“For
the time (has) will come when they will not endure sound doctrine,
but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears,
they will heap up for themselves teachers; And they shall turn away
their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
(2
Timothy 4:3-4)
The Time (Has) Come
***
THE DAILY WIRE
British Court In Transgender Case: Bible Belief Is ‘Incompatible With Human Dignity’
By Hank Berrien
October 2, 2019
On Tuesday, a British court ruled that belief in the Bible was “incompatible with human dignity.”
That statement came in a case involving Dr. David Mackereth, a devout Christian who had worked as an emergency doctor for the National Health Service for 26 years. He said he was fired from his job because he refused to call a biological man a woman. The court’s ruling stated: “Belief in Genesis 1:27, lack of belief in transgenderism and conscientious objection to transgenderism in our judgment are incompatible with human dignity and conflict with the fundamental rights of others, specifically here, transgender individuals.” The court added. “… in so far as those beliefs form part of his wider faith, his wider faith also does not satisfy the requirement of being worthy of respect in a democratic society, not incompatible with human dignity and not in conflict with the fundamental rights of others.”
The Telegraph reported that Mackereth said he was removed from his job with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) in late June 2018 after his boss “interrogated” him about his personal religious convictions. Mackereth told the court in July that his line manager had asked him, “If you have a man six foot tall with a beard who says he wants to be addressed as ‘she’ and ‘Mrs’ would you do that?” Mackereth said that because of his religious beliefs, he could not, and his job was subsequently terminated.
CBN reported that Mackereth’s attorney, Michael Phillips, told the court, “His belief in the truth of the Bible, and in particular, the truth of Genesis 1:27: ‘So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.’ It follows that every person is created by God as either male or female. A person cannot change their sex/gender at will. Any attempt at, or pretense of, doing so, is pointless, self-destructive, and sinful.”
Mackereth had told the court that the idea of transgenderism is a “rebellion against God, which is both pointless and sinful … I am, of course, aware that there are men or women who believe they have been trapped in a wrong body, and I do not question the sincerity of their convictions. A small number of such people have always existed. Up until recently, such a belief was considered by medics to be delusional and a symptom of a medical disorder. It is only recently that transgenderism has been recognized as normal and such delusional beliefs accepted at face value. What is responsible for that change is political pressure, not scientific evidence.”
Mackereth responded to the ruling, asserting, “I am not alone in being deeply concerned by this outcome. Staff in the NHS, even those who do not share my Christian convictions, are also disturbed as they see their own freedom of thought and speech being undermined by the judges’ ruling. No doctor, or researcher, or philosopher, can demonstrate or prove that a person can change sex. Without intellectual and moral integrity, medicine cannot function and my 30 years as a doctor are now considered irrelevant compared to the risk that someone else might be offended.”
Andrea Williams from Christian Concern told Premier the ruling was a “crushing of Christian beliefs… Dr. David Mackereth for almost 30 years has been working in A and E, loves his patients, and treats all patients. Dr. Mackereth was gentle. He would have called a person by their chosen name. What he couldn’t do was put on a form that a biological man was a biological woman, or a biological woman was a man.”
Mackereth said he will appeal the ruling, stating, “I believe that I have to appeal in order to fight for the freedom of Christians – and any other NHS member of staff – to speak the truth. If they cannot, then freedom of speech has died in this country, with serious ramifications for the practice of medicine in the UK.”
***
***
CP
PC(USA) congregation hosts pagan sculpture at church
By Michael Gryboski, Christian Post Reporter
September 17, 2019
An artist's rendering of a sculpture of the Sviatovid idol, based off of a Medieval pagan deity, that was put on display at the United Presbyterian Church of Binghamton, New York in September 2019. | Courtesy United Presbyterian Church of Binghamton
A Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation in New York has garnered controversy for its decision to host a pagan sculpture on their property.
The United Presbyterian Church of Binghamton, a PC(USA) congregation associated with the pro-LGBT group More Light Presbyterians, hosted a fifteen-foot tall totem sculpture known as the Sviatovid.
The sculpture, which was created by Bart Kresa Studio designer Akira Wakui, was put on display at the church earlier this month as part of the LUMA Festival.
“Sviatovid will materialize in the sanctuary of Binghamton United Presbyterian Church with additional content,” noted an announcement on LUMA’s website.
“In an homage to the striking 19th century architecture of the church, the students of the BARTKRESA academy will build an original 3.5 minute pre-show. The church spire, pipe organ and stained glass inform the new work.”
The hosting of the sculpture received the attention of the theologically conservative group the Institute on Religion & Democracy, which reported on it last Thursday.
“Sviatovid (alternately known as Svetovid, Svantovit, Sventovit, or Svantevit) was a local Slavic god of war, fertility, and abundance in the Baltic region,” wrote Josiah Aden of the IRD.
“Admittedly, and thankfully, the purpose of Sviatovid in this festive context is not worship, but mere interest. Yet, there is something inside that recoils at erecting an ancient Slavic deity in a church chancel of the same God who commanded, ‘You shall have no other gods before me’ (Exodus 20:3, ESV).”
Aden went on to speculate the reasons for the sculpture being based in the church, including “the spirit of multiculturalism” or “a subtle nod to universalism.”
“To put a false god in the same spot as God’s communion table, regardless of the fact that it was not during a worship service, raises questions of prudential judgment and is possibly sacrilegious,” he added.
The Christian Post reached out to UPC Binghamton for a response. On Monday, the church directed CP to a statement posted by lead pastor the Reverend Kimberly Chastain on Facebook.
In her response Chastain cited the Westminster Catechism, explaining that the historic confession states that “either everything is sacred (by God’s grace), or nothing is sacred (apart from the love of God).”
“If Sviatovid is apart from the grace of God, then it is purely secular, and there is no special significance to its appearing on the stage at the front of the room in which the congregation worships (not, as it happens, in the spot where the communion table can be found during worship),” wrote Chastain.
“Or if Sviatovid is sacred, it is sacred through the grace of God, and the contemplation of this work of beauty is not idolatry, but a gift from God.”
Chastain also noted that the event gave her congregation the possibility of giving Christian witness to those who created and setup the display.
“Mr. Kresa and most of his team have had little or no contact with Christianity, and none at all with Presbyterian theology and teaching,” stated Chastain.
“During the course of the setup and exhibit time, the pastors and community members had many opportunities to bear witness to our faith in Christ. Who’s to say that we did not plant seeds that, by God’s grace, will flower into faith?”
***
SPUTNIK
Holy Greta! Archbishop of Sweden Compares 16-Year-Old Climate Alarmist to Biblical Prophets
October 1, 2019
The Church of Sweden has demanded that the government adopt a more strenuous climate policy. At the same time, Archbishop Antje Jackelén compared her compatriot and teenage activist Greta Thunberg, the figurehead of the international climate strike movement, to Old Testament prophets.
In its revised Episcopal Letter for the Climate, the Church of Sweden has demanded a tougher climate policy from Sweden's politicians and authorities.
Among others, the letter features stronger rhetoric, as the previous phrasing “climate challenges” has been replaced by harsher wording: “climate crisis”. According to the church, Sweden must make good on its stated goal to achieve “climate neutrality” by 2045.
“The climate crisis has become much more concrete over the past five years, not least through the 2015 Paris Agreement. <...> Now it is clear that this is actually a climate crisis, for we already see for example how is leading to increased migration. All the facts on the table indicate that we will not achieve the goals that have been set unless we increase our efforts”, Archbishop Antje Jackelén told the newspaper Expressen.
In a related move, the Church of Sweden, which has assets worth SEK 49 billions ($5 billion) will review its own investments and remove funds from those who are not climate-friendly enough.
Archbishop Antje Jackelén also paid tribute to teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg and her perseverance.
“I believe she is actually prophetic in the same way that the Old Testament prophets were persistent with their message," Antje Jackelén told Expressen.
In addition to praising Greta's aptitude in giving interviews, Jackelén stressed that her propensity to engge in “symbolic deeds” was also similar to that of biblical prophets.
“It started with the the school strike and continued with her journey [across the Atlantic],” Jackelén said.
In conclusion, Jackelén stressed that she herself eats vegetarian “at least five times a week” in order to minimise the carbon footprint. In a nod to Thunberg, she also emphasised that while her post as archbishop demands flights, she has not flown privately “for almost two years”. Partly owing to Thunberg's relentless campaigning, the Swedish word 'flygskam' (literally "flight shame") has become a pan-European movement that encourages people to stop flying to lower carbon emissions and favour more “eco-friendly” means of transportation, such as trains. Many Swedish celebrities, including Greta's own mother, opera singer Malena Ernman, claim to have given up flying.
Earlier, the Church of Sweden had stepped into controversy by hailing Greta Thunberg as “Jesus's Sucessor”. Previously, even Uniting Church in Sweden deacon Anna Ardin likened the 16-year-old climate alarmist to biblical prophets, among other things, including“daring to talk about harsh reality” and “preaching repentance”.
Greta Thunberg recently had her arguably biggest moment of fame when she addressed the UN General Assembly with a passionate speech.
ZeroHedge
Putin Shames Greta Thunberg And Her Handlers Over Environmental Agenda
By Tyler Durden
October 2, 2019
"Sure, Greta is kind, but emotions should not control this issue," said Putin.
"Go and explain to developing countries why they should continue living in poverty and not be like Sweden," he added, before saying that it was deplorable how some groups are using Thunberg to achieve their own goals.
In her speech last week, Thunberg lashed out at the United Nations - saying "You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words."
Thunberg also filed a legal complaint accusing five countries of inaction on global warming - drawing the ire of French President Emmanuel Macron, and many others who noted that she's left China out of her diatribes and lawsuit, despite being the world's worst polluter by total volume.
ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY
TWO-THIRDS OF RUSSIAN YOUTH ARE BELIEVERS, SURVEY SAYS
September 19, 2019
Photo: foma.ru
“The majority of our youth—63 percent—are believers,” commented the head of the Department for External Church Relations, His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, citing a VTSIOM survey, according to which only 37% of young Russians aged 18-24 consider themselves unbelievers, reports Foma.
“It’s another question how they believe? There are young people who are churched. There are young people who are seeking, who consider themselves believers but haven’t yet decided which religious community they should join,” Metropolitan Hilarion said.
According to the survey, only 16% of 24 to 34-year-old respondents consider themselves unbelievers.
“The percentage of believers increases with age—this is also a natural process, because coming to faith is very often associated with some kind of life experience, sometimes with a crisis, for example, the loss of loved ones, or with a difficult situation in the family, or health problems. The person begins to think about serious things, about the meaning of life and comes to faith,” His Eminence said.
In this regard, His Eminence wisely instructed that believers, both clergy and laity, must work more with young people.
“The most effective way to work with youth is when young people themselves work with them, when young people meet and communicate, both with believers and unbelievers. I have seen how the conversion of young people to the faith takes place, when they are brought by their peers to church,” he commented.
There are youth movements in many parishes throughout Russia, including at the Metropolitan’s Cathedral of the “Joy of All Who Sorrow” Icon of the Mother of God, where there is a youth club called Renaissance.
“It’s a group of about forty very active young people, young men and women, and about forty more people who seem to be closely interested, and come from time to time,” Met. Hilarion said.
These young people attend Divine services, after which they have tea together, chat, share their interests and problems, and go on pilgrimages together.
“Youth movements exist both on a Church-wide scale, on the diocesan level, and at the level of individual parishes,” Met. Hilarion summarized.
Matfey Shaheen
***
THE EPOCH TIMES
A woman uses a facial recognition device installed at a self-service supermarket in Tianjin, China on Aug. 21, 2019. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images)
Beijing Launches New Rule: Residents Must Pass Facial Recognition Test to Surf Internet
By Nicole Hao
October 1, 2019 Updated: October 2, 2019
The Chinese regime announced a new rule which requires residents to pass a facial recognition test in order to apply for an internet connection via smartphone or computer.
The rule will be implemented from Dec. 1, 2019. In addition, no cell phone or landline number can be transferred to another person privately.
This is an upgraded restriction after the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) required all applicants to present a valid ID and personal information to register for a cell phone or a landline number since January 2015.
New Rule
MIIT published the new rule on its official website and distributed it to all telecom carriers on Sept. 27, which includes three main requests.
First, all telecom carriers must use facial recognition to test whether an applicant who applies for internet connection is the owner of the ID that they use since Dec. 1. At the same time, the carriers must test that the ID is genuine and valid.
Second, all telecom carriers must upgrade their service’s terms and conditions and notify all their customers that they are not allowed to transfer or resell their cell phone SIM card to another person by the end of November 2019.
Third, telecom carriers should help their customers to check whether there are cell phone or landline numbers that don’t belong to them but registered under their names since Dec. 1. For unidentified numbers, the telecom carries must investigate and close the lines immediately.
MIIT said in the notice that it will arrange for supervisors to check each telecom carrier’s performance, and will arrange inspections to make sure all carriers will follow the rule strictly.
Purpose
“The reason why the Chinese regime asks people to register their real identities to surf the internet is because it wants to control people’s speech,” U.S.-based commentator Tang Jingyuan told The Epoch Times on Sept. 27.
Authorities arrested hundreds of Chinese people in recent years because they posted a topic that the regime deemed sensitive, including the most recent Hong Kong protests.
“MIIT’s new rule on using facial recognition to identify an internet user means the government can easily track their online activities, including their social media posts and websites they visit,” Tang said.“Then these people become scared of sharing their real opinions online because their comments could anger the authorities and they could get arrested for it.”
Tang concluded: “I think MIIT’s new rule takes away freedom of speech from Chinese people completely.”
Facial Recognition in China
The Chinese regime has used facial recognition systems to monitor people for several years now.
In cities and public spaces such as train stations, airports, government buildings, and entrances of museums, police use smart glasses to check each passerby’s identity and whether they have a criminal record.
On the streets, millions of surveillance cameras capture and track people’s movements.
At crosswalks, facial recognition systems record jaywalkers, who are then fined 20 yuan ($2.81), and docked points on their social credit score. The Chinese regime’s social credit system assigns each citizen a score of social “trustworthiness.” A person with a low social credit score may not be allowed to board a train or airplane, or their child may not be admitted to a reputable school.
Inside classrooms, facial recognition technology monitors each student and reports their actions to the teacher and parents.
Even inside public restrooms, tourists and residents have to use facial recognition system to get toilet paper.
The Chinese regime hopes to install enough surveillance cameras to cover the entire country.
According to the latest report of U.S. based market research firm IDC, China spent $10.6 billion on video surveillance equipment in 2018, and spending will reach $20.1 billion in 2023. 64.3 percent of the spending in 2018 accounted for surveillance cameras.
IDC reported on Jan. 30 that it predicted China would have 2.76 billion surveillance cameras installed in 2022.
***
BBC
Smartphone users warned to be careful of the Antichrist
By Anastasia Clark and Chris BellBBC Monitoring and BBC News
January 8, 2019
Patriarch Kirill conducting a Christmas liturgy
People's dependence on smartphones and modern technology could bring about the coming of the Antichrist, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church has warned.
Russian social media users largely responded with humour and scepticism, while some accused the Church of "serving the regime".
Speaking to Russian state TV, Patriarch Kirill said smartphone users should be careful when using the "worldwide web of gadgets" because it represented "an opportunity to gain global control over mankind".
"The Antichrist is the person who will be at the head of the worldwide web, controlling all of humankind," he said.
"Every time you use your gadget, whether you like it or not, whether you turn on your location or not, somebody can find out exactly where you are, exactly what your interests are and exactly what you are scared of," Patriarch Kirill told Rossiya 1.
"If not today, then tomorrow methods and technology could appear that will not just provide access to all information but will also allow the use of this information.
"Do you imagine what power will be concentrated in the hands of those who gain knowledge about what is going on in the world?
"Such control from one place forebodes the coming of the Antichrist."
Patriarch Kirill said his Church was not against "technological progress", rather "the development of a system that is aimed at controlling a person's identity". But not all social media users were convinced.
"The Church is not against science and technological progress, but is concerned about the freedom of the individual. Yeah, sure," joked one Twitter user.
"Smile, the Antichrist is about to fly out," tweeted another, along with an image of a woman taking a selfie with Patriarch Kirill and other church representatives.
Patriarch Kirill is close to Russian president Vladimir Putin, who participates in big Church celebrations and has gone on pilgrimages to Mount Athos and other famous Orthodox sites. Many Russian Orthodox priests closely identify with President Putin's nationalist agenda.
At a time when internet freedoms are increasingly restricted in Russia – and authorities are reportedly attempting to create an independent Russian internet - this closeness led some to accuse Patriarch Kirill of lending government policy divine authority.
"They ban international internet in Russia so that the Antichrist doesn't come out of it," one social media user remarked.
On Saturday, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine split from the Russian Church following centuries of Russian leadership, formalising a decision announced in October.
The move sparked a furious response in Moscow and deepened a split in the world wide Orthodox Church.
***
RT
‘Nuclear weapon of bad ideas’: US, UK & Australia demand Facebook give backdoor access to WhatsApp & other encrypted messengers
Published time: 4 Oct, 2019 00:14 Edited time: 4 Oct, 2019 00:15
© Reuters / Phil Noble
US Attorney General William Barr and other western officials are calling on Facebook to provide authorities backdoor access to its encrypted messenger platforms, used by hundreds of millions of people around the world every day.
In an open letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Barr and his British and Australian counterparts will argue that law enforcement requires access to encrypted applications, effectively asking the company to hand over the keys to the private communications of 300 million daily WhatsApp users, as well as 1.5 billion who log into Facebook every day. The letter is dated Friday, but An advance copy was seen by the New York Times.
“Companies should not deliberately design their systems to preclude any form of access to content, even for preventing or investigating the most serious crimes,” the officials wrote.
Though the Facebook-owned messenger WhatsApp is already protected by end-to-end encryption, the open letter will also urge the company to delay rolling out similar features for its other chat platforms, Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct, asking for access akin to a phone wiretap.
The officials argued the request on the grounds of fighting crime and terrorism, but privacy advocates warned the move could seriously damage, or even “destroy,” the ability to communicate privately online, and empower governments with vast, easily abusable spying powers.
National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden – who leaked classified material on the agency’s sweeping mass surveillance programs in 2013 – slammed the officials for what he said “may be the largest overnight violation of privacy in history.”
The Intercept’s Gleen Greenwald called on conservatives who “cheered the Snowden revelations” to speak out against the move, which he said was an “attempt to destroy privacy and place unprecedented spying power in the government's hands.”
The open letter is far from the US Department of Justice’s first move against encryption. In July, AG Barr called on technology firms – at one point citing WhatsApp by name – to erode protections and provide access to law enforcement, comments soon echoed by FBI Director Christopher Wray, who said he shared Barr’s “concerns.”
DOJ’s obsession with “back door” access to encrypted messaging apps predates the Trump administration. Former FBI Director James Comey has advocated it on multiple occasions and famously tried to compel tech giant Apple into unlocking the iPhone of the San Bernardino terrorist suspect in 2015, but ended up paying an Israeli company to do so instead.
LifeNews.com
Doctors Euthanize Healthy Man Dealing With Depression, Family Begged Not to Kill Him
ALEX SCHADENBERG SEP 25, 2019
Avis Favaro, the Medical correspondent with CTV News produced an excellent news story concerning the death of Alan Nichols, a 61-year-old man who was physically healthy but lived with chronic depression.
This story clearly shows how the recent Québec court decision that struck down the terminal illness criteria in the law will lead to an expansion of euthanasia, in Canada, to people who are physically healthy but experience psychological suffering.
Favaro interviews the family, and others, about the death of Alan. The news report states:
A British Columbia man who struggled with depression and showed no signs of facing an imminent demise was given a medically-assisted death despite desperate pleas from his loved ones, family members say.
Alan Nichols was admitted to Chilliwack General Hospital in June, at age 61, after he was found dehydrated and malnourished. One month later, he died by injection.
Days before his death, family members begged Nichols, a former school janitor who lived alone and struggled with depression, not to go through with the procedure. They still don’t know why doctors approved the life-ending procedure and insist that Nichols did not fit the government criteria of facing an “imminent death.”
“He didn’t have a life-threatening disease. He was capable of getting around. He was capable of doing almost anything that you had to do to survive,” his brother, Gary Nichols, told CTV News. “I didn’t think he had a sound mind at all.”
The family has asked the RCMP to investigate the case.
Favaro described Alan’s health condition. She reported:
Alan Nichols was 12 when he first underwent brain surgery for a non-malignant tumour. Over time he lost his hearing in both ears and had a cochlear implant.
But he finished school and worked much of his life. He developed depression but his family said he was doing well on medications.
Nichols relied on his father to manage his day-to-day life. But when his father died in 2004, Nichols’ life went into a tailspin. He stopped taking the antidepressant and often became angry, said his family.
Nichols wanted to live on his own, so his brother Wayne would visit him once a week, for groceries and banking. A neighbour would help out as well.
But family members and the neighbour say Nichols would isolate himself. He got rid of all his furniture except for a chair and a bed. Family members said if something upset him, he would stop eating. Yet he refused to see a doctor or take his medications.
“He would have maybe a period, a year, he would be very easy to deal with and make some decent changes. But then he would fall back into a very depressed state,” said his brother Gary Nichols. “Not going out in public, not seeing anybody, not eating properly.”
The family was concerned about Alan and they unsuccessfully sought guardianship for his care. The family stated that Alan did not fit the criterion for euthanasia, Favaro reported:
As soon as Nichols’ family found out that he was in hospital, brothers Wayne and Gary went to see him. They say that, at first, Nichols wanted to leave hospital, but that family agreed with police that he needed medical help.
“We thought this would be the best place for him to get back on track,” Gary said. “We would never have allowed this to happen if we knew the outcome.”
From there, the family says, things became difficult. They say the hospital did not give them much information on Nichols’ case. Staff told the family that he was doing well but he did not want to speak with family.
“I was always led on to believe that he was doing good,” Gary said. “They never informed me of any (medical assistance in dying) application.”
On July 22, they received a shocking phone call from a doctor who said that, in four days’ time, Nichols was scheduled for an assisted death. According to the family, the doctor said they couldn’t provide any other information, including the medical reason for the procedure.
“I started crying,” Gary said. “I was at work and never thought it would get to that. Just never thought he would ever be approved even if he applied for it.”
Nichols’ sister-in-law, Trish Nichols, called the doctor to get more information.
“I was appalled by all of it and I said we want this stopped, this can’t happen. Our family doesn’t agree with this,” she said.
“(The doctor) said, ‘Well, you can’t stop this. Alan is the only person who can stop this.”
The family tried to stop the lethal injection but the hospital said that only Alan can stop the euthanasia, even though the family insisted that Alan was not competent.
At the hospital, the family was told that two doctors had approved Nichols’ application for a medically assisted death, and that a psychologist and psychiatrist were there to assess Nichols’ competence.
The family was not given access to those medical records. They still don’t know what grounds doctors used to approve the application.
Nichols’ death certificate lists MAID, or medically assisted death, as his immediate cause of death. Officials also listed three “antecedent causes” connected to his death including a stroke, seizure disorder and “frailty.”
Other “significant conditions” not directly contributing to his death include the tumour he suffered as a child and a shunt to help relieve pressure on his brain.
Under Canadian law, assisted death can only be offered to patients who are considered as having “a grievous and irremediable medical condition.” According to federal guidelines, a patient must meet four criteria.
The family urged the hospital to stop the process:
“Alan did not fit the criteria. Alan was capable of talking, he was sitting up, he was eating, he was going to the bathroom, we were laughing, he was out of bed,” Trish said.
“I knew by looking at him that he still had living to do. He was not near the end of his life.”
Family members pressured the hospital to postpone the procedure. They argued that, at one time, Nichols had agreed to look at moving into an assisted-living facility.
But Nichols became angry, the family says, and at one point accused them of not being his “blood family.”
They also say that Nichols told them, “It’s done. It’s going to happen.”
Hospital staff said that the decision was up to Nichols.
“We were told we couldn’t stop it,” Trish said.
“I said, listen, I want to see Alan’s signature that he wants this procedure. I want to see the doctors that have signed for this. We have a right to see this information. (The doctor) said the only person that could release that information was Alan. At that point, to me, I knew things were way out of whack … How can you allow this with Alan, knowing his background of mental anguish and depression?”
Favaro interviews Michael Bach, the managing director of the Institutes for Research and Development on Inclusion and Society who reviewed the family’s report and said it raises many questions – particularly when it comes to what constitutes an “imminent death.” Bach states:
“This case exposes concerns that a number of legal experts and assisted health professionals have had since the legislation was introduced,” Bach told CTV’s Your Morning.
There were 773 medically assisted deaths in B.C. from January 1 to October 31, 2018, compared to 1,211 in Ontario for the same time period.
Bach referred to a B.C.-based advocacy group made up of doctors and lawyers who suggest “the reasonable foreseeable natural death requirement doesn’t mean that you actually have to be at the end of life.”
“And so we’re in a situation where we have a number of health professionals and lawyers which have been advocating for wide-open access with no clarification from the government of Canada,” Bach said.
“All of us should be concerned about this.”
This is the family that EPC has been working with to attain justice.
Forbes
Americans Have 365 Days To Get A New, Enhanced ID If They Want To Board An Airline Flight
Dan Reed Senior Contributor
October 2, 2019
If somehow the calendar could be spun forward one year and today were Oct. 2, 2020, tens of millions of Americans would be ineligible to board a commercial airline flight. And almost three out of every four Americans would lack the most commonly accepted form of identification needed for air travel.
Thankfully, it’s still 2019, so the 235 million to 240 million of us who do not now possess a “REAL ID” driver’s license, or the smaller number who don’t have some other form of compliant identification, still have 365 days, until the Oct. 1, 2020, deadline to get one. (2020 is a leap year, so there’s one extra day in it.)
But that brings up two hugely obvious questions: What is a REAL ID? And, why do I need one?
THis is a sample of a South Carolina REAL ID-compliant driver's license. Note the gold star and outline of the state in the upper right corner. That means the license is compliant with federal REAL ID Act effective Oct. 1, 2020.
COURTESY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
You can thank Congress, circa 2005, for this new requirement. In the aftermath of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, Congress was seeking to increase the level of aviation security. The REAL ID Act requires all Americans boarding flights to have a form of identification that meets tightened security standards. The legislation ordered state agencies to ask for more identity verification, like proof of residency and Social Security numbers, when issuing licenses and identification cards. In addition, Congress required that ID cards incorporate new technology that would make them much more difficult to forge.
Phase III of that Act, the phase where the requirement becomes universal in all 50 states, takes effect next October 1. And the primary form of REAL ID compliant identification will be state-issued driver’s licenses.
Problem is, few states have begun issuing REAL ID-compliant, or enhanced licenses. Thus, approximately 72% of Americans do not yet have REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses. There are other forms of REAL ID-compliant identification that will work in lieu of a REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses, most prominent among them being a passport. But an estimated 99 million Americans do not possess a passport either – plus most people don’t carry their passports when they travel domestically.
Children under 18 won’t be required to have REAL ID-compliant identification if they are traveling with an adult who has it.
Though a full year remains until the REAL ID requirement takes effect, it’s likely that some number – perhaps a large one – of Americans still won’t have REAL ID-compliant identification by the deadline. As a result, they won’t be allowed to fly. And that, potentially, could have a large economic impact.
The U.S. Travel Association, a non-profit that promotes travel to and within the United States on behalf of the broad spectrum of travel and tourism businesses, calculates that were the REAL ID requirement effective today at least 78,500 travelers a day would be turned away at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints at airports all around the nation. That would cost the U.S. economy an estimated $40.3 million in lost travel-related spending per day. And if that trend were to be sustained for a full week, those numbers would grow to more than half a million air travelers being blocked from flying and around $282 million in lost travel spending.
Obviously, many Americans will be getting their REAL ID-compliant licenses and/or other compliant identification before the deadline. But it’s likely that not all will, so some degree of reduced traveler totals and reduced travel spending will manifest itself in the first few weeks after the deadline next October.
So, what do most Americans need to do so that they’ll be allowed to fly after Oct. 1 next year?
All 50 states now are signed up to the REAL ID program and will begin at some point this year issuing REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses. When those licenses will become available varies by state, so individuals will need to check with their state licensing agencies to find out when and how they can get a REAL ID-compliant license. U.S. Travel is urging people not to wait to get their REAL ID-compliant driver’ license so that state licensing agencies won’t get overwhelmed and bogged down by a deluge of requests for new driver’s licenses next summer as the deadline approaches.
Such licenses will feature a special mark, typically in the upper right corner of the license. The marks vary by state but typically will include a gold or black star, or a gold or black circle with a white or black star inside the circle. Some states will be issuing cards marked with their state emblem or an outline of the state with a gold, black or white star incorporated in it.
Obviously, if your driver’s license is scheduled to be renewed or re-issued between now and Oct. 1, 2020, there’s a very good chance you’ll be issued one with the REAL ID markings on it. But if your current driver’s license isn’t scheduled to be replaced within the next year, or if it is but that date comes before your state starts issuing its REAL ID-compliant licenses, you’ll need to contact your state’s licensing agency about how to get the kind of license you’ll need.
Some federal facilities, like military posts and government buildings, also are subject to the REAL ID identification rules beginning next October.
There are also other forms of ID that are REAL ID-compliant for those who don’t have or need a driver’s license or a U.S. passport: U.S. passport cards; Department of Homeland Security trusted travel cards used as part of the Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI and FAST programs; U.S. Department of Defense ID cards issued to military members and their dependents; permanent resident cards; border crossing cards; federally recognized tribal-issued photo IDS; HSPD-12 PIV cards; passports issued by foreign governments; Canadian provincial driver’s licenses or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada ID cards; transportation work identification credentials; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization cards (I-766); or a U.S. Merchant Mariner Credential.
U.S. Travel also is seeking changes to the program to help ease the transition for American travelers. Among the policy changes being sought are:
Amend the REAL ID Act to allow Americans to apply online and via mobile devices for REAL ID identification documents, and to permit TSA security screeners at airports to accept mobile or digital REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses. That, USTA says, should help reduce any backlogs in issuing compliant driver’s licenses and will improve airport checkpoint efficiency.
Designate registered traveler enrollment as an acceptable alternative for obtaining a REAL ID driver’s license or other acceptable form of compliant ID. That would allow the TSA to use the existing security and identification features of trusted traveler programs, including TSA Precheck, to reduce the need for a REAL ID Act-compliant driver’s license at airport checkpoints.
Transition TSA checkpoints to automated identity verification. That would accelerate the implementation of automated identity verification technology used by passport holders and trusted travelers. In addition to strengthening security and improving checkpoint efficiency, the USTA argues that doing so would decrease the number of travelers who arrive at airport checkpoints with REAL ID-compliant identification.
Develop alternative screening procedures for travelers who lack compliant ID in order to avoid turning away large numbers of travelers who appear at checkpoint without compliant ID.
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Strange Sounds
The Loudest Sound in History Was Produced by the Krakatoa Eruption and Heard 3,100 Miles Away, Shattering Eardrums of Sailers 40 Miles Away
September 28, 2019
A volcanic eruption produced the loudest sound in the world.
The sound of the Krakatoa eruption in 1883 caused shock waves 10,000 times more powerful than that of an hydrogen bomb and shattered the eardrums of sailers over almost 40 miles away.
The loudest noise in history was produced by the Krakatoa volcanic eruption on August 27, 1883. The Krakatoa’s explosion registered 172 decibels at 100 miles from the source.
Residents of New Guinea and Western Australia (3,200 km or 1,300 miles away) reported hearing “a series of loud booms, resembling those of artillery in a north-westerly direction.”
Locals on the island of Rodrigues (4,800 km or 3000 miles away) reported hearing what sounded to them like the distant roar of heavy gun fire.
In overall, the sound of the Krakatoa volcanic eruption has been heard by people across 50 different geological locations around the world.
Completely Crazy
Now, take your breath listen to the noise in the video below and think, for a moment, just how crazy this is.
As Nautilus explains:
If you’re in Boston and someone tells you that they heard a sound coming from New York City, you’re probably going to give them a funny look. But Boston is a mere 200 miles from New York. What we’re talking about here is like being in Boston and clearly hearing a noise coming from Dublin, Ireland. Travelling at the speed of sound (766 miles or 1,233 kilometers per hour), it takes a noise about 4 hours to cover that distance. This is the most distant sound that has ever been heard in recorded history.
The Day Of Judgement Has Come
The British ship Norham Castle was 40 miles from Krakatoa at the time of the explosion.
The ship’s captain wrote in his log, “So violent are the explosions that the eardrums of over half my crew have been shattered. My last thoughts are with my dear wife. I am convinced that the Day of Judgement has come.”
The Krakatoa Eruption
The Krakatoa volcano erupted on August 27, 1883 with a force so great that it tore its island apart, emitting a plume of smoke that reached 17 miles into the atmosphere.
The Krakatoa eruption of 1883 is considered the loudest sound ever heard and felt in history. Picture: Library of Congress
This explosion created a deadly tsunami with waves over a hundred feet (30 meters) in height, which ended up decimating 160 villages and settlements along the shores of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. In all, the Dutch – colonial rulers of Indonesia at the time – estimated the death toll at 36,417, while other estimates exceed 120,000.
The last Krakatoa eruption has been called the greatest natural disaster of the 19th century. Shock waves from the eruption travelled around the world several times, and created a tsunami over 45 metres tall. The force of the blast was 10,000 times that of a hydrogen bomb. [Nautil.US]
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Strange Sounds
Shiveluch Volcano Erupts Strongly in Kamchatka – Ash Plume Rises to 30,000 ft Into the Air – Pyroclastic Flow (Video)
October 2, 2019
Shiveluch volcano, situted in Kamchatka, Russia, had a large eruption on October 1-2, sending a plume of ash to 30,000 ft into the air.
The powerful eruption also produced pyroclastic flows that traveled several kms down the western slope of the active dome.
Picture of the Shivelush volcanic eruption on October 1-2, 2019. Picture shows the eruption column and pyroclastic flow at Shiveluch volcano this morning via KVERT / A. Belousov
As reported by KVert and Volcano Discovery, a moderately large explosive eruption occurred on Shiveluch volcano earlier this morning, producing an ash plume that rose to 30,000 ft (10 km) altitude and a pyroclastic flow that traveled several km to the west from the active dome.
The eruption was likely a combination of explosion at the lava dome and a partial collapse of fresh material from the active part of the dome in its upper NE sector.
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RT
Record monsoon & floods kill nearly 150 across India (PHOTOS, VIDEO)
Published time: 1 Oct, 2019 02:29
Floods cause havoc in North India, 30 September, 2019 ©️ AP / KK Productions
Five days of torrential downpour in India have left at least 148 people dead, as record monsoon rains create the worst flooding conditions the country has seen in decades.
The bulk of the fatalities were reported in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where 111 are believed to have died in the floods – many by drowning or in building collapses – while several dozen more lost their lives in Bihar, India Today reports. The death toll continues to climb as the rains persist.
Dubbed the “Hikka cyclone,” the storm is India’s largest monsoon since 1994, and has produced record-breaking rainfall, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said – with the city of Mumbai seeing more precipitation than it had in 61 seasons prior.
In the city of Patna, some 4,000 people were rescued from flood-affected areas on Monday, India’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said. Five teams are now conducting search and rescue missions in the city, where homes, schools, hospitals and roads remain submerged in knee-to-waist deep waters.
Some 900 prisoners in Ballia, a district in Uttar Pradesh, had to be shifted to other facilities from the district jail, which sits near the Ganges river, due to extreme flooding.
On Monday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had coordinated with Bihar state’s chief minister, Nitish Kumar, and that he was ready to provide the region any help needed. Leader of the opposition Indian Congress Party Rahul Gandhi also weighed in on Twitter, calling on fellow party members to“immediately join the relief and rescue work.”
© AFP / Jignesh Mistry
The storm is now headed westward toward Oman, and is expected to pull away from India sometime next week, the IMD said, however Gujarat, as well as parts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and other regions will continue to see heavy rains in the days to come.
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MailOnline
Mars rovers being launched next summer WILL find life on the red planet, Nasa's chief scientist predicts - but he warns Earth is not prepared for the 'revolutionary' discovery
Europe's ExoMars Rover and NASA's Mars 2020 rover will be launched in March
The vehicles will drill down in to rock formations to search for organic matter
Dr Jim Green, a scientist working on both rovers, says Earth is not prepared
By EMER SCULLY FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 09:41, 29 September 2019 | UPDATED: 14:27, 30 September 2019
Alien life could be discovered in less than two years but the world is 'not prepared for the results', NASA's chief scientist says.
Europe's ExoMars Rover, which has been named Rosalind in memory of British chemist Rosalind Franklin, will be launched with NASA's rover Mars 2020 in March.
They will search for extraterrestrial life and organic matter by targeting rock formations, with the ExoMars drilling 6.5ft in to Mars' core to extract samples.
Signs of life could be found within months of their arrival on Mars in March 2021, Dr Jim Green, a scientist working with both missions told the Sunday Telegraph.
Europe's ExoMars Rover, which has been named Rosalind in memory of British chemist Rosalind Franklin, will be launched with NASA's rover Mars 2020 in March. Pictured, an artist's impression of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and its entry, landing and descent module
But the 'revolutionary' discovery will 'start a whole new line of thinking' and Dr Green says: 'I don't think we're prepared for the results.'
Questions about whether humans can move between planets and what other life is like will be sparked by the breakthrough.
When Europe's ExoMars rover lands on Mars the core samples it extracts will be broken up and examined for organic matter.
NASA's rover will drill in to rock formations on the surface of the planet before sending test tubes filled with these samples back to earth.
It will be the first time Martian matter is brought onto this planet.
Scientists will be specifically looking for the 300 minerals that can only be created by life and will focus the search around the site of the ancient Martian ocean.
'When environments get extreme, life moves into the rocks,' Dr Green added.
Earlier this year scientists detected the first geological evidence of a system of water reservoirs deep beneath the surface of Mars.
The study on data from the Mars Express satellite revealed the extent of the former underground lakes based on features at the bottom of deep craters.
‘Early Mars was a watery world, but as the planet’s climate changed this water retreated below the surface to form pools and “groundwater,”’ said lead author Francesco Salese of Utrecht University, in the Netherlands.
‘We traced this water in our study, as its scale and role is a matter of debate, and we found the first geological evidence of a planet-wide groundwater system.’
In the study published to the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, researchers investigated 24 deep, enclosed craters in Mars’ northern hemisphere.
Each of these craters dip down to roughly 4,000 meters below Martian ‘sea level’ – which scientists have defined based on elevation and atmospheric pressure.
Numerous features seen on the crater floors at depths of 4,000-4,500 meters are suggestive of water, with evidence of pools and flows that changed over time.
This includes channels, valleys, curved deltas, ridged terraces, and fan-shaped deposits of sediments.
According to the researchers, the levels indicated by the crater features line up with predictions for the shorelines of a Martian ocean that’s thought to have existed three to four billion years ago.
'The bottom line is where there is water there is life', says Dr Green. Scientists believe if there used to be water on Mars then there could also have been life.
It comes just a week after never-seen-before bursts of magnetic energy on Mars puzzled astronomers.
The magnetometer fixed to the cutting-edge NASA InSight spacecraft detected a bizarre jump in pulsations on the surface of the planet at nighttime.
Since November 2018, the InSight capsule has been harvesting information from the Red Planet - including recording the ferocity of so-called 'Marsquakes' and taking the temperature of its upper crust.
And scientists have not yet determined the causes behind the sudden magnetic pulses, which were 20 times stronger than previous observations, according to National Geographic.
However the baffling aspect of these most recent findings was the clockwork-like frequency of the midnight pulses.
The InSight lander is currently placed on Mars's equator. On Earth's equator, no such pulses have ever been recorded.
A team from California University presented their paper at the European Planetary Science Congress annual meeting.
They wrote: 'The nighttime continuous pulsations found by InSight FluxGate are unexpected because they are distinct from what are typically observed on the Earth's surface at the same local time.'
The lander expedition also revealed there is a two-mile thick layer deep below Mars's surface capable of conducting electricity.
It is thought this could be a body of water, but that has not been confirmed.
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SPUTNIK
Cavaliers and Roundheads, Brexiteers and Remainers: Welcome to The New English/British Civil War
September 30, 2019
The English Civil War (or wars) of the 1640s pitted Roundheads against Cavaliers: today it’s Remainers against Brexiteers. The parallels are quite uncanny.
Britain is at war. Thankfully it’s a war in which no one is getting killed, at least not yet. The way tempers are rising though, you wouldn't bet against it.
Trevelyan says of the Great Civil War that it ‘divided every rank in the land’. It’s the same with the civil war over Brexit. Families have been split asunder. They include those of both the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose brother Jo resigned from the government, and whose sister Rachel has accused the PM of turning the House of Commons despatch box into a ‘bully pulpit’, AND the leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, whose party’s support for a 2nd referendum, with an option to Remain, has been lambasted by his staunchly pro-Brexit brother Piers.
Friendships have been destroyed, both on social media and face-to-face. Long-standing political parties have fragmented. New parties and groupings have been formed. Remainer Chuka Umunna has been in more parties in 2019 than Kate Moss.
Trevelyan tells us that ‘in every shire the landlords were the leaders on both sides when the war began’. So it was with Brexit. In the one corner in 2016 were Cameron and Osborne, in the other Johnson and Farage.
It’s also fascinating to see that the country is divided along much the same lines as it was in 1640s.
Interestingly, and quite revealingly, more or less the same areas and groups who supported the Cavaliers, support Brexit today, while the same areas and groups who supported Roundheads are now fighting for Remain.
Trevelyan tells us ‘the great strength of the Royal (Cavalier) party lay in the more rustic squires of ancient lineage, who had least connection with the mercantile community, while Parliament usually received the allegiance of squires most closely associated with the world of business’.
Lord Cavendish of Furness would fit in the former category, Sir Richard Branson the latter.
Trevelyan goes on ‘They (the Cavaliers) were strong in the Northern counties and Lancashire’. Well, the same is true of Brexit today. The North West voted 53% for Leave in 2016, in the North East support was even higher, at 58%.
By contrast ‘The South and East were firmly secured for Parliament, owing to the strength of London’s arm in the Home Counties’. Again, three hundred and seventy years on, it’s London that’s strongest for Remain. Seven of the ten areas with the highest vote share for Remain in 2016 were in the British capital.
Trevelyan notes that ‘Roman Catholics were all for the King’, and while religion isn’t as big a factor in politics nowadays, it’s still interesting to note that Jacob Rees-Mogg, on the leaders of today’s ‘Brexit Army’ and his sister the Brexit Party MEP Annunziata, come from a distinguished Roman Catholic family, as indeed does Alexander Waugh (son of Bron, grand-son of Evelyn), a candidate for the Brexit Party.
There are of course inevitably some differences between the 1640s struggle and the Civil War of today. For instance, Oxford was the King’s headquarters back then, today’s the university city is Remain Central.
You’d no more want to go wandering round the city centre in a pro-Brexit T-shirt today, than you would wear a Roundhead helmet there in the 1640s. Cambridge though was a Roundhead stronghold then (Oliver Cromwell was the MP for Cambridge), and is strong pro-Remain territory today. In fact, the central Market Ward in Cambridge had the highest percentage of Remain voters (87.8%) in the country in 2016.
Given the parallels, do the earlier Civil Wars of the 17th century give us a clue as to might prevail this time- and why? Trevelyan says ‘In the end the King lost for lack of money…The parts of England that owed his authority were on the average less wealthy than those which divided him’.
Isn’t that exactly the same with Brexit today? Generally speaking, it’s the poorer parts of Britain, the communities which have lost out most to neoliberal globalisation, which are the most pro-Brexit. No socio-economic-age group supported Brexit more strongly than over 55s in Classes C2 and DE. By contrast, no class group supported Remain more than AB and C1 (71%).
Does anyone seriously think (whatever camp they’re in), that Brexit would not have been delivered by now if it was the other way round?
Trevelyan believes the support of the City of London- and the richest parts of the country- for the Roundheads proved decisive. Could the backing for Remain of the bigg lobal investment banks and billionaire capitalists like Mr George Soros, be equally decisive today?
Consider the way the wealth of leading Remain campaigners has enabled them to mount a succession of very expensive legal challenges to Brexit. They may have lost the 2016 referendum, but they haven’t (as yet) lost the war.
Back in the 1640s appearances were deceptive. Oliver Cromwell was portrayed as the underdog, striking a blow for the people against an autocratic monarch who believed in the ‘Divine Right’ of Kings. In fact he was a wealthy man ‘born into one of the greatest and wealthiest families of Huntingdonshire’, whose pro-Parliamentary, business-friendly cause had the backing of finance capital. Unlike Citizen Smith of the Tooting Popular Front, Oliver didn’t want ‘power to the people!’, but power to the bourgeoisie.
If anyone was the underdog in the conflict, ironically it was the King.
You could say the same thing about the Brexit side today- and that might explain why over three years on we still haven’t left the European Union.
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RT
Homeless subway soprano: Incredible LA Metro singer in VIRAL VIDEO turns out to be Russian musician
Published time: 30 Sep, 2019 11:06 Edited time: 1 Oct, 2019 07:52
© Twitter / LAPD
The stunning singing star of an LAPD video tweet that went viral has been identified as a Russian woman who moved to the US decades ago, but says she fell on hard times and became homeless after her prized violin was stolen.
The sweetly-voiced singer was filmed by a passing LAPD officer who came across her on a metro platform, standing with an armful of bags and a packed cart, and serenading commuters with a Puccini aria.
Sgt. Hector Guzman was so impressed by her talents that he shared the footage online, drawing 270,000 views in three days.
Delighted commenters, touched by her performance, left appreciative comments and said they hope the video will lead to a change of fortunes for the skilful soprano. Some locals said they had seen her at metro stations for years, while a few said she was a familiar figure in the Glendale area.
A social media search to identify the mysterious singer kicked off in earnest, and local news outlets eventually traced her.
Emily Zamourka, 52, said that she moved to the US aged 24 and taught music among her several jobs, but suffered health issues and turned to her musical skills to pay the bills. However, the heartbreaking theft of her violin ruined her efforts to earn money by playing for passersby on the streets of Los Angeles, and led to her becoming homeless.
She said she loves singing at the metro, as the acoustics and platform are reminiscent of singing on stage and “sounds so great.” Zamourka now hopes that her new-found fame will result in her getting back on her feet.
“I will be so grateful to anyone who is trying to help me to get off the streets, and to have my own place, to have my instrument,” she told ABC7.
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Until
next week...keep on believing.
Almondtree Productions
“Sing
to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the
Lord, bless his name: proclaim his salvation from day to day.”
(Psalm 96:1-2)