiff reiterates his case for the Great Reset with a shift away from financial speculation, fossil fuels, and military build-up toward a green economy based on inclusiveness.

After the coronavirus pandemic, “no one today can afford to rest easy,” the pope declares in a lengthy extract from the book published by Vatican News. “The world will never be the same again. But it is precisely within this calamity that we must grasp those signs which may prove to be the cornerstones of reconstruction.”

“Let us all keep in mind that there is something worse than this crisis: the drama of wasting it,” he states. “We cannot emerge from a crisis the same as before: we either come out better or we come out worse.”

We can heal injustice “by building a new world order based on solidarity, studying innovative methods to eradicate bullying, poverty and corruption,” he adds, “all working together, each for their own part, without delegating and passing the buck.”

This new world order will be based on eradicating inequalities and attending to the environment, the pope affirms.

“We can no longer blithely accept inequalities and disruptions to the environment,” he declares. “The path to humanity’s salvation passes through the creation of a new model of development, which unquestionably focuses on coexistence among peoples in harmony with Creation.”

https://www.breitbart.com

Canadian Father JAILED for Violating a Court Order to Use His Trans Child’s Preferred Pronouns

Stacey Lennox – March 18, 2021

Dr. Jordan Peterson rose to international prominence for opposing Bill C-16 in Canada in 2016. This legislation required Canadians to use an individual’s preferred pronouns amid the ever-growing list of gender identities. Dr. Peterson did not object out of “transphobia,” as many accused him of doing. Instead, he objected to the state passing a law that compelled speech, which was evident in his testimony and in every interview on the subject. He warned C-16 would be a slippery slope and result in punishment for speaking. Proponents of the bill told him that would never happen.

The bill passed into law on June 16, 2017. Dr. Jordan Peterson was vindicated when on March 16, 2021, at 10 a.m., Robert Hoogland surrendered himself to the court in response to a warrant issued for his arrest by the attorney general of British Columbia. His crime? Referring to his teen, a biological female, as “daughter,” referring to her with female pronouns, and refusing to affirm her medical transition to become a trans male. Peterson noted that this was inevitable:

Hoogland’s story, reported by the Post Millennial, is heartbreaking on many levels. He has consistently advocated for “watchful waiting” for his child. This approach means waiting until a child becomes an adult before he or she undergoes any permanent or irreversible treatment. In his interviews and court appearances, he notes that gender dysphoric children often desist as they mature. A compilation of studies shows that desistance happens frequently, although it is not predictable.

As Abigail Shrier has pointed out, watchful waiting is reasonable for young women. She explains that gender dysphoric women who wait until adulthood to undergo transgender alterations will present with a smaller stature, but the rest of the physical characteristics they seek to present as male, such as facial hair, will appear with later use of cross-sex hormones. She does note that taking cross-sex hormones is not without risk, and an adult is in a much better position to evaluate the risks and benefits.

https://pjmedia.com

Iran piles on aggression, emboldened by US-Saudi-Israel restraint

Debkafiles – March 9, 2021

US goodwill gestures and warning signals have clearly lost their punch for Iran – even when backed by the mighty US B-52 bombers flying over their heads. After dozens of attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi rebels outdid themselves on Sunday, March 8 by sending 14 armed drones and 8 ballistic missiles flying toward the Saudi petrol tank farm at Ras Tanura, one of the largest oil shipping ports in the world, and the residential area of Dharan that houses foreign oil workers, including Americans.  A gag order from Riyadh concealed the scale of injuries and damage. (See attached picture.)

On the same day, two heavy nuclear-capable US B-52 Stratofortress bombers made a round trip to the Gulf and back to home base, escorted through the skies of the region by British, Israel, Saudi and Qatari warplanes. This was the heavy bomber’s seventh mission over the Gulf and the second since Joe Biden took office as president.

In sharp contrast to actions set in motion from Tehran, America’s answer to the Yemeni attack on Saudi Arabia scarcely resonated. State Department spokesman Ned Price called it “unacceptable and dangerous, and put civilians at risk, including Americans.” He added, “They need to stop attacking and start negotiating.”

But Iran’s Yemeni proxy was clearly on the march even after the Biden administration made the gesture of lifting the terror designation and halting arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

The template for America’s non-response to devastating Iranian-instigated attacks on Saudi Arabia was set in September, 2019, when the Saudis’ main oilfields at Abqaig and Khurais were hit squarely and precisely by the same mix of drones and ballistic missiles. The attack, which cut Saudi oil production by half, was launched jointly by Yemeni Houthis in the south and pro-Iranian Iraqi Shiite militias from the north.

Not content with instigating a major assault on Saudi Arabia, Iranian officials also on Sunday had strong words for Israel too. Defense Minister Amir Hatami threatened to raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground if Israel conducted a pre-emptive attack on Iran. Since this threat has become a constant, Hatami reinforced it by saying that, this time, he had orders from supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to translate those words into an active operation.

https://www.debka.com

Antarctica Apocalypse: Volcanoes beneath ice could erupt and make planet ‘uninhabitable’

Strange Sounds – Mar 10, 2021

Antarctica could be at the heart of the Earth’s doomsday if volcanoes beneath the ice were to erupt and speed up a process that could leave the planet “uninhabitable,” scientists have warned.

The icy continent is home to some 5,000 scientists around the world who study the unspoiled region to learn more about the Earth’s history and the effects of climate change.

But researchers got a shock when they discovered more than 100 dormant volcanoes below the continent’s ice sheet, making it the largest volcanic region on Earth.

The find was particularly important because the activity of these volcanoes could have crucial implications for the rest of the planet.

If one erupts, it could further destabilize some of the region’s ice sheets, which have already been affected by Earth changes.

John Smellie, Professor of Volcanology at the University of Leicester, told The Conversation: “The volcanoes would melt huge caverns in the base of the ice and create enormous quantities of meltwater.

“Because the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is wet rather than frozen to its bed – imagine an ice cube on a kitchen worktop – the meltwater would act as a lubricant and could cause the overlying ice to slip and move more rapidly.

“These volcanoes can also stabilise the ice, however, as they give it something to grip onto – imagine that same ice cube snagging onto a lump-shaped object.

“In any case, the volume of water that would be generated by even a large volcano is a pinprick compared with the volume of overlying ice.

“So a single eruption won’t have much effect on the ice flow. What would make a big difference, is if several volcanoes erupt close to or beneath any of West Antarctica’s prominent ‘ice streams’.”

https://strangesounds.org

Diphtheria becomes major global threat again as it evolves antimicrobial resistance

Strange Sounds – Mar 10, 2021

Diphtheria – a relatively easily-preventable infection – is evolving to become resistant to a number of classes of antibiotics and in future could lead to vaccine escape, warn an international team of researchers from the UK and India.

The researchers, led by scientists at the University of Cambridge, say that the impact of COVID-19 on diphtheria vaccination schedules, coupled with a rise in the number of infections, risk the disease once more becoming a major global threat.

Diphtheria is a highly contagious infection that can affect the nose and throat, and sometimes the skin. If left untreated it can prove fatal. In the UK and other high-income countries, babies are vaccinated against infection. However, in low- and middle-income countries, the disease can still cause sporadic infections or outbreaks in unvaccinated and partially-vaccinated communities.

The number of diphtheria cases reported globally has being increasing gradually. In 2018, there were 16,651 reported cases, more than double the yearly average for 1996-2017 (8,105 cases).

Diphtheria is primarily caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae and is mainly spread by coughs and sneezes, or through close contact with someone who is infected. In most cases, the bacteria cause acute infections, driven by the diphtheria toxin – the key target of the vaccine. However, non-toxigenic C. diphtheria can also cause disease, often in the form of systemic infections.

https://strangesounds.org

Prominent Rabbis Ask Netanyahu to Allow the Passover Sacrifice on Temple Mount

– March 10, 2021

A group of prominent rabbis sent a letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu, requesting that a Passover offering be allowed on the Temple Mount.

Rabbi Hillel Weiss, the former spokesman for the Sanhedrin, emphasized that a Temple structure is not needed in order to bring the Passover sacrifice and a temporary altar that can be assembled and disassembled in one day would suffice.

“Despite various issues of Jewish law, such as ritual impurity and lack of a high priest, Jews are still required and technically able to bring the sacrifice,” Rabbi Weiss said. “The only thing preventing the Jewish People from performing the Passover sacrifice is the Israeli government.”

Rabbi Weiss suggested the possibility that the guilt of preventing the Passover sacrifice may have led to the political troubles plaguing both Trump and Netanyahu over the last year.

https://www.israel365news.com

Mississippi Gov. Signs Bill Prohibiting Boys in Girls’ Sports: Girls Deserve a ‘Level Playing Field’

Michael Foust – March 11, 2021

Mississippi’s governor signed a bill into law on Thursday prohibiting biological males from competing in girls’ or women’s sports, making the state the first in 2021 to act on the issue.

More than 20 states are considering similar bills, which supporters say are needed in light of a push on the national and state levels to allow transgender girls and women to compete alongside biological females in sports.

Two high school athletes in Connecticut who are biologically male but who identify as female won a total of 15 state track championships. Meanwhile, the Biden administration has taken initial steps in requiring schools to allow transgender athletes to compete according to their gender identity.

The Mississippi bill passed in the state House 81-28 with bipartisan support, although a 34-9 vote in the Senate fell along partisan lines.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, signed the bill into law Thursday. Supporters call it the “Mississippi Fairness Act.”

“Athletic teams or sports designated for ‘females,’ ‘women’ or ‘girls’ shall not be open to students of the male sex,” the text of the bill says.

The new law, which takes effect July 1, also allows athletes to file suit if their school violates the law.

“This important piece of legislation will ensure that young girls in Mississippi have a fair, level playing field in public school sports,” Reeves said during a signing ceremony.

https://www.christianheadlines.com

Arkansas Governor Signs Near-Total Abortion Ban Into Law

Newsmax – March 9, 2021

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday signed into law legislation banning nearly all abortions in the state, a sweeping measure that supporters hope will force the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit its landmark Roe v. Wade decision but opponents vow to block before it takes effect later this year.

The Republican governor had expressed reservations about the bill, which only allows the procedure to save the life of the mother and does not provide exceptions for those impregnated by rape or incest. Arkansas is one of at least 14 states where legislators have proposed outright abortion bans this year.

The bans are being pushed by Republicans who want to force the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide. Conservatives believe the court is more open to striking down the decision following former President Donald Trump’s three appointments to the court.

Hutchinson has signed several major abortion restrictions into law since taking office in 2015, but he had voiced concerns that this bill directly challenges Roe and the lack of rape and incest exceptions.

The legislation won’t take effect until 90 days after the majority-Republican Legislature adjourns this year’s session. That means it can’t be enforced until this summer at the earliest. Abortion rights supporters said they plan to challenge the ban in court before then.

https://www.newsmax.com