Pope Francis Compares Trump to Herod, Who Tried to Kill Jesus

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Pope Francis has compared U.S. President Donald Trump to the murderous King Herod who massacred innocent children in ancient Palestine while trying to kill the baby Jesus, a Jesuit journal revealed Thursday.

Speaking with his brother Jesuits during his recent visit to Thailand, the Argentinian pope minced no words in his thinly veiled condemnation of the U.S. president and his administration, suggesting that like a modern-day Herod, Mr. Trump separates families at the border while allowing drugs to freely flow into the country.

“In other parts there are walls that even separate children from parents. Herod comes to mind,” Francis said. “Yet for drugs, there’s no wall to keep them out.”

“The phenomenon of migration is compounded by war, hunger and a ‘defensive mindset,’ which makes us in a state of fear believe that you can defend yourself only by strengthening borders. At the same time, there is exploitation.”

In this Q&A session, the pontiff also proposed that the rise of populism is at the root of migrants’ problems in Europe. (Read more from “Pope Francis Compares Trump to Herod, Who Tried to Kill Jesus” HERE)

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Reports: Iran Is Secretly Transporting Missiles Into Iraq That May Have Nuclear Capability

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Iran has been taking advantage of recent political unrest in Iraq by secretly stockpiling short-range missiles inside the country, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

The buildup is a part of Iran’s widening effort to assert dominance in the Middle East and could pose a threat to American troops and American allies in the region such as Israel and Saudi Arabia, U.S. sources told the Times.

Both Iraq and Iran have been gripped by deadly protests in recent months, with more than 1,000 people reported dead as a result of protests in Iran. But public unrest has not seemed to slow Iranian leadership down from engaging in what the Times calls a “shadow war.”

Iran has been attacking countries in the Middle East of late but disguising the origin to diminish the chances of counterattacks. Iran’s stockpiling of missiles in Iraq also serves as a strategic deterrent. If Iran were to face an attack, it could potentially strike back with the missiles stored outside its borders.

The short-range missiles have an estimated range of 600 miles and thus are capable of reaching Jerusalem from outside Baghdad.

The same day that the news broke, a letter was released from the French, German, and British ambassadors to the United Nations alleging that Iran now has nuclear-capable missiles.

According to CNN, in the letter, “the ambassadors listed four examples of activity indicating nuclear-capable missiles, adding that ‘Iran’s developments of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles and related technologies is inconsistent’ with a UN resolution restraining the country from doing so.”

The U.N. resolution the letter cites endorsed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which President Trump pulled the U.S. out of in 2018 but which is still supported by the U.K., France, Germany, China, and Russia.

The letter cited footage of a flight test for a new Shahab-3 ballistic missile — which has a range of about 600 miles as mentioned above — equipped with a maneuverable re-entry vehicle that makes it “technically capable” of delivering a nuclear weapon.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has denied the allegation on social media.

These moves come amid a growing presence of U.S. military in the Middle East. Approximately 14,000 troops have been sent to the region since May, and reports Wednesday said that the Trump administration is considering sending 14,000 more, though the Pentagon has denied the claim. (For more from the author of “Reports: Iran Is Secretly Transporting Missiles Into Iraq That May Have Nuclear Capability” please click HERE)

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WWII Bomb Forces 10,000 to Evacuate City

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More than 10,000 people were forced to evacuate the northwestern Italian city of Turin on Sunday as bomb experts worked to defuse a 70-year-old World War II bomb.

Residents in the central part of the Italian city were told to evacuate a “red zone” in the city’s historic district, while another 50,000 in an outer perimeter were advised to leave their homes in advance or remain inside during the operation.

The 500-pound bomb, which contained 140 pounds of dynamite, was dropped by British forces on the city 70 years ago, authorities said, according to The Local. . .

She added that a detonator at the tail end of the device required deactivating and was the reason for the operation, according to the BBC.

On Sunday afternoon, local media reported the operation to decommission the bomb was completed faster than expected and residents within the two impacted zones were allowed to go back home. (Read more from “WWII Bomb Forces 10,000 to Evacuate City” HERE)

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Investigators: China Still Harvesting Human Organs on Huge Scale

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By VOA News. China continues to harvest organs from prisoners on a massive scale, according to a new report that finds prisoners of conscience, including Falun Gong practitioners, remain the primary target.

In 2006, Canadian human rights lawyer David Matas and former Canadian Asia-Pacific Secretary of State David Kilgour began an investigation into accusations of the Chinese government’s role in harvesting the organs of Falun Gong practitioners.

Their published findings, “Bloody Harvest: Revised Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China,” attracted international attention.

On Wednesday, they published an even more comprehensive report that finds the scale of organ harvesting has significantly increased. According to these latest findings, the number of China’s annual organ transplant surgeries far surpasses Beijing’s official estimate of 10,000.

“We look at individual hospitals that do transplants through their websites, their publications, their newsletters, their back calendars and patient volume and so on, and at a variety of indicators going hospital by hospital,” Matas told VOA. “There are around 900 hospitals that do transplants. We don’t give a specific figure but we can say it is much larger than the 10,000 a year — at minimum 60,000 a year and probably more than that.” (Read more from “Investigators: China Still Harvesting Human Organs on Huge Scale” HERE)

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Chinese Officials Tear down Virgin Mary Painting, Replace It with President Xi

By American Military News. Authorities in the eastern province of Jiangxi have forced a Catholic church to replace a painting of the Virgin Mary with her child with one of President Xi Jinping, as well as hang up the Chinese flag and nationalist slogans in support of the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

The True Origin Catholic Church in Jiangxi’s Ji’an city built the church after raising more than a million yuan in donations from believers, according to the overseas-based news website Bitter Winter.

But in September, officials from the local government’s religious affairs bureau ordered the church to remove the church name from public display, and replace it with a banner proclaiming “Follow the party, thank the party, obey the party.”

Officials also took down an image of the Madonna and hung President Xi’s portrait in its place. Shortly afterwards, officials confiscated the keys to the building and its members were unable to use it for worship, the report said.

(Read more from “Chinese Officials Tear down Virgin Mary Painting, Replace It with President Xi” HERE)

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REPORT: Chinese Big Tech Is Using Zimbabwe Citizens as Guineas Pigs to Identify and Track Black People

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Chinese big tech companies are using Zimbabwe as a large research laboratory to develop facial recognition that will help them identify and track black people, The Financial Times reported Monday.

ZTE and other Chinese tech behemoths are shaping the United Nations’s architectural standards for facial recognition technology, according to leaked documents FT obtained. The standard will reportedly help China’s tech industry open up new markets in the Middle East and Africa.

China’s tech titans are proposing new standards inside the United Nations’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for facial recognition, video monitoring, and vehicle surveillance, among other cutting edge tech developments. . .

“African states tend to go along with what is being put forward by China and the ITU as they don’t have the resources to develop standards themselves,” Richard Wingfield, head of legal at Global Partners Digital, told reporters. . .

The new ITU proposal stipulates a requirement that companies must store detected facial features in a database, which will include identifying information, such as race, skin color, facial curvature, among other demographic features. (Read more from “REPORT: Chinese Big Tech Is Using Zimbabwe Citizens as Guineas Pigs to Identify and Track Black People” HERE)

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UK Requires Hero Who Was Stabbed on London Bridge to Undergo ‘Deradicalization’ to Avoid Islamophobia

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English authorities placed the man who fended off terrorists during the 2017 attack on London Bridge on an anti-extremist watchlist out of concern over Islamophobia.

Roy Larner, 49, was deemed a hero after he ran out of a pub to stop three Islamic terrorists after they rammed a van through a crowd of people on London Bridge in 2017, killing seven. Larner was stabbed several times while fighting the men off.

Larner, who was dubbed the Lion of London Bridge for his actions, recalled the attack at the time saying, “They had these long knives and started shouting about Allah. Then it was, ‘Islam, Islam, Islam,’” Larner said. “Like an idiot I shouted back at them … I took a few steps towards them and said, ‘F— you, I’m Millwall.’” . . .

Larner has since been added to the United Kingdom’s “Prevent” program, a watchlist for those deemed to have anti-Islamic tendencies. Authorities claimed that they feared Larner was at risk for extremist behaviors because he had been contacted by individuals with ties to anti-Islamic groups.

Larner has been monitored by authorities and forced to take deradicalization courses. (Read more from “UK Requires Hero Who Was Stabbed on London Bridge to Undergo ‘Deradicalization’ to Avoid Islamophobia” HERE)

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Video and 15 Photos from the #Iranprotests You Will Never See in Our Deranged, Anti-Trump Media (Caution: Graphic Content)

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You wouldn’t know it to read and listen to our singularly focused media — who have devoted their entire energies over the last three years to removing President Trump from office — but Iran is exploding as its youth have finally had enough. An entire generation, without economic opportunity, is now rising up against its oppressors.

Please note, some graphic content is below the fold. Also, some translations are from Farsi. Original names have been largely omitted in order to shield individuals from the Iranian terror regime.

(Warning: Graphic Content)

At least 4 detainees have been tortured in Rajaii Shahr Prison at least # detainees. The detainees are beaten every morning and evening in the prison with batons and whips. A group of them were told during the interrogation by IRGC officers that they would be “executed”…

The hashtag #IranLightsOff is being used to try to draw attention to this significant set of events in Iran by legacy media, who can’t stop attacking Trump to report the actual news.

Here, IRGC terrorists appear to be publicly removing hands and feet from protesters:

A body recovered after being tortured and killed by the IRGC:

More than a quarter of those who attempted to break the siege and deliver food to nearby towns were killed. One of the dead who was most influential was Hamza al-Khatib, a 5-year-old who was arrested in Deraa. His body was marked by the effects of torture, burns and bullets, and his penis was severed.

Torture of citizens detained in Shiraz by IRGC…

“Confessions” recorded by the Iranian terror regime; this individual’s “confession” reportedly ocurred after threats and torture; “Many of those who were killed or arrested were one like this guy. A youth from the lower class who has no future for himself and is not making a living.”

Fashafuyeh Prison is the largest prison in Tehran. Thousands of those arrested are reportedly being held in the prison. Two days ago, there was an urgent news that the prisoners had begged for help. It is said that there is a lot of torture here.

Thinking for a moment at # Intelligence Ministry’s secret detention centers under torture How many girls and boys are screaming and waking up? It was their crime to knit their fists because of a bankrupt economy and a ruined youth!

Security guards in the suburb of Hamid Sheikhani, one of the detainees, handed over his recent protests to his family. Married and with a 5-year-old son, he was healthy at the time of his arrest, and his death means he died of torture.

At least 1 killed, 1 injured and 4 arrested during Iran’s #russels … Those arrested are now at risk of torture … The UN Security Council should send investigative missions to the dead and injured and prisoners to Iran.

With the devotees of the Road to Freedom in November. Greetings to the martyrs, the ransom of the rebellious cities of Iran for the angel of freedom. Greetings to hearts full of passion and love that stopped moving until the heart of the uprising for freedom continued to beat.

Funeral for the Liberals of the Road to Freedom in Nasiriyah, Iraq. Yesterday, more than 5 people were killed by the Revolutionary Guards in Nasiriyah, but gunmen took to the streets and captured the city less than six hours ago.

A protester being detained and shipped off to parts unknown.

A newly acquired video from Khorramshahr shows the horrific moments when state security forces shot and killed 16-year-old Khaled Ghazlawi during #IranProtests #Iran

And this is the same regime that President Obama allowed $150 billion to flow to, including sending a palette of $1.5 billion in cash, without Congressional approval or authorization.

Hat tip: BadBlue News, my 24 x 7 replacement for Drudge.

(For more from the author of “15 Photos from the #Iranprotests You Will Never See in Our Deranged, Anti-Trump Media (Caution: Graphic Content)” please click HERE)

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Several People Stabbed, Two Dead in London Bridge Terrorist Attack (VIDEO)

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By Daily Caller. Several people were stabbed Friday near the London Bridge in England, and the suspect plus two victims died, U.K. officials said.

Police shot the suspect dead, according to Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu. Two people have died as a result of the stabbings, U.K. officials said, according to The Wall Street Journal. Three others are in London hospitals, according to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick. . .

Authorities are treating the incident as a terrorist attack and the man had a fake suicide vest, Basu said. The suspect was reportedly a convicted terrorist who was released from jail upon agreeing he wear a tracking device, The Times of London reported, citing government sources.

He was allegedly convicted on an “Islamist terrorism-related offense” and was attending a conference on prison rehabilitation Friday.

“As you would expect due to the nature of the incident, we responded as though this was terrorist related. I’m now in a position to confirm that it has been declared a terrorist incident,” Basu said during a press conference, adding that authorities do not know a motive. (Read more from “Several People Stabbed, Two Dead in London Bridge Terrorist Attack (VIDEO)” HERE)

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London Bridge Attacker Named as Usman Khan, 28

By The Guardian. The Met has identified the London Bridge attacker as Usman Khan, a 28-year-old man released from prison on a licence (parole) in December 2018 after spending eight years in jail for terrorism offences.

He pleaded guilty in 2012 to offences including planning and raising funds for terror related activities and planned to establish, and train at, a terrorist military training facility in Kashmir. The judge termed his plans a “serious, long term venture in terrorism” and warned he may pose an ongoing risk to the public.

Khan was wearing an electronic tag and had reportedly been invited to attend a justice conference on prison rehabilitation at Fishmongers’ Hall, on the northern side of London Bridge, on Friday. The attack began there. (Read more from “London Bridge Attacker Named as Usman Khan, 28” HERE)

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Hong Kong Protesters Gather on Thanksgiving After Trump Signs Pro-Democracy Legislation

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Pro-democracy protesters gathered in Hong Kong on Thanksgiving to show their gratitude to President Donald Trump after he signed legislation in their favor.

Trump signed two bills into law on Wednesday that provide support for the protesters in Hong Kong and threaten economic consequences against China.

On Thursday, demonstrators showed their appreciation to the president by waving American flags and holding copies of an image Trump tweeted that shows his head photoshopped onto fictional boxer Rocky Balboa’s body.

One of the bills signed by the president prevents the sale of tear gas and rubber bullets to Hong Kong police, as they have been used to deter the crowds of protesters. The other gives the authority to impose sanctions and remove Hong Kong’s special trading status with the U.S. if China is found to have violated the city’s autonomy.

“I signed these bills out of respect for President Xi [Jinping], China, and the people of Hong Kong,” Trump said in a statement. “They are being enacted in the hope that Leaders and Representatives of China and Hong Kong will be able to amicably settle their differences leading to long term peace and prosperity for all.” (Read more from “Hong Kong Protesters Gather on Thanksgiving After Trump Signs Pro-Democracy Legislation” HERE)

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Francis’ Appointment of Jesuits to Lead Vatican Offices an ‘Anomaly’ in Church’s History

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When Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio in 2013 became the first Jesuit in history to be elected the Roman pontiff, there was not a single member of his religious order serving at the Vatican in a leadership position.

Six-and-a-half years later, Pope Francis has now appointed three of his former confreres in the Society of Jesus to the Vatican’s highest posts. The latest was Spanish Jesuit Fr. Juan Guerrero Alves, who the pope appointed Nov. 14 to become the prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy.

Guerrero, formerly an official at the Jesuit headquarters in Rome, joins Spanish Jesuit Cardinal Luis Ladaria, who heads the powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; and Canadian Jesuit Cardinal Michael Czerny, who leads the Vatican office that advocates for global migrants and refugees. . .

“In the modern era, relations between the Jesuits and the papacy have been very hostile,” said Michela Catto, an Italian church historian who has written a number of books on the Jesuits and their relations with the Vatican.

Catto, a researcher at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, called Francis’ choices “an anomaly and certainly not traditional.” (Read more from “Francis’ Appointment of Jesuits to Lead Vatican Offices an ‘Anomaly’ in Church’s History” HERE)

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