Society's Child

261 North Georgia congregations leave the United Methodist Church

Now Habersham
Sun, 19 Nov 2023 00:00 UTC

Fifty-seven area churches will leave the United Methodist Church at the end of this month. They're among 265 congregations in North Georgia and metro Atlanta that voted to disaffiliate from the denomination largely due to a split over LGBTQ issues.

Members of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church ratified the disaffiliation requests of 261 of those churches on Nov. 18 during a special called session at the Classic Center in Athens.

"I realize how sad this time is for many, including myself. I just hate that those who are leaving us, I will not have the opportunity to meet or to be with," said conference leader Bishop Robin Dease.

Conference members did not ratify the requests of four congregations following discussion by members of the Annual Conference. Those churches are The Fountain UMC at Sugarloaf in Duluth, McEachern Memorial UMC in Powder Springs, Trinity UMC in Rome, and Griffin First UMC.

A 'solemn day'

The 261 churches that are leaving the conference account for a sizable percentage of its nearly 700 churches. Their exit marked a "solemn day," church leaders said in a news release.

The disaffiliations become effective on Nov. 30. After that, the departing churches may no longer use the "United Methodist" name nor the denomination's logo. They will have 30 days to fulfill their financial obligations to the UMC, including purchasing church property if their congregation chooses to keep it. And they're prohibited from pursuing further litigation against the conference.

Hundreds of congregations in Georgia and across the country sued for the right to have their disaffiliation requests heard.

The church disaffiliations in North Georgia come after 193 congregations once belonging to the UMC South Georgia Conference left the denomination in May, also due to the ongoing debate over LGBTQ issues.

Comment: Fragmentation: A sign of the times.

Eat less meat: The UN's Net Zero plan for agriculture at COP28 in Dubai

Agnieszka de SousaSat
Yahoo News
Sat, 25 Nov 2023 20:00 UTC

Comment: From Patrick Wood's Technocracy News and Trends:

Crickets, mealworms, and cockroaches are more sustainable than cattle, pigs, and sheep. The UN claims that one-third of all global "greenhouse emissions" come from agriculture, mostly from livestock and most of that from cattle. In December 2023, The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will officially present the first Agriculture Roadmap for Net Zero By 2050. Of course, this will mean "shifting diets to reduce global production of livestock-based protein."

This attack on food could cull the human population by billions. The remainder will "eat ze bugs."

The world's most-developed nations will be told to curb their excessive appetite for meat as part of the first comprehensive plan to bring the global agrifood industry into line with the Paris Climate Agreement.

The global food systems' road map to 1.5C is expected to be published by the United Nations' Food & Agriculture Organization during the COP28 summit next month. Nations that over-consume meat will be advised to limit their intake, while developing countries — where under-consumption of meat adds to a prevalent nutrition challenge — will need to improve their livestock farming, according to the FAO.

Comment: Somehow we don't think the FAO is all that concerned about improving livestock farming in developing countries. But lessening access to one of the most nutrient-rich sources of food available to first-world countries, yes.

BLM leader endorses Trump for president

The Post Millennial
Wed, 29 Nov 2023 00:01 UTC

Donald Trump broadened his coalition of support this month, earning the endorsement of a Black Lives Matter leader.

Mark Fisher, who co-founded BLM Rhode Island, expressed his support for the former president, arguing that the Democrats could no longer be trusted to have the black community's interests at heart.

Comment: See also:

Ardent Health Services hit with ransomware attack, forcing hospitals in multiple states to divert ambulances

Heather Landi
Fierce Healthcare
Mon, 27 Nov 2023 17:15 UTC

© kaptnali/GettyImages
The fallout from the Ardent hack demonstrates how cyber attacks that target large hospital operators can have far-reaching impacts for hospitals across the country.

Hospitals in multiple states have been forced to divert ambulances and reschedule some elective patient procedures after U.S. hospital owner Ardent Health Services was hit with a ransomware attack.

On Thanksgiving, Nashville-based Ardent Health Services became aware of an information technology cybersecurity incident, which has since been determined to be a ransomware attack, the company wrote in a statement posted to its website.

"The Ardent technology team immediately began working to understand the event, safeguard data and regain functionality. As a result, Ardent proactively took its network offline, suspending all user access to its information technology applications, including corporate servers, Epic software, internet and clinical programs," the company wrote.

Comment: See also:

AOC's right, NYC is unaffordable — thanks to her and her fellow Dems

New York Post
Tue, 28 Nov 2023 17:21 UTC

© Getty Images
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez believes working-class New Yorkers are leaving the Big Apple because it’s too expensive.

For once, AOC is right: "They can't afford to live here anymore," she said Monday of working-class Gothamites.

The thing is, it's the policies that she and her progressive allies want more of that have made the city so expensive.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who represents parts of the Bronx and Queens, is, after all, a Democratic Socialist.

Look at what occasioned the digital town hall where she spoke: recently announced cuts across city agencies.

Why are these needed?

To pay for the migrants AOC and her ilk demand we admit in infinite numbers, and house and feed forever at a cost of more than $12 billion through fiscal 2025 (and that's a conservative estimate).

What about housing? A recent survey shows a third of New Yorkers are paying over half their income for rent.

The biggest takeaways from Tucker on UFOs

Kay Smythe
Daily Caller
Wed, 29 Nov 2023 13:38 UTC

Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson released an episode Tuesday focused on the government's investigations into unidentified flying objects ... and it was one for the history books.

This was Carlson's 42nd episode since launching his own show, and he held nothing back. Aliens are real, we know their tech is not of human origin, so why is the government hiding the truth from us? Especially when we already know and have accepted that we're not alone in the universe?

To answer these questions, Carlson turned to Tennessee Republican Rep. Tim Burchett, who confirmed the "coordinated effort" to hide UFO information from the public for at least the last 80 years, possibly more. But what else did we learn from this highly insightful conversation on one of the weirdest aspects of our current reality?

Comment: See also:

Elon Musk apologizes for antisemitic tweet but tells advertisers 'go f**k yourself'

Nicole Goodkind
CNN
Thu, 30 Nov 2023 09:22 UTC

Elon Musk, in his first interview with mainstream media since his antisemitic post on X earlier this month, apologized Wednesday for what he called his "dumbest" ever social media post. But he lashed out at advertisers leaving his platform because of rising antisemitism on X.

"I don't want them to advertise," he said at the New York Times DealBook Summit in New York. "If someone is going to blackmail me with advertising or money go f**k yourself. Go. F**k. Yourself," he said. "Is that clear? Hey Bob, if you're in the audience, that's how I feel" he added, referring to Disney CEO Bob Iger, who spoke earlier at the summit on Wednesday.

Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Musk's remarks.

Musk made the remarks as the X CEO, Linda Yaccarino, sat in the audience. Yaccarino was brought into the company to woo back big-name advertisers.

In a meandering conversation that lasted well over an hour, Musk also said he has no problem being hated. "Hate away," he said. "There's a real weakness to wanting to be liked.

Comment: Full interview:

How your DNA is being used against you

Karen Hunt
Break Free with Karen Hunt
Sun, 19 Nov 2023 08:20 UTC

"Just by breathing, you're discarding DNA in a way that can be traced back to you." ~ Anna

This morning I read about a horse escaping on a Boeing 747 mid-flight.

The plane was already 30 minutes into its flight to Belgium when its unusual cargo broke free of its constraints and that was it — complete chaos at 30,000 feet.

"There's no issue with flying," the pilot could be heard saying, "but we need to go back to New York as we can't resecure the horse."

Apparently, animals escaping on planes isn't all that unusual. Last month, an otter and a rat caused mayhem on a flight from Thailand to Taiwan. Earlier this month, a young bear managed to escape on a flight from Baghdad to Dubai.

Animals don't belong on airplanes. They don't feel at home high in the sky, it's unnatural. They have to be heavily sedated to get them through the terrifying experience. I guess they didn't give those animals enough drugs.

Henry Kissinger, American diplomat and Nobel winner, dead at 100

Abinaya Vijayaraghavan
Reuters
Thu, 30 Nov 2023 02:45 UTC

© REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File photo
Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger attends the American Academy's award ceremony at Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin, Germany, January 21, 2020.

Henry Kissinger, a controversial Nobel Peace Prize winner and diplomatic powerhouse whose service under two presidents left an indelible mark on U.S. foreign policy, died on Wednesday at age 100, according to his geopolitical consulting firm Kissinger Associates Inc.

Kissinger died at his home in Connecticut, Kissinger Associates said.

Kissinger had been active past his centenary, attending meetings in the White House, publishing a book on leadership styles, and testifying before a Senate committee about the nuclear threat posed by North Korea. In July 2023 he made a surprise visit to Beijing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In the 1970s, he had a hand in many of the epoch-changing global events of the decade while serving as secretary of state under Republican President Richard Nixon. The German-born Jewish refugee's efforts led to the diplomatic opening of China, landmark U.S.-Soviet arms control talks, expanded ties between Israel and its Arab neighbors, and the Paris Peace Accords with North Vietnam.

Kissinger's reign as the prime architect of U.S. foreign policy waned with Nixon's resignation in 1974. Still, he continued to be a diplomatic force under President Gerald Ford and to offer strong opinions throughout the rest of his life.

While many hailed Kissinger for his brilliance and broad experience, others branded him a war criminal for his support for anti-communist dictatorships, especially in Latin America. In his latter years, his travels were circumscribed by efforts by other nations to arrest or question him about past U.S. foreign policy.

Comment:

This simple move by China could demolish the EU's aggressive agenda

Timur Fomenko
RT
Wed, 29 Nov 2023 00:53 UTC

Visa-free travel may not seem like a big deal, but it throws a spanner in the works of the rhetoric about a "closed" and "bad-for-business" Beijing...

Last week, Beijing announced that the citizens of six EU countries - Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal - will be allowed to visit China for a 15-day period visa-free, allowing them to bypass the cumbersome process of attaining a Chinese tourist visa.

The announcement comes about a week ahead of the upcoming China-EU summit, which will bring European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel to Beijing.

Recently, von der Leyen has been engaging in increasingly hawkish rhetoric pertaining to Beijing, including making a number of complaints about what she refers to as "China's unfair trade practices," pushing for "de-risking," demanding more market access, and threatening levies over Chinese renewable energy goods. Beijing, on the other hand, has been critical of this attitude and has urged the EU to take a friendlier and more cooperative approach, touting the benefits of engagement.

We have known this from the time Bellingcat first stuck it's head up.

RJA210163

I haven't seen one credible report yet of any hostages freed by Hamas being treated badly....but Hamas beheaded babies...pure horseshit. I have...

Gator

Comment: Whether or not Bibi and the IDF brass knew exactly when the attack was coming, it certainly suited them to let it proceed. How else would...

Gator

Blood thirsty bunch ...kinda like those jabbed, Oh covid would have been so much worse if I didn't get jabbed, The Hamas attack would have been so...

Gator

governments targeting their own people - how surprising ! Yawning.

Shangri

Society's Child

261 North Georgia congregations leave the United Methodist Church

Eat less meat: The UN's Net Zero plan for agriculture at COP28 in Dubai

BLM leader endorses Trump for president

Ardent Health Services hit with ransomware attack, forcing hospitals in multiple states to divert ambulances

AOC's right, NYC is unaffordable — thanks to her and her fellow Dems

The biggest takeaways from Tucker on UFOs

Elon Musk apologizes for antisemitic tweet but tells advertisers 'go f**k yourself'

How your DNA is being used against you

Henry Kissinger, American diplomat and Nobel winner, dead at 100

This simple move by China could demolish the EU's aggressive agenda

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