Monthly Archives: June 2022

Pro-Aborts Spread Arson, Vandalism, And Insurrection After Dobbs – The Federalist

Posted: June 29, 2022 at 1:19 am

Left-wing violence predictably erupted over the weekend after the Supreme Court ruled 5-3-1 on Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade. While pro-life advocates celebrated at the Supreme Court building, the weekend opened with a series of attacks, protests, and arson from pro-abortion radicals. Abortionists attacked state capitol buildings, burned pro-life pregnancy clinics, and even stopped freeway traffic, accosting cars that kept driving with sticks all on the heels of weeks of attacks on pro-life pregnancy clinics, intimidation campaigns outside justices houses, and even an assassination attempt on Justice Brett Kavanaughs life.

The decision, though it eliminates Roes concocted right to abortion, does not make abortion illegal as the abortionist narrative spins. However, its enabled state legislators to outlaw abortion if they see fit. Any laws restricting abortion on the books are now enforceable, and Utah, Alabama, South Dakota, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Kentucky outlawed abortion the day of the decision. Six other states are due to follow with standing abortion bans that have a month to go into effect.

Losing the bulwark of control theyve had since 1973 is proving a stroke too far for the baby-killing movement, and it didnt take long for abortionists to make the jump to anarchists. The night of the decision, thousands of abortion supporters attempted to breach the Arizona capitol building, beating the doors and windows. The police deployed tear gas into the crowd and no one breached the building, AZ Central reported. Four were arrested on Saturday but released on Sunday.

While the Department of Homeland Security highlighted concerns over potential targeting of state and federal officials, according to a memo obtained by NBC News, pro-abortion radicals are using a map created by two University of Georgia professors to target pro-life pregnancy clinics. The Crisis Pregnancy Center Map gives the very street address of pro-life pregnancy clinics throughout the country, Fox News reported. An anarchist group in Washington state posted a link to the map, encouraging viewers to find your nearest fake abortion clinic on the Crisis Pregnancy Map.

In Longmont, Colo., a Christian pregnancy clinic was torched on Saturday morning. Officers arrived on scene around 3:20 a.m. to flames and graffiti messages. If abortions arent safe neither are you, one message threatened, with an anarchy symbol next to it.

Early Saturday morning in Lynchburg, Va., a pro-life pregnancy center was vandalized and its windows smashed. Four people were visible damaging the building on the security camera.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Younkin condemned the crime in a tweet Saturday evening, saying, There is no room for this in Virginia, breaking the law is unacceptable. This is not how we find common ground. Virginia State Police stands ready to support local law enforcement as they investigate.

In Portland, Ore., on Saturday, the night after the ruling, a black-garbed crowd of 100 or more set out on the street at 10 p.m., vandalizing and destroying what lay in their path. A flier announcing the march read, If abortions arent safe then you arent either, OregonLive reported. A pregnancy clinic was vandalized and several businesses had their windows smashed in until the demonstrations subsided around 10:45 p.m.

The night of the decision in downtown Los Angeles, a pro-abortion supporter reportedly threw a flame thrower at a police officer during a protest. The officer, one of four to be injured that night, was treated for burns, and his assailant is being charged with attempted murder.

Also in Los Angeles, a group of pro-abortion demonstrators shut down the highway on Friday, stopping cars and beating those that didnt stop with sticks.

In Washington D.C., protesters burned the American flag.

Despite growing violence, President Bidens Department of Justice has shown little interest in prosecuting the perpetrators.

Beth Whitehead is an intern at The Federalist and a journalism major at Patrick Henry College where she fondly excuses the excess amount of coffee she drinks as an occupational hazard.

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Never Forget How Vicious Was The Left’s Anti-Court Campaign – The Federalist

Posted: at 1:19 am

WASHINGTON, D.C. This is not normal.

That was a phrase bandied about with some frequency during the Donald Trump years. You can still see it from time to time on the bumpers of cars, next to the fading Im With Her sticker.

The left has weaponized the word normal to the point of farce. A secure border, fair trade, and fair defense deals were abnormal, we were told. Meanwhile, the administration that campaigned for normalcy instead ushered inflation into our economy, kicked nicotine out of cigarettes, and invited transvestite strippers into elementary school classrooms.

It becomes difficult to sort reality when words lose their meaning, which is why its easy to miss just how insane the unsuccessful campaign against the Supreme Court truly was.

While sure, a sitting chief executive lashing out at any and all critics on social media is a real departure from the modern presidency, the campaign of judicial espionage, targeted terror attacks and planned street violence all either ignored or tacitly sanctioned by the leaders of the House, Senate and executive was so far outside of normalcy that we havent seen it since the eve of the Civil War. The problem is that in politics, words now mean so little we sometimes struggle to categorize how abnormal our situation is.

It began inside the Supreme Court a formal yet somehow collegial institution, where ideologically opposed justices clash on paper in an atmosphere of mutual respect and even friendship, and where ambitious clerks work tirelessly and professionally. For these very reasons, the courthas become the last major American institution that commands broad respect among the people. That gravitas was tarnished when a draft abortion decision by Justice Samuel Alito was leaked to Politico.

Despite the promise of an intensive investigation, we still dont know if the leaker was a justice, a clerk, or maybe even a clerk acting on behalf of a justice. But we do know this: The leak more than six weeks before the final decision went public was intended not simply to publicize the decision, but to alter it.

Worse yet, theres evidence this plan could have worked. Indeed, its amazing it didnt. Because while the Supreme Court of the United States has managed to maintain an honorable image (while even such vaunted and historically apolitical institutions as the U.S. military have become mired), that doesnt mean its immune to outside pressure on even the weightiest of cases.

Chief Justice John Roberts, for example, infamously reversed his opinion on the Affordable Care Act after an intense political and media pressure campaign. But while feelings ran high during the Obamacare debate, there was never any honest expectation of violence.

On a question as intrinsically violent as abortion, however? Well, thats another matter entirely.Left-wing street violence has been steadily building for years (all while This Isnt Normal bumper stickers flew off the shelves and onto leftist cars, mind you), including a convenientlyforgotten pipe bomb planted at the Republican National Committees headquarters on Jan 6. So to be clear: Left-wing violence following the leak wasnt just possible, it was virtually assured. The spy leaked it anyways or more than anyways, because of.

The violence that followed the leak wasnt minor. Instead, it was reminiscent of the backlash against civil rights. Its included 18 Christian crisis pregnancy centers firebombed or otherwise vandalized, written and recorded threats directed at volunteers, and the attempted assassination of a presumed anti-abortion justice in his own home.

In the days following the leak, the streets and neighborhood surrounding the Supreme Court were shut down by unruly mobs. Weeks later, police responded in force to a publicly planned attack that fought to blockade the entrances and exits to the court. While the building itself remains heavily guarded and deputies patrol outside justices homes the terrorist group Janes Revenge put up posters around D.C. expressly calling for a violent riot if the court dared to send abortion back to the states.

None of this violence happened in a political vacuum, either. From Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumerspromise on theSupreme Courts steps that justices have released the whirlwind and will pay the price, to Sen. Elizabeth Warrens hoarse and bug-eyed curbside tantrum, the top Democratic brass loudly cheered on the mobs.

Over weeks of attacks, President Joe Biden repeatedly declined to condemn the terrorism against Christians and his political opponents, instead sending his press secretary out to condemn all violence.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi delayed a bill for weeks that further protected the justices and their families. That bill passed the Senate unanimously yet sat in the House, but at the White House,the former spokeswoman said, We certainly continue to encourage [peaceful protests] outside justices homes.

When asked why she delayed the bill the morning after the attempted assassination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the speaker said the justices werent under any immediate threat. She couldnt say the truth: that the pro-abortion campaign of violence and intimidation against the court was just heating up. It was just as the politicians of Northern Virginia couldnt adequately explain why they werent enforcing the law against protesting outside of judges homes.

To admit the truthmight be a step too far, even in an American political environment where words have been so thoroughly debased.

The professional left has long understood that if you debase words, you debase truth; and that very type of environment allows you to control truth: to decide what is riot and what is protest, what is mostly peaceful and what is violent, what is direct action and what is insurrection.

What is life, and what is choice.

What is normal, and what is not.

What is truth, and what is fiction.

Despite the howls, the lies and the violence, they failed; but it wont stop them. The Supreme Court persevered, and conservatives witnessed their most important victory since the defeat of the Soviet Union. We had to fight hard to get here, and we cant forget the hell they put us through to stop it.

The fight goes back to our people now, where it belongs. For America, that means the fight is just beginning.

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Here’s What Your Child’s School Should Be Teaching About US History – The Federalist

Posted: at 1:19 am

The United Statess education institutions were almost entirely formed for the major purposes of developing good citizens and, usually, faithful Christians. It is no secret that today most of Americas education institutions do the opposite. The result is an existential threat to the nation as its enemies work to destroy the most prosperous, most equal, and most free civilization in world history.

In a refreshingly positive, intellectually sound, and action-minded response to this national crisis, a group of top-notch scholars releases today a recommended curriculum blueprint for the K-12 study of American history and government. American Birthright is at once a redress of curricular grievances and a plan of action for the millions of American patriots who see the moral and intellectual injuries most American schools inflict on the rising generation and therefore the nation as a whole.

As the documents introduction notes, Too many Americans have emerged from our schools ignorant of Americas history, indifferent to liberty, filled with animus against their ancestors and their fellow Americans, and estranged from their country. This course of study seeks to address these major problems that result partly from a lack of accurate and patriotic American history instruction.

The document offers a set of academically robust guidelines for K-12 social studies curriculum that parents can ask their local and state school boards to adopt in the place of what now is largely anti-American curriculum standards. This is not just a K-12 curriculum outline, it is a bold American educational philosophy. The recommendations are a product of the Civics Alliance, coordinated by the apolitical and highly respected National Association of Scholars.

The alliance is a truly bipartisan coalition that includes highly respected scholars such as Glenn Loury of Brown University; Sandra Stotsky of the University of Arkansas; Stanley Kurtz of the Ethics and Public Policy Center; Harvey Mansfield of Harvard University; and Paul Rahe and Wilfred McClay of Hillsdale College (I am a more humble coalition supporter). You can also become a signatory here.

Whats inside this document? American Birthright provides the content knowledge in history, geography, civics, and economics that American citizens need to know so that they can preserve their liberty, the introduction states. The standards give recommended primary source documents, as well as biographies, American folk songs, literature, and other materials.

For example, the document recommends that fifth graders learn how town meetings and the common law affected the early development of American colonial governments. It recommends second graders learn the national anthem and other patriotic songs such as America, the Beautiful, as well as learning about the lives of significant Americans such as Whittaker Chambers, Rosa Parks, Sacagawea, Clarence Thomas, and Harriet Beecher Stowe.

American Birthright would have eighth-graders trace the development of Western Civilization back to the days of Hammurabi, to ancient Egypt, ancient Israel, and ancient Greece. It would have ninth graders read William Blackstone, the Rule of Saint Benedict, the Magna Carta, and Martin Luthers 95 Theses. Indeed, this curriculum blueprint aims at excellence, not just box-checking, and its recommended primary sources could be profitably studied by Americans of all ages and stations in life as an exercise in civic fidelity and growth.

I have read thousands of pages of what are called curriculum standards since the days of Common Core, and reading this set was a refreshing surprise. Its learning goals and plan for achieving those goals are clear and comprehensible to any literate person, which is in fact one aim of the enterprise.

Usually what pass for curriculum standards is essentially subliterate so full of meaning-lite education jargon as to be almost incomprehensible. Go read your own states so-called curriculum standards to see this yourself. Jargon is one way the education bureaucracy resists accountability to parents and voters. If principals, parents, and the like cant understand what teachers are supposed to do, they cant hold them accountable for it.

American Birthright, on the other hand, is readable, clear, and informative. Any parent could use the document to plan out his or her own course of after-school or homeschool study, as could any teacher or school district. And if a parent or school did so, they would graduate students far more civically minded and responsible than almost all American schools do today.

Thats why parents need to approach their schools, legislatures, and state boards of education and ask that start using American Birthright as their guide to U.S. history and government curricula immediately. It is also a useful document to use to measure the quality of civics and other instruction in a given school district.

Many school districts are considered to be good when they in fact add very little, if anything, to childrens natural gifts received from productive and intact homes. They coast on reputations that others work and virtues have earned. Measuring their curriculum and reading materials against this high-quality benchmark will give parents an accurate assessment of the actual quality of their childrens schools or potential schools.

Many will likely find that their schools do not measure up. Then its time to work to improve that situation, either by internal advocacy or leaving to find a truly good school, or both.

State lawmakers have zero legitimate excuses for failing to require this level of American history education in government-run schools immediately. Those who do not are failing to uphold their oaths to the U.S. Constitution and the people of their states by presiding over rampant anti-American instruction in American schools. These scholars have done a public service by carrying out all the substantive work needed; all policymakers need to do now is just say yes, thank you.

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Diversity, equity and inclusion update: June 2022 issue | CU Boulder Today – CU Boulder Today

Posted: at 1:18 am

Editors note: This is part of a monthly series of campus updates on diversity, equity and inclusion that will continue throughout the year.

The Juneteenth Flag flies below the Stars and Stripes during a flag-raising ceremony at the Penfield Tate II Municipal Building in Boulder. (Photo by Casey A. Cass/University of Colorado)

From left:Philip DiStefano, chancellor of CU Boulder; Junie Joseph, Boulder city councilwoman; and Sonia DeLuca Fernndez, senior vice chancellor for diversity, equity and inclusion at CU Boulder, chat before a June 17 raising of the Juneteenth flag at the Penfield Tate II Municipal Building in Boulder. (Photo by Casey A. Cass/University of Colorado)

CU Boulder and city of Boulder leaders and residents gathered on June 17 for a flag-raising ceremony to mark Juneteenth, Colorados newest official state holiday.

Chancellor Philip DiStefano and Senior Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Sonia DeLuca Fernndez were among the university and community leaders in attendance.

Earlier this month, CU Boulder critical ethnic studies doctoral student Shawn Trenell ONeal spoke about Juneteenth and its impact on the United States during a June 8 meeting of the Boulder Chambers Business Womens Leadership Group.

Juneteenth, traditionally celebrated on June 19, recognizes and celebrates the freedom and self-determination of African Americans and the end of slavery following the Civil War. It became a federal holiday in 2021, providing all Americans with an opportunity to deepen their understanding of the nations collective and diverse history.

ColoradoGov. Jared Polis signed a legislative bill into law in May designating Juneteenth an official state holiday, recognizing the importance of the date, also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day and the second Independence Day.

For the 2022 fiscal year, qualifying university employees are eligible to take a personal observance day to mark Juneteenth before Dec. 31 in consultation with supervisors. Learn more about Juneteenth asa floating holiday and how it willimpact the campus community.

Read more:Four things to know about Juneteenth

CUPD Chief of Police Doreen Jokerst, Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs JB Banks, and Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold celebrate Pride Month at a recent Boulder County Pride Week event.

Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold, left, and CUPD Police Chief Doreen Jokerst gather with members of the Boulder community during a parade to mark Pride Week, June 612.

Pride Month occurs each June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York City and to celebrate the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals across the United States.

However, recognizing and supporting students, staff and faculty who identify as LGBTQ+ is a yearlong commitment at CU Boulder, and the campus offers services and resources for anyone who needs support, wants to connect with others or would like to learn more about LGBTQ+ history, communities, resources and activities on campus and beyond.

Campus resources and support services are available to students, staff and faculty through the universitys Pride Office in the Center for Inclusion and Social Change.

University Libraries offers a Pride Month research guide for campus community members who want to connect with local LGBTQ+ organizations, attend local programming, become an ally or learn more about LBGTQ+ history and communities.

Beyond the campus, Boulder County marked Pride Month June 612, a celebration that drew the participation of CU Boulder community members and campus leaders.

In addition, CU was among the dozens of sponsors of the annual Denver PrideFest June 2326, which included a parade, a 5K race, a rally and other activities.

According to Wikipedia, Denver PrideFest, which drew 525,000 people in 2019, hosts the sixth-largest Pride celebration in the United States after New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston and Houston. New York City held the largest WorldPride festival in 2019, drawing an estimated 5 million people.

Read more:From Dont say gay to bathrooms and sports: How debates over LGBTQ+ rights impact kids

The Center for Inclusion and Social Change has scheduled summer UndocuAlly Zoom sessions for staff, faculty and students with administrative or teaching roles.

Participants will learn more about the makeup of the campuss undocumented community and the history of U.S. immigration and gain a greater understanding of the challenges, opportunities and resources available to undocumented students.

Participants will also learn more about the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Colorados Advancing Students for a Stronger Economy Tomorrow (ASSET) and how these programs affect CU Boulder students.

The remaining summer session will take place from noon to 2 p.m. on July 22.

More information about how to register is available on the ODECE website.

Campus efforts and investments to address pressing and painful inequities at CU Boulder are only a beginning. Creating a culture of belonging will take each member of our community practicing sustained personal work to truly embrace and support diverse perspectives and identities in our community.

This year, Chancellor Philip DiStefano and other campus leaders urge every member of our community to join in learning more about diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism and to work continuously together to address these challenges more actively and in ways that can help authentically transform our campus culture in the coming year.

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Menendez, Schiff alarmed that Biden again approves US military aid to Azerbaijan – Armenian Weekly

Posted: at 1:18 am

WASHINGTON, DC Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence chair Adam Schiff (D-CA) reacted sharply to President Bidens decision to once again waive Section 907 restrictions on US aid to Azerbaijan, greenlighting new US military aid to the Aliyev regime despite its ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Armenian population of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

In a statement released on Friday, Chairman Menendez noted, I am deeply disappointed to see the Department of State once again make an exception to bypass Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act to provide what has become annual assistance to the regime in Baku. Adding insult to injury, the administration chose to move forward with this most recent waiver despite the recent publication of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report which confirmed the Department of State and Department of Defense have failed to meet statutory reporting requirements to Congress on the impact of U.S. assistance on the military balance between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Chairman Menendez continued, As Azerbaijan continues to further occupy territory from its violent assault on Nagorno-Karabakh, during which more than 6,500 people died and more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians were displaced in 2020, it simply makes no sense to say that U.S. assistance and training has not impacted its military balance with Armenia. I will continue to conduct rigorous oversight of any and all assistance to Azerbaijan and expect the Department of State to operate with complete transparency and provide all necessary details for Congress to assess any assistance provided to Baku.

In commentary released to the ANCA, Chairman Schiff pledged to work with Congressional allies and the Armenian American community to remove a presidents power to waive Section 907 and to urge the Biden administration to reinvigorate the peace process. Chairman Schiff explained, Azerbaijan is responsible for provoking a horrific war and humanitarian disaster in Armenia and Artsakh, killing thousands of Armenians over 44 days in September 2020 and forcing thousands more to flee their ancestral homelands. To this day, Azerbaijan continues to illegally detain Armenian soldiers who have been subject to torture, and to threaten thousands of innocent civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh who live in fear of another attack and invasion.

Chairman Schiff continued, Under no circumstances should the United States be providing military support to such a regime it not only runs counter to our nations core democratic values, but could empower the Aliyev regime to continue or escalate its provocative actions against Armenians. President Biden should not have waived Section 907.

ANCA executive director Aram Hamparian thanked Chairman Menendez and Chairman Schiff for calling out the Biden administrations reckless decision demanding stronger Congressional oversight and a stop to US military aid to Azerbaijan. Not a single penny in US tax-payer money should go to the overtly racist and openly aggressive Aliyev regime. We look forward to working with Chairman Menendez and Chairman Schiff and their colleagues on key committees in both the Senate and the House to oppose US subsidies for Azerbaijans genocidal violence against Artsakh and Armenia.

The ANCA has been running an online campaign condemning President Bidens decision and urging Congress to use every legislative vehicle possible to zero-out military aid to Azerbaijan.

On June 23, the Biden administration reportedly notified Congress of their decision to waive Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act. The measure, adopted in 1992, establishes statutory restrictions on US assistance to the Government of Azerbaijan until the President determines, and so reports to the Congress, that the Government of Azerbaijan is taking demonstrable steps to cease all blockades and other offensive uses of force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Congress included a Section 907 waiver in the FY2002 Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act. US presidents Republican and Democrat have waived Section 907 annually ever since.

During his run for office, on October 14, 2020, then-candidate Biden stated that the United States must fully implement and not waive requirements under Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act to stop the flow of military equipment to Azerbaijan. As President, he first reversed his position on the issue on April 23, 2021 on the eve of his historic announcement properly recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

A US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, issued earlier this year, revealed that the State Department consistently failed to inform Congress of the impact of over $164 million in assistance to Baku on the military balance between Azerbaijan and Armenia. According to the GAO, the US has provided about $808 million in overall US aid to Azerbaijan in fiscal years 2002 through 2020.

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and most influential Armenian-American grassroots organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.

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Egypt is cozying up to Russia. It’s time for the US to step in. – Atlantic Council

Posted: at 1:18 am

ByShahira Amin

In June, Russias state-owned atomic energy firm, Rosatom, made a surprise announcement that it would begin producing equipment for Egypts first nuclear power plant in the northwest town of El-Dabaa. The new development has raised concerns in the United States and Europe -which harbor resentment toward Russia for its aggression against Ukraine and see the continuation of the project as a sign of Egypt cozying up to Moscow.

The announcement, which came during a visit to Moscow by the head of Egypts Nuclear Power Plants Authority, marks a revival of an agreement signed by Egypt and Russia in 2015 and has seen little progress since. The decision to resume work on the controversial Dabaa civilian nuclear facility has also raised some skeptical eyebrows among observers in the US and Europe.

For one, Russiawhich has committed to financing 85 percent of the cost of the Dabaa project through a $25 billion loan over a twenty-two-year periodis engaged in the war in Ukraine that has led to the imposition of punitive, multilateral economic sanctions.

Egypt, meanwhile, has no pressing need for a nuclear facility, analysts argue. The North African country has an energy surplus thanks to growing investments in renewable energy and large oil and gas discoveries made in recent years. Production from Zohrone of the largest gas fields in the Mediterranean (discovered by Italian energy firm Eni in 2015)reached a record 2.74 billion cubic feet of gas per day in 2021. The addition of two new wells to the gas field is expected to further boost production in the coming months. Moreover, a $10 billion solar power facility is under construction in the southern city of Aswan, with the potential to produce the same amount of energy as Dabaa (at just one-third of the latters cost). This renders the Aswan facility far more cost-effective and without the potential environmental risks posed by the Dabaa facility.

Egyptian officials insist, however, that the countrys future energy securityand population growthnecessitate diversification of energy sources, including nuclear and coal.

They see the construction of the Dabaa facility as a means of catalyzing the countrys shift to a low-carbon economy: nuclear energy is low-carbon and can supply the Arab Worlds most populous country with clean, reliable, and affordable electricity, one security official told me. Egypts Integrated Energy Strategy aims to raise power production from renewable sources to more than 40 percent by 2035. Not surprisingly, the project is being touted in Egyptian media as one that would improve the living standards of Egyptians. The project also aligns with Egypts ambition to become a regional energy hub for Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Middle East. Toward that end, Egypt has been implementing fiscal reform and constructing energy interconnections (besides its marked shift toward renewable energy resource development.)

Meanwhile, the Russian war in Ukraine and subsequent push by the US and its European allies to abandon the use of Russian fossil fuels, offers an opportunity for Egypt to step in and plug the gap in gas supplies to Europe through increased production and exports. Agreements have already been signed by Eni and the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company, EGAS, for Egypt to provide EuropeItaly in particularwith 3 billion cubic meters of liquified natural gas in 2022.

Seeing a solid partner in Russia and grateful to the latter for its support, Egypt has refused to cave in to pressure from US and European allies to blatantly condemn the Russian war in Ukraine. Egypt has instead chosen to remain neutral in the conflict and has rejected the idea of imposing sanctions on Russia despite the fact that the country, too, is suffering from the implications of the ongoing war. Egyptthe bulk of whose wheat imports had come from Russia and Ukraine before the waris now having to turn to alternative wheat import sources like Romania, France, and India, and is also paying a lot more for its imports. As Egypt grapples with a growing budget deficit and a shortage in foreign currency reserves, the country is paying up to US$ 480 per ton for imported wheat an approximately 78 percent increase iover the original price (US$270) paid before the war.

Addressing the International Economic Forum held in St. Petersburg on June 15-18, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi praised Egypts distinguished relations with Russia. He noted that the two countries were implementing large and ambitious projects, citing the Dabaa facility as one such project. Russia is also enhancing its cooperation with Egypt by establishing a Russian industrial zone in the Suez Canal, which is expected to attract $7 billion in investmentsand is also helping develop Egypts dilapidated rail network.

The two countries have enjoyed close relations for decades, but ties have grown stronger since President Sisi came to power in 2014. Irked by criticism from the US and European leaders in regard to grave human rights abuses committed by his regime, Sisi has sought to diversify Egypts global partnerships by cementing ties with his Russian counterpartan autocrat unconcerned with democracy and human rights.

Sisi, meanwhile, continues to be wary of the US, since the latter threw its weight behind the pro-democracy activists that led the 2011 uprising against dictator Hosni Mubarak, and was later willing to give democracy a chance by acquiesing to Muslim Brotherhood rule. The US went further, suspending n 2013 a portion of the $1.3 billion it annually gives to Egypt over the bloody crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, according to a CNN report. Although the US released the suspended aid in 2015, the suspension had already caused a strain in US-Egypt relations.

In September 2021, the US State Department announced plans by the Joe Biden administration to withhold $130 million worth of military aid to Egypt until the latter takes specific steps related to human rights. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly characterized allegations of human rights violations as interference in the countrys internal affairs and misinformation spread by the opposition.

If the US wishes to bolster its cooperation with Egypt, it may need to do what the European Union (EU) has done: water down its criticism of Egypts human rights situation and look out for its interests. So long as Sisi halts the flow of illegal migration from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to Europeand continues his counter-terrorism efforts, the EU is willing to turn a blind eye to any excesses and bolster the Egyptian militarys arsenal through increased European arms sales to Egypt (notably from Germany and France.) This unspoken agreement has prompted Egypt to sign a long-delayed partnership deal with the EU to be implemented over the next five years. Priorities of the new partnership include helping Egypt build a sustainable and resilient economy through green and digital transition, energy, rural development, and supporting the country in tackling its food security challenge.

That isnt to say that the US and EU should disregard their core values of respect for human rights, equality, freedom, and democracy. Rather, the West should continue to press for political reforms through enhanced support and greater cooperation to build mutual trust.

In his address to the St. Petersburg Forum, Sisi acknowledged that Egypt is feeling the pinch of the global economic crisis and called fora collaborative effort from all parties to address the crisis.

The US would do well to heed the call by continuing to extend support to its North African ally in this time of economic upheaval and uncertainty. The Biden administration has made no secret of its plan to withdraw fromor at least downsize the US footprint in the Middle East. The decision has left countries in the region feeling vulnerableabandoned even as their leaders had looked to the US for support during the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, food shortages, and the impact of climate change, to name a few.

It isnt surprising that Russia would step in to regain its position in MENA and fill a potential vacuum created by the US disengaging from the region and shifting its focus to the Russian war and China. As Egypt continues its war against terrorism in the Sinai and struggles to lift its economy from imminent recession, the US needs to reconsider its policy vis-a-vis MENAin particular, Egypt, whose stability is key for the stability of the region.

Supporting Egypt is a win-win, as it would guarantee that the US has a reliable partner to work with, especially when conflicts arise in the region. Egypt has, on several occasions, proved its mettle as a mediator between Israel and the Palestinians. Such support would also ensure Cairos commitment to continuing the economic and political reformsit has started which are in the interests of both the US and Egypt. Now is the time for the US to cooperate more with Egypt, not less.

Shahira Amin is an independent journalist based in Cairo. A former contributor to CNNs Inside Africa, Amin has been covering the development in post-revolution Egypt for several outlets including Index on Censorship and Al-Monitor. Follow her on Twitter @sherryamin13.

Image: Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi speaks with Russia's President Vladimir Putin during the first plenary session as part of the 2019 Russia-Africa Summit at the Sirius Park of Science and Art in Sochi, Russia, October 24, 2019. Sergei Chirikov/Pool via REUTERS

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PM to say to G7 leaders: We must keep up our resolve on Ukraine – GOV.UK

Posted: at 1:18 am

Any sign of fatigue or wavering in Western support for Ukraine will play directly into President Putins hands, the Prime Minister will tell world leaders this week at the first in-person gathering of G7 leaders since Putins full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The first few weeks and months of the Ukrainian resistance have been characterised by overwhelming global unity and a huge surge of support for the Ukrainian people. It is essential that this is sustained for the long term. Russias behaviour and the atrocities Putin is committing must not become normalised in the eyes of the world.

During his second visit to Kyiv since the outbreak of war last week, the Prime Minister spoke to President Zelenskyy about the urgent needs of the Ukrainian Government. This includes military support, opening up the routes out of the country blockaded by the Russian military and urgent financial support to allow the Ukrainian state to function.

The Ukrainian Government fears it could run out of funding by the autumn unless it is given urgent financial help. To help with this pressing need the UK stands ready to provide another $525 million (or 429 million) in guarantees for World Bank lending later this year.

The new support announced today brings the total amount of fiscal support including UK loan guarantees to 1.3 billion ($1.5 billion) and the combined UK economic and humanitarian support to Ukraine to 1.5 billion ($1.8 billion) this year.

President Zelenskyy will virtually address the G7 Summit today. Following his address, the Prime Minister will use an intervention at the Summit to rally support for Ukraine. He will encourage all G7 countries to back Ukraine in the long-term, building on the significant pledges already made since February.

The Prime Minister said:

Future generations will be awed and inspired by the truly heroic Ukrainian resistance in the face of Putins barbarism.

Ukraine can win and it will win. But they need our backing to do so. Now is not the time to give up on Ukraine.

The UK will continue to back Ukraine every step of the way, because we know that their security is our security, and their freedom is our freedom.

UK loan guarantees are playing an important role in closing Ukraines financing gap, enabling Multilateral Development Banks like the World Bank to lend far more than they otherwise could to the Ukrainian Government. This lending is covering costs like Ukrainian public sector wages, and the running of schools and hospitals.

These investments will help preserve the Ukrainian state. The UK only covers the cost of the loan if the Ukrainian Government is unable to pay. They are therefore both an investment in Ukraines strategic resilience and an expression of confidence in the countrys future.

Without international support, the Ukrainian Government would be forced to pursue paths which compromise their macro-economic stability and long-term economic security, including running down reserves and printing money. Policies like these would directly lead to mass inflation and humanitarian catastrophe in the country.

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Where have all the Christians gone? | News, Sports, Jobs – Williamsport Sun-Gazette – Williamsport Sun-Gazette

Posted: at 1:18 am

Is it just me, or have you also been noticing a growing trend among many Christian pastors and Church members in our country to replace traditional Christian values with a completely different set of beliefs? Here are some of the shifts I have noticed cropping up from behind the pulpit and in the pews:

FROM: My kingdom is not of this world

TO: My kingdom is the American Dream in the chosen land of the United States of America.

FROM: Worship no God but me. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

TO: A new Trinity: God, Guns and Country.

FROM: The inspired word of God is the Bible

TO: The inspired word of God is the Bible AND the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and the Pledge of Allegiance (see the new God Bless America Bible).

FROM: There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male or female, for you are all one in Christ

TO: The ideal kingdom is the United States, a nation made up of Christian, native born, religious, social, and fiscal conservative whites (now including right-minded descendants of previously excluded groups like Catholics, Italians, Jews and Greeks).

FROM: What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world if he loses his soul?

TO: Peoples worth is measured by the dollar value of all the stuff they own. Life is a continuous shopping spree for all things, big and small.

FROM: The last shall be first and the first shall be last

TO: Winning isnt everything, its the only thing. The whole purpose of life is winning.

FROM: Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing

TO Always get even. Better yet, two eyes for one.

FROM: Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?Jesus answered, I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times seven.

TO: Dont get mad. Get even. Forgiveness is for sissies.

FROM: Love your neighbor as yourself

TO: Whats in it for me?

FROM: The truth will set you free. Freedom consists not in doing what what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.

TO: Freedom is the absence of constraints of any kind. Nobody is going to tell me what to do.

FROM: Blessed are your eyes, because they see and your ears because they hear.

TO: What youre seeing and what your reading is not what is happening.

FROM: Whatever you do to these the least of my brethren, you do to me.

TO: Nobody ever gave me anything. I got everything I have on my own. Everyone,even the bootless should lift himself up by his own bootstraps.

FROM: I am my brothers keeper. Were all in the same boat.

TO: Its every man for himself

FROM: Jesus loves the little children. All the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white; they are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

TO: Its okay to exclude, reject, mistreat, discriminate against and remain silent or even supportive when leaders whip up others to physically harm people because they are different from us in culture, ethnicity, skin pigmentation, origin, religious belief, or sexual orientation.

AND FROM: Blessed are the poor, the meek, the merciful, the pure of heart, peacemakers, those who mourn, those who hunger for justice, those persecuted for doing good, those insulted and lied about because of me. Rejoice and be glad for your reward will be great in heaven

TO: Get serious

Is this shift among many Christian shepherds and their flocks away from God as the Alpha and the Omega to Me as the Be All and End All of everything, from a religion of universal love to a religion of exclusionary nationalism really happening? I think so. But maybe it is just me. I sure hope so, because even if the Founding Fathers had wanted us to be a Christian nation, as many contend, I like to hope they were not thinking of such a perversion of Christs living example as I perceive we are witnessing.

Tim Mannello is a retired hospital executive and management consultant residing in Williamsport.

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Where have all the Christians gone? | News, Sports, Jobs - Williamsport Sun-Gazette - Williamsport Sun-Gazette

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Online gambling sites often employ the newest possibilities Retail Technology Innovation Hub – Retail Technology Innovation Hub

Posted: at 1:16 am

If you have ever looked for opportunities for Csgo odds or any other fun betting, you must have noticed that many of the sites employ some of the newest possibilities available.

In this article, we go through some of the most common new possibilities available on these sites and why they offer them.

Even though many players choose Csgo betting sites to place their bets from home, they still want to experience the magic of bricks and mortar options. To fulfill this wish, most gambling sites have started to provide live games for players.

You can find many types of live games online. The common factor with these games is that they are played in real-time, and mimic the real-life experience. By playing these games the player gets to experience a magical atmosphere without leaving their own home.

The games that are played on gambling sites often require money. This is simply because they are played also for money. Because of this gambling sites obviously need to provide different payment methods for their players.

Trustworthy gambling sites provide safe payment methods. Some of the sites focus on only providing one option, whereas others have a catalogue of different payment options. On these latter sites, players can often find even the newest methods on the market.

Talking of new innovations, the metaverse has been basically part of every conversation ever since the first plans of this were published. Some brands such as Victoria's Secret have already launched their first metaverse experiences.

Will the online gambling world jump into the metaverse as well? This is highly possible. Many gambling sites want to take advantage of all new innovations. Therefore, it wouldnt be surprising if some of them would launch metaverse experiences.

But why are gambling sites willing to take advantage of new innovations?

This is simply because the level of competition is so high. By introducing new possibilities to players before others do, gambling sites can take over the competition.

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Online gambling sites often employ the newest possibilities Retail Technology Innovation Hub - Retail Technology Innovation Hub

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The Online Gambling Law Didn’t Pass in NC and I’m Bummed – kiss951.com

Posted: at 1:16 am

Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Did you know that North Carolina lawmakers voted against online gambling and gaming this week? The bill actually looked pretty good going in having passed the House of Representatives. Ive been following this story for a while and am actually really bummed out about it. Im not a die-hard gambler dont get me wrong. But it would be fun to my join friends in NJ who can gamble a little money on games.

I love sports. I love picking teams to win or lose, or cover. It wouldve added a nice layer of entertainment for myself while watching these games. Maybe on a boring hot summers night betting on a MLB game would be fun right?

Imagine going to a Panthers or Hornets game. Walking up to a vending machine and placing a bet. Adding to the fun by having a financial rooting interest.

From what I read in various articles, some lawmakers voted against it because they feel like gambling could lead to many more addicts. I get that. But, addicts will find a way to gamble regardless. This bill wouldve been a way for NC to control gambling. They wouldve allowed 10 companies to offer online gambling and wouldve charged those companies to do so. That money was going to be used to help fund HBCUs, little league teams and other causes in NC.

The vote was so close. It was turned down by a total of 51-50. Proponents say the bill is not dead yet. There may be some changes and it still could be approved. I bet it ends up happening! See what I did there?? Hahaha

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The Online Gambling Law Didn't Pass in NC and I'm Bummed - kiss951.com

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