Society's ChildS


Eye 2

Theologians condemn globalism as "demonic"

earth on fire
As the radical ideology of globalism comes under increasing pressure worldwide, a number of prominent theologians are joining the discussion, blasting the internationalist movement as "demonic" and even "anti-Christ" in nature. With a link on the subject to the widely read Christian Post appearing this week on the influential Drudge Report, the sharp criticism is making major waves worldwide. But the argument is hardly new.

Of course, critics of globalism who deal primarily in the physical realm have long attacked globalists and their political schemes to subvert national sovereignty as dangerous, totalitarian, extreme, kooky, fringe — even treasonous. But as globalism becomes politically toxic around the world and across the political spectrum, the spiritual implications of globalism are coming under fresh scrutiny too.

There are numerous different definitions of globalism. Until recently, even the word itself was relatively obscure, used mostly by the alternative media to describe the views of establishment figures pushing what they themselves tout as the "New World Order." At the core of globalism as it is presented publicly, though, is the idea that nation-states and borders need to give way to international governing institutions such as the United Nations, the European Union, and other outfits.

Critics oppose the scheming for a broad range of reasons. For one, globalism aims to disenfranchise citizens and strip them of their right to self-government at the local, state, and national level in favor of what is euphemistically referred to as "global governance." If "power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely," as the old saying goes, the implications of total power at the global level are obvious. And that is just the start of the problem. Globalists tend to be fanatically anti-liberty, too.

Attention

Trump's Wisconsin victory confirmed: Gained net 162 votes in statewide recount

Trump winner in Wisconson
It's official... again! Donald Trump remains the winner of Wisconsin following the statewide recount demanded by Jill Stein and paid for by sad snowflakes. After counting over 3 million ballots (at a cost of $3.5 million), Trump gained a net 162 votes...

As AP reports,
Republican Donald Trump's victory in Wisconsin has been reaffirmed following a presidential recount that showed him defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton by more than 22,000 votes.

Trump picked up a net 162 votes as a result of the recount that the Wisconsin Elections Commission certified Monday. Green Party candidate Jill Stein requested and paid for the recount that began Dec. 1.

But after recounting nearly 3 million ballots, little changed. The final results changed by fewer than 1,800 votes.

Stein has also tried to get statewide recounts in Michigan and Pennsylvania, but courts have stopped them. The federal deadline to certify the vote is Tuesday.

Wisconsin's recount uncovered no widespread problems or hacking as Stein had suggested, without evidence, that there might be.

Eye 2

Wells Fargo scandal hits Prudential as whistleblowers sue

Wells Fargo bank fraud
© Shannon Stapleton / Reuters
Prudential Financial Inc. was accused of covering up fraudulent sales of life insurance policies through Wells Fargo & Co. to low-income customers, marking the latest flareup of the fake-accounts scandal plaguing the third-largest U.S. lender by assets.

Many of the customers, who often had Hispanic last names, didn't know what they had purchased and there were "a large number of similarities" between the way Wells Fargo employees opened bogus bank accounts without customers' knowledge and the way Prudential's "MyTerm" policies were sold by the bank, three of the insurer's former employees said in a lawsuit filed in New Jersey state court.

Three months after the Wells Fargo scandal erupted, resulting in the October departure of Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf, the San Francisco-based lender is still struggling to move past the crisis. Even as Donald Trump's surprise election may ease pressure from Washington, an attempt to force aggrieved customers into closed-door arbitration is drawing a legislative backlash in California. Now, amid accusations of a cover-up at Prudential, alleged fake accounts are infecting another financial giant.

Heart - Black

Saudi police detain young woman for removing abaya, enforcing strict dress code in public

woman removed abaya
Saudi police detained a young woman for violating modesty rules after she removed her abaya, the loose-fitting, full-length robes women are required to wear, on a main street in the capital Riyadh, local media reported on Monday.

The conservative Muslim country enforces a strict dress code for women in public, bans them from driving and prohibits the mixing of sexes.

The Arabic-language al-Sharq newspaper reported that the woman was detained after a complaint was filed by the religious police.

Comment: In the sunny country of the United Arab Emirates, there are people with vitamin D deficiency


Megaphone

War on 'fake news' is part of a war on free speech

censorship
A major threat to liberty is the assault on the right to discuss political issues, seek out alternative information sources, and promote dissenting ideas and causes such as non-interventionism in foreign and domestic affairs. If this ongoing assault on free speech succeeds, then all of our liberties are endangered.

Document

General manager of major Chinese newspaper falls to his death amid corruption charges

21st Century Herald
The general manager of a major Chinese newspaper group that has been in trouble with the government for blackmail and corruption fell to his death on Monday, the newspaper said.

The 21st Century Business Herald carried a short statement on its official microblog from publisher 21st Century Media Ltd saying 21st Century Media's general manager, Liu Jiandong, had fallen from a building and died despite efforts to save him.

Liu took up his job in January 2015, which he was dedicated to, and was "upright and honest", the paper said, adding an investigation was going on.

Calls to the newspaper seeking further comment went unanswered. Police in the southern city of Guangzhou, where the newspaper is based, said it had responded to a call about a man falling from an office building.

Arrow Down

Hard pressed Amazon workers found sleeping in tents near UK's largest fulfillment center

amazon UK workers sleeping rough
© Steven BrownOne tent near the Amazon site in Dunfermline. Two others have been seen in recent days.
Hard pressed workers at Amazon have resorted to sleeping in tents close to the company's fulfilment centre in Fife, The Courier can reveal.

At least three tents have been spotted in woodland beside the online retail giant's base just off the M90 in Dunfermline in recent days, sparking concerns about the depths some employees are apparently plumbing to hold down a job.

The company came under fire last month from local activists who claimed that agency workers are working up to 60 hours per week for little more than the minimum wage and are harshly treated.

Amazon dismissed those allegations and said it values its employees, maintaining a "culture of direct dialogue" with them.

However, the news that some of its staff have taken to roughing it on bitterly cold winter nights has prompted renewed questions about employee welfare.

Laptop

Gab: New social media network promises no censorship

Gab social media
Squeezed out of Twitter and other social media websites cracking down on hate speech, far-right activists are finding a home on a new platform that promises never to censor content.

Launched in August, Gab has become known as a safe haven for the "alt-right" movement dominated by the white supremacists who are helping fuel America's deepening polarization.

The social network currently has 100,000 members and another 200,000 on its waiting list, according to the company.

"All are welcome to speak freely," spokesman Utsav Sanduja says.

Gab is unable to accommodate all those who want to join, he adds, because it is still in its test phase.

The social network's rise comes amid Twitter's suspension of political activists for purportedly promoting racist and harassing comments.

One of the new "Gabbers," Richard Spencer, heads the white supremacist National Policy Institute, whose account Twitter has suspended.

Spencer, whose "Hail Trump" comments were seen as evocative of the Nazi era, joined the Twitter exile along with Milo Yiannopoulos, accused of fomenting a social media campaign against the African-American actress Leslie Jones.

Comment: Inside Gab: The new twitter alternative championed by Alt-Right


Bomb

Explosion rocks home of Cyprus state prosecutor

Cyprus prosecutor's home
© Cyprus Mail
A prosecutor working in the Paphos courts was the target early Monday of a bomb at her Emba home, police said.

"At around 12.35am today (Monday) an explosion took place at the house of a 43-year-old woman in Paphos," a statement said.

Police said there was extensive damage both to the main entrance of the house in Ayios Nicholaos street, which belongs to state prosecutor Xenia Xenophontos, and to a neighbour's windows.

Members of the force went to the scene, carried out examinations and collected evidence. Further investigations were due to begin at first light with the scene having been closed off and put under guard.

Paphos CID said preliminary investigations point to the explosive device having been placed on the veranda of the residence. Head of Paphos CID said police arrived at the scene shortly after the blast and began taking statements. He said there was material damage to the house where the four-member family reside.

It has not been ruled out that the perpetrators may have wanted to send a message to the prosecutor regarding a recent or current case she may be working on.

Chart Pie

CEO of Amazon Jeff Bezos will attend Trump's tech summit with other tech giants

 Jeff Bezos
© CNBCAmazon CEO Jeff Bezos is planning on attending Trump’s meeting with tech executives in New York on Wednesday, Yahoo Finance has learned.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos plans to attend President-elect Donald Trump's meeting of tech-industry executives this Wednesday in New York, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

Amazon's (AMZN) chief executive is expected to join other tech heavyweights already planning on attending, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Oracle co-CEO Safra Catz, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins, as well as Larry Page and Eric Schmidt, CEO and chairman of Google parent Alphabet, respectively.

Previous reports indicate the meeting on Wednesday will take place at Trump Tower in Manhattan, the same building where the president-elect has lived for the past three decades and apparently plans on living part-time following his inauguration this January.

Comment: Trump's got the right idea here; invite the heavyweights all in a room together to discuss business together, even if one of them - Jeff Bezos in this case - owns the publication that has been spreading lies and trying to delegitimize everything you're trying to do. No doubt Trump will be using a carrot, as well as a stick, to get these tech leaders 'in line' a bit!