USA - The economic downturn that we are currently experiencing is making the last recession look like a Sunday picnic. Yes, 2008 and 2009 were bad, but they weren’t anything like this. Unprecedented intervention by the Federal Reserve has allowed the rich to get even richer during this crisis, but meanwhile millions upon millions of ordinary Americans are deeply suffering. Unfortunately, what we have gone through so far is just the beginning.
USA - Why are volcanoes all along the “ring of fire” suddenly starting to pop off like firecrackers? While most of us are preoccupied with other matters, the “Ring of Fire” is starting to shake quite dramatically. Within the past couple of days, we have seen numerous volcanoes along the “Ring of Fire” shoot hot volcanic ash thousands of feet into the air. That list of volcanoes includes Popocatepetl in Mexico, Sangay in Ecuador, Klyuchevskaya on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Sabancaya in Peru, Raung in Indonesia, Reventador in Ecuador, and Fuego in Guatemala. Overall, 28 volcanoes around the globe are currently erupting right now, and most of those are located somewhere along the “Ring of Fire”. We are starting to see so many of them pop off like firecrackers in the early stages of 2021, and that is definitely not a good sign.
NEW ZEALAND - A Series of powerful earthquakes struck off Indonesia and New Caledonia - sparking tsunami fears. An earthquake of magnitude 7.7 struck southeast of Loyalty Islands on Wednesday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said. The quake's epicentre was 401 km east of Tadine, New Caledonia, and was at a depth of 2 km, EMSC said. Ten earthquakes and aftershocks hit the region in a short space of time - ranging between a magnitude of 5.0-6.2 - with the first quake at 12.24.21 (UTC) and the final at 14.59.37 (UTC). Separately an earthquake of magnitude 6.2 struck southwest of Sumatra, Indonesia, on Wednesday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said. Indonesia is on high alert after a mega-earthquake struck its Sulawesi island on January 15. This left 84 people dead and another 932 injured. Some 40,000 locals were affected, many of whom went to evacuation shelters or moved higher into the mountains.
RUSSIA - The Russian government is striking back at the EU's accumulating sanctions and threats of sanctions. In a press conference last Friday, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov lashed out at EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell. EU diplomats see this incident as a bitter setback for Brussels. In response to EU accusations of unprecedented police violence in Russia, Lavrov's ministry published a collection of video footage showing cases of serious police brutality within the EU and the USA. Borrell officially admitted police abuses exist in the West. Moscow, furthermore, expelled three diplomats from EU countries, accusing them of participating in unauthorized demonstrations. For Berlin this comes at a critical moment: Berlin is seeking to compensate for the dramatic shortage of Covid-19 vaccines by purchasing the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, which, until recently, had been denigrated here in Germany. Berlin also needs Moscow for important foreign policy projects.
USA - President Joe Biden campaigned on promises to govern by “consensus.” He devoted his Inaugural Address to “unity.” Yet he has issued more executive orders and actions in the first three weeks of his presidency than any president in US history. As the Democrats prepare for the circus side show of impeachment focusing on the past, it’s interesting to look at what he’s already done to change the future.
USA - One of the world’s leading liberal economists dealt Joe Biden a blow in recent days, warning that the president’s $1.9 trillion covid relief legislation could ignite an inflationary conflagration. Olivier Blanchard, the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund and perhaps the most cited economist in the world, spelled out his case against the Biden bill in a series of tweets on Saturday. Blanchard’s argument is that the size of the stimulus injected into the economy would be too large, especially when added to the measures taken last year. The additional spending power created by the additional $1.9 trillion budget deficit would drive up prices and force the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates.
IRAN - Iran’s latest homegrown military hardware, capable of cruising at 90nots/h [over 100 mph] , was unveiled in front of the armed forces top brass on Monday amid a buildup of foreign naval assets in the Persian Gulf. “Today, marine vessels which cruise at 90nots/h will be unveiled…” Rear Admiral Tangsiri told reporters on Monday ahead of a ceremony to inaugurate 340 navy speedboats in the port city of Bandar Abbas. “Iran has several times sent messages to the Persian Gulf littoral states that this region belongs to the Persian Gulf littoral states and we are capable of establishing security through sympathy among the neighboring states in the region,” he added.
USA - There is no “climate emergency”, according to a study for the Global Warming Policy Foundation by independent scientist Dr Indur Goklany.
USA - On Monday officials from Pinellas County in Florida announced that an unidentified hacker remotely gained access to a panel that controls the City of Oldsmar's water treatment system, and changed a setting that would have drastically increased the amount of sodium hydroxide in the water supply.
USA - Self-anointed guardians of human freedom China, Russia, Cuba, Eritrea, and Venezuela may soon have the company of the US at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) if the Biden administration’s rush to rejoin the globalist body is a success. The diplomatic move by Washington will be a direct rebuff to former President Donald Trump who withdrew the US from the Geneva-based organization in 2018 citing its anti-Israel program and lack of a reform agenda, as Breitbart News reported. Variously described as a “bully pulpit for human rights violators,” then-US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the UNHRC is “a haven for dictators and the democracies that indulge them.” Since taking office last month, President Joe Biden has rejoined both the Paris accord and the WHO [World Health Organisation] and has signaled interest in returning to the Iran deal as well as UNESCO [United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation].
VATICAN - Pope Francis reaffirmed the fundamental right to life of unborn human beings in an address Monday to members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See. In his address, the pope touched on several crises “that were provoked or brought to light by the pandemic” in order to find ways of building “a more humane, just, supportive and peaceful world.” In the first place, the pandemic “forced us to confront two unavoidable dimensions of human existence: sickness and death,” Francis said. “In doing so, it reminded us of the value of life, of every individual human life and its dignity, at every moment of its earthly pilgrimage, from conception in the womb until its natural end.” Ten days ago, the US Bishops forcefully condemned President Joe Biden’s reinstatement of taxpayer-funded abortions around the world. The Catholic Church teaches that abortion is an abominable crime and a sin so grave that the harshest punishment the Church imposes — automatic excommunication — is attached to it.
VATICAN - Pope Benedict is "terrified" of Francis and his plans to modernise the church, as the pontiff made a landmark move to appoint Nathalie Becquart to a senior role, previously only ever held by men. The 84-year-old broke with centuries of tradition as he installed Sister Becquart to the post of undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops. She is one of two new faces named to the Synod, which is a group of bishops that studies the huge questions of doctrine. Secretary general of the Synod, Cardinal Mario Grech, hailed the move exposing how it showed Francis' wish for "a greater participation of women in the process of discernment and decision-making in the church" had come true. Her appointment has raised the prospect of her participating in Vatican votes, something women have never been able to do in the upper echelons of the Catholic church. Francis' willingness to ensure female inclusion within the church evolves, demonstrates which direction the pontiff wants the Vatican to move into, ensuring a more liberal approach to those who wish to join the faith.
USA - President Joe Biden has quickly launched a campaign to support LGBTIQ people abroad, putting their rights higher on the US foreign policy agenda than ever before. Elevating a 2011 initiative launched by his former boss Barack Obama - and reversing a turnaround under Donald Trump - Biden is expanding the scope of US efforts on LGBTIQ rights while also adjusting based on lessons learned over the past decade. In his first foreign policy speech, Biden announced Thursday he was ordering all US government agencies active abroad to promote the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people and to come up with plans within 180 days. "All human beings should be treated with respect and dignity and should be able to live without fear no matter who they are or whom they love," Biden said in the presidential memorandum.
USA - Are you satisfied with life in America right now? Before you answer that question, consider more than just politics. Taking an overall view that encompasses every aspect of our society, are you generally satisfied with how our society is functioning at this moment or not? Needless to say, we are coming off a very tough year, and 2021 has not started smoothly either. The COVID pandemic continues to drag on, we are mired in the worst economic downturn in more than 70 years, and there is civil unrest in our streets on an almost nightly basis.
USA - With a single update, a popular barcode scanner app on Google Play transformed into malware and was able to hijack up to 10 million devices. Lavabird Ltd's Barcode Scanner was an Android app that had been available on Google's official app repository for years. The app, accounting for over 10 million installs, offered a QR code reader and a barcode generator - a useful utility for mobile devices. The mobile application appeared to be legitimate, trustworthy software, with many users having installed the app years ago without any problems - until recently. According to Malwarebytes, users recently started to complain of adverts appearing unexpectedly on their Android devices. It is often the case that unwanted programs, ads, and malvertising are connected with new app installations, but in this example, users reported that they had not installed anything recently. Upon investigation, the researchers pinpointed Barcode Scanner as the culprit.
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The views expressed in this section are not our own, unless specifically stated, but are provided to highlight what may prove to be prophetically relevant material appearing in the media.
“Just what is an APOSTLE?”
Today we find the Church of God in a “wilderness of religious confusion!”
The confusion is not merely around the Church – within the religions of the world outside – but WITHIN the very heart of The True Church itself!
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