Ukraine’s President Leaving Country as Threat of Invasion Looms; Explosion Rocks Ukraine Pipeline

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NATO allies are reportedly concerned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to depart his country this weekend and go to Germany as the threat of Russian invasion looms over the country.

“Allies of the 30-member alliance are reportedly worried that Russia could exploit the president’s absence as tension in Eastern Europe has reached a boiling point not seen in decades,” Fox News reported. “Zelenskyy, who is set to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday, is expected to be a key target if Russia does successfully invade Kyiv.”

The report comes as a massive explosion rocked a gas pipeline in Ukraine late on Friday, according to Reuters.

Democrat President Joe Biden said on Friday that he believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin has already made up his mind on whether he will invade Ukraine. (Read more from “Ukraine’s President Leaving Country as Threat of Invasion Looms; Explosion Rocks Ukraine Pipeline” HERE)

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How A Trial In Finland Could Have Worldwide Effects On Government Persecution Of Religion

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The trial of two Finnish Christians for publicly stating mainstream religious teachings that reserve sex only for heterosexual marriage is heading towards a judgment scheduled for March 30. The case could end up hitting Finland’s Supreme Court and even the European Court of Human Rights, which means its outcome could affect the rights of religious believers and political dissidents across the world.

Member of Parliament Paivi Rasanen and Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola have been prosecuted now for nearly three years after Rasanen tweeted a picture of Bible verses in June 2019. Complaints about this tweet led to her prosecution under Finland’s “hate crimes” laws.

The government investigation of Rasanen’s tweet uncovered a theological pamphlet she wrote and Pojhola published in 2004, for which they have both been charged. The booklet states classic Christian teachings about sex as reserved only for marriage, and defining marriage as comprising only one man and one woman for life. . .

On Feb. 14, Pojhola’s lawyer Jyrki Anttinen argued “if the prosecution wins, the ability of pastors to preach the gospel is effectively over in Finland — without criminal sanction,” said Lorcan Price, a lawyer assisting the case for Alliance Defending Freedom International who attended the Helsinki hearing. An Irishman, Price listened with the aid of a Finnish translator.

The Finnish prosecutor who brought the case is seeking a fine of one-third of Rasanen’s annual income, the public erasure of documents and audio she’s made on the subject, and a financial penalty against the small religious organization Pohjola runs, the Luther Foundation. If the two Christians are convicted, the steepest possible penalty could be two years in prison. (Read more from “How a Trial in Finland Could Have Worldwide Effects on Government Persecution of Religion” HERE)

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Ukraine: We’re Not Worried About Invasion, Russia Has Been Invading for 8 Years

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Ukrainian state media outlet Ukrinform ran an editorial on Wednesday arguing that Ukrainians are unfazed by the war hysteria gripping many Western politicians and media outlets because Russian forces have been in their country for eight years.

Ukrinform billed the lengthy article as “an editorial, aiming to convey to the Western audiences, including journalists, what’s on the mind of the Ukrainian people these days, why they have no fear, and what is the main motivation driving the nation.”

The gist of the editorial was that life continues as normal for Ukrainians, who are certainly aware of the Russian threat but not obsessed with it. Unlike some outside observers, the Ukrainians are not responding with great alarm to each tidbit of news about Russian activity on the far side of their border.

“The country’s capital Kyiv, along with other major cities, remains vibrant and lives a normal life with children going to school, businesses and offices remaining open to clients, no one taping their windows in anticipation of bombing or digging trenches in the suburbs to ‘meet’ Russian tanks,” Ukrinform wrote. (Read more from “Ukraine: We’re Not Worried About Invasion, Russia Has Been Invading for 8 Years” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

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US: Early Stages of Russia’s Ukraine Invasion ‘Unfolding’ Now

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​Secretary of State Antony Blinken ​warned members of the United Nations Security Council Thursday that the early stages of a Russian invasion of Ukraine were “unfolding” after Moscow bolstered its forces along the border between the two nations in recent days.

Blinken, who swung by Turtle Bay on his way to Germany for this weekend’s Munich Security Conference, described the crisis as “the most immediate threat to peace and security” and called on the global body to “address” the situation.

“The stakes go far beyond Ukraine,” the secretary of state said in remarks lasting roughly 10 minutes. “This is a moment of peril for the lives and safety of millions of people as well as for the foundation of the United Nations charter and the rules-based international order that preserves stability worldwide.”

Blinken pointed to new intelligence showing that Russia is sending more ground troops, aircraft and ships to the region as it prepares to “launch an attack.”

“In fact, it’s unfolding right now, today, as Russia takes steps down the path to war and reissued the threat of military action,” he said. (Read more from “US: Early Stages of Russia’s Ukraine Invasion ‘Unfolding’ Now” HERE)

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American-Born Gold Medalist Cashing in Big on Chinese Endorsement Money

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Eileen Gu, the American-born skier who won a gold medal for her mother’s homeland China, reportedly raked in tens of million dollars in Chinese endorsement deals — even before her considerable success at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.

The site Insider cited a report from CBN Data, a Shanghai-based research firm, as saying Gu brought in 200 million Yuan (or over $31 million) in 2021 — before her gold medal run.

Yicai Global, an outlet in Shanghai, counted 23 endorsement deals for Gu heading into the Olympics, including Estee Lauder cosmetics, Cadillac, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany.

According to various outlets, her Chinese endorsers include Anta sportswear, Luckin Coffee, Mengniu Dairy, the e-retailer, JD.Com, China Mobile, the Peoples Insurance Company of China and Bank of China.

Gu, 18, is both a supermodel and a champion. She won the gold medal in women’s freestyle big air last week, becoming the youngest gold medalist in history for that event. Gu also earned a silver medal in freestyle slopestyle. (Read more from “American-Born Gold Medalist Cashing in Big on Chinese Endorsement Money” HERE)

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Canadian Parents Could Face Fines or Jail Time for Bringing Children to ‘Unlawful’ Freedom Convoy Protests

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Canadian parents who bring their children to demonstrations the government considers to be “unlawful” can now face thousands of dollars in fines or jail time, CBC News reported.

The new power reportedly comes after the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act this week, granting itself exceptional measures to address the country’s ongoing Freedom Convoy trucker protests. It marked the first time the act has been invoked since its passage in 1988.

For more than two weeks now, thousands of demonstrators have been camping in Ottawa, Canada’s capital city, in protest of the country’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Elsewhere, protesters have blocked border crossings between the U.S. and Canada, vowing to stay until Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lifts vaccine mandates and other coronavirus restrictions on truckers crossing the border.

Under the act, the federal government can restrict travel and prohibit people from bringing minors to any public assemblies that disrupt the movement of people, goods, and trade, or that support the “threat or use of acts of serious violence against persons or property.” (Read more from “Canadian Parents Could Face Fines or Jail Time for Bringing Children to ‘Unlawful’ Freedom Convoy Protests” HERE)

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How Young Ukrainians Are Preparing for Possible Invasion

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As the threat of Russian invasion looms over Ukraine, the country’s young generation is preparing in every way they know how. . .

Other than the noticeable increase in traffic, the general atmosphere is calm in the capital of Ukraine. The difference, Vlasenko said, is some people are leaving the city and the heightened level of anxiety people are facing within.

“Many [of my friends] went to Italy, to the west of Ukraine,” to see their family, she said, out of fear of invasion. “I’m worried, actually. I can’t believe Russia” claiming that it has no plans to invade, because in 2014, they annexed Crimea and invaded Eastern Ukraine, she continued. . .

Danylo Sheiko, a 19-year-old medical student studying in Lviv, in western Ukraine, shared Vlasenko’s anxiety.

“It feels like something is going to happen. There is something in the air,” he told the Daily Caller, saying that in the event of invasion, he plans to go to work in a hospital. (Read more from “How Young Ukrainians Are Preparing for Possible Invasion” HERE)

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Canada Now a Dictatorship? Trudeau Grabs Powers Under Never-Before Used Emergencies Act to Stomp Out Trucker Protests

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By Breitbart. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time to squash the ongoing Freedom Convoy protests against Wuhan coronavirus restrictions, potentially giving the Canadian leader sweeping emergency powers.

Trudeau annoucned the use of the Emergencies Act for the first time in its history on Monday afternoon, stating that the federal government has invoked the act to aid law enforcement to stop border blockades as well as the Freedom Convoy demonstration in downtown Ottawa.

He went on to claim the act would be used in a time-limited and geographically narrow way and would not be used to bring in the military or suspend the rights of Canadians in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The Emergencies Act replaced the prior War Measures Act that was used by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, the current prime minister’s father, during the October crisis of 1970 when members of the far-left terrorist Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped and murdered Quebec Deputy Premier Pierre Laporte.

The act, which came into law in 1988, allows Trudeau to invoke various measures that could include banning people from gathering in certain areas as well as restricting their travel across the country. (Read more from “Canada Now a Dictatorship? Trudeau Grabs Powers Under Never-Before Used Emergencies Act to Stomp Out Trucker Protests” HERE)

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Trudeau Threatens to Freeze Assets, Suspend Insurance of Freedom Convoy Truckers

By Breitbart. After invoking emergency powers, far-left Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau threatened to freeze assets and suspend insurance of those involved in the Freedom Convoy trucker protests.

“This is about following the money. This is about stopping the financing of these illegal blockades,” Trudeau’s Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said at a press conference on Monday. “We are today serving notice if your truck is being used in these illegal blockades your corporate accounts will be frozen.”

After threatening to freeze truckers’ corporate accounts, Freeland then warned that truckers’ vehicle insurance would also be suspended.

“The insurance on your vehicle will be suspended,” she said. “Send your semi trailers home, the Canadian economy needs them to be doing legitimate work, not to be illegally making us all poor.” (Read more from “Trudeau Threatens to Freeze Assets, Suspend Insurance of Freedom Convoy Truckers” HERE)

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Justin Trudeau Invoked ‘Emergency’ Act Only After Biden Urged Canada to Use ‘Federal Powers’

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in the country’s history to crack down on protests against his vaccine mandate — just days after the Biden administration urged him to use “federal powers.”

Last Thursday, several Biden administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, spoke to their counterparts in Canada as protesters closed the Ambassador Bridge.

The protests are part of nationwide demonstrations against the government’s imposition of vaccine mandates on truckers — a year after Trudeau called mandates ““extreme measures that could have real divisive impacts on community and country.” (Read more from “Justin Trudeau Invoked ‘Emergency’ Act Only After Biden Urged Canada to Use ‘Federal Powers’” HERE)

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There Will Be No Invasion, Yet: Ukraine Officials Say President Was Being ‘Ironic’

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. . .US troops have been deployed to the region, and we’ve been warning Russia that an invasion would be met with severe consequences. They haven’t specified what that means. With Biden at the helm, it would most likely mean a lot of tough talk, or supposed tough talk, followed by nothing. It’s the Obama playbook post-annexation of Crimea. To make things even more insane, Ukrainian officials now say that Zelensky was being ironic about an invasion by Wednesday (via NBC News):

Hours after issuing a global statement saying he heard Russia would attack his country on Feb. 16, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy walked back the prediction on Monday, clarifying that he was referring only to media reports.

The first statement spooked the markets and led to widespread headlines and media reports.

“We are told that February 16 will be the day of the attack,” Zelenskyy said in a video statement posted on Facebook.

However, after his comments were taken by many at face value, his spokesman, Sergii Nykyforov, said that the president, who is a former comedian, was only saying what has been reported elsewhere.

(Read more from “There Will Be No Invasion, Yet: Ukraine Officials Say President Was Being ‘Ironic’” HERE)

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