“I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.”
(Revelation 12:10)
Now Is Come Salvation

***

BBC

Iraq's Christians 'close to extinction'

By Frank GardnerBBC security correspondent

May 23, 2019

Iraq's Christian community is one of the oldest in the world

The Archbishop of Irbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, has accused Britain's Christian leaders of failing to do enough in defence of the vanishing Christian community in Iraq.

In an impassioned address in London, the Rt Rev Bashar Warda said Iraq's Christians now faced extinction after 1,400 years of persecution.

Since the US-led invasion toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 2003, he said, the Christian community had dwindled by 83%, from around 1.5 million to just 250,000.

"Christianity in Iraq," he said, "one of the oldest Churches, if not the oldest Church in the world, is perilously close to extinction. Those of us who remain must be ready to face martyrdom."

He referred to the current, pressing threat from Islamic State (IS) jihadists as a "final, existential struggle", following the group's initial assault in 2014 that displaced more than 125,000 Christians from their historic homelands.

"Our tormentors confiscated our present," he said, "while seeking to wipe out our history and destroy our future. In Iraq there is no redress for those who have lost properties, homes and businesses. Tens of thousands of Christians have nothing to show for their life's work, for generations of work, in places where their families have lived, maybe, for thousands of years."

IS, known in the Arab world as Daesh, was driven from its last stronghold at Baghuz in Syria in March after a massive multinational military campaign, effectively spelling the end of its self-declared "caliphate".

Before that, it had already been expelled from Iraq's second city of Mosul in July 2017.

But churches, monasteries and homes belonging to Christian families have been decimated and thousands of families have not returned.

This week the archbishop warned of what he said were a growing number of extremist groups that asserted that the killing of Christians and Yazidis helped to spread Islam.

'Political correctness'

The archbishop went on to accuse Britain's Christian leaders of "political correctness" over the issue - he called the failure to condemn extremism "a cancer", saying they were not speaking out loudly enough for fear of being accused of Islamophobia.

"Will you continue to condone this never-ending, organised persecution against us?" he said. "When the next wave of violence begins to hit us, will anyone on your campuses hold demonstrations and carry signs that say 'We are all Christians'?"

His views on political correctness are shared in part by the Bishop of Truro, the Rt Rev Philip Mounstephen, who chairs the Independent Review into the Foreign Office's response to the persecution of Christians worldwide.

"I think the archbishop is right that a culture of 'political correctness' has prevented Western voices from speaking out about the persecution of Christians," he says. "I think though this is mainly to do with a reluctance borne of post-colonial guilt."

Bishop Mounstephen maintains that Christian persecution needs to be viewed from a global perspective and has multiple causes.

"If we only consider it in the light of Islamic militancy," he says, "we let a lot of other people off the hook who should otherwise be held to account."

Taking a historical perspective, the Archbishop of Irbil lamented the fact that in centuries past there was a happy period of fruitful cooperation between Christians and Muslims in Iraq, a time that historians have referred to as the Islamic Golden Age.

"Our Christian ancestors shared with Muslim Arabs a deep tradition of thought and philosophy," says Archbishop Warda. "They engaged with them in respectful dialogue from the 8th Century.

"A style of scholastic dialogue had developed, and which could only occur because a succession of caliphs [Islamic political and religious leaders] tolerated minorities. As toleration ended, so did the culture and wealth which flowed from it."

'Moment of truth'

Elsewhere in the Middle East it is a mixed picture for Christians in 2019.

Egypt's Copts, who constitute at least 10% of the country's 100 million-plus population, have come under sustained attack from jihadists who have bombed their churches and attempted to drive them out of northern Sinai.

But in February Pope Francis made a historic three-day visit to the UAE - the first ever by a pontiff to the Arabian Peninsula - in which he held a mass attended by an estimated 135,000 mostly migrant Catholics.

And in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and a country that has enforced a narrow, austere interpretation of Islam for the last 40 years, the first Coptic Christian mass was allowed in December.

In Syria, the Christian minority felt deeply threatened by the largely Islamist element amongst the rebel groups. With President Assad's forces now in the ascendant, as a result of some often brutal tactics, Syria's Christians may be breathing a small sigh of relief.

In Iraq though, the outlook for Christians remains bleak. Sectarian tensions between Sunni and Shia Muslims persist and there are still unknown numbers of IS fighters hiding out in the north and west of the country.

Archbishop Warda has reached a bitter conclusion about what the future holds.

"Friends, we may be facing our end in the land of our ancestors. We acknowledge this. In our end, the entire world faces a moment of truth.

"Will a peaceful and innocent people be allowed to be persecuted and eliminated because of their faith? And, for the sake of not wanting to speak the truth to the persecutors, will the world be complicit in our elimination?"

***

***

SPUTNIK

Fury as UK Church Offers to 'Cover up' Jesus and Crosses for Muslim Prayer

May 20, 2019

A former chaplain to the Queen argued that covering up the image of Jesus would be tantamount to disrespecting him in his own house.

An Anglican parish church in the UK has courted controversy over its plans to cover up religious imagery while hosting a Muslim prayer.

The vicar of the St. Matthew and St. Luke's church in Darlington had invited Muslims attending a nearby mosque to commemorate the holy month of Ramadan in her church, The Times reports.

Male worshippers were expected to say prayers in an aisle while women would be separated off into smaller rooms.

According to records of a meeting between Reverend Lissa Scott and Muslim representatives, the church pledged to cover up Christian crosses and photographs as well an image of Jesus.

Ironically enough, it appears that the picture was a copy of The Light of the World, a world-famous painting by English pre-Raphaelite William Holman Hunt, which depicts Jesus Christ knocking on a closed door, which is thought to symbolise the closed human mind.

However the Diocese of Durham is said to have pulled the plug on the plans, saying that "an act of worship from a non-Christian faith tradition is not permitted within a consecrated Church of England building", according to canon law.

The decision came after a high-profile cleric called the proposal to place religious symbols under cover a "shameful cover-up".

Gavin Ashenden, who served as chaplain to Queen Elizabeth between 2008 and 2017, said: "When Muslims come into our church, we invite them to come in and respect Jesus. If we accepted an invitation to go into a mosque, we would respect Muhammad."

"We do not expect them to disrespect Jesus by covering him up and no vicar should either."

His comments garnered support from both worshippers and non-believers on social media.

"Shameful indeed. I'm not even religious but find this disgraceful. Every pillar of society is at risk of a combination of politicisation and meek surrender, even our very own church," wrote a user.

Although Muslims were no longer invited to pray, they will still join Christians and other faiths inside the church on 2 June for Iftar, an evening meal breaking the day's fast.

"We are not trying to convert or upset — we are just trying to bring people together irrespective of language and religion," Rev. Lee was quoted as saying. "We have simply made an error of judgement and it has been corrected."

***

WND

'Totally devastated': Major Christian broadcaster suffers catastrophic firebombing

Posted By Joe Kovacs On May 21, 2019

(Image courtesy Pixabay)

It’s one of the largest Christian networks in the world, and it has now become the victim of a catastrophic firebombing.

The Jerusalem studios of Daystar were completely destroyed over the weekend during a weekend arson attack.

“Reduced to a pile of rubble and ashes,” said network owner Marcus Lamb. “I’m certain the enemy thought this attack would be fatal to our efforts to share the Gospel across Israel. But as usual, he’s wrong. What the devil meant for evil, God will use for our good.”

“We have opened an investigation,” Israel Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told the Jerusalem Post. “All directions are being looked at.”

The pro-Israel studios in Abu Tor on Mount Zion overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem were in the final stages of a year-long renovation, and a celebration with Daystar’s key stakeholders had been set for June 1.

The fire was intentionally set at about 2:15 a.m. on Saturday, according to reports.

Dave Sharett, the contractor overseeing the renovations told the Post that security cameras were able to snag the arsonist in the act.

“They see the explosion, then the fire,” he explained. “The next second, you see a rope going over the balcony and him climbing down the rope. He goes down to the floor below, gathers the rope and runs off.”

“The control room I would say is probably totally devastated,” Sharett told CBN News. “The controls actually start here with the electric panel, the main electric panel and anything plastic is totally melted.”

“It was a beautiful like living room set up, real casual set up, nice chairs, stools, tables, nothing survived. If it didn’t burn, it melted.”

He indicated police have two working theories concerning possible motivation.

The first is the firebombing was religiously motivated since “the TV station is Christian and it’s Ramadan, and Muslims are upset and blah, blah, blah,” he told the Post.

The other scenario involves an Arab worker at an adjacent studio who in recent days became upset with some of Daystar’s employees. That employee has not returned to work since the blaze, Sharett said.

“We’ll find the truth,” he said.

“I believe that God has a reason and a purpose and at the very least he’ll redeem what has happened here. So, these ashes will raise up, be raised up and proclaim the glory of God,” Sharett told CBN.

Daystar is fastest-growing and second-largest Christian TV network on the planet, sending the Good News via satellite to more than 680 million households in 200 countries.

At age 27, Lamb and his wife, Joni, began what would eventually become the Daystar Television Network in 1984 at a single station in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1990, the Lambs transplanted themselves to launch a second station, KMPX-TV, in the Dallas-Fort Worth market. Daystar’s first live broadcast as a network was on New Year’s Eve 1997.

Today, in the wake of the catastrophe, Lamb is urging people to keep looking on the bright side:

Even now we’re exploring every option and discovering how best to rebuild on a foundation the Lord laid for us long ago. Just as it was in the days of Nehemiah, who rebuilt the crumbling walls around Jerusalem, God will stand with us as we remain fully committed to the work of His Kingdom. And my hope is that you’ll join with us!

I wonder what areas of your life need restoration? Keep in mind we serve a God who knows every hidden wound and heartbreak, and nothing is ever beyond repair. I believe that as you partner with us to rebuild the Jerusalem studio, the Lord will release His healing power to redeem what seems utterly lost or completely out of reach in your heart.

He’s not simply a good God; He’s also good at being God and wants to mend the frayed edges of your faith as you put your trust in His promises. So I invite you to give today, and let’s believe for full restoration in every area of your life. Together, we’ll watch the Lord bring beauty from the ashes of tragedy and make all things new!

***

***

Intellectual Takeout

The Soft Nihilism of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’

Grayson Quay

February 26, 2019

In 1971, John Lennon asked us to imagine a world with “no heaven,” “no hell,” “no religion,” and “nothing to kill or die for.”

Thirty-six years later, the piano on which he wrote that iconic anthem embarked on a “symbolic road trip for peace” that took it to sites of violence and persecution around the world. Like a holy relic, the instrument travelled from Ford’s Theatre to Waco to Auschwitz to the Tower of London, as if its mere presence could somehow heal the world and usher in Lennon’s utopia.

Today, “Imagine” has all but replaced the Nicene Creed as the official statement of faith of the Western world. The great virtue is tolerance, defined not in the classically liberal sense of non-aggression, but as an imperative to confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that all beliefs and lifestyles are equally valid. Except, of course, those that are labeled “judgmental.” Anything that impedes the progress of personal self-expression as an end in itself must go.

In Lennon’s world, you can believe anything you want as long as you don’t believe it too sincerely. Anyone within whom the “dogma lives loudly” will soon find out, as Judge Amy Coney Barrett did during her confirmation hearings, that they are viewed as a threat to the bland hodgepodge of the pluralistic society. The denial of all dogmas is the only dogma left, and it will have its Inquisition.

What the former Beatle failed to realize is that a world with “nothing to kill or die for” is a world with nothing to live for. He would have us subordinate our individual creeds to an amorphous “brotherhood of man,” but that concept is not as simple as it seems. First we must ask things like, “Why is human life valuable?” and “What does human flourishing look like?” Surely these are theological questions that can only be answered by some sort of transcendent ideal—call it “heaven” if you want—that is, by definition, more valuable than any human life. A belief for which one is unwilling to either kill or die is a belief too weak to provide the vital energy necessary to sustain civilization. One commentator insightfully calls the song “the antithesis of a call to arms.” How long does Lennon imagine his utopia would last if none of its citizens were willing to take up arms and risk their lives to defend it?

In his 1953 play The Crucible, Arthur Miller depicts religious dogmatism at its worst, but even then, he has wisdom enough to reject Lennon’s brand of soft nihilism. Near the end of the play, Rev. Hale, horrified by the suffering his former zeal has caused, uses language that eerily anticipates “Imagine” when he urges John Proctor’s wife to save her husband’s life by convincing him to make a false confession of witchcraft:

[C]leave to no faith when faith brings blood. It is mistaken law that leads you to sacrifice. Life, woman, life is God’s most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it… It may well be God damns a liar less than he that throws his life away for pride.

Thankfully, Miller refuses to give credence to this massive overcorrection. Proctor’s wife dismisses Hale’s words as “the Devil’s argument,” and Proctor goes to the gallows bravely and with a clear conscience.

In her Letters to a Diminished Church, Dorothy L. Sayers reveals how truly infernal this “Devil’s argument” is when she writes of the deadly sin of sloth—or “acedia”—that “[i]n the world it calls itself tolerance; but in hell it is called despair… It is the sin that believes in nothing… hates nothing… lives for nothing, and remains alive only because there is nothing it would die for.”

Everlasting peace requires the absolute triumph of a transcendent good—a.k.a. “heaven”—over evil. A world that refuses to “hate what is evil [and] cling to what is good,”will be populated by men without chests and plagued by acedia. If we follow Lennon’s advice and “imagine there’s no heaven,” we will soon find ourselves in hell.

***

CNN

Trump on Pete Buttigieg's marriage to a man: 'I think it's absolutely fine'

By Betsy Klein, CNN

May 17, 2019

(CNN)President Donald Trump offered his support to one of his 2020 primary rivals, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who would be the first married gay US president.

In an interview with Fox News, the President was asked to put aside policy disagreements and weigh in on Buttigieg's status as a married gay man.

"Don't you think it's just great to see the fact that you've got a guy there on the stage with his husband and it's normal?" Fox's Steve Hilton asked.

"I think it's absolutely fine, I do," Trump said.

He agreed with Hilton's assessment that Buttigieg's candidacy is a "sign of great progress," adding, "Yeah, I think it's great. I think that's something that perhaps some people will have a problem with, I have no problem with it whatsoever."

Public opinion on same-sex marriage has shifted significantly in a relatively short period of time. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage nearly four years ago. A Quinnipiac University poll out earlier this month found that 70% of voters said they are open to electing a gay president. The same poll also discovered, however, that only 36% of voters think the United States is ready to elect a gay president.

Buttigieg, who hails from South Bend, Indiana, sparred with Vice President Mike Pence in April. Pence's stances on LGBTQ issues have faced criticism from gay rights activists.

Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act while he was governor of Indiana. Critics of the law contend that individuals and businesses could use it to discriminate against the gay community on the basis of religion.

Pence also signaled support for federal funds to be allocated for gay "conversion therapy" on his 2000 US House campaign website, where it said, "Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior."

During remarks at an LGBTQ Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch in Washington, Buttigieg said that he wished "the Mike Pences of the world" understood that their "quarrel" over his sexuality are "with my creator."

Buttigieg later told television host Ellen DeGeneres he was not critical of Pence's faith, but his policies.

"I'm not critical of his faith; I'm critical of bad policies," Buttigieg said. "I don't have a problem with religion -- I'm religious too. I have a problem with religion being used as a justification to harm people and especially in the LGBTQ community."

Pressed by CNN on his stance on Buttigieg's comments, Pence said: "I think Pete's quarrel is with the First Amendment. All of us in this country have the right to our religious beliefs. I'm a Bible-believing Christian."

Asked whether that includes the belief that being gay is a sin, Pence repeated: "I'm a Bible-believing Christian. I draw my truth from God's word."

On the campaign trail in 2016, Trump heralded his status as a "friend" of the LGBT community.

"Ask yourself, who is really the friend of women and the LGBT community, Donald Trump with his actions, or Hillary Clinton with her words?" he said during a campaign event shortly after the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida.

Earlier this year, US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell launched efforts on behalf of the administration to end the criminalization of homosexuality in countries where it's illegal to be gay, a move largely targeted at Iran.

But some of Trump's actions as President have drawn criticism from LGBTQ advocates.

For instance, in March 2017, Trump signed an executive order that nullified an Obama administration initiative to ensure that federal contractors complied with labor and civil rights laws forbidding discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

And his administration has rolled back protections for transgender people.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court declined to take up a challenge to Trump's transgender military ban, effectively allowing it to go into effect.

The policy blocks individuals who have been diagnosed with a condition known as gender dysphoria from serving with limited exceptions. It also specifies that individuals without the condition can serve, but only if they do so according to the sex they were assigned at birth.

CNN's Devan Cole and Ariane de Vogue contributed to this report.

(“At least two of the Roman Emperors were in same-sex unions; and in fact, thirteen out of the first fourteen Roman Emperors are held to have been bisexual or exclusively homosexual. The first Roman emperor to have married a man was Nero, who is reported to have married two other men on different occasions.” History of same-sex unions – Wikipedia)

***

NEWSWARS

School Announces Tariff on Students Not Wearing Pro-LGBT Clothing

Extra donations demanded from teens not openly supporting gays, transgenders

By Dan Lyman Friday, May 17, 2019

An Australian public school landed in hot water after announcing that students not wearing pro-LGBT clothing on a coordinated dress-down day would be expected to double their ‘voluntary’ charitable donations.

Greystanes High School in New South Wales notified pupils and parents that on “Rainbow Mufti Day,” those not openly participating in ‘International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia’ would be pressed for increased contributions to the National Youth Mental Health Foundation.

The notice was delivered via a Facebook post, which has since been edited, as well as a letter allegedly sent to students and parents.

“The SRC will be collecting a gold coin donation from all students who wear mufti, $1 if a student is wearing an item of rainbow clothing or $2 if a student is out of uniform and not wearing an item of rainbow clothing.”

A copy of the physical letter was obtained by Caldron Pool, and its legitimacy seems to be confirmed by a follow-up Facebook post by the school, as well as its wording, which mirrors the social media post above.

“Students may also elect to attend in full school uniform. But if a student is out-of-uniform and does not donate they will be chased up until they pay up,” warns the letter, which is endorsed by the deputy principal and school captain.

“We would like to clarify any misunderstanding from a previous letter which was distributed to parents at Greystanes High School,” the school later wrote on Facebook. “Please be assured that students who did not donate a gold coin will not be pursued for payment. Donations to this cause and to future fundraising causes are voluntary.”

“We would like to apologise if you received the impression that students ‘must pay’. We acknowledge the school has played a role in creating this impression and that the letter was poorly expressed.”

Interestingly, replies in the comment threads include a variety of “Honkler” memes, serving as an indicator that cultural red-pilling is spreading worldwide at a rapid rate.

***

INDEPENDENT

Netanyahu rejects plea from former security and intelligence officials not to annex West Bank

Prime minister’s comments signal he will push ahead with pre-election promises of annexation as US is poised to unveil peace plan

Bel Trew Jerusalem

May 21, 2019

An Israeli border policeman stands guard as Palestinians make their way to attend Friday prayer of Ramadan in Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque, near Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank ] ( REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta )

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed an urgent call from former security and intelligence officials to halt the unilateral annexation of the West Bank, saying the occupied Palestinian territory is the “heritage of our forefathers”.

Over 200 Israeli former army, security, police and intelligence officials, who are part of non-partisan movement Commanders for Israel’s Security (CIS) sent a letter to the premier warning that such an action would “endanger” Israel and damage its “economic, regional and international standing”.

In the run-up to last month’s general election, Mr Netanyahu, who secured a record fifth term in office, promised his right-wing supporters he would annex Jewish settlements within the West Bank. He also said he would prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.

CIS, which supports a two-state solution, said that even imposing sovereignty over parts of the West Bank would lead to the entire territory being annexed, meaning nearly 3 million Palestinians would be absorbed into Israel.

They said this would paralyse the Palestinian Authority, leaving a security vacuum for armed terror groups. It would also place a massive financial burden on Israel. Annexation is illegal under international law.

“A decision by the Knesset to pass legislation for annexation, however partial, can only be interpreted in the territories, the region and the world as a national decision to slam the door on any future arrangement,” the officials claimed.

“It is not possible to assess whether the Palestinian response to the collapse of hope for an agreement will be violent,” they added.

Mr Netanyahu hit back, saying the West Bank was “not just a guarantee for Israel’s security, it is also the inheritance of our forefathers” – signalling he would push through with his election promise.

He added: “These ‘experts’ supported the nuclear agreement with Iran and warned: Bibi [Netanyahu] is making a mistake in navigation and is destroying the alliance with the US.”

Mr Netanyahu was joined by a chorus of members of his right-wing Likud party.

According to The Times of Israel, public security minister Gilad Erdan also dismissed the CIS letter, saying that applying Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank was a “natural and moral” step.

“We’re tired of hearing time and again of former senior defence officials using the ranks on their shoulders to push their political viewpoints,” he said in a statement. “Tell the public the truth: you are leftists who oppose our presence in Judea and Samaria,” he added, using the biblical term for the West Bank. “And don’t hide behind such doomsayings.”

Parliamentarian Tzipi Hotovely from Likud said that the majority of Israelis “favour sovereignty”.

Mr Netanyahu’s comments do not bode well for a peace plan that the United States has vowed to roll out next month, during a two-day economic conference in Bahrain.

On Sunday, Washington and Manama announced the joint “Peace to prosperity” economic workshop, which the White House said will focus on achieving a “prosperous future for the Palestinian people and the region”.

While Saudi Arabia and the UAE have said they will participate, the conference has been rebuffed by Palestinian officials and business leaders who said the US was offering them the choice of securing political rights or economic rights.

The Palestinians cut diplomatic ties with the US in 2017 after President Trump announced he would recognise the contested city of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Mr Trump later sparked further anger when he severed all funds to the United Nation’s Palestinian refugee agency and slashed other Palestinian aid.

Mohamed Shtayyeh, the Palestinian prime minister, said at a cabinet meeting this week that Palestine’s economic crisis was “a result of a financial war waged against them” and they would not “trade [their] national rights for money” at the conference.

“Any solution to the conflict in Palestine must be political ... and based on ending the occupation,” he added.

In a rare agreement between Palestinian rivals, Hamas, the militant group which runs Gaza, also called for an Arab boycott.

“Hamas hopes Bahrain and its noble people will reject their soil being defiled,” said a statement by the militant group.

It comes just a few weeks after Israel and Gaza appeared to be on the brink of another war, during one of the most ferocious exchanges of cross border fire since the 2014 war.

A tense Egyptian-brokered ceasefire deal remains in place.

TheVigilantCitizen

Eurovision 2019 Finale and the Occult Meaning of Madonna’s Controversial Performance

A look at the symbolism found throughout the finale of Eurovision 2019 and an analysis of Madonna’s extremely symbolic and controversial performance.

May 22, 2019

Article

(If you are interested you can watch the performance here.)

Zero Hedge

Xi Sends Trump A Message: Rare-Earth Export Ban Is Coming

By Tyler Durden

May 20, 2019

Back in April of 2018, when the trade war with China was still in its early stages, we explained that among the five "nuclear" options Beijing has to retaliate against the US, one was the block of rare-earth exports to the US, potentially crippling countless US supply chains that rely on these rare commodities, and forcing painful and costly delays in US production as alternative supply pathways had to be implemented.

As a result, for many months China watchers expected Beijing to respond to Trump's tariff hikes by blocking the exports of one or more rare-earths, although fast forwarding one year later this still hasn't happened. But that doesn't mean it won't happen, and overnight President Xi Jinping’s visit to a rare earths facility fueled speculation that the strategic materials will soon be weaponized in China’s tit-for-tat war the US.

As Bloomberg reported overnight, shares in JL MAG Rare-Earth surged by the daily limit on Monday after Xinhua said the Chinese president had stopped by the company in Jiangxi, a scripted move designed to telegraph what China could do next.

The reason for the dramatic market response is that the presidential visit flags policy priorities, and "rare earths have featured in the escalating trade spat between the U.S. and China." Specifically, as Bloomberg notes, China raised tariffs to 25% from 10% on American imports, while the U.S. excluded rare earths from its own list of prospective tariffs on roughly $300 billion worth of Chinese goods to be targeted in the next wave of measures. And just in case the White House missed the message, Xi was accompanied on the trip to JL MAG by Liu He, the vice premier who has led the Chinese side in the trade negotiations.

Why does China have a clear advantage in this area? Simple: the U.S. relies on China, the dominant global supplier, for about 80% of its rare earths imports.

The visit “sends a warning signal to the U.S. that China may use rare earths as a retaliation measure as the trade war heats up,” said Pacific Securities analyst Yang Kunhe. That could include curbs on rare earth exports to the U.S., he said.

Xi's visit came just hours after the Trump administration on Friday blacklisted Huawei and threatened to cut it off from the U.S. software and semiconductors it needs to make its products. A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry told reporters Monday to “please wait and see” how the government and companies respond.

Of course, a Chinese export curb, or ban, would also cripple domestic producers, as domestic rare earth miners would be hurt, and likely need state subsidies, similar to US soybean farmers. But curbs could potentially help companies like JL MAG, which makes magnets containing rare earths that are used in products including electric vehicles and wind turbines.

Finally, to those looking to trade a potential rare-earth export ban, one place would be to go long the REMX rare earth ETF, which after hitting an all time high of $114 in 2011 during the first rare-earth "scare" during the China-Japan trade war, is trading some 90% lower as the market has all but discounted any possibility of a price spike.

***

USAWatchdog

If Deutsche Bank Breaks $6.40 World in Trouble – Charles Nenner

By Greg Hunter On May 22, 2019

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

Renowned geopolitical and financial cycle expert Charles Nenner says if there was ever a global canary in the coal mine warning for the financial system, it is Germany’s Deutsche Bank (DB). Late last year, Nenner predicted if DB stock went below $8 a share, “You should be worried.” Recently, DB stock hit all-time lows and now sits around the $7.50 per share level.

Nenner warns, “I see it can hold up to late July, and then it can go to $6.50 (per share). If it breaks below $6.40, it can go out of business. So, it’s a very serious situation. . . . I think all the markets can have a bounce in a couple of days to the end of July. That’s why DB might hold up, but if it gets below $6.40, the world is in trouble.”

This is not a hyped prediction considering the IMF called DB the “most systemically dangerous bank” in the world in 2016. If DB does break $6.40, do we get a daisy chain of default around the world? Nenner says, “It is a very dangerous situation. I don’t think DB is the only one. They just got caught. I think if you look at the balance sheets very closely of other banks, especially Europe and Italian banks, you will see a lot of troubling signs also. I don’t think it’s only Deutsche Bank. It’s much more. . . . If it breaks $6.40, the downside price target is zero. If everybody watches my analysis and it does go below $6.40, everybody is going to run for the exits.”

If DB goes under with its massive book of derivatives, other banks would be in the same trouble as DB. Nenner says, “Yes, if they have to close their derivatives, who knows which bank is going to lose how much? It’s going to be a big problem.”

On interest rates, Nenner says, “At the end of the summer, or let’s say at the end of July, we are going to have a long term rise in interest rates for a couple of years.”

On gold, Nenner says, “A lot of people don’t know that a lot of bull markets in gold are in a deflationary period. We are looking for a long term bull market for a couple of years to come, maybe until 2024. We are fine tuning it, but we are going to go short in the middle of the summer the bonds and go long the gold. I don’t think the weakness in stocks is going to go to the usual September, October and November time period. I think, after July, it will start to be difficult.”

Nenner thinks the stock market will bottom out in the year 2022, and the path from here is mostly down according to his cycles.

In closing, Nenner says, “Gold prices and silver prices will go up. It’s early, and it’s better to get in early instead of when it’s exploding, and everybody knows you have to now be in gold. It’s always the clever money that is basing their money into gold stocks. The price is going much higher. Remember, my upside price target is $2,500. Right now, it is $1,270, and $2,500 is a substantial move in gold.”

Quora

Did CIA Director William Casey really say, "We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false"?

Barbara Honegger, studied at Stanford University

I am the source for this quote, which was indeed said by CIA Director William Casey at an early February 1981 meeting of the newly elected President Reagan with his new cabinet secretaries to report to him on what they had learned about their agencies in the first couple of weeks of the administration.
The meeting was in the Roosevelt Room in the West Wing of the White House, not far from the Cabinet Room. I was present at the meeting as Assistant to the chief domestic policy adviser to the President. Casey first told Reagan that he had been astonished to discover that over 80 percent of the 'intelligence' that the analysis side of the CIA produced was based on open public sources like newspapers and magazines.
As he did to all the other secretaries of their departments and agencies, Reagan asked what he saw as his goal as director for the CIA, to which he replied with this quote, which I recorded in my notes of the meeting as he said it. Shortly thereafter I told Senior White House correspondent Sarah McClendon, who was a close friend and colleague, who in turn made it public. Barbara Honeggerbshonegg@gmail.com

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GlobalResearch

Trump – from China to Iran to Venezuela – Threats and Sanctions Everywhere – A Chronicle of Disorganized Chaos Foretold

By Peter Koenig

Global Research, May 17, 2019

As of May 10, Mr. Trump has arbitrarily increased tariffs on Chinese goods imported into the US, worth about 200 billion dollars, from 10 % to 25%. It is an action without any foundation. An action that makes no sense at all, as China can and will retaliate – and retaliate much stronger than what the impact of the US’s new “sanctions” may bear – because these arbitrary tariffs are nothing else but sanctions. Illegality of such foreign interference aside, there is hardly any serious economist in this world, who would favor tariffs in international trade among “adults” anywhere and for any reason, and, of course, least as a punishment for a nation. All that such sanctions do is pushing a partner away. In this case it’s not just any partner; China is a key trading partner of the United States.

The new tariffs will hardly harm the American consumer. There are huge profit margins by US middlemen and importers of Chinese goods. They are competing with each other within the US – and the consumer may not even notice a thing. However, the US economy will likely suffer, especially from Chinese retaliatory actions.

A spoiled child, what Trump is, doesn’t get his way – and goes into a tantrum, not quite knowing what he is doing, and knowing even less what he may expect in return.

Back to trading with China. China has a million ways (almost) to retaliate. China can devalue her currency vis-à-vis the dollar, or China can dump some of their almost 3 trillion dollars-worth of reserves on the money market – just take a wild guess about what that would do to the hegemony of the dollar which is already in dire straits – with ever more countries departing from the use of dollars for international trade.

And just hypothetically, China could stop altogether exporting all that Walmart junk that American consumers love so much – just for a while. Or China could stop making iPhones for the US market. Guess what kind of an uproar that would trigger in the US? – Or China could of course, levy herself high tariffs on US imports, or stop US imports altogether. China being part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) – actually the co-founder of it – has many alternatives to cover her demand. No need to depend on the west.

Let’s not forget, the SCO which also counts as its members, Russia, India, Pakistan, most of Central Asia, and Iran poised to become a full-fledged member – covers about half of the world population and a third of the world’s economic output, or GDP. No need to look to the west for ‘survival’ – those times are long gone.

But more importantly, what all this looks like to me – is the desperate thrashing around of a dying beast, or in this case a dying empire.

We have the US and Venezuela – threats after threats after threats – Maduro must go, or more sanctions. Indeed, according to a study by the Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), these horrifying, totally illegal sanctions or blockages of imports, most of them already paid for by Venezuela, have killed some 40,000 people in Venezuela. Of course, Washington doesn’t care about legality and killing, also typical for a fading mighty power – no respect for law and order, no respect for human rights and human lives. One only has to see what type of psychopaths are occupying the tasks of “Foreign Minister” and of “National Security Advisor” or of Vice President, for that matter – they are all sick, but very sick and dangerous people.

Well, in Venezuela “regime change” didn’t work out – so far. Pompeo has been clearly told off by Mr. Lavrov during their recent get-together in Helsinki – and China is in the same line of supporting the government of Nicolas Maduro.

Next – Iran. Attacking Iran has been a dream of Bolton’s ever since the US 2003 “Shock and Awe” invasion of Iraq. Bolton and Pompeo are of the same revolting kind: They want wars, conflicts, or if they don’t get wars, they want to sow fear, they enjoy seeing people scared. They want suffering. Now they didn’t succeed – at least so far – with Venezuela, let’s try Iran. Pompeo – “Iran has done irregular things” – not saying what in particular he means – so Iran has to be punished, with yet more sanctions. And any argument is good.

The entire world knows, including the Vienna-base UN Economic Energy Commission, and has acknowledged umpteen times that Iran has fully adhered to the conditions of the Nuclear Deal from which the US exited a year ago. Of course, no secret here either, this at the demand of Trump’s Big Friend Bibi Netanyahu. The European Union vassals may actually turn for their own business interests, not for political ethics, but pure and simple self-interest – towards respecting the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or Nuclear Deal. China and Russia are already holding on to the Deal, and they are not impressed by Washington’s threats. So, there is very little Trump and his minions can do, other than saber rattling.

Therefore, the nefarious Pence-Pompeo-Bolton trio must invent another warning: Iran or any proxy of Iran shall attack an ally of the US, and Iran will be devastated. In fact, they consider the Houthis in Yemen who fight for their sheer survival against the US-UK-France – and NATO supported Saudis, as a proxy for Iran. So, the US could start bombing Iran already today. Why don’t they?

Maybe they are afraid – afraid Iran could lock down the Strait of Hormuz, where 60% of US oil imports have to sail through. What a disaster that would be, not just for the US but also for the rest of the world. Oil prices could skyrocket. Would Washington want to risk a war over their irrationality? – Maybe, Mr. Halfwit Trump might, but I doubt that his deep-dark state handlers would. They know what’s at stake for them and the world. But they let Trump play his games a bit longer.

Moving the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, loaded with war planes, close to Iranian waters costs hundreds of millions or billions. Just to enhance a threat. A show-off. Bolton and Pompeo will entertain their sadism, enjoying seeing scared people. But the cost of war doesn’t matter – it’s just more debt, and as we know, the US never, but never pays back its debt.

Next – or simultaneously is China. The trade war with China that started last year, then had a respite to the point of the recent joint negotiations – and suddenly the Trumpians are veering off again. They must smash China, wanting to appear superior. But why? The world knows that the US are no longer superior – by a long shot, and haven’t been for the last couple of years, when China surpassed the US in economic strength, measured by PPP = Purchasing Power Parity – which is the only parity or exchange rate that has any real meaning.

Guess what! – All these three cases have one common denominator: The dollar as a chief instrument for world hegemony. Venezuela and Iran have stopped using the dollar for their hydrocarbon and other international trading, already some years ago. And so did China and Russia. China’s strong currency, the Yuan, is rapidly taking over the US-dollar’s reserve position in the world. Sanctioning China with insane tariffs is supposed to weaken the Yuan; but it won’t.

All of these three countries, China, Iran and Venezuela are threatening the US dollar’s world hegemony – and without that the US economy is dead, literally. The dollar is based on thin air, and on fraud – the dollar system used around the globe is nothing but a huge, a very big and monstrous Ponzi-scheme, that one day must be coming crashing down.

That’s what’s at stake. New FED Board member, Herman Cain, for example, is pledging for a new gold standard. But none of these last resort US measure will work, not a new gold standard, not a trade and tariff war, and not threats of wars and destruction and “regime change”. The nations around the world know what’s going on, they know the US is in her last breath; though they don’t quite dare saying so – but they know it, and are waiting for the downfall to continue. The world is waiting for the grand fiesta, dancing in the streets, when the empire disappears – or becomes utterly irrelevant.

This article was originally published on New Eastern Outlook.

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RT

'Modern fascism is breaking cover': Journalists react to Assange Espionage Act charges

Published time: 23 May, 2019 22:55 Edited time: 24 May, 2019 08:47

© Reuters / Henry Nicholls

The US government's indictment of Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange on 17 additional charges under the Espionage Act has shocked and horrified journalists who are calling it an unprecedented attack on press freedom.

The new indictment claims Assange endangered the lives of individuals working for the US government when Wikileaks published leaked documents received from intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010. Under the draconian Espionage Act, which has never before been used against a journalist publishing classified information, Assange faces up to 10 years in prison for each charge.

"Assange was complicit with Chelsea Manning…in unlawfully obtaining and disclosing classified documents related to the national defense," the Department of Justice said in a statement, while National Security Division head John Demers insisted "Julian Assange is no journalist."

Actual journalists, however, were horrified by the "unprecedented assault on the First Amendment."

"This is the first time in history that anyone operating in a journalistic capacity has been charged under the Espionage Act," Michael Tracey tweeted, adding in another tweet that the charges represented "the gravest attack on the First Amendment in years — possibly ever." Even the Obama administration, which prosecuted more whistleblowers under the Espionage Act than all previous administrations combined, ultimately opted not to pursue charges against Assange, concerned such prosecution would violate the First Amendment.

John Pilger didn't mince words, declaring "Modern fascism is breaking cover" and warning mainstream media that they were next.

The Intercept's Glenn Greenwald highlighted the hypocrisy of mainstream media "proclaiming to be so very concerned about attacks on a free press" while remaining mute on Assange's prosecution - or even cheering it on.

WikiLeaks called it "the end of national security journalism and the first amendment, while NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden affirmed the case was much bigger than Assange, warning that it "will decide the future of media."

Even some mainstream media journalists finally seemed to realize the gravity of the situation.

"What happens to Assange today can happen to the NYT or WaPo tomorrow," investigative journalist James Ball tweeted.

Jeffrey St. Clair of CounterPunch made an important distinction between Wikileaks' journalism and the mainstream media, however: "Assange has had to issue fewer corrections than the NYT and none of his stories has helped launch a war."

Assange was arrested last month upon his eviction from the Ecuadorean embassy in London. He is currently serving 50 months for an eight-year-old bail-jumping charge, having sought asylum in the embassy in 2012 out of concern that sexual assault charges levied against him by the Swedish government were a pretense for extradition to the US.

A US indictment unsealed last month charged him with conspiring with Manning to unlawfully access a government computer, but other whistleblowers warned other charges would follow.

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MailOnline

Big Brother Britain: Extraordinary moment police FINE pedestrian £90 for disorderly behaviour after he tries to cover his face from facial recognition camera on the streets of London

• Camera cross-checked photos of faces of passers-by against wanted database

• One man covered face before officers stopped him and took his picture anyway

• He was fined £90 at scene in Romford by police who arrested three other people

• Police say they know of human rights concerns but want to make London safer

• Civil liberties groups insists it is a 'breach of privacy and freedom of assembly'

• New technlogy incorrectly identified people in 96% of matches from 2016 to 18

By MARK DUELL FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 11:29, 16 May 2019 | UPDATED: 15:23, 16 May 2019

The man was then fined £90 at the scene in Romford by officers for disorderly behaviour

Police fined a pedestrian £90 for disorderly behaviour after he tried to cover his face when he saw a controversial facial recognition camera on a street in London.

Officers set up the camera on a van in Romford, East London, which then cross-checked photos of faces of passers-by against a database of wanted criminals.

But one man was unimpressed about being filmed and covered his face with his hat and jacket, before being stopped by officers who took his picture anyway.

After being pulled aside, the man told police: 'If I want to cover me face, I'll cover me face. Don't push me over when I'm walking down the street.'

It comes just weeks after it was claimed the new technology incorrectly identified members of the public in 96 per cent of matches made between 2016 and 2018.

The cameras have been rolled out in a trial in parts of Britain, with the Met making its first arrest last December when shoppers in London's West End were scanned.

But their use has sparked a privacy debate, with civil liberties group Big Brother Watch branding the move a 'breach of fundamental rights to privacy and freedom of assembly'. Police argue they are necessary to crack down on spiralling crime.

Officers previously insisted people could decline to be scanned, before later clarifying that anyone trying to avoid scanners may be stopped and searched.

It was first deployed by South Wales Police ahead of the Champions League final in Cardiff in 2007, but wrongly matched more than 2,000 people to possible criminals.

Police and security services worldwide are keen to use facial recognition technology to bolster their efforts to fight crime and identify suspects.

But they have been hampered by the unreliability of the software, with some trials failing to correctly identify a single person.

The technology made incorrect matches in every case during two deployments at Westfield shopping centre in Stratford last year, according to Big Brother Watch. It was also reportedly 96 per cent accurate in eight uses by the Met from 2016 to 2018.

In Romford, the man was fined £90 at the scene by officers, who also arrested three other people during the day thanks to the technology, according to BBC.

After being stopped he asked an officer: 'How would you like it if you walked down the street and someone grabbed your shoulder? You wouldn't like it, would you?

The officer told him: 'Calm yourself down or you're going in handcuffs. It's up to you. Wind your neck in.' But the man replied: 'You wind your neck in.'

After being fined, the man told a reporter: 'The chap told me down the road - he said they've got facial recognition. So I walked past like that (covering my face).

'It's a cold day as well. As soon as I've done that, the police officer's asked me to come to him. So I've got me back up. I said to him 'f*** off', basically.

'I said 'I don't want me face shown on anything. If I want to cover me face, I'll cover me face, it's not for them to tell me not to cover me face.

'I've got a now £90 fine, here you go, look at that. Thanks lads, £90. Well done.'

Silkie Carlo, the director of civil liberties group Big Brother Watch, was at the scene holding a placard saying 'stop facial recognition' - before she asked an officer about the man they had taken aside: 'What's your suspicion?'

The officer replied: 'The fact that he's walked past clearly masking his face from recognition and covered his face. It gives us grounds to stop him and verify.'

Ivan Balhatchet, the Metropolitan Police's covert and intelligence lead, said: 'We ought to explore all technology to see how it can make people safer, how it can make policing more effective.

'However, we are completely aware of some of the concerns that are raised, and what we're doing with these trials is actually trying to understand those better so we protect human rights but also keep people safe at the same time.'

Eight people were arrested during the trial on January 31 this year, which took eight hours, but just three were a direct result of the technology.

A 15-year-old boy identified by the recognition cameras was arrested on suspicion of robbery but released with no further action.

A 28-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment and a 35-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of breach of a molestation order.

The five other arrests were two teenage boys accused of robbery, a 17-year-old boy accused of firing a gun and two men aged 25 and 46 for drug possession.

Speaking about the man who was fined, a Scotland Yard spokesman said: 'On Thursday, January 31 officers stopped a man who was seen acting suspiciously in the area of Romford Town Centre during the deployment of the live facial recognition technology.

'After being stopped the man became aggressive and made threats towards officers. He was issued with a penalty notice for disorder as a result.

'While anyone who declined to be scanned was not necessarily be viewed as suspicious, officers used their judgement to identify any potential suspicious behaviour.'

Last December, a suspect was arrested by the Metropolitan Police during a trial of the facial recognition technology among Christmas shoppers at Leicester Square in London's West End.

Another man was stopped due to the technology, but found not to be the man the computer thought he was - although he was arrested over another offence.

Big Brother Watch has previously said the technology is a 'breach of fundamental rights to privacy and freedom of assembly'.

They have monitored the officers and say police treat those who avoid the cameras with suspicion.

But the police insist people can decline to be scanned without arousing suspicion and the move is necessary to crack down on spiralling violence crime.

A mandate they have produced to guide officers states: 'It is right and appropriate to bring people who are unlawfully at large to justice as they may otherwise pose a threat of safety to the public through the commission of crime.

'This approach is less intrusive than other methods of tracing wanted persons.

'It is less resource intensive which will save police time and money and allow police to concentrate resources on other priorities.'

The Home Office has said the system can be an 'invaluable tool' in fighting crime, while the National Police Chiefs Council said it could disrupt criminals but insisted any rollout must show be effective within 'sufficient safeguards'.

The technology was first deployed by South Wales Police ahead of the 2017 Champions League final in Cardiff.

That trial led to the technology wrongly matching more than 2,000 people to possible criminals.

Police and security services worldwide are keen to use facial recognition technology to bolster their efforts to fight crime and identify suspects.

But they have been hampered by the unreliability of the software, with some trials failing to correctly identify anyone.

The Metropolitan Police have already used the cameras at the Notting Hill carnival and other forces have used them at football matches.

And pop star Taylor Swift used the software at a concert in the US to identify stalkers in the crowds.

Ms Carlo told MailOnline: 'It is important to note that police are now days away from making a decision about the future of facial recognition in the UK.

'We believe it has no place in a democracy and we will continue with our legal challenge against the Met if they do go ahead with it.

'We believe we have a huge amount of public support for our campaign and have crowdfunded £10,000 to bring the legal challenge.

'This is a turning point for civil liberties in the UK. If police push ahead with facial recognition surveillance, members of the public could be tracked across Britain's colossal CCTV networks.

'For a nation that opposed ID cards and rejected the national DNA database, the notion of live facial recognition turning citizens into walking ID cards is chilling.

'This China-style mass surveillance tool is the very antithesis of British democratic freedom and police using it on our streets sets a dangerous example to countries around the world.

'It would be disastrous for policing and the future of civil liberties and we urge police to drop it for good.'

As for whether police would stop people who are wearing facial coverings for religious reasons, Ms Carlo said it was one of 'many questions police will have to answer if they keep using this'.

She added: 'We've never seen police make anyone remove religious clothing around facial recognition but we have seen them stopping people wearing scarves during winter and hooded coats.'

This produces a unique numerical code that can then be linked with a matching code gleaned from a previous photograph.

A facial recognition system used by officials in China connects to millions of CCTV cameras and uses artificial intelligence to pick out targets.

Experts believe that facial recognition technology will soon overtake fingerprint technology as the most effective way to identify people.

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TASS

Ukraine opens high treason case against Poroshenko over Kerch Strait incident
May 21, 2019

KIEV, May 21. /TASS/. Ukraine’s state investigation bureau has opened a criminal case and started probing possible high treason charges against former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko over the incident in the Kerch Strait, the bureau’s press office reported on Tuesday.

Ukraine’s state investigation bureau investigates crimes committed by the country’s top officials.

"Based on a statement by Andrei Portnov, detectives from the state investigation bureau’s central office entered information on May 21 into the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations on possible crimes committed by officials holding particularly high posts in the bodies of Ukraine’s state power and stipulated by article 109 ‘Actions Aimed at Violently Changing or Overthrowing the Constitutional Order or Seizing State Power,’ article 111 ‘High Treason’ and article 426-1 ‘The Abuse of Power or the Abuse of Office by a Defense Official’ of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. A pretrial investigation has been launched," the statement says.

The state investigation bureau has opened the criminal case against Poroshenko based on a statement submitted by ex-Deputy Head of the Administration of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, and attorney Andrei Portnov on May 20. The lawyer requested instituting criminal proceedings against Poroshenko on criminal counts committed by the supreme commander-in-chief in the November 25, 2018 incident when a group of Ukrainian naval ships was transiting the Kerch Strait.

"Poroshenko’s actions were aimed at deliberately provoking the Russian Federation for retaliatory and easily foreseen aggressive actions in a tense situation, which caused losses in the inventory of the Ukrainian Navy," the lawyer’s statement posted on his Facebook says.

Ukraine’s state investigation bureau confirmed on Tuesday it had opened the criminal case related precisely to the Kerch Strait incident late last year.

On November 25, three Ukrainian naval ships violated the procedure for passing through Russia’s territorial waters while sailing from the Azov to the Black Sea.
After having breached the Russian border, the three Ukrainian warships were warned by Russia’s maritime security forces to stop. The intruding vessels ignored the demands, thereby evoking a chase involving gunfire in the Kerch Strait whereupon three Ukrainian naval sailors ended up lightly wounded. They were later given medical assistance. Consequently, the Ukrainian warships were detained and brought to Kerch. A criminal case was opened into the violation of the Russian state border.

The ships’ crewmembers - 24 Ukrainian nationals - are currently being held in a pretrial detention center in Moscow and charged with violating the Russian border under Article 322.3 of the Russian Criminal Code. If found guilty, they may face up to six years in prison.

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STRANGE SOUNDS

Scientists have detected an enormous cavity growing beneath Antarctica

May 21, 2019

Antarctica is not in a good place. In the space of only decades, the continent has lost trillions of tonnes of ice at alarming rates we can’t keep up with, even in places we once thought were safe. Now, a stunning new void has been revealed amidst this massive vanishing act, and it’s a big one: a gigantic cavity growing under West Antarctica that scientists say covers two-thirds the footprint of Manhattan and stands almost 300 metres (984 ft) tall.

A gigantic cavity growing under West Antarctica that scientists say covers two-thirds the footprint of Manhattan and stands almost 300 metres (984 ft) tall hhas been discovered under Thwaites Glacier.

This huge opening at the bottom of the Thwaites Glacier – a mass infamously dubbed the “most dangerous glacier in the world” – is so big it represents an overt chunk of the estimated 252 billion tonnes of ice Antarctica loses every year.

Researchers say the cavity would once have been large enough to hold some 14 billion tonnes of ice. Even more disturbing, the researchers say it lost most of this ice volume over the last three years alone.

“We have suspected for years that Thwaites was not tightly attached to the bedrock beneath it,” says glaciologist Eric Rignot from the University of California, Irvine, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.

“Thanks to a new generation of satellites, we can finally see the detail.“

Rignot and fellow researchers discovered the cavity using ice-penetrating radar as part of NASA’s Operation IceBridge, with additional data supplied by German and French scientists.

According to the readings, the hidden void is but one ice casualty among a “complex pattern of retreat and ice melt” that’s taking place at Thwaites Glacier, sectors of which are retreating by as much as 800 metres (2,625 ft) every year.

The complex pattern the new readings reveal – which don’t fit with current ice sheet or ocean models – suggest scientists have more to learn about how water and ice interact with one another in the frigid but warming Antarctic environment.

“We are discovering different mechanisms of retreat,” first author of the new paper, JPL radar scientist Pietro Milillo explains.

While researchers are still learning new things about the complex ways ice melts at the Thwaite Glacier, at its most basic, the giant cavity represents a simple (if unfortunate) scientific actuality.

“[The size of] a cavity under a glacier plays an important role in melting,” Milillo says. “As more heat and water get under the glacier, it melts faster.“

That’s important to know, since Thwaites currently accounts for about 4 percent of global sea level rise.

If it were to disappear entirely, the ice held in the glacier could lift the ocean by an estimated 65 centimetres (about 2 ft). But that’s not even the worst-case scenario.

The Thwaites Glacier actually holds in neighbouring glaciers and ice masses further inland. If its buttressing force disappeared, the consequences could be unthinkable, which is why it’s considered such a pivotal natural structure in the Antarctic landscape.

Just how long it will stay, nobody knows – which is why scientists are right now embarking on a major expedition to learn more about Thwaites.

What they’ll find remains to be seen, but it’s inarguably among the most important scientific research being conducted in the world right now.

As New York University geoscientist David Holland, who wasn’t involved in the current study, told The Washington Post last year: “For global sea-level change in the next century, this Thwaites glacier is almost the entire story.“

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Until next week...keep on believing.
Almondtree Productions

“And I saw the winds on the Earth which support the clouds and I saw the paths of the Angels. I saw at the end of the Earth; the firmament of Heaven above.”
(Enoch 18:5)