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Wrong interpretation of religion is teaching us to hate each other
The primary thing that all violent countries have is religion. Eliminate religion from the world and violent crime would bottom out. Or start with the two most violent of the worlds religions.
Islamic faiths of the Middle East and Christian faiths of the west. Christianity is an outdated superstition with no relevance for living today. Both Christianity and Muslim worship the same God, yet are mortal enemies due to stupidity. Remove the violent nature from both Christian and Muslim and you have the Jewish belief. Unfortunately, due to the ignorance of most people, no matter what faith they were born into and the built in survival instinct we all have (SUPERSTITION), we are raised to hate and fear each other. SAD.
Lou Card
Wildwood
Hong Kong Baptist leader who backed protesters quits before abruptly leaving for UK
A Hong Kong Baptist church leader known for his public criticism of the national security law China imposed on Hong Kong and an extradition bill that triggered the 2019 protests has stepped down from his post and moved to Britain.
Rev. Lo Hing-choi was reelected president of the city’s 80,000-strong Baptist Convention last year and was due to finish his term at the end of this month.
He said his abrupt departure on was prompted by the erosion of Hong Kong’s unique freedoms, The South China Morning Post reported.
Lo wrote in an article published in the Chinese-language Christian Times on April 21 that he resigned the day before and landed in the UK with his wife the same day.
“The largest or even the only reason is changes in Hong Kong. The space for freedom has been reduced and the government’s policies have veered away from the principles and foundations of reason and fairness,” the 68-year-old pastor wrote.
“Hong Kong currently is not just being torn apart, but there is a dislocation created by those in power.”
The Baptist convention, an umbrella group churches in the city, said it had received Lo’s resignation stating that he was unable to complete his term due to “personal reasons,” Hong Kong Free Press reported.
A deputy chairman will carry out his duties until Lo’s term officially ends at the end of April, according to a statement on its website.
ONE MINUTE BEFORE BOARDING
Lo said he submitted his resignation “one minute” before boarding his flight to the UK. He explained that he did so as soon as space on the plane for his pet dog became available, the Headline newspaper reported.
The pastor assumed office in 2018 as the convention’s chairman and was re-elected twice, while he openly supported the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
He penned articles comparing the situation of protesters to persecution faced by the Jews in the Old Testament, and also criticized the national security law imposed last June.
The day after the national security law came into force, the Beijing-owned Ta Kung Pao newspaper accused Lo of “secretly scheming underground subversion” by inviting members of the Baptist church to sign a petition against the legislation.
In his Christian Times article, Lo said he believed he had been guided by God to emigrate, although it had been a tough decision to make. He said “it feels a little like being a ‘deserter’, and makes the heart feel guilty.”
Lo and his wife will settle in Edinburgh after completing quarantine for Covid-19, the Strand News reported,
Several outspoken church leaders have left Hong Kong after imposition of the the national security law.
Among them were evangelical pastors Wong Siu-yung and Yeung Kin-keung, who signed a joint “Gospel Declaration” calling on followers to point out wrongdoing by the authorities and to resist any totalitarian regime, the South China Morning Post reported.
The pair later announced they were going into self-imposed exile after being accused by pro-Beijing newspapers of inciting secession and subversion under the sweeping security law.
European Parliament Vice President calls on all EU countries to recognize Armenian Genocide
YEREVAN, APRIL 24, ARMENPRESS. The Vice President of the European Parliament Fabio Massimo Castaldo says the recognition of the Armenian Genocide is significant also in terms of preventing the attempts of autocratic regimes to mystify the truth and fuel polarization in societies.
“There are days when more than others remind us of the horrible depths of which human nature is capable, and yet it is exactly in those days that we have the important task to look for a spark of hope, a deeper meaning to learn a lesson that will help us shape the future and ensure that certain events never happen again. Today is one of those days and I am honored, humbled, and deeply touched for the opportunity to address you directly. On April 24 we observe the genocide memorial day to remember the atrocities suffered by the Armenian people and to commemorate the victims of the Armenian Genocide perpetrated with barbarian efficacy by Ottoman Empire starting in 1915,” Castaldo said in a video message for ARMENPRESS on the occasion of the 106th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
“In this spirit I stand in solidarity with you all and I appeal to my European brothers and sisters and to the whole humanity to join with the Armenian people in remembering and commemorating the victims of this horrible genocide and all other genocides in our planet. It is an important opportunity to deeply reflect on the necessity of historical knowledge and remembrance.
Days like this are indeed precious, as they are reminding us the need to fight with all our strength any form of discrimination and hatred , past and present, and the need to actively and timely oppose any genocidal policy, be it in the bud or already manifested. The path towards justice and reconciliation, towards healing of the wounds that events like genocides leave in the history of communities, in the history of whole humankind, requires first and foremost as a first step the unequivocal recognition of the crimes that have been committed. For this reason I strongly call on all the European member states, all the members of the European Union to adopt a specific legislation that officially recognizes the Armenian Genocide.
Turkey, still strongly nowadays denies the genocide, denies this tragedy, and to date only the governments of 30 countries have recognized the events of 1915 for what they really were. We have to do better, we have to do more. Recognition is not merely a formal act, but rather something of exceptional importance and significance. Silence, hesitation and hypocrisy undermine the collective use of memory to the detriment of the livelihood of liberal democracies, which are increasingly under siege. Taking a clear stance on this and other similar tragedies is essential to prevent totalitarian and autocratic states from attempting to mystify the truth and fuel polarization in our societies, ultimately changing our perception of reality and the actions of our governments. In this context education is a fundamental tool to ensure that such tragedies never happen again. The horrors of humanity must not only be remembered, they must be studied in depth. I firmly believe that events such as the Armenian Genocide must be compulsorily introduced into school curriculums along with programs aimed at preventing hatred and violence, which in recent years are increasingly and relentlessly spreading in all our societies and could only be contained by tolerance, by knowledge, by education.”
Castaldo expressed hope that next year he’d be able to join Armenians in Yerevan and visit the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial to lay flowers and the Eternal Flame.
“…but today, as you let me participate I such an important and touching ceremony, I want to once again assure you of my unwavering friendship, my strong solidarity and my total engagement and commitment, and I join you all in metaphorically shouting to the sky that we do not forget, that we will never forget, that we will always remember.”
‘Mixing of religion’ complicates probe, says HC
Punjab and Haryana high court
CHANDIGARH: Tearing into the “blemished and manufactured” investigation carried by recently-retired Punjab Police IGP Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh in connection with Kotkapura firing case, the Punjab and Haryana high court has held that his “political theatrics” during the investigation had already been established.
Indicting the senior cop, who recently quit the police service, for “unfair” probe to favour one political party, the judge held, “Moreover, the political interest of the current dispensation in the state qua the investigation and the political theatrics of Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh during the instant investigation by going to media and by repeatedly highlighting allegations against the outgoing politicians without filing challan against them, intended to create a narrative in favour of one political party and against the other party during the election process, has duly been established as per the record.”
The high court has also held that Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh has gone “to the extent of manufacturing the statements of witnesses to suit his designs,” by recording differing statements of same witnesses in these two FIRs with convenient omissions in their statements recorded under Section 161 CrPc.
‘Conclusions drawn by Singh found to be against statement of witnesses’
According to the high court, the conclusions drawn by Singh are found to be against the statement of witnesses recorded and the material collected by him only.
In his 89-page verdict released on Friday, Justice Rajbir Sehrawat of the HC has held that the public pressure to get the alleged erring police officials convicted also appears to have adversely affected the fairness of the investigation.
“As a result the fairness of investigation stands vitiated. The investigation conducted by Kunwar also suffers from malice, irrationality and absurdity. Hence, this court is of the considered opinion that this is one of the rare cases where the court is under duty to step-in to prevent miscarriage of justice, instill confidence in the investigation and also to preempt the misuse of the process of the court; by quashing the investigation filed in these two cases, while leaving state to fairly investigate these two cases again,” the HC held while quashing the probe conducted by Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh.
In another significant observation, the Justice Sehrawat held the conclusion that the protesters were sitting peacefully when the police started firing and also the conclusion that firing by the police was unprovoked is against the record even on this count.
“Needless to say, that the firing is stated to have taken place at the third stage, after the third order passed by the civil authorities and not in the first instance. However, before that; in the above description itself; the protesters are recorded to have chased and attacked the police, including with the swords,” clarified the HC in its order.
The high court passed these orders after hearing a petition filed by police officials, Gurdeep Singh and Rashpal Singh seeking the quashing of subsequent FIR registered in the Kotkapura firing case. They had also requested the high court for removal of senior IPS officer Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh from probe into this case.
The petitioner cops had also argued that while registering FIR against them, the fact was ignored that more than 50 cops had also received injuries when they were performing their duties.
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Britain’s exit from the European Union: Fishermen in France block supplies from the United Kingdom
Deep sea fishing was a controversial point in Brexit negotiations until recently – and the conflict is not over to this day. French fishermen are currently very angry about access to British waters. French media reported that more than a hundred fishermen intercepted trucks loaded with fish from Great Britain in Boulogne-sur-Mer Thursday evening. The protest is mainly directed against the slow-moving issue of fishing licenses in London. Boulogne is France’s main fishing port.
“They have been waiting for the promised licenses since January 1. They must now be issued, and fishermen unable to work must be compensated,” Xavier Bertrand, president of the National Council, tweeted after a meeting with several fishermen. Regional fisheries, shifting speed if nothing happens at the European level.
Request to the European Union Commission
Previously, the French Minister of the Sea, Annick Girardin, and the Minister of State for Europe, Clément Boone, joined the dispute. “The full granting of licenses to enter British waters and the swift resolution of the core issues … must be secured as quickly as possible,” she said in a statement. And they called on the European Union Commission to act decisively to ensure the full implementation of the fishing agreement with Great Britain.
After the British left the European Union, there was a complex dispute over the total catch and its distribution. At times, negotiations on a trade pact on Brexit threatened to fail over the fish issue. In December, European Union countries agreed to temporary fishing quotas until the end of July. But even on the British side, thousands of Hunters are fighting for their livelihood. On Friday, the European Union Commission gave the green light to provide 100 million euros in government support to fishing companies in France. Specifically, it is about helping fixed costs due to ships not leaving port and making up for lost income.
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Lithuania sacrifices old people for the sake of the European Union
It is well known that Lithuania became a full-fledged member of
the European Union on 1 May 2004. Lithuania in every possible way
demonstrates his satisfaction to be part of a unique economic and
political union.
The EU acts in a huge variety of policy areas, from consumer
protection to security and defence. It is proclaimed that human dignity,
freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human
rights are the core values of the EU.
It should be said that the European Union has been very generous to
Lithuania for 17 years. The country annually get huge amount of money
for its development.
But apparently, the time has come to pay debts. Though Lithuania has
not yet changed into a prosperous European state, the EU does not want
to wait anymore. It suggests a roadmap how to revive a dying Lithuanian
economy.
Thus, European Commission considers the only way out for the country
to survive is to increase maximum working age for Lithuanians. The
country’s government will have to increase maximum working age to 72 if
it wants to maintain its current age dependency ratio – the ratio
between the number of working-age people and the population of seniors
they need to support – a recent European Commission paper shows.
It is expected that in four years there will be 50 retirees per 100
working people and this it will have crucial implications for public
finances and may require raising taxes. At the moment, 35% of the
country’s population are aged over 55.
And such decision will definitely be taken by the Lithuanian
authorities, like all other recommendations of the European Union
despite its almost criminal consequences for the old people. Blind and
unconditional adherence to the recommendations of this organization has
already become a distinguishing feature of the current Lithuanian
government.
According to former health minister and current WHO representative
for Europe, Vytenis Andriukaitis, before prolonging its working age,
Lithuania should address the relatively poor health and low life
expectancy of its population.
“Before they even reach retirement age, many people in Lithuania are
unable to work due to high prevalence of chronic, non-infectious
conditions,” Andriukaitis told LRT TV, adding that “in Lithuania, the
rates of cardiovascular, lung, muscle and bone diseases are huge.” But
the authorities do not care.
It looks like a cruel mockery of all those who once believed in the
tale of European unity. Life expectancy of Lithuanian men is currently
71.5 years of age!
The change changes are presented as pursuing policies that would
encourage people to work longer and retire later. Though according to
some observers, Lithuania’s elderly would not be healthy enough to stay
on the labour market for a longer period than they already do.
Against this background, the statements of some politicians look
especially cynical. “This suggestion by the European Commission is not
strictly about raising the retirement age, but rather about creating
conditions for people who are willing and able to work to stay in
employment until this age [72],” MP and chairman of the parliamentary
social affairs committee Mindaugas Lingė told LRT TV.
The situation in the country is critical but authorities have no
right to sacrifice old people for the sake of the European Union.
In light of new climate targets, the EU’s ‘Farm to Fork’ Strategy is ripe for a revamp
However, if decarbonization is the objective, the EU needs to do more than cap greenhouse gas emissions from energy production and transportation, but has to tackle the issue from a wider angle, where Brussels’ policy programmes, from the Climate Law to the Farm to Fork Strategy (F2F), are parts of a coherent whole.
The European Commission reassured environmentalists across the continent after inking a new deal promising to cut emissions on the bloc by 55% before 2030. The raised target is now enshrined in a novel European Climate Law, and the next challenge will be to ensure these objectives are achieved in a sustainable way across the bloc. As such, the Climate Law is another legal framework underpinning the EU’s coveted European Green Deal, which aims to make Europe’s economy and society climate neutral come 2050.
However, if decarbonization is the objective, the EU needs to do more than cap greenhouse gas emissions from energy production and transportation, but has to tackle the issue from a wider angle, where Brussels’ policy programmes, from the Climate Law to the Farm to Fork Strategy (F2F), are parts of a coherent whole.
Indeed, in light of the recent developments, policymakers would do well to take another hard look at F2F in the context of Europe’s climate goals. Ideated to provide a roadmap out of Europe’s agrifood quagmire – a sector characterized by its carbon and resource intensity, contribution to biodiversity loss and health impacts from under and overnutrition – F2F in its current form is problematic for Berlaymont’s green targets given that food production is responsible for more than one-quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions.
One of the ways in which the F2F seeks to offset carbon emissions in the food industry is through a dietary shift, discouraging “patterns which are unsustainable from both health and environmental points of view”. To this end, F2F requires member states to choose a universal nutritional label by 2022 to help consumers make healthier choices. While several formats are currently under evaluation, a coalition of countries including France and Germany, is pushing the blanket adoption of a French label called Nutri-score, which some experts say has the opposite effect.
The Nutri-score label uses an algorithm to attribute foodstuffs with a colour – from green to red – and a grade – from A to E – depending on protein, sugar, salt and saturated fat content. While Nutri-score accelerates decision-making, the sliding scale merges different nutritional data, and thus fails to actually recommend the healthiest and most sustainable options. For example, the high-protein content of meat garners it higher and “greener” grade despite the significant environmental impact involved in its production, from water usage to methane emissions. This despite the fact that the destructive side effects of the meat industry have led Greenpeace to call for a 71% decrease in consumption over the next ten years.
There is a knock-on effect on European farmers and agricultural workers as well. Nutri-score inadvertently rewards manufacturers when they are able to reformulate processed foods according to the label’s rigid algorithm, while in the process penalizing cheesemakers, beekeepers and olive oil producers who cannot modify their single-ingredient products. One Spanish MEP highlighted that behind the products penalized by Nutri-score, “there are smallholder farmers, producers, agricultural workers and a whole industry hit hard by Covid-19.” This aspect of the Nutri-score is in violation of the F2F’s commitment to “enhance resilience of regional and local food systems” – an issue echoed by a growing coalition of Southern European countries, dubbed the “Mediterranean uprising”
The possibility of a mandatory Nutri-score is not the only way in which the F2F is letting farmers down while harming sustainability. The policy package recognizes that a sustainable farm system requires “an increased focus on investments into green and digital technologies and practices”. But when a recent European agricultural debate escalated to a ubiquitous pronouncement of the utter lack of innovation in this sector, it became clear just how challenging the planned technological overhaul of the industry is going to be.
The grave state of modernization in the agrifood industry was lamented by MEP Mazaly Aguilar who stated that Europe risks becoming an “agricultural museum”, as well as socialist MEP Juozas Olekas, who declared that the EU is “lagging behind the rest of the world”. The problem is that, although F2F advocates “new technologies and scientific discoveries”, it lacks concrete science-based suggestions to encourage the development and usage of such tools.
Innovative approaches in the policy suggested by industry insiders include transformations in genetic engineering, plant breeding solutions, animal husbandry and the management of dwindling freshwater and soil resources as possible areas for upheaval. While the Commission might be forgiven if undercooked policies and flowery language were the only problems, lately issues with the budget dedicated to the green farming transition are also arising.
Last month, Brussels announced the earmarking of €49 million for Europe’s organic transition for “boosting consumption, increasing production, and further improving the sustainability of the sector”. But after crunching the numbers experts began to question if the cash would cover European needs. For Martin Häusling, the Green Party’s agriculture lead and an organic farmer himself, “it remains a total mystery how the aim of the Farm-to-Fork Strategy for 25% of farmland to be organic in 2030 will be met through such a feeble instrument.”
It is no mean feat to reduce emissions from the EU’s fragile farming industry, which accounts for 10% of the bloc’s carbon output, while keeping farmers profitable. The recent purse is simply too small to fund the research and development, land conversion and maintenance required for a serious organic transition. This inadequate capital commitment will make it challening to double implementation in the next decade and sends a damaging message about the EU’s organic engagement. A rethinking of the budget, taking into account industry advice, is in order.
Still, as the Climate Law milestone showed, Brussels is capable of updating policies in need of improvement. While the Commission’s ambitions to overhaul the bloc’s agricultural system as part of the Green Deal are commendable, the F2F roadmap is too poorly sketched to get member states where they need to be. The strategy’s ambitious goals must be paired with concrete tools and adequate capital as soon as possible.
This story first appeared on Sustainability Times
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Your Religion News: April 24, 2021
Published: 4/23/2021 3:06:48 PM
The church’s Mother’s Day fundraiser offers a flower bouquet by Northfield’s own florist, Adria Lowry of Unique Floral Design, plus four huge, church-made frosted cinnamon rolls, all for $30. Or, you can order just the cinnamon buns for $8.
Call the church at 413-498-5839 and leave a message with your reservation; your call will be returned. In-town delivery available upon request.
Deadline for ordering is Tuesday, May 4, at 10 a.m.
Pickup time is Friday, May 7, from 4 to 6 p.m.
The flower and bun option is limited, so please call early.
Sunday, April 25, at 10:30 a.m., Bernardston Unitarian Church is the Zoom host for the three-church Northfield, Greenfield and Bernardston UU Collaborative. The Rev. Steve Wilson leads the service from his ministerial post at Pacific Unitarian Church in Ranchos Palos Verdes, Calif.
“Neither a groovy rock band, nor bold nickname for an astronomer, Starr King was a prophet, politician, orator, and evangelist of liberal religion throughout the 1800s. Thomas Starr King was such an important west coast Unitarian that we named our Divinity School after him. Today we discuss him and his current relevance.”
For an email Zoom link to this service, text your name and email address to 413-330-0807.
This online link to the “live” service is available at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday Apr. 18: https://www.youtube.com/user/FranklinCountyUUs/videos
Technical experts advise on how to ensure the best possible schooling during COVID-19
Keeping schools open is at the heart of the recommendations made by a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) advising WHO/Europe on matters related to schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The group of interdisciplinary experts found that school closures should be considered as a last resort to control community transmission of SARS-CoV-2, due to their detrimental effect on children’s health and well-being. Measures to control outbreaks in school settings should be specific to the needs of different age groups and schools should have a well-balanced risk mitigation strategy in place.
Among their other recommendations, the TAG highlights that countries should guarantee access to devices and facilities required for online learning, and provide support to schools in deprived areas and for children living in vulnerable situations. They also urge countries to give weight to the voices of children and adolescents in relation to schooling and interventions during the pandemic.
The aim of the TAG is to identify findings from emerging evidence to inform policy decisions that will lessen the unintended negative effects of school closures and other infection prevention and control measures on children. Alongside the ongoing work of international partners such as UNICEF, UNESCO, ECDC and Education International, they aim to build the evidence base for keeping schools open safely, ensuring that children’s lives remain as unaffected as possible by the pandemic, while keeping transmission of the virus under control.
