THE CHURCH MILITANT
Ephesians 5:11-"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them". This Christian News Blog maintains a one stop resource of current news and reports of its own related to church, moral, spiritual, and related political issues, plus articles, and postings from other online discernment ministries, and media which share the aims to obey the biblical commands to shed light on and refute error, heresy, apostasy, cults, and spiritual abuse.
WHEN THE "SLOWLY BECOMING CATHOLIC" SOUTHERN BAPTISTS KNEEL & BEG FOR HANDOUTS & RELEASE OF PRISONERS FROM THE VERY CATHOLIC, POPE SYCOPHANT NANCY PELOSI
This is exactly what top Southern Baptist leader and president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Russell Moore is doing.
Moore, who has a difficult time grasping the concept of the Separation of Church and State from numerous fronts, sent a letter to Nancy Pelosi begging her for money to keep the doors of churches from shuttering permanently. In this letter, he asks for restrictions on charitable businesses to be removed and more money to be handed out to them through the Payment Protection Program in Phase 4 of the COVID-19 Relief Package.
The inability to access those loans will hinder the good work of many nonprofits, and could permanently close other charitable organizations. This could be solved through a nonprofit charity grant program that would be accessed by faith-based charities to support employee retention, hiring, and programming. The funds could be administered through a nonprofit PPP program, and a nonprofit grant program administered by the U.S. Treasury. It’s bad enough that the most influential leader in the largest Protestant denomination in the country is begging Nancy Pelosi — of all people — for more money. But that’s not all he’s doing. He is also begging her to release more prisoners from federal prison.
He writes: Incarcerated men and women are especially vulnerable in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis because of contained physical space. This is especially true for aging and immunocompromised incarcerated populations. Congress should expand compassionate release during the pandemic, so that higher-risk individuals would be protected from medical harm. The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and federal courts use this tool to reduce sentences for federal prisoners on a case-by-case basis for “extraordinary and compelling reasons.”
Congress should temporarily reduce the 30 day waiting period for federal prisoners to file a motion for compassionate release directly with a federal court in order to speed up the process and provide quicker physical and medical relief to those incarcerated. We learned last night on Tucker Carlson that Nancy Pelosi — who joined Russell Moore and other Southern Baptist leaders last year at the NAE Conference to oppose the border wall — has taken Russell Moore’s concerns to heart and has included massive provisions that would release enormous amounts of prisoners into the streets of America.
Southern Baptists are paying for this. And church leaders who keep sending money to this rogue entity rather than speak out boldly and publicly against him are part of the problem.
EX-MUSLIM CHRISTIAN PASTOR SHAHRAM HADIAN'S "LIBERTY MOVEMENT" LAUNCHED
Listen in to hear about a new movement for liberty! Shahram Hadian shares big changes for his family, the Truth in Love Ministry, and the Liberty Movement!
#SanctuaryStatesForLiberty
Recorded May 11, 2020
To learn more: http://www.tilproject.com
http:/www.sanctuarystatesforliberty.com
To donate: http://www.tilproject.com/donate
For more information on Shahram Hadian and The Truth in Love Ministry, to download free radio shows and other resources, to order informative DVDs, or to donate to the ministry, please visit http://www.tilproject.com
To order: http://www.tilproject.com/order
Please watch this important message to learn about the Sanctuary States for Liberty Movement- and for big changes for the Hadian family! We covet your prayers for all that God is doing, and for the changes coming for our family and ministry! While we are focusing on the Liberty Movement, our first priority remains to proclaim the Liberty that is in Jesus Christ! We seek God and His Kingdom first. We labor all for His glory.
Watch and share the video here. Keep scrolling down to find out more about Sanctuary States for Liberty
If the Lord leads you to support the ministry and our family in this time of transition, and support the work of establishing the Sanctuary States for Liberty Movement, please donate here. We will be humbled by any support for this transition and the considerable expenses with moving our family across the country. God miraculously brought buyers for our home in Spokane before we even put it on the market! We are currently in Tennessee looking for our new home, and we so appreciate your prayers that God will lead us to just the right home for our family for this next season. Thank you!
Sanctuary States for Liberty
#MakeLibertyGreatAgain
More than ever, we need Sanctuary States for Liberty. In recent months, we have witnessed the escalation of unprecedented abuses of our Constitutional and God-given rights by many of our government officials and elected leaders.
These abuses are tantamount to tyranny and cannot be tolerated anymore. Furthermore, our redress of the loss of our rights are being treated with reproach and hostility by the left and the media.
We need a liberty movement, one that this nation has not seen in over 240 years.
We need to make FREEDOM great again! We need to make STATES RIGHTS great again! We need to make RELIGIOUS LIBERTY great again!
We need to start this movement locally—in communities, towns and states that can be taken back from the clutches of tyrants, socialists, Marxists and globalists.
Our founding documents mandate that we safeguard and restore three great liberties for future generations: Political Liberty, Economic Liberty & Religious Liberty.
To this end, we believe that we can start this movement in a few states that have a stronger consolidation of patriots and freedom loving Americans who want to defend our Judeo-Christian heritage and our Declaration, Constitution and Bill of Rights as the law of the land.
We will start by fanning the flames of liberty in Tennessee, and praying for Divine help that these flames of Liberty will spread to other parts of America and even the world!
We are also praying for a consolidation of patriots, Christians and freedom loving Americans to join with us. We believe that many will prayerfully and strategically consider relocating to states like Tennessee that still have hope of defending these liberties.
Together and stronger, we can Make Liberty Great Again!
View our new Sanctuary States for Liberty website here.
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USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- In recent weeks, American adults have been subjected to the word “allowed” at levels they’ve not seen since elementary school.
America’s gun owners have had this word thrown at them for decades, and many have, unfortunately, gotten used to it. Some of us have always bristled at the cavalier way this word has been bandied about in reference to our fundamental rights.
Now more Americans are discovering that it’s unnerving and maybe a little ominous to hear politicians, bureaucrats, and “reporters” explaining what we are and are not “allowed” to do.
While the word “allow” is sometimes chosen out of simple laziness, the word contains a disturbing presumption of authority, which suggests that its use is not always accidental. When a reporter talks about whether the Governor will “allow businesses to reopen,” that statement, unconsciously or not, grants as fact that the governor has the authority to decide whether businesses can be in business. When bureaucrats say that lawful carry of firearms has been “allowed” in the Michigan State Capitol for decades, the use of that word implies a privilege that was bestowed upon the people by a higher authority, and which can be revoked by that authority at any time.
Americans should be outraged whenever the word “allow” is applied to almost anything that they might choose to do.
The word “allow” rightly belongs almost exclusively only to parents, teachers, and property owners. Parents might not allow certain words to be used by their children. Teachers might allow a designated amount of free time for students to work on personal projects, and property owners might not allow smoking on their premises. Those are all valid and acceptable uses of the word “allow.” What is not valid or acceptable is the use of the word “allow” in relation to what a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, may decree regarding the rights of the people.
The government of the United States and the governments of the several states, along with their subsidiary governments, derive their authority from “we the people.” We allow these governments certain powers and privileges, for our convenience and the general welfare. We allow them to institute certain laws and regulations for the public good. We do not authorize politicians and bureaucrats to manage our lives or dole out our God-given rights as they might see fit.
Whether the media and government operatives are using the word “allow” intentionally to suggest certain authority, or they’re just lazy about how they express themselves, the result is the same. They are reinforcing the idea that “the state” is the authority, and “the state” may mandate or proscribe virtually any action or behavior of “the people.”
That’s not how it works. Not under our Constitution and the philosophy of liberty upon which our system of government is founded.
Under our system, “We the People” allow government specific authority and duties, but the government doesn’t “allow” us to do anything. We might allow the government to establish laws and regulations, such as the penalty for a serious crime or a speed limit. But we wouldn’t – or shouldn’t – say that the government “allows” us to drive 65 MPH on the freeway. Instead, we would say that driving faster than 65 MPH is prohibited. It is semantics, but the semantics are important. We, the People, have given the government the authority to set speed limits on public roadways. That’s very different from the government granting the privilege of driving and setting restrictions on our exercise of that privilege, but that is what is implied when the word “allow” is used. The word “allow” assumes wide authority and implies that anything falling under that broad authority, is a privilege granted by the “allowing” entity.
Long-time AmmoLand News readers will recall that I’ve raised this issue in the past. When I’ve raised it before, only a few people, mostly within the gun rights community, have seen the significance of this argument. With the whole Chi-Comm virus mess going on now, more people are seeing the word “allow” used against them, and they’re beginning to understand the nefarious nature of that word.
For many, it’s just a feeling. They’re not sure why, but when they see or hear a report that uses the word “allow,” they feel somehow insulted. The same thing with the term “Essential Workers”. Well, all workers are essential, but that is another debate.
Well, they shouldfeel insulted. We should all feel insulted when any reporter, politician, or bureaucrat suggests that our rights are actually privileges bestowed upon us by a benevolent state, and which the state can revoke for any reason, or no reason at all, at any time. The suggestion is an outrage, and we should all be livid every time we hear or see it.
Rights, liberty, freedom – these are not things that the state “allows.” These are core human rights, and they run through virtually everything we do.
Just a few months ago, it would have been outrageous for any reporter or politician to use the word “allow” in reference to churches meeting. Still, today, we have governors, mayors, and the media openly discussing whether or not to “allow” church services. A major metropolitan police force has declared that “Protest is not essential,” and only essential activities are “allowed.” Gun shops and ranges have had to sue to demand that they be able to remain open and operating lawfully.
Suddenly, thanks to fear of this latest Chi-Comm Virus, the word “allow” is being applied to virtually everything we say or do. That must not be allowed to continue. Every time you see the word “allow” in a news story unless it is talking about what “we the people” allow the government to do properly, you should be outraged and should leave a comment or write a letter to the editor calling out the writer’s use of that word. If the reporter is quoting a politician or bureaucrat, challenge the reporter to question the use of that word, and then send a letter or email to the politician or bureaucrat – and their boss – demanding that they stop using language that suggests subjugation of the American people.
Rights are not “allowed” by politicians or bureaucrats. While the word “allow” can be convenient when reporting about government restrictions, it is lazy, inaccurate, and undermines the perception of rights across the board.
So be outraged. Be angry. Be indignant, and let the reporters, bureaucrats, and politicians know that you’re outraged and that you demand that they stop undermining rights and misinforming the public with their sloppy, lazy, or intentionally subversive choice of words. Demand better. Don’t allow them to get away with this reprogramming effort. Spread this message far and wide, and demand that our rights be respected – in deed and in word.
Jeff Knox
About Jeff Knox:
Jeff Knox is a second-generation political activist and director of The Firearms Coalition. His father Neal Knox led many of the early gun rights battles for your right to keep and bear arms. Read Neal Knox – The Gun Rights War.
The Firearms Coalition is a loose-knit coalition of individual Second Amendment activists, clubs and civil rights organizations. Founded by Neal Knox in 1984, the organization provides support to grassroots activists in the form of education, analysis of current issues, and with a historical perspective of the gun rights movement. The Firearms Coalition has offices in Buckeye, Arizona and Manassas, VA. Visit: www.FirearmsCoalition.org.
U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- I had been saving the idea I put forth to you now for a rainy day. I wanted to avoid scaring anyone as I challenged you to think properly through a subject fraught with controversy. I personally see this very simply, but too few do.
As I pen notes such as these, I know I’m writing to an educated and steadfast crowd of patriots. What I’m unable to quantify is just how deeply you all believe in your civil rights. Scarce among you are those who don’t recognize “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety,” as goes one of Benjamin Franklin’s most famous quotes. We continue to see various states, government sanctions, and high-powered proclamations telling us what we can and cannot do and that doesn’t pass the smell test for me.
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety ~ Benjamin Franklin
Do you know where your rights come from? As much as I’m itching to tell you, I’m going to resist.
This question you should know, but if you don’t, search long and hard for the answer. I’ll offer you a hint. I will share with you where rights DO NOT come from. Rights don’t come from man. Why? Any right conveyed to you by man is one that man himself will most assuredly curtail or remove. Think about it. Anything granted by man can be removed by man. Are you comfortable with the idea that your civil rights are offered up by a seemingly benevolent government when that government is comprised of men that can later negate them at will? What about only negating them when people are growing sick? Would that make you more comfortable? …And just how sick would you need to be in order for a man – the man – to remove your rights? Re-cue Ben Franklin’s quote from above.
I’ve studied the origin of rights and I’ve also thought through how those in positions of perceived authority offer you the notion that when they’re in charge your submission is not only encouraged, but correct. During my research, I ran across a study from Yale in the 60s by a psychologist named Stanley Milgram. Milgram was concerned that acts of genocide, like those he’d followed during the Nuremberg War Criminal trials, post-WWII, could be propagated over and over should a people adhere to obedience. But it wasn’t simply obedience at the core of the concern. It was obedience to authority that was problematic for Milgram. Thus, he devised a procedure to offer a test to see how people randomly chose would respond to the power of authority.
The experiment surrounded increasing electric shocks, a “learner,” a “teacher,” and of course an “experimenter” who was dressed in a lab coat, complete with a clipboard, and all the accouterments necessary to ooze “authority” over the unsuspecting subjects. The rates of shock were labeled and the highest rates were clearly labeled as a danger to health.
Milgram sought to quantify how far people would go in terms of obedience while harming another person. Milgram appeared equally interested in how easily influenced or coerced people would become by those in perceived positions of authority.
He believed this would indicate an answer to his question of how likely another atrocity like those committed by Germans in WWII would be. Below is a video of the experiment with conclusions at the end. I suggest you watch it in its entirety.
Milgram summed his findings in an article titled, “The Perils of Obedience” which is easily found with a Google search. Granted, many have criticized Milgram for the testing locale, the use of only men, and some other variables. However, the point was not lost on me, when I saw the rates of shock people were offering coupled with far too many that completed that testing in full.
Authority will make you do things you never thought you would or could actually do. Authority isn’t automatically bad. We just have to be darned careful about Whose authority we’re submitting to and whose we are not. Don’t hear what I’m not saying. I am not for one moment suggesting you ignore best practices when dealing with a highly communicable disease. I’m of the opinion that only a few of us actually benefit from a restriction, as the balance of us love our neighbors, friends, and family enough we can do what is best without the hand of government on our shoulders. What I am placing before you is the necessary mandate to guard your liberty from attack. In times such as these, we see opportunistic politicians and self-proclaimed experts exercising their authority too far and wide. Be careful and think through what you’re being told to do. Watch and compare how states outside your own handle things.
St. Augustine – “libido dominandi” – the lust to dominate – Writing during the collapse of the Roman Empire, St. Augustine offered vital insight into the core premise of freedom. A man was no longer a slave by nature or by law according to St. Augustine. No. His freedom was a function of his moral state. A man had as many masters as he had vices. This precept is the foundation for an intricate form of social control over man and continues to grow nearly unchecked today.
Augustine of Hippo – 13Nov 354 – 28Aug 430 AD
I encourage you all to love your neighbor as yourself. I’ve read that before and many know where. Don’t place them or yourself at risk. But diligently observe the authority figures in our state and nation. Watch both their actions and their attitudes. Are they seemingly eager or reluctant to exercise power over their fellow citizens? Do they incline toward liberty and personal responsibility or do they default to strict regimentation, enforced by the government’s police powers? Those are character traits of which you should be mindful, and they indicate the core of a person. We must choose our representatives and public servants wisely.
I began this communication to you all with a reference to saving this sentiment for a rainy day. I was reminded today in an op/ed offered by Andrew Napolitano titled “Coronavirus fear lets government assault our freedom in violation of Constitution“, what St. Augustine branded, “libido dominandi” – the lust to dominate – when the government chooses between liberty and force.
Where do you think they’ll land if the government entertains this false choice? Be very careful my friends, it is pouring outside.
About Michael Ware:
Michael is a Christian husband and father to two children. He owns and operates Controlled Chaos Arms, a premier custom weapons shop in the Midwest. He serves as Chairman of the board of Directors at the Iowa Firearms Coalition. The pursuit of truth drives him in research and his writing.
Michael enjoys shooting, hunting, and fishing throughout the Midwest and Rockies. An avid outdoorsman and tireless supporter of all Second Amendment virtues, he can be found in his gun shop, in a tree stand with his kids, or on Capitol Hill lobbying in support of Freedom and Liberty at any given time.
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New Jersey – -(AmmoLand.com)- Today, the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs (ANJRPC) filed a federal lawsuit to force the State of New Jersey to reopen outdoor ranges, which have been shut down since a March 21, 2020, executive order by Governor Murphy.
Now that Murphy has allowed the reopening of parks, golf courses, and tennis courts – outdoor facilities that are purely recreational and do not facilitate any Constitutionally protected activity – he can no longer pretend to have any legal argument for blocking the Second Amendment right of citizens to build and maintain firearms proficiency at outdoor ranges.
A copy of the complaint in the lawsuit can be viewed by clicking here.
Gov. Murphy’s March 21 executive order shut down all ranges and gun stores, supposedly due to concerns over the Coronavirus pandemic. ANJRPC thereafter immediately sued to reopen gun stores and Murphy backed down on that issue before a court could force his hand. But ranges remained shuttered, and ANJRPC exercised extreme self-restraint and waited for the right moment to bring a range case – and that moment has now arrived as Murphy has reopened non-essential outdoor activities that are not constitutionally protected.
ANJRPC also plans to sue regarding indoor ranges, but only after a similar period of disciplined waiting for the right conditions where legal odds are enhanced. Bringing an indoor range claim at the wrong time could have disastrous consequences under the current pandemic conditions.
ANJRPC is prepared to take this new case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary. The Second Amendment was designed precisely for the kind of emergency America now faces, to ensure that law-abiding citizens would be able not only to own firearms but to train with them to develop and maintain proficiency to provide for their own safety if necessary. The idea that a single public official can simply turn gun rights off is absurd on its face.
What’s more, Governor Murphy’s overt hatred for the Second Amendment is laid bare in his executive order, which ironically declares that non-vital retailers like liquor stores, marijuana dispensaries, and cell phone stores are “essential” and therefore can stay open, while ranges are not “essential” and must close.
Governor Murphy has even admitted that his assault on the Second Amendment was motivated by his hatred of guns, not by safety concerns about Coronavirus. When recently asked by a reporter why he didn’t deem Second Amendment facilities to be “essential,” he stated, “a safer society for my taste has fewer guns and not more guns.” He said nothing about Coronavirus, which is apparently just his pretext for shutting down the Second Amendment.
Please watch for further updates on this developing new case. If desired, you can donate here to the case.
About Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs: The Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs, Inc. is the official NRA State Association in New Jersey. Our mission is to implement all of the programs and activities at the state level that the NRA does at the national level. This mission includes the following: To support and defend the constitutional rights of the people to keep and bear arms. To take immediate action against any legislation at the local, state and federal level that would infringe upon these rights. Visit: www.anjrpc.org
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Yet despite this, the Iranian mullahs, with help from the international media, will continue to claim the moral high ground. That is nothing new, and neither is Iran’s aggression. As The Complete Infidel’s Guide to Iran shows, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been on a war footing against the U.S. since 1979.
“Iran-linked hackers recently targeted US coronavirus drugmaker, say sources,” by Jack Stubbs and Christopher Bing, Reuters, May 9, 2020:
LONDON/WASHINGTON: Hackers linked to Iran have targeted staff at US drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc in recent weeks, according to publicly-available web archives reviewed by Reuters and three cybersecurity researchers, as the company races to deploy a treatment for the Covid-19 virus.
In one case, a fake email login page designed to steal passwords was sent in April to a top Gilead executive involved in legal and corporate affairs, according to an archived version on a website used to scan for malicious web addresses. Reuters was not able to determine whether the attack was successful.
Ohad Zaidenberg, lead intelligence researcher at Israeli cybersecurity firm ClearSky, who closely tracks Iranian hacking activity and has investigated the attacks, said the attempt was part of an effort by an Iranian group to compromise email accounts of staff at the company using messages that impersonated journalists.
Two other cybersecurity researchers, who were not authorised to speak publicly about their analysis, confirmed that the web domains and hosting servers used in the hacking attempts were linked to Iran.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations denied any involvement in the attacks. “The Iranian government does not engage in cyber warfare,” said spokesman Alireza Miryousefi. “Cyber activities Iran engages in are purely defensive and to protect against further attacks on Iranian infrastructure.”…
Reuters has reported in recent weeks that hackers with links to Iran and other groups have also attempted to break into the World Health Organisation, and that attackers linked to Vietnam targeted the Chinese government over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
Britain and the United States warned this week that state-backed hackers are attacking pharmaceutical companies and research institutions working on treatments for the new disease.
The joint statement did not name any of the attacked organisations, but two people familiar with the matter said one of the targets was Gilead, whose antiviral drug remdesivir is the only treatment so far proven to help patients infected with Covid-19.
The hacking infrastructure used in the attempt to compromise the Gilead executive’s email account has previously been used in cyberattacks by a group of suspected Iranian hackers known as “Charming Kitten”, said Priscilla Moriuchi, director of strategic threat development at US cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, who reviewed the web archives identified by Reuters….
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The E.U. announced at the beginning of May that it was sending an additional $41 million to the P.A., as part of a total package of $76 million being given to help the P.A. deal with the coronavirus outbreak. The money is to be used, however, to pay salaries of civil servants, rather than on PPE, ventilators, ICU beds, and medical personnel. This is one more example of the continuing failure of the E.U. to recognize the main source of the P.A.’s financial distress: its greedy and grasping leaders, who steal so much of the aid money for themselves. The Palestinians themselves are aware of how corrupt their leadership is, but can do little about it.
A year ago, documents were leaked online showing that in 2017, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had quietly agreed to increase monthly salaries of his ministers by 67 percent, from $3,000 to $5,000, as well as boosting his own salary from $4,000 to $6,000 a month. According to the Associated Press, the raises were kept secret from the public and approved by Abbas. Once the raises were made public, the succeeding uproar caused Abbas to promise to rescind those secret raises. But did he? We know that Abbas rewards his loyalists with sums far beyond what they receive in salaries. Hanan Ashrawi has mysteriously become a multi-millionaire over the past two years, with a net worth of $5 million; Saeb Erekat now has about $2 million. It’s not possible, on their stated salaries, for them to have accumulated so much. But what Palestinian is going to dare to investigate?
In the P.A., the greatest crook of all is Mahmoud Abbas, who with his sons Tareq and Nasser has amassed a family fortune of more than $400 million. The E.U. should demand an accounting from the P.A. as to how its leaders have made so much money, before it lavishes still more aid on the P.A. By never raising the issue of corruption with the P.A., leaders the E.U. demoralizes those many Palestinians who, struggling to get by, are infuriated by the sums they see being received by Abbas and company. The gated community of villas in the West Bank town of Ramallah may help explain why Palestinians almost universally believe there is corruption in the government of President Mahmoud Abbas. The secluded “Diplomatic Compound,” built for senior Palestinian Authority officials on subsidized land, is one of the symbols of what many Palestinians think is wrong with their leaders — that they are cut off from the people, do not suffer along with them, and continue to award themselves large sums and special deals that are kept hidden from view.
Here is the story, at Middle East Monitor, of the latest lavishing of aid money on the P.A. by E.U. taxpayers:
As part of its global response to the coronavirus outbreak, the European Union (EU) has allocated €38 million ($41 million) to Palestine, reported the Wafa news agency.
The support will enable the Palestinian Authority (PA) to meet its commitments towards the April payments of Palestinian civil servants’ salaries and pensions in the occupied West Bank.
The EU said in a statement that it made this contribution as part of the #TeamEurope approach recently adopted by the 27 EU Member States to support partner countries and fragile populations to fight the coronavirus crisis.
In early April the EU said it would provide the PA an assistance package of around €71 million ($76 million), including the €38 million announced yesterday, while the World Bank approved a $5.8 million emergency package in light of coronavirus.
The announcement was made during a video meeting between Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh and foreign diplomats, including the head of the Office of the EU Representative to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff.
“These are difficult times as we face together the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. We have been engaged from day one with the Palestinian government to advance and readjust our support to better serve the Palestinian people amid this crisis,” Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff said in a statement yesterday.
He explained that this contribution is a clear message of the EU’s strong commitment to the Palestinian people at this critical time.
There would be enough money to pay the P.A.’s civil servants if Abbas and his henchmen were not siphoning off so much of it. They steal from the tax revenues that Israel collects for it and then transfers to the P.A. They steal from the aid money that the P.A. receives in such abundance from so many gullible Western countries. They steal from their own government by making sweetheart deals available only to themselves as, for example, the land they are allowed to buy at greatly subsidized prices in Ramallah on which to build their villas. That land is in the secluded neighborhood – as noted previously — known as the “Diplomatic Compound,” where the P.A.’s leaders have built their luxurious villas, with well-tended flower beds and pools, carefully guarded from the prying eyes of the Palestinian hoi polloi.
Most luxurious of all those residences is the $13 million palace that Abbas has had built for himself. Why, given the constant financial distress of the P.A., did he require such a lavish dwelling? Why did he need to buy a private jet costing $50 million, for his use alone? How many plane trips does Abbas take each year that justify such a costly purchase? And why now, during the coronavirus pandemic, does he not sell that quite unnecessary jet to help pay for medical equipment for the long-suffering Palestinians, about whom he claims to care so much? Why has Abbas never been asked by the E.U. to justify these expenditures – that palace, that private jet — or to explain the sources of his $400 million fortune?
Questions, questions. Will anyone in the E.U. dare to ask them? Many Palestinians, who are afraid to ask them — those who do end up in prison — would be heartened if someone better situated, such as the member states of the E.U., did so. Or will the world’s silence about the Grand Theft by Mahmoud Abbas and his privileged henchmen continue, as they pocket so much of the wealth that comes to the P.A. from abroad, while holding their hands out, unashamedly, for more and yet still more?
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An engineering professor at the University of Arkansas has been arrested by the FBI and faces up to 20 years in prison for allegedly hiding funding that he received from the communist Chinese government.
The New York Times reports that “Simon Ang of the University of Arkansas, was arrested on Friday and charged on Monday with wire fraud.”
“He worked for and received funding from Chinese companies and from the Thousand Talents program, which awards grants to scientists to encourage relationships with the Chinese government,” the report notes, adding that “he warned an associate to keep his affiliation with the program quiet.”
The report explains that Ang’s alleged hiding of the funding enabled him to also get US government subsidies, specifically from NASA, to the tune of more than $5 million.
“The complaint charges that Ang had close ties with the Chinese government and Chinese companies, and failed to disclose those ties when required to do so in order to receive grant money from NASA,” a Department of Justice statement reads.
“These materially false representations to NASA and the University of Arkansas resulted in numerous wires to be sent and received that facilitated Ang’s scheme to defraud.” the statement adds.
Suspicions were raised concerning professor Ang after a library employee found an email between Ang and a Chinese researcher, the Arkansas Times reports.
“You can search the Chinese website regarding what the US will do to Thousand Talent Scholars,” Ang reportedly wrote in an email. “Not many people here know I am one of them but if this leaks out, my job here will be in deep troubles.”
The Times article also states that another professor, Dr. Xiao-Jiang Li, formerly of Emory University in Atlanta, pleaded guilty … to a felony charge of filing a false tax return that omitted around $500,000 that he received from the Thousand Talents program.
“He was sentenced to a year of probation and ordered to pay $35,089 in restitution.” the report notes.
The “Thousand Talents Program” has been scrutinised recently, with suspicions that it is being used by the communist state to attract foreign experts from overseas, and steal intellectual property from U.S. institutions.
Another professor, from Harvard University, is also accused of abusing the program, and lying to officials about alleged ties to the Chinese government.
Charles Lieber, head of chemistry and the chemical biology department at Harvard, was arrested at the beginning of the year, with prosecutors accusing him of taking $50,000 a month, as well as a $1.5 million payment to set up a research lab at the Wuhan University of Technology.
Court documents revealed that since 2008, Lieber received more than $15,000,000 in grant funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Department of Defense (DOD).
“These grants require the disclosure of significant foreign financial conflicts of interest, including financial support from foreign governments or foreign entities,” the Department of Justice noted.
“These talent programs seek to lure Chinese overseas talent and foreign experts to bring their knowledge and experience to China and reward individuals for stealing proprietary information,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Massachusetts said in a January statement related to Lieber’s arrest.
