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Sunday, December 31, 2023
Boston construction: How sky high costs drive the housing crisis
Boston construction: How sky high costs drive the housing crisis: Many forces drive the housing crisis here, and the sky-high cost of construction is one of the most powerful.
‘Tremendously Damaging’: Here’s The Most Aggressive Restrictions Biden’s EPA Pushed On Americans In 2023 | The Daily Caller
‘Tremendously Damaging’: Here’s The Most Aggressive Restrictions Biden’s EPA Pushed On Americans In 2023 | The Daily Caller: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated several aggressive climate regulations in 2023 that could seriously alter the American economy.
The world is one wrong move from catastrophe – there are ten ways it could happen
The world is one wrong move from catastrophe – there are ten ways it could happen: After a year of close shaves, the global economy's luck may very well run out in 2024
HHRG-118-FD00-20231130-SD001.pdf
HHRG-118-FD00-20231130-SD001.pdf
https://www.congress.gov/118/meeting/house/116615/documents/HHRG-118-FD00-20231130-SD001.pdf
CTIL Files #1: US And UK Military Contractors Created Sweeping Plan For Global Censorship In
2018, New Documents Show
Whistleblower makes trove of new documents available to Public and Racket, showing the birth
of the Censorship Industrial Complex in reac�on to Brexit and Trump elec�on in 2016
Family Estrangement: The Reason Young People Are Cutting Off Their Parents
Family Estrangement: The Reason Young People Are Cutting Off Their Parents: Cosmopolitan explores the extraordinary rise in family estrangement across the country—and what's leading millennials and Gen Zers to their breaking point.
(230) Go to Joseph - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon - YouTube
(230) Go to Joseph - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon - YouTube: Friends, we come to the wonderful Feast of the Holy Family. Over the years on this feast day, I’ve certainly preached on the dynamics of the Holy Family, on ...
[Salon] Haaretz editorial: "Israel Must Increase Humanitarian Aid to Gaza Civilians."
https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/editorial/2023-12-31/ty-article-opinion/israel-must-increase-humanitarian-aid-to-gaza-civilians/0000018c-bc6b-db94-afbd-bc7b38550000
Israel Must Increase Humanitarian Aid to Gaza Civilians
Haaretz EditorialDec 31, 2023
Israeli media is largely hiding from the public the extent of the destruction, death and humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip as a result of the war. What little information manages to penetrate the mainstream media's obscuring wall comes from foreign sources, or, through social media, from people suspected of bias in favor of the enemy, or from international organizations presented in Israel as biased against Israel.
Thus, even when the public is exposed to information about what is happening in Gaza, its veracity is questioned, or it is seen as anti-Israel propaganda.
The fact that Israelis do not know or do not want to know about the unprecedented humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip will not exempt them in the future, when they are exposed to its dimensions, from guilt or possibly from international law. Supporting a war and identifying with its goals do not require accepting harm to the civilian population of the kind happening in Gaza. A just war does not excuse bringing about a humanitarian disaster of the magnitude that is taking place in Gaza.
According to the UN's World Food Programe, about half of Gaza's population is in a state of severe or extreme hunger. Ninety percent of Gaza's more than two million residents are going a whole day without food, often. The World Food Programme's chief economist Arif Husain said: "I have never seen something at the scale that is happening in Gaza. And at this speed."
According to UNICEF, many children are in mortal danger due to malnutrition and disease spread. No water, no food, no medicine, no infrastructure. It can be assumed, and the testimonies of the returned hostages confirm, that the 129 Israeli hostages still held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip are also affected by the harsh humanitarian situation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is allowing the passage of humanitarian aid shipments to the Gaza Strip, some through the Kerem Shalom crossing. But he only does so under American pressure. If it were not for this pressure, the government, which depends on extremists for its survival, would prefer to reduce humanitarian aid to the Gazan population as leverage over Hamas.
The aid provided is the price Israel is forced to pay in return for ongoing American support for continuation of the war, including undermining a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
The problem is that even that aid which Israel allows into the Gaza Strip is far from enough. The 190 trucks that enter Gaza daily with Israel's approval provide only about 10 percent of the needs of Gazans. Last week, at the request of the United States, Israel began discussing developing a mechanism to introduce Israeli humanitarian aid.
This is an important and appropriate move. The ministers from the government's extreme right – according to whom there are no uninvolved people in Gaza and everyone, including children and babies, are Hamas – should not be allowed to torpedo this move.
The above article is Haaretz's lead editorial, as published in the Hebrew and English newspapers in Israel.
Saturday, December 30, 2023
Djibouti not to partake in US-led naval coalition against Yemen | Al Mayadeen English
Djibouti not to partake in US-led naval coalition against Yemen | Al Mayadeen English: Djibouti's Foreign Minister stated that Djibouti is reluctant to participate in the alliance despite that the suspension of maritime trade in the Bab el Mandeb could potentially harm Djibouti's economy.
FM: John Whitbeck
The pro-Israel Red Sea naval coalition recently announced by the U.S. government has been struggling to attract active participants.
When the Pentagon announced that 20 countries would be contributing to this coalition, it admitted, bizarrely, that eight of them did not wish their participation to be publicy disclosed, which gave rise to inevitable questions as to why, if these eight countries exist, they would be embarrassed to have their participation known. In addition, several of the 12 countries publicly named have since disclaimed any participation in this coalition or made clear that they would only be contributing one or two people to be based in Bahrain.
In a remarkable demonstration of unintimidated independence and principled pro-Palestine solidarity, reported in the article transmitted below, Djibouti, located on the Bab el Mandeb and host to a large American naval base, has declined to participate, with its foreign minister stating that Djibouti considers Yemeni attacks on Israeli-linked vessels "legitimate relief for the Palestinians" and that "If Palestine does not find relief elsewhere, may God bless the relief provided by the Yemenis."
Indeed, Yemen is the only Arab country which has been providing any useful support to Palestine since October 7.
Friday, December 29, 2023
Israel’s Genocide Betrays the Holocaust
Israel’s Genocide Betrays the Holocaust: By obscuring and falsifying the lessons of the Holocaust we perpetuate the evil that defined it.
Billionaires, imperialists, and antisemites: The forces behind the assault on opposition to Gaza genocide - World Socialist Web Site
Billionaires, imperialists, and antisemites: The forces behind the assault on opposition to Gaza genocide - World Socialist Web Site: The effort to criminalize support for the Palestinian people has been especially vile on college campuses.
Harvard business grads facing worrisome reality that's affecting everyone - TheStreet
Harvard business grads facing worrisome reality that's affecting everyone - TheStreet: This isn't common for the world-renowned university.
Thursday, December 28, 2023
Biden's border surge in 2023 has surpassed the total populations in each of 17 US states | Law Enforcement Today | lawenforcementtoday.com
Biden's border surge in 2023 has surpassed the total populations in each of 17 US states | Law Enforcement Today | lawenforcementtoday.com: In 2023, at least 2,953,676 illegal aliens have entered the United States illegally, surpassing the total population in e...
Washington puts forward G7 plan to confiscate $300bn in Russian assets
Washington puts forward G7 plan to confiscate $300bn in Russian assets: Proposal would accelerate preparations in time for a February summit to show solidarity with Ukraine
Webinar | Stop America’s sell-off – and sell-out – Committee on the Present Danger: China
Webinar | Stop America’s sell-off – and sell-out – Committee on the Present Danger: China: Webinar | Stop America’s sell-off – and sell-out
☕️ SHIFTY SHIFTING ☙ Thursday, December 28, 2023 ☙ C&C NEWS 🦠
☕️ SHIFTY SHIFTING ☙ Thursday, December 28, 2023 ☙ C&C NEWS 🦠: Biden shifting Ukraine strategy as election season heats up; Russian high school history textbook on the 2020 election; persistent covid preprint predicts pandemic of heart attacks; and lots more.
There Was No Cover-Up of Hamas’s Sexual Violence on October 7
There Was No Cover-Up of Hamas’s Sexual Violence on October 7
https://twitter.com/RnaudBertrand/status/1740266868685021572
Incredible, the Biden administration now says that Ukraine will have to sacrifice territory and “that’s been our theory of the case throughout”:
https://politico.com/news/magazine/2023/12/27/biden-endgame-ukraine-00133211
It's certainly not the theory of the case they told the Western public throughout...
And this BEGS the question: if the theory was always that Ukraine would lose out, why refuse to negotiate with Russia when there was a possibility not to have this war?
Wednesday, December 27, 2023
Fr. Bob's Advent Reflection - Fourth Week
Fr. Bob's Advent Reflection - Fourth Week - micheletkearney@gmail.com - Gmail
As we approach the celebration of the birth of our Savior, I consider one of the most frequent assurances in scripture: “Do not be afraid.”
It dots the Old and New Testaments. The Lord tells Moses “Do not be afraid” before making a covenant with him. Gabriel tells a terrified Daniel, “Do not be afraid.” And Gabriel tells Mary, who is troubled at being told she will bear a Child, “Do not be afraid.”
What does this say to you and me? What does it mean? It is not blanket prohibition, as if fear were a Jewish or Christian contradiction. At times, we have good reason to be afraid. When you lose your job after many years with the same company. In some of our cities, violence, crime and drugs are rampant. People are afraid when they have no access to healthcare; when they are hungry or homeless. Jesus was afraid in the garden, when He begged His Father not to let Him die.
How do we understand the Lord’s assurance, “Do not be afraid?” What is the positive side? Isaiah gives us a clue. The Lord will give you a sign: “A woman is to be with Child and shall bear a Son. His name means, God is with us.”
Here is God in our flesh and blood; God walking as we walk. Hungry, as we hunger. Tired, as we tire. God healing human illness with a touch, instilling courage into hopeless hearts. And yet, this God would be betrayed with a kiss, lashed with whips, crowned with thorns and nailed to a cross. But, He rose and ascended to the Father and He remains with us in the Sacrament on the altar.
So what does this say to fear? It tells us that God is not only in His Heaven, but with us, to save us. Not only from sin, but from fear.
What we have at Christmas is a terrible desire on God’s part to be with us. To be part of us. To be a part of our wins and our losses. Christmas should not be an end to all fear, but it should be the beginning of a fresh love for God, who became what we are, so we could be like Him.
This year, try to see the Christmas crib as a challenge; as an assurance. Kneeling at the crib should let you know God is with you. God is loving. God is caring. Look to the crib and then look to the cross and think, “All this, for me.” And, do not be afraid.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Robert Warren, S.A.
Spiritual Director
Israeli Lawmakers Keep Pushing for Transfer Under the Guise of Humanitarian Aid - Haaretz Editorial - Haaretz.com
Israeli Lawmakers Keep Pushing for Transfer Under the Guise of Humanitarian Aid - Haaretz Editorial - Haaretz.com
With help from some rare truth-telling by Israel's political leadership, even Israelis are starting to realize that the ground war to "eradicate Hamas" and free captives is simply a cover and distraction from the Israeli government's true objective -- achieving "transfer" by destroying everything necessary to sustain life and making the Gaza Strip literally unlivable.
It may be worth recalling that the Knesset once featured a party, Moledet, whose sole issue was advocacy of the transfer of the entire Palestinian population outside of historical Palestine. Its leader, Rehavam Ze'evi, made one of the rare pronouncements by an extreme-right-wing Israeli leader with which I can agree: "If transfer is not ethical, then everything that we have done here for the past hundred years is wrong."
His political successors, now deemed mainstream, are currently making the argument that transfer is not just ethical but humanitarian.
Tuesday, December 26, 2023
Russia and China on Brink of a Military Alliance, May Overwhelm the US
Russia and China on Brink of a Military Alliance, May Overwhelm the US: Russia and China are drawing closer together amid an intensifying rivalry with the US.
'Israel' receives 244 US cargo planes, 20 ships of military equipment | Al Mayadeen English
'Israel' receives 244 US cargo planes, 20 ships of military equipment | Al Mayadeen English: Israeli media reports say that there hasn't been a single instance since the onset of the war war where the Air Force refrained from striking or ground forces from firing due to an ammunition shortage.
At a megachurch Christmas Eve service outside Atlanta, a call for a ceasefire – Mondoweiss
At a megachurch Christmas Eve service outside Atlanta, a call for a ceasefire – Mondoweiss
This is both morally admirable and politically important. https://mondoweiss.net/2023/12/at-a-megachurch-christmas-eve-service-outside-atlanta-a-call-for-a-ceasefire/
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(225) 1942 Christmas Message of Pope Pius XII - YouTube
(225) 1942 Christmas Message of Pope Pius XII - YouTube
This Christmas, let’s keep in mind the reality of Christ’s incarnation and His salvific promises. Living out these truths of our Faith requires us to be Christ to others in this fallen world. Pope Pius XII was very insistent on calling Christians to be the crusaders and guiding lights in the darkness of the secular world around us. In his Christmas address from 1942, he explains this idea more fully:
“Where could this noble and holy crusade for the cleansing and renewal of society have a more significant consecration or find a more potent inspiration than at Bethlehem, where the new Adam appears in the adorable mystery of the Incarnation? For it is at His fountains of truth and grace that mankind should find the water of life if it is not to perish in the desert of this life; ‘of His fullness we all have received.’ His fullness of grace and truth flows as freely today as it has for twenty centuries on the world. His light can overcome the darkness, the rays of His love can conquer the icy egoism which holds so many back from becoming great and conspicuous in their higher life.
Do you, crusader-volunteers of a distinguished new society, lift up the new call for moral and Christian rebirth, declare war on the darkness which comes from deserting God, on the coldness that comes from strife between brothers? It is a fight for the human race, which is gravely ill and must be healed in the name of conscience ennobled by Christianity.”
aleteia.org/blogs/aleteia-blog/st-stephen-pray-for-us/
aleteia.org/blogs/aleteia-blog/st-stephen-pray-for-us/
Today the Church celebrates St. Stephen, who was one of the first seven deacons of the Church and became the first Christian martyr. Stephen was stoned to death in 36 AD.
As we celebrate St. Stephen’s feast day on the day after Christmas, it is a reminder that Christ is the only person who “came into the world to die,” as Ven. Fulton Sheen remarked in his Life of Christ. St. Stephen was the first to conform to Him in His death.
Monday, December 25, 2023
Biden’s attack on Nord Stream pipelines was aimed at Germany – Seymour Hersh — RT World News
Biden’s attack on Nord Stream pipelines was aimed at Germany – Seymour Hersh — RT World News: The Nord Stream sabotage was ultimately prompted by fears that Berlin might drop its support for Ukraine, Seymour Hersh claims
Sunday, December 24, 2023
Nuclear power's future opposed by some progressive groups | National News | kpvi.com
Nuclear power's future opposed by some progressive groups | National News | kpvi.com: (The Center Square) - One nuclear power plant can produce the same amount of electricity as 2,077 wind turbines. And some of the larger wind turbines are taller than the
US takes aim at financial institutions with new Russia sanctions authority | Reuters
US takes aim at financial institutions with new Russia sanctions authority | Reuters
U.S. Targets Moscow via New Sanctions Aimed at Third Countries Still Doing Business with Russia
Carl Osgood
December 23, 2023
The Biden Administration still fantasizes that it can impose strategic defeat on Russia using just about the only tool it has left short of nuclear weapons, that is, sanctions. Yesterday, President Joe Biden signed an executive order allowing the U.S. to impose another level of sanction enforcement on Russia targeting financial institutions that have allegedly indirectly have allowed Russia to keep building its war arsenal. “The new executive order by the President will simply give us a tool that will allow us to go after financial institutions that failed to make the choice to either stop allowing their companies to ship these goods to the Russia’s military industrial complex, or getting out of business with Russia,” a senior administration official said on a call with reporters, according to the White House transcript.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the new sanctions “will make clear to foreign financial institutions that facilitating significant transactions relating to Russia’s military industrial base will expose them to sanctions risk,” noting that the multiple rounds of sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies to date “have significantly degraded Russia’s ability to replace the equipment, materials, and technology it needs to fuel its aggression.”
According to a report in ABC News, Biden’s order is aimed at cracking down on an evasion tactic that has allowed Russia to continue to get access to financial institutions through other, smaller financial institutions, and buy materials they need for war. Russian sanctions, they say, have been a constant game of cat and mouse, and the new executive order marks the latest attempt to catch Russia in those tactics.
Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador in Washington, ridiculed the new sanctions by in effect, warning that they’ll do more harm to U.S. interests than Russia’s. “The White House is once again trying to demonstrate the notorious desire to inflict strategic defeat on Russia, including in the economic sphere,” he said in a statement posted on the embassy’s Telegram channel. “It is piling up more and more sanctions in futile attempts to put sticks in the wheels of the steady development of the Russian economy and to obstruct our special military operation.”
Antonov noted that for the most part, the new sanctions target institutions in third countries, not in Russia itself. “One can read an obvious desire to intimidate our partners, push them to cut off mutually beneficial ties with the Russian Federation under the fanfare of geopolitical slogans,” he said. “The U.S. seems not to understand or does not want to understand that with such reckless actions it is contributing to the fragmentation of the world economy, as well as undermining the status of dollar jurisdiction in the eyes of the Global South, and even of America’s satellites.
“Washington’s sanction fantasies cause additional damage to bilateral relations,” Antonov concluded. “Basically, they cross out any possibility of restoring mutually respectful dialogue between the great powers even on the short list of topics where Russia and the United States could still share similar positions.”
Saturday, December 23, 2023
Why Haven’t the Presidential Candidates Embraced or Even Mentioned AI?
Why Haven’t the Presidential Candidates Embraced or Even Mentioned AI?: Memo to presidential candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump: Assuming one of you will be elected president of the United States next year, many computer scientists believe you should be addressing w…
Israeli Economy Reels From Gaza Conflict as Labor Pool Shrinks - WSJ
Israeli Economy Reels From Gaza Conflict as Labor Pool Shrinks - WSJ: The outlook is dim as Palestinian workers are barred from entering Israel and Israelis are called for military duty.
Chief Rabbi Tells Pope Francis to 'Repent' for the 'Sin' of Criticizing Israeli Terrorism in Gaza
Chief Rabbi Tells Pope Francis to 'Repent' for the 'Sin' of Criticizing Israeli Terrorism in Gaza: Warren Goldstein, the Chief Rabbi of South Africa, told Pope Francis to 'repent' for his 'sin' of criticizing Israel's slaughter of civilians in Gaza as 'terrorism.
China Corporate Presence and Investment in the US
China Corporate Presence and Investment in the US: China has established a considerable corporate presence and investment in the US, contributing to the two countries economic exchanges.
The Fate of the West’s Water Crisis Rests With a 27-Year-Old - POLITICO
The Fate of the West’s Water Crisis Rests With a 27-Year-Old - POLITICO: Can J.B. Hamby find a way to convince California’s cities and farmers to cut a deal over the Colorado River?
Steven Koonin: Separating Climate Science from Propaganda | Ep. 22: Multimedia: The Independent Institute
Steven Koonin: Separating Climate Science from Propaganda | Ep. 22: Multimedia: The Independent Institute: Dr. Atlas interviews Professor Steven Koonin of NYU. Koonin served as Undersecretary for Science in the Department of Energy from 2009 to 2011 and was a professor at Cal Tech for nearly 30 years where he served as Vice President and Provost. They have a fascinating conversation about the science on climate change and the general state of science, as climate and energy have become so prominent in the media and public policy debates.
Jonathan Turley Lays Out How The Supreme Court Just Threw A Wrench Into Jack Smith’s Holiday Plans | The Daily Caller
Jonathan Turley Lays Out How The Supreme Court Just Threw A Wrench Into Jack Smith’s Holiday Plans | The Daily Caller: George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley predicted special counsel Jack Smith may “never see a March trial” Friday.
China Corporate Presence and Investment in the US
China Corporate Presence and Investment in the US: China has established a considerable corporate presence and investment in the US, contributing to the two countries economic exchanges.
Friday, December 22, 2023
Gas, Gaza, and Western imperialism – Mondoweiss
Gas, Gaza, and Western imperialism – Mondoweiss: Control of Mediterranean gas fields is not the reason for the current attack on Gaza, but the theft of Palestine’s natural resources has long been a goal of the Zionist settler-colonial project and its Western sponsors.
Malaysia says ‘can handle’ losses from Israeli cargo ban, as 4,000 containers wait at Port Klang | South China Morning Post
Malaysia says ‘can handle’ losses from Israeli cargo ban, as 4,000 containers wait at Port Klang | South China Morning Post: Experts say the ban is expected to bolster domestic support for PM Anwar Ibrahim, while Zim will be given ‘some time’ to make its own arrangements for the 4,000 containers stranded at Port Klang.
White House Says Nippon Steel’s $14.9 Billion Acquisition of US Steel Deserves 'Serious Scrutiny' | The Epoch Times
White House Says Nippon Steel’s $14.9 Billion Acquisition of US Steel Deserves 'Serious Scrutiny' | The Epoch Times: Purchase has sparked concern among lawmakers who fear deal may threaten national security and undermine vital domestic steel production.
Thursday, December 21, 2023
CIA Veteran: Biden's Proxy War in Ukraine Evokes Strong Memories of Vietnam Disaster
CIA Veteran: Biden's Proxy War in Ukraine Evokes Strong Memories of Vietnam Disaster: President Joe Biden's "Russia threat" narrative conjures up the now-debunked Cold War "domino theory" spearheaded by Washington during the war in Vietnam, Ray McGovern, a former CIA officer, told Sputnik's Critical Hour podcast.
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