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Cytovia Therapeutics partners with Inserm to develop selective CD38 NK therapeutics and offer new treatment options for Multiple Myeloma patients
Jeff Bezos and Amazon Join the Religion of Green
October 8, 2020
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and the world’s richest man, likes to depict himself as rising from difficult circumstances. His mother was still in high school when she became pregnant and his biological father left early on. Bezos as well as his former wife, Mackenzie, are members in good standing of what Charles Murray called the new upper class, in his book: Coming Apart: The State of White America 1960-2010. The Bezos couple exhibited high intelligence, were successful at the best colleges, and rose rapidly in their careers. Members of the new upper class marry each other, live in nice houses, send their kids to private schools or good public schools, and are very much out of touch with the thinking of ordinary people.
None of the new upper-class billionaires are monsters. They come from middle to upper middle-class origins. They are all brilliant entrepreneurs. They mostly use their power to damage Trump politically because they don’t like Trump. That is not usually illegal, but it does affect the future of the country because they do have great power
Amazon is a great company. I’m a faithful customer and I published my book: Dumb Energy: A Critique of Wind and Solar Energy using Amazon’s Kindle system. I hope I’m not going to wake up tomorrow and find out that my book has disappeared.
Lately, Amazon has jumped on the global warming/ renewable energy/ sustainability bandwagon. They are spending millions on television ads to tell everyone how virtuous they are. Amazon’s 2019 annual report is heavy with climate change, carbon footprints and renewable energy. Amazon is building wind and solar farms. They have signed a “climate pledge.” Previously, when Amazon mentioned climate, they meant the economic climate. Although Amazon has a history with renewable energy, it is necessary to keep in mind that in some circumstances, due to massive subsidies, renewable energy can be a profitable exercise.
Amazon is genuflecting to the Religion of Green, explained in this PragerU video. The Religion of Green is where the new upper class goes for spiritual sustenance, having given up on Episcopalianism. The Religion of Green claims to be backed by science. That is not necessarily a lie, because a lot of scientists are enjoying great success thanks to the Religion of Green. Since the popularization of global warming, climate scientists have risen from occupants of an obscure corner of academia into world-jetting celebrities. For these scientists, worldly fame has displaced scientific investigation. But Amazon is late to the green party. Apple and Chevron have been celebrating the Religion of Green for a long time.
Renewable energy is the concrete manifestation of the green religion. Yammering about global warming or recycling is mostly show. Renewable energy is billions of dollars for wind and solar farms that are absolutely a complete waste of money. Every claim made about the virtues of renewable energy is a lie and not a subtle lie. Further, the advocates of renewable energy that are technically literate have to work very hard not to see the truth.
Of course, not seeing the truth is easier if your paycheck depends on not seeing the truth. Climate Scientists for Nuclear agree with me. They say renewable energy is useless and won’t be remotely useful for reducing CO2 emissions. James Hansen, the most prominent climate scientist in the world and a proselytizer for global warming, calls renewable energy “grotesque.” You can see a video of Hansen and the prominent environmental advocate Michael Schellenberger making those points here.
Climate Scientists for Nuclear tell us that wind and solar will never be effective for reducing CO2 emissions. They are horribly expensive energy, requiring an 80% subsidy. If you get to the point of replacing about 25% of the grid electricity with wind and solar, the cost and difficulty of adding more becomes overwhelming.
Nuclear, on the other hand, does not emit CO2. Although nuclear is more expensive than fossil fuels, that is mostly due to the anti-nuclear movement launched by the same environmental groups that scream climate change. They have entangled nuclear in so much regulation and so many lawsuits that it is nearly impossible to build a new plant in the U.S. In other places, like France, South Korea and China, nuclear is progressing rapidly. The priests of the green religion are in a pickle. If they endorse nuclear, they will be endorsing what was formerly the work of the devil. But, if they don’t endorse nuclear, they are not serious about global warming.
Most likely, Amazon has jumped on the green train to deflect from the criticism it is getting for being a monopoly and stepping on toes of other interests. Bezos purchased the Washington Post newspaper, a virulently anti-Trump publication that has not become less anti-Trump under its new ownership.
President Trump has responded by suggesting that Amazon is ripping off the Postal Service by not paying enough for its package deliveries. If Trump is reelected, Bezos may have to start currying favor rather than promoting Trump hatred. Members of the new upper class are overwhelmingly Democrat voters with a low opinion of Trump. Manhattan and Marin County, California, hotbeds of the new upper class, voted better than 80% for Hillary in the last presidential election.
The billionaire members of the new upper class that run Google, Facebook, Apple and Twitter can’t stand Trump. My opinion is that jealously plays a big role in inciting this hatred. From nowhere and using only his native cunning, Trump got himself elected president. This is hard to bear, especially considering that Trump is a relative pauper compared to the tech billionaires. The less opulent, run of the mill members of the new upper-class sense that Trump is not one of them and doesn’t care about their class interests. They sense that the Democrat party is run by fellow class members, so they feel at home with the Democrats. The Republican Party, in contrast, is filled with people still following traditional religion, rather than the Religion of Green.
Since the Religion of Green is a religion, it can be difficult to counter with scientific or engineering facts or data. The facts and data concerning global warming (now called climate change because there wasn’t enough warming) lead directly to a swamp populated with computer models. But when it comes to wind and solar, the renewable energy that counts, the facts are very clear. The crippling handicap of wind and solar is intermittent and erratic operation. Because their operation is unpredictable, wind and solar can’t replace existing fossil fuel plants. The existing plants have to stay, in full force, to take over when the wind stops or the sun is obscured by clouds. Either wind or solar electricity costs, exclusive of subsidies, about $80 per megawatt hour. The cost is mostly the capital cost of the plant amortized over the life of the plant. The alternative is to burn natural gas in the existing plants at a fuel cost of $15 per megawatt hour. Renewable energy is a scheme to displace $15 electricity with $80 electricity.
Norman Rogers writes often about renewable energy. His Renewable Energy is Dumb Energy app is here.
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Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and the world’s richest man, likes to depict himself as rising from difficult circumstances. His mother was still in high school when she became pregnant and his biological father left early on. Bezos as well as his former wife, Mackenzie, are members in good standing of what Charles Murray called the new upper class, in his book: Coming Apart: The State of White America 1960-2010. The Bezos couple exhibited high intelligence, were successful at the best colleges, and rose rapidly in their careers. Members of the new upper class marry each other, live in nice houses, send their kids to private schools or good public schools, and are very much out of touch with the thinking of ordinary people.
None of the new upper-class billionaires are monsters. They come from middle to upper middle-class origins. They are all brilliant entrepreneurs. They mostly use their power to damage Trump politically because they don’t like Trump. That is not usually illegal, but it does affect the future of the country because they do have great power
Amazon is a great company. I’m a faithful customer and I published my book: Dumb Energy: A Critique of Wind and Solar Energy using Amazon’s Kindle system. I hope I’m not going to wake up tomorrow and find out that my book has disappeared.
Lately, Amazon has jumped on the global warming/ renewable energy/ sustainability bandwagon. They are spending millions on television ads to tell everyone how virtuous they are. Amazon’s 2019 annual report is heavy with climate change, carbon footprints and renewable energy. Amazon is building wind and solar farms. They have signed a “climate pledge.” Previously, when Amazon mentioned climate, they meant the economic climate. Although Amazon has a history with renewable energy, it is necessary to keep in mind that in some circumstances, due to massive subsidies, renewable energy can be a profitable exercise.
Amazon is genuflecting to the Religion of Green, explained in this PragerU video. The Religion of Green is where the new upper class goes for spiritual sustenance, having given up on Episcopalianism. The Religion of Green claims to be backed by science. That is not necessarily a lie, because a lot of scientists are enjoying great success thanks to the Religion of Green. Since the popularization of global warming, climate scientists have risen from occupants of an obscure corner of academia into world-jetting celebrities. For these scientists, worldly fame has displaced scientific investigation. But Amazon is late to the green party. Apple and Chevron have been celebrating the Religion of Green for a long time.
Renewable energy is the concrete manifestation of the green religion. Yammering about global warming or recycling is mostly show. Renewable energy is billions of dollars for wind and solar farms that are absolutely a complete waste of money. Every claim made about the virtues of renewable energy is a lie and not a subtle lie. Further, the advocates of renewable energy that are technically literate have to work very hard not to see the truth.
Of course, not seeing the truth is easier if your paycheck depends on not seeing the truth. Climate Scientists for Nuclear agree with me. They say renewable energy is useless and won’t be remotely useful for reducing CO2 emissions. James Hansen, the most prominent climate scientist in the world and a proselytizer for global warming, calls renewable energy “grotesque.” You can see a video of Hansen and the prominent environmental advocate Michael Schellenberger making those points here.
Climate Scientists for Nuclear tell us that wind and solar will never be effective for reducing CO2 emissions. They are horribly expensive energy, requiring an 80% subsidy. If you get to the point of replacing about 25% of the grid electricity with wind and solar, the cost and difficulty of adding more becomes overwhelming.
Nuclear, on the other hand, does not emit CO2. Although nuclear is more expensive than fossil fuels, that is mostly due to the anti-nuclear movement launched by the same environmental groups that scream climate change. They have entangled nuclear in so much regulation and so many lawsuits that it is nearly impossible to build a new plant in the U.S. In other places, like France, South Korea and China, nuclear is progressing rapidly. The priests of the green religion are in a pickle. If they endorse nuclear, they will be endorsing what was formerly the work of the devil. But, if they don’t endorse nuclear, they are not serious about global warming.
Most likely, Amazon has jumped on the green train to deflect from the criticism it is getting for being a monopoly and stepping on toes of other interests. Bezos purchased the Washington Post newspaper, a virulently anti-Trump publication that has not become less anti-Trump under its new ownership.
President Trump has responded by suggesting that Amazon is ripping off the Postal Service by not paying enough for its package deliveries. If Trump is reelected, Bezos may have to start currying favor rather than promoting Trump hatred. Members of the new upper class are overwhelmingly Democrat voters with a low opinion of Trump. Manhattan and Marin County, California, hotbeds of the new upper class, voted better than 80% for Hillary in the last presidential election.
The billionaire members of the new upper class that run Google, Facebook, Apple and Twitter can’t stand Trump. My opinion is that jealously plays a big role in inciting this hatred. From nowhere and using only his native cunning, Trump got himself elected president. This is hard to bear, especially considering that Trump is a relative pauper compared to the tech billionaires. The less opulent, run of the mill members of the new upper-class sense that Trump is not one of them and doesn’t care about their class interests. They sense that the Democrat party is run by fellow class members, so they feel at home with the Democrats. The Republican Party, in contrast, is filled with people still following traditional religion, rather than the Religion of Green.
Since the Religion of Green is a religion, it can be difficult to counter with scientific or engineering facts or data. The facts and data concerning global warming (now called climate change because there wasn’t enough warming) lead directly to a swamp populated with computer models. But when it comes to wind and solar, the renewable energy that counts, the facts are very clear. The crippling handicap of wind and solar is intermittent and erratic operation. Because their operation is unpredictable, wind and solar can’t replace existing fossil fuel plants. The existing plants have to stay, in full force, to take over when the wind stops or the sun is obscured by clouds. Either wind or solar electricity costs, exclusive of subsidies, about $80 per megawatt hour. The cost is mostly the capital cost of the plant amortized over the life of the plant. The alternative is to burn natural gas in the existing plants at a fuel cost of $15 per megawatt hour. Renewable energy is a scheme to displace $15 electricity with $80 electricity.
Norman Rogers writes often about renewable energy. His Renewable Energy is Dumb Energy app is here.
Event in Brussels on LGBTQI rights highlights elevated risk during pandemic times
LGBTQI activists raise alarm over an increase in hate speech and violence and propose strategies to strengthen protections by improving funding mechanisms.
LGBTQI people around the world, an already marginalized group, have been subjected to an increase in risk and violence largely due to responses towards and misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic, said panelists of a conference held by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.
At this Brussels-based event, panelists from Poland, Bangladesh, and Iraq reported that political and religious leaders have been using LGBTQI people as a scapegoat for the pandemic and building on existing narratives of LGTBQI people as a threat. Additionally, measures such as quarantines to combat the pandemic increased risk, as LGBTQI people were stuck in abusive homes or kicked out of temporary housing.
The LGBTQI activists speaking also spotlighted country-specific concerns.
In Poland, a Catholic majority country, Julia Maciocha, the Director of Warsaw Pride, highlighted the discrepancy between the outspokenly anti-LGBTQI agenda of the government and the general public’s sentiments, citing the finding that about 50% of Polish people support same-sex marriage.
Moreover, state-sanctioned hostility towards LGBTQI people in Poland is at odds with many of the commitments and values of the EU, which has led to controversies such as the so-called ‘LGBT-free zones’. In July 2020, the European Commission rejected applications from six Polish towns to ‘twin’ with other EU cities because these towns had declared themselves ‘LGBT free’. Consequently, they didn’t receive the funding for this exchange programme. A month later, the Polish Justice Minister announced that the government would provide financial support to these towns and decried the EU’s actions as ‘illegal and unauthorized’.
Amir Ashour, the Founder and Executive Director for IraQueer stated that in Iraq, a Muslim majority country, LGBTQI people live with the constant fear of violence, torture, or even death. He also highlighted an issue essential to the discussion of risk, which is that when LGBTQI people flee to Western countries, they are often forced to ‘prove’ their sexual orientation or gender identity during the refugee determination process.
An activist from Bangladesh, who remained anonymous for safety reasons, explained that in Bangladesh, a Muslim majority country, homosexuality is still criminalized by a law inherited from British colonialism. After the 2016 highly publicized murder of Xulhaz Mannan, the founder of the first Bengali LGBT magazine, the movement was forced underground. Since then, social media platforms have been essential for LGBTQI activists to mobilize in a safe way.
Belgium is ranked as the second-best country regarding LGBTQI rights in Europe by ILGA Europe, but the lived experience of the LGBTQI community varies widely depending on which ‘letter’ one identifies with. For example, intersex children are still operated on at birth because, legally, parents need to register a child’s sex with their birth certificate. Despite numerous legal protections in Belgium, many individuals still experience violence and discrimination, but do not always report to the police.
Globally, LGBTQI activists face many hostilities, including online threats and smear campaigns. Fear is a constant reality: fear of increasing political and legal persecution; fear that loved ones may be attacked either because they identify as LGBTQI or are associated with advocacy work; fear for LGBTQI people who are struggling with depression and may commit suicide; and fear of persecution and violence by the state or religious fanatics. Activism comes at an immense personal cost.
Strategies for increasing rights by improving funding mechanisms
Providing accessible avenues of funding for small NGO’s and grassroots initiatives in challenging political and social environments is an essential step forward in protecting and advancing LGBTQI rights worldwide. Funding is often an issue, but the situation has become especially dire for many activists since governments and donors are not giving as much due to the pandemic. One of the many reasons funding is so essential is that activists often cannot find paid work due to their role as human rights defenders and so, without funding, these movements may become unsustainable.
Currently, application processes for funding are typically very time-consuming and complicated for activists on the ground, often requiring experts to complete them which is an added expense. These applications take precious human resources away from their actual work. It is in everyone’s best interest to balance the need for transparency and accountability on the one hand, and the need for accessibility on the other.
At the end of the event, there was a call for increased intersectionality during any decision-making process about the LGBTQI community ranging from funding mechanisms to policymaking. Tailoring a programme to fit the needs of one ‘letter’ is insufficient, because each member of the community will have different needs. Other factors such as an individual’s race, ability, age, etc must also be considered. Without taking them into account and planning accordingly, well-intentioned legislation and policies will continue to exclude already marginalized members of minority groups.
Pope to Moneyval: Preventing merchants from speculating on humanity – Vatican News
By Vatican News
It is a task which is “particularly dear to my heart”, carried out “to promote a ‘clean finance’, in which the ‘merchants’ are prevented from speculating in that sacred ‘temple’ which is humanity.”
Pope Francis made that remark on Thursday in an address to the evaluators of the Moneyval Programme.
The Committee of the Council of Europe arrived in the Vatican on 30 September to evaluate measures against money laundering and financing of terrorism. The visit was agreed upon in 2019, and takes place in the cycle of periodic evaluations to which all jurisdictions belonging to Moneyval are subject according to a pre-established schedule.
Pope Francis recalled that “the Vatican recently introduced into its legal system measures aimed at ensuring transparency in the management of money and preventing money laundering and the financing of terrorism. On 1 June last, a Motu Proprio was issued for a more effective management of resources and for the promotion of transparency, oversight and competition in the procedures for awarding public contracts. On 19 August last, an Ordinance of the President of the Governorate required volunteer organizations and juridical persons of Vatican City State to report suspicious activities to the Financial Information Authority (AIF).”
In his speech, the Pope expressed his desire for a financial system “that does not oppress those who are weakest and in greatest need.”
He also stressed the need to “reflect anew on our relationship with money”, because “in many places the supremacy of money over human beings is taken for granted.”
“Sometimes, in the effort to amass wealth, there is little concern for where it comes from, the more or less legitimate activities that may have produced it, and the mechanisms of exploitation that may be behind it. Thus, situations can occur where, in touching money, we get blood on our hands, the blood of our brothers and sisters. It can also happen that financial resources are used to spread terror, to shore up the strongest, the most powerful and those prepared to sacrifice the lives of their brothers and sisters without a scruple, all in a bid to hold onto their power.”
Following the lead of St. Paul VI, Pope Francis reiterated the proposal to set up a global Fund to relieve the needs of the poor and hungry by “setting aside the monies spent on military expenditures.”
The Pope also recalled that the Church’s social teaching has pointed out “the error of the neoliberal dogma”, according to which the economic and moral orders are so “completely distinct from one another that the former is in no way dependent on the latter.”
“It would seem that the worship of the ancient golden calf has returned in a new and ruthless guise in the idolatry of money and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy lacking a truly human purpose.”
Indeed, he added, “financial speculation fundamentally aimed at quick profit continues to wreak havoc.”
But the path traced by Jesus is clear, said the Pope.
“Jesus drove merchants from the temple precincts and stated: ‘You cannot serve both God and money.’ Once the economy loses its human face, then we are no longer served by money, but ourselves become servants of money. This is a form of idolatry against which we are called to react by reestablishing the rational order of things, which appeals to the common good, whereby money must serve, not rule.”
International Association of Scientologists (IAS) marks 36 years advancing humanitarian campaigns
IAS members gather to learn about their achievements in the last year. Spanish government includes anniversary as religious festivity of Church of Scientology
BRUSSELS/MADRID, BELGIUM/SPAIN, October 7, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ — October 7th, 2020. IAS members will virtually gather during this month to learn about the achievements of the last 365 days on the name of humanitarian drives, and to work on the planning “much still needed efforts” to help bring the world back to “improved normality” says the European representative of Scientology. The Spanish government’s foundation Pluralismo y Convivencia includes the anniversary as a holiday of the Church of Scientology, on the educational calendar in Spain amongst those of other religions.
Born in 1984, a time where Scientologists had to unite in a single organization to help protect the Scientology religion and Scientologists from attacks of biased government and social agents, 36 years later counts with having contributed to safeguarding the Scientology religion around the globe and supporting some of the biggest private initiatives worldwide on drug prevention, education of human rights, literacy and disaster relief.
According to Ivan Arjona, the representative of the Church of Scientology at the European institutions and the UN “This last year has seen the strength of what members of the IAS can do in a combined and coordinated effort to contribute tackling a worldwide disaster. Scientologists have been taking care of the most immediate needs of those helping citizens heal. They took the time to provide sensible information so that at least 5 million families, if not more, would have the needed knowledge to keep themselves and others well” and “This would have not been possible without the support of all members of the IAS”.
The Fundacion Pluralismo y Convivencia (Pluralism and Coexistence Foundation) of the Spanish government under the Ministry of Presidency, recently published a video listing all religious holidays for the month of October.
As it is now tradition, it also includes the Anniversary of the International Association of Scientologists, which its members “We are proud of the relationship we have with many civil society organizations and government agencies as it allows us to help in these times of need, and so it is comforting to see nations recognize not only our good intentions but our actions” said Arjona when asked about the fact that October 7 is officially recognized for example in Spain as a religious holiday.
The Foundation Pluralismo y Convivencia according to its website “is a public sector institution within the Ministry of the Presidency of Spain. Its mission is to anchor the recognition and acceptance of religious diversity as basic elements of peaceful coexistence, dialogue, and thus the complete guarantee of religious freedom in Spain”.
It supports the implementation of religious and denominational projects. It also collaborates with the representative bodies of the religious denominations in order to guarantee for their members the unrestricted practice of their religion under the protection of religious freedom.
In its social and educational work, the focus is on raising awareness and tolerance of religious plurality; it is a cooperation with society as a whole, for the promotion and better understanding of religious diversity and thus contributes to the development of an informed public opinion.
On their part, the IAS is often making grants to fund public information campaigns aimed at addressing key societal ills, including according to their website “The world’s largest nongovernmental anti-drug initiative, reaching tens of millions annually. The world’s largest nongovernmental human rights campaign, broadly promoting the 30 Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Global literacy programs helping tens of millions of underprivileged students in America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. The Scientology Volunteer Minister program bringing emergency relief to more than 10 million people at every major disaster site throughout the last decade”.
IAS grants have funded new Church facilities in Harlem, Inglewood, California, Johannesburg, New York, Madrid, Hamburg, London, Rome, Washington, DC, Brussels, and elsewhere. The IAS, the official membership organization of Scientology, open to all Scientologists from every nation, was formed in 1984. The purpose of the IAS is to unite, advance, support, and protect the Scientology religion and Scientologists in all parts of the world so as to achieve the Aims of Scientology as originated by L. Ron Hubbard (founder of Scientology): “A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where Man is free to rise to greater heights.”
European Parliament cements position on climate change before haggling by member states
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union lawmakers have backed a plan to cut greenhouse gases by 60% from 1990 levels by 2030, hoping member states will not try to water the target down during upcoming negotiations.
Results of the vote released on Thursday confirm their preliminary votes earlier this week on a landmark law to make the EU’s climate targets legally binding.
The law, which contains the new EU emissions-cutting goal for 2030, passed by a large majority of 231 votes.
Parliament must now agree the final law with the EU’s 27 member countries, only a few of whom have said they would support a 60% emissions-cutting target. Lawmakers want to avoid countries whittling it away to below the level of emissions cuts proposed by the EU executive of at least 55%.
The EU’s current 2030 target is a 40% emissions cut.
Parliament also supported a proposal to launch an independent scientific council to advise on climate policy – a system already in place in Britain and Sweden – and a carbon budget, setting out the emissions the EU could produce without scuppering its climate commitments.
With climate-related impacts such as more intense heatwaves and wildfires already felt across Europe, and thousands of young people taking to the streets last month to demand tougher action, the EU is under pressure to ramp up its climate policies.
Groups representing investors with 62 trillion euros in assets under management, plus hundreds of businesses and NGOs on Thursday wrote to EU leaders urging them to agree an emissions-cutting target of at least 55% for 2030.
Scientists say this target, which has been proposed by the European Commission, is the minimum effort needed to give the EU a realistic shot at becoming climate neutral by 2050. The Commission wants the new 2030 goal finalised by the end of the year.
However, the climate law will require compromise from member countries. Wealthier states with large renewable energy resources are pushing for deeper emissions cuts, but coal-heavy countries including Poland and Czech Republic fear the economic fallout of tougher targets.
Given its political sensitivity, heads of government will likely decide their position on the 2030 target by unanimity, meaning one country could block it.
Reporting by Kate Abnett, editing by Marine Strauss and Philippa Fletcher
Public consultation: IP rights outside the European Union
In the framework of the European Union’s Strategy for the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in Third Countries, the European Commission (DG Trade) is launching a public consultation in order to gather information on the state of intellectual property protection and enforcement in third countries.
The main objective of this public consultation is to identify third countries in which the state of IPR protection and enforcement gives rise to the highest level of concern and to update the list of the so called “priority countries”. The public consultation will be one of the tools used to help improve the IPR systems in third countries, including plant variety rights. It will help the European Commission focus its efforts and resources on the priority countries and on the specific areas of concern, with the aim of improving IPR protection and enforcement worldwide.
The results of this public consultation will also enable rightholders to gain awareness of potential risks to their IP when engaging in business activities in the priority countries and thus allow them to design business strategies and operations to protect their IP rights.
All interested CPVO stakeholders have until 16 November to provide their comments and observations by taking part in this public consultation in either English, French or German.
Africa welcomes the positive message of ‘Fratelli Tutti’ – SECAM – Vatican News
Paul Samasumo – Vatican City
“The Church-Family of God in Africa and the surrounding islands joyfully welcomes the new encyclical of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti (FT) on human fraternity and social friendship, published on 4 October 2020, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. It is a call on human beings everywhere in the world for a renewed commitment to universal brotherhood, friendship, solidarity and peaceful co-existence,” said Cardinal Ouédraogo, this week.
The world is a single human family
The Cardinal said the encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, demonstrates beyond doubt that the current coronavirus pandemic is a reminder that “no one can face life in isolation” and that the world is actually “a single human family.”
“Already in his second encyclical, Laudato sì, the Holy Father, Pope Francis had demonstrated our interconnectedness to embrace the Earth, our Mother and Sister,” recalled the Cardinal. He added, “St. John Paul II had earlier said: It is in building the communion of love that the Church appears as a sacrament; as the sign and instrument of intimate union with God and of the unity of the human race,” the Cardinal said.
Our divided world needs all efforts that bring us together
“We join the Holy Father to earnestly plead for intensified efforts towards true brotherhood, solidarity, dialogue, mutual acceptance, trust and support, which are crucial values for our current world visibly divided along cultural, religious, social, political and ideological lines or principles. Genuine brotherhood is an appropriate response to the challenges posed by Covid-19,” emphasised the SECAM President.
Cardinal Ouédraogo further reiterated Pope Francis’ message that, “time has come to break totally with personal interests and cultural barriers, fixed ideological beliefs, religious persecution and radicalised religion; to end terrorism everywhere in the world, and to work assiduously for religious freedom.”
An African Church that is genuinely a family
“For us in Africa and Madagascar, the Encyclical further reminds us of the need to intensify efforts towards building up the Church as Family, avoiding all ethnocentrism and excessive particularism, trying instead to encourage reconciliation and true communion between different ethnic groups, favouring solidarity and the sharing of personnel and resources among the particular Churches, without undue ethnic considerations,” said the Cardinal.
Africa will respond positively to Fratelli Tutti
In Africa and surrounding Islands, the spirit of Fratelli Tutti will be concretised, said the Cardinal, not merely by words, but by selfless deeds and noble conduct on the part of all human beings. This, he said, demands responsible leadership, within and outside the Church. Such leadership is one that serves the common good and places the dignity and welfare of every human being at the centre, said Cardinal Ouédraogo.
The Cardinal continued: “We call on all the peoples of Africa and the surrounding Islands, especially, Christians, not only to study the encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, diligently but also respond to it positively in family, cultural, religious, political, social and business circles,” he said.
SECAM stands for Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar. It is an association of all Catholic Bishops in Africa. SECAM’s secretariat is in Accra, Ghana.
Poland: EIB provides additional support to chemical company PCC Rokita
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- The Bank will increase the financing provided at the beginning of last year to €67.5 million.
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- The funds will support the company’s modernisation plans and the construction of the Process Innovation and Scaling Centre.
-
- Both loan agreements are backed by an EFSI guarantee under the Investment Plan for Europe
On 28 September 2020, PCC Rokita SA signed an annex to the loan agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB), under which the Bank has granted the company additional financing for €22.5 million, increasing the loan granted to PCC Rokita at the beginning of last year from €45 million to €67.5 million.
The funds obtained from the financing will support the company in the implementation of investments of a total estimated value of €110.5 million. These include the further expansion and modernisation of chemical plants, such as the pilot plant for the development of polyols and the pilot plant for the production of phosphates and phosphites. They also include investments related to the expansion and optimisation of electrolysis production and the propylene oxide plant, the construction of the Process Innovation and Scaling Centre, and other investments aimed at adapting the existing infrastructure to the increased scale of operations.
Teresa Czerwińska, EIB Vice-President who oversees operations in Poland, said: “The EIB as an institution has been consistently supporting projects with great potential for achieving EU policy goals, both in terms of economic development and employment growth. PCC Rokita is a trustworthy partner for us, and is valued as a reliable beneficiary of funds obtained as part of financing. This additional loan is intended to support the company at a time when the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are most severely hitting the economy. The EIB intends to help PCC Rokita invest in innovation and low-carbon technologies and increase the company’s competitiveness when the economy recovers.”
Wiesław Klimkowski, President of the Management Board of PCC Rokita, said: “The increase in EIB financing is a recognition of its positive assessment of the company’s financial and economic situation. It is worth recalling that the EIB supports innovative projects that are not only environmentally friendly, but that also create prospects for long-term growth and new jobs.”
Rafał Zdon, Vice-President of the Management Board, said: “An important element of our financing structure is the loan granted by the EIB at the beginning of 2019. Considering the currently available sources of financing and the further development of the Company, we decided to expand our cooperation with the European Investment Bank. This cooperation is long-standing and the EIB is a stable financial partner.”
Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for the Economy, said: “Thanks to the Investment Plan for Europe, the EIB will build on its successful cooperation with Polish chemical company PCC Rokita. The additional funding will help the company to continue shifting its production towards renewable and low-emission materials and expanding its innovation and development activities. In short, yet another European investment that is good for the climate and good for jobs.”
The annex does not result in other significant changes to the loan agreement with the EIB, which – under the original provisions – contains a number of obligations, such as maintaining the level of financial indices specified in the agreement, as well as limitations regarding the payment of dividends. Both loan agreements benefit from the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the financial pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe (the Juncker Plan).
PCC Rokita is the parent company of a Capital Group comprising several companies operating mainly in the chemical and service industries.
Das System Scientology, released as a book in German by late expert Bryan R. Wilson
Emeritus Professor of Sociology of Religion Bryan R Wilson, in an opinion originally published in 1999, analyzes systematically the religious customs and principles of Scientology. This study is now published as a book in German “Das System Scientology: Eine Analyse und ein Vergleich ihrer religiösen Systeme und Lehren”. It has been done in memoriam by FoRB.PRESS to commemorate the date of his departure (9 Oct 2004), he confronts and compares them against those of Buddhism, Hinduism, Christian Science, Judaism, and Catholic as well as Protestant forms of Christianity. His analysis is based on the academic and field studies he conducted over 30 years starting in 1968, which included interviews with Scientologists and visits to churches in England.
His conclusion was that over time there have been different definitions of religion and that nowadays, considering the modern world, and based on its theology, customs, and community structures, Scientology would clearly be considered a “bona fide religion” comparable to the great religions of the world according to up to 20 different ingredients that can be found in all the mentioned religions.
Who was Dr. Bryan Wilson?
A frequent participant in CESNUR [the Center for Studies on New Religions] conferences and initiatives, Wilson will also be remembered as one of the most prominent academic champions of freedom of religion or belief in the 20th century. He defended new religious movements and other minorities against the various waves of international anti-cult campaigns, for no other personal reason than his passionate love for freedom and justice, since he defined himself as an atheist.
Although even some of his closest friends would have preferred that he would have not picked up such a controversial fight, he argued with particular strength, both in academic and legal settings, that an effective defense of religious liberty needed a definition of religion large enough to include non-theistic religions and movements offering religious services on a quid pro quo contribution basis, and that such definition should perforce include the Church of Scientology.
Even his opponents had to admire the clarity and the elegance of his arguments on this topic; many regarded them as persuasive. Bryan Wilson passed away on 9.oct.2004 and FORB Press in memoriam published the book “Das System Scientology: Eine Analyse und ein Vergleich ihrer religiösen Systeme und Lehren” [The Scientology System: An Analysis and Comparison of Its Religious Systems and Teachings].
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