Continuing Tragedy
Who can forget the sickening, heart breaking videos that exposed the unimaginably evil practices of Planned Parenthood? The series detailed their gruesome business model, including the dismemberment of viable babies for profit and many potentially criminal acts. Now Planned Parenthood has sued David Daleiden and other members of the Center for Medical Progress responsible for making and releasing the undercover videos. They have been ordered to pay Planned Parenthood $870,000 for causing “substantial harm” to their “abortion business.”
This may be a new low, even for California. Daleiden and the rest are expected to appeal the verdict, but they are also facing criminal charges filed by former California Attorney General Kamala Harris that include conspiracy, breach of confidentiality, wire tapping, and trespassing. Their videos did prompt investigation into Planned Parenthood on the Federal level and the Department of Justice is currently investigating. If there is any justice left in the Department, or the United States, surely these heinous practices will not be allowed to continue.
Flooding Venice
While famous for its canals, Venice has been wetter than usual recently. Exceptionally high tides have inundated the city. Many historic buildings have been damaged, perhaps irreparably, and the Mayor has estimated the repair bill will run into the hundreds of millions. Though catastrophic, this is not the first time the lagoon city has flooded.
The highest tide on record actually dates back to 1966. The government immediately commissioned plans to be drawn up for a barrier to protect the city. Forty-seven years later, in 2003 construction began! (The Italian government is not known for its efficiency.) Completion was scheduled for 2011 but has now tentatively been pushed back to the end of 2021. The cost is now estimated to be 5.5 billion euros, up from the initial projection of 1.6 billion. Maintenance costs will be about 100 million euros a year.
The “cutting edge” system involves 78 movable barriers, submerged in the sea, that will rise when activated, theoretically protecting the Venetian lagoon from exceptionally high tides. Alas, though not yet operational much of the infrastructure has already begun to rust. Adding insult to injury, experts are clamoring that the barrier may be obsolete in a few decades. It will be no match for the even higher tides sure to be brought about by climate change! Ironically, the system is named “Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico” the acronym being “Mose,” an intentional reference to Moses and the parting of the Red Sea.
Judicial Conservatism
In spite of all the impeachment hullabaloo, Donald Trump has been busily fulfilling one of his campaign promises. While the nation has been focused on testimony in the House of Representatives, the Senate has confirmed the appointment of Barbara Lagoa to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
This is just the latest achievement in Trump’s efforts to shift the Federal Judiciary to the right (pun intended). In addition to two Supreme Court Justices, Trump has appointed 48 appeals court judges and 112 district court judges. Filling lower court vacancies may not generate many sensational headlines but it will have a definite and lasting effect on our country.
Pointless
The United Kingdom now takes weapons control to an absurd level. Anyone carrying a blade more than three inches long “without good reason” could be on the wrong side of the law. The upsurge of fatal stabbings in recent years has led to more strict enforcement, though the root cause may lie somewhere other than the knife itself. Moreover, many of the confiscations and apprehensions seem more like Monty Python than the work of serious law enforcement. The definition of “blade” has been somewhat loose. A man was charged in 2018, facing up to four years imprisonment, for having “an article which had a blade or which was sharply pointed, namely a potato peeler.” What’s next, a man armed with a banana?
5G Is Coming
Widespread implementation of new “5th Generation” cellular internet technology is underway by all four major U.S. carriers. While full scale, stand alone 5G coverage is likely still years away, companies are racing to provide even limited access for large cities. Most commonly this is through “millimeter wave” broadcasting towers. Transmission is “line of sight” and requires a station to be built every few hundred yards, sparking health concerns due to radiation and worries about interference with weather radar. While current 4G networks support over 100,000 devices per square mile, 5G will be able to handle over 1 million. Speed and reliability will also be greatly increased. This will allow the so-called “internet of things” (refrigerators, medical devices, your dog’s collar) to grow exponentially and many predict it will begin to make autonomous vehicles, whole new weapons systems, and a hitherto unimaginable level of surveillance possible.
Israel’s Deep State Goes After Netanyahu
It appears that Benjamin Netanyahu is in a similar situation to President Trump. Israel has its liberal media that hates Netanyahu and wants him deposed permanently. The most recent election results have been inconclusive, with neither Netanyahu nor his rival Benny Gantz able to form the required coalition. So the thing remains in limbo, with Netanyahu apparently still carrying out the duties of Prime Minister. Meanwhile, he’s under criminal indictment. Something about cigars and champagne from a visiting potentate, years ago. They’ve accused PM Netanyahu of “bribery, fraud and breach of trust.” That sounds mighty familiar, doesn’t it? May he do to his accusers what Trump does to his. They are close friends by all accounts, and it seems that they have much in common. Either way, Israel looks to be facing another national election in three months. And you thought we have troubles!
No Peace for Iraq
Turmoil in Iraq is so commonplace that perhaps if there were peace it would be more noteworthy. Iraq has gone from war with Iran to war with the United States. They’ve been cruelly oppressed by Saddam Hussein, overrun by ISIS, interspersed with periods of sectarian violence. The demonstrations currently underway are the largest since Saddam’s downfall in 2003. At this writing 325 people have been killed since the demonstrations began in October. Protesters have surrounded the Green Zone in Baghdad and still control three important bridges. Government forces have used live ammunition on the crowds, injuring thousands in addition to those killed. Many deaths have also resulted from tear gas canisters aimed intentionally at protesters’ heads. The current unrest is generally attributed to widespread poverty, lack of services and employment opportunity as well as rampant government corruption and unfulfilled promises.
Here’s What They Can Do With That Chip!
For a couple of years now, people at certain companies and institutions have lined up to have tiny microchips implanted in their right hands, between the thumb and forefinger. Ah, the convenience of it all. They can just pass their hand over a scanner, and presto, they’ve paid for their vending machine choices. Door scanners recognize them immediately and unlock automatically. The little chip is no larger than a grain of rice, and employees who opted in at Three Square Market in Wisconsin got a free T-shirt announcing to the world, “I Got Chipped.” It’s probably more of a status symbol than having the latest iPhone.
The chip was invented and manufactured in Sweden, where proponents expect to make the whole country “cashless” within a few years. Unlike simple chips that go on a dog collar and help locate lost pets, programmers have been able to adapt the technology to automatically make phone calls and somehow even access the Internet. These technology geniuses have exulted that it’s like having your body online! Oh, they’re “super excited,” because this technology can be “bio-enabled” to monitor every aspect of internal health: heartbeat, blood oxygen levels, temperature and breathing patterns. Who would have guessed that this is where technology would take us.
Those who worry (and there are many) that this sounds eerily similar to Mark of the Beast prophecies in the Bible are dismissed as hopelessly behind the times. But then that goes for nearly every other aspect of societal demands. You must accept all the new norms of the mainstream, many of which contradict belief in God and go in direct contravention of His Laws, or be ridiculed mercilessly by the mainstream media and be treated as if you don’t exist by ALL large corporations. We’ve already given up nearly every aspect of privacy with the advent of smart-phones and all the conveniences they afford. How long before the world’s populations get “chipped,” and governments get the power described in the book of Revelation? At least smart phones can be disabled or left behind, and that’s one luxury that would be lost should this “exciting” technology catch on.
Shoplifting Protected in Socialist Utopia
California’s leadership is the author of many of the horrible problems driving thousands out of the former paradise. You don’t need us to tell you of the rampant homeless situation that’s been allowed to spread out of control. Not only do they have bums living in filth all up and down the streets, they’ve created a crime wave that’s killing businesses. It seems that theft and shoplifting is way down the list of law enforcement priorities, so they’ve reduced the penalty for any theft under the amount of $950 to a misdemeanor. So now, the “homeless” can steal whatever they want, run out the door and sell it for half the price, then go back and steal some more to support their homeless habits. Reports say it’s become brazen and takes place often in broad daylight. Nothing will be done about petty theft, so it’s become a way of life for the down and out all across the state, spreading from San Francisco.
And as goes California, we’ve learned the hard way, so goes the nation. These types of policies are already in effect nationwide, where an employee is not even allowed to make contact with a thief carrying stolen goods from a store, under penalty of being fired. So that means a petty thief can shoplift at will, as long as he doesn’t go over the amount deemed a felony. It’s another milestone on the road to communist Utopia.
