Hurricane Dorian Strikes Bahamas with Record Fury as Category 5 Storm

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By AP. Hurricane Dorian struck the northern Bahamas on Sunday as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, its record 185 mph winds ripping off roofs and tearing down power lines as hundreds hunkered in schools, churches and other shelters.

Dorian hit land in Elbow Cay in the Abaco Islands at 12:40 p.m., and then made a second landfall near Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco Island at 2 p.m., after authorities made last-minute pleas for those in low-lying areas to evacuate. . .

With its maximum sustained winds of 185 mph (295 kph), it tied the record for the most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever to come ashore, equaling the Labor Day hurricane of 1935, before the storms were named. (Read more from “Dorian Strikes Bahamas with Record Fury as Category 5 Storm” HERE)

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‘Catastrophic’ Hurricane Dorian Could Linger for Days After Landfall in Bahamas

By NBC News. Hurricane Dorian, a slow-moving, devastating Category 5 storm, made landfall on Sunday in the northwest Bahamas, where “catastrophic effects” were expected, the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm was forecast to have a long life, remaining a hurricane for the next five days. Hurricane watches and warnings were issued Sunday afternoon for parts of the Florida coast, where Dorian was expected to move “dangerously close” beginning Monday night through Tuesday night, forecasters said. . .

Twelve to 24 inches of rain, and up to 30 inches in some areas, were expected in the northwestern Bahamas, which could lead to life-threatening flash floods, the center said. The Tourism Ministry said only certain parts of the northwestern Bahamas had conducted evacuation procedures, and it strongly advised visitors to leave. . .

At 7 p.m. ET, Dorian was about 70 miles east of Freeport on Grand Bahama Island. It was moving west at just 5 mph and was expected to continue inching westward to west-northwest for the next day or two. Forecasters said it would then likely gradually turn northwest, meaning the core of the storm “will continue to pound Great Abaco this evening and move near or over Grand Bahama Island tonight and Monday.”

Bahamanian authorities said Sunday night that they had lost contact with the Abaco Islands because of an island-wide power failure that knocked out most telephone service. And they said they feared that Grand Bahama Island could be hit even harder. (Read more from “‘Catastrophic’ Hurricane Dorian Could Linger for Days After Landfall in Bahamas” HERE)

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Things Are Worse Than We Imagined in China

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Earlier this week, I met with some Christian friends who have lived and worked in China for many years. What they shared with me was chilling and sobering. (They are well-connected and not simply airing personal opinions.) . . .

Arrests, brutal interrogations, imprisonments, disruption of meetings, beatings, destroying of “unauthorized” Bibles and Christian books are increasingly common. In one instance that was shared with me, those owning non-approved Bibles and other resources were hit with “stiff fines and the books earmarked for destruction. But not before they (the materials) were first dumped in piles on the street before they were carted off…followed by the pastor who was then sent to prison.” . . .

Second, President Xi really does have megalomaniacal plans. By removing presidential term limits, he is setting himself up to be emperor for life (as my friends couched it).

Not only so, but I was told that the government, from top to bottom, seems to be in lock step with him (in particular, when it comes to persecuting Christians). . .

Third, while the Chinese people may have enjoyed having more liberties, they are more concerned with a healthy economy. And since more and more Chinese have more and more money, they don’t mind the crackdowns on their liberties, which include greater monitoring of their day-to-day lives. (Read more from “Things Are Worse Than We Imagined in China” HERE)

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Iranian President: America Must ‘Bow down Before’ Iran

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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani suggested that if a meeting with President Donald Trump were to take place that the United States would have to bow down to Iran and repent from “economic terrorism” against Iran.

“Those who have imposed sanctions on our people, and have carried out economic terrorism – any change in our conduct toward them must start with their repentance,” Rouhani said in a video translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute. “They must return to their obligations, and change the erroneous path they have chosen. They must act in the service of the world’s interests and security, while maintaining respect for the other. They must recognize our revolution, our regime, and the rights of our people, and they must reject their mistakes. With regard to the relations between Iran and America – unless America gives up the sanctions and rejects the erroneous path it has chosen, we will see no positive change.”

“If you lift all the sanctions and bow down before the Iranian people, the circumstances will be different,” Rouhani continued. “We want to resolve the issues and problems in a reasonable manner, but we are not interested in photo-ops. If someone wants to have his photo taken with Hassan Rouhani – well, that’s impossible. It can be done with Photoshop, but a real photo is impossible, unless one day they lift all their unjust sanctions, and respect the rights of the Iranian people. Then we would be talking about new circumstances, and we could reconsider it.”

(Read more from “Iranian President: America Must ‘Bow down Before’ Iran” HERE)

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Guatemala Intel Secretary Fact-Checks: Migrant Crisis Caused by Poverty from Democrats Pushing ‘Socialist Corrupt Ideology’ on Central America

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Mario Duarte, Guatemala’s secretary of strategic intelligence, credited “policies of failure” pushed by Democrats in the State Department with driving migration from Central and South America to the U.S., offering his response to Beto O’Rourke’s analysis of the phenomenon in a Tuesday interview on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Tonight with hosts Rebecca Mansour and Joel Pollak.

“As an official of the Guatemalan government, to be honest, there are many factors that have actually affected and caused the migration of our citizens to other countries, especially to the United States,” Duarte said. “Climate change, I would say, is somehow up there on the list, but in my view, personally, one of the major reasons we have this issue is because of the failed policies that Democrats have tried to impose on Guatemala and other Latin American countries.”

Duarte continued, “What am I talking about? To give you an example, we have had, in the past, State Department officials identifying themselves as Democrats. “On the day that President Trump was elected, those officials ultimately pushed for specific judges to be appointed to our highest courts in Guatemala — the Constitutional Court.” . . .

Duarte remarked, “It goes back to the policies of failure that people have tried to impose on Guatemala. I’m talking about … Democrats in the U.S. government, certain European countries, and even the UN. So we have socialist-oriented magistrates in the Constitutional Court forcing big companies [and] big businesses to shut down and lay off a lot of people, people with big families. These people have to eat and they have to survive, so they will look for an opportunity somewhere else.” (Read more from “Guatemala Intel Secretary Fact-Checks: Migrant Crisis Caused by Poverty from Democrats Pushing ‘Socialist Corrupt Ideology’ on Central America” HERE)

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Sanders Says He Would ‘Absolutely’ Consider Imposing Sanctions on Brazil Over Amazon Rainforest Fires

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By The Hill. Presidential contender Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said he would “absolutely” consider imposing sanctions on Brazil over the raging wildfires in the Amazon rainforest if he became president.

“What is going on in Brazil is extremely dangerous,” Sanders told Hill.TV, noting that that the region serves as a vital oxygen source for the rest of the world.

“We would use all of the tools at our disposal … to try to make sure that we stop the burning of the Amazon, and in fact, that we work with the entire world to move forward to protect the planet,” he added. . .

Trump has offered praise for the far-right leader amid the heightened criticism.

“He is working very hard on the Amazon fires and in all respects doing a great job for the people of Brazil – Not easy. He and his country have the full and complete support of the USA!” Trump tweeted on Tuesday. (Read more from “Sanders Says He Would ‘Absolutely’ Consider Imposing Sanctions on Brazil Over Amazon Rainforest Fires” HERE)

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Brazil’s Bolsonaro says he will accept aid to fight Amazon fires

By CBS News. A day after Brazil rejected aid from G-7 countries to fight wildfires in the Amazon, the Brazilian leader has said Tuesday that his government will accept all foreign aid from organizations or countries — as long as it can decide how to use the assistance. President Jair Bolsonaro originally said he would only accept help if French President Emmanuel Macron apologized to him personally for perceived insults first.

“Brazilian sovereignty is not negotiable,” said Bolsonaro’s spokesperson, according to the Reuters news agency. The president also said dialog with France isn’t off the table. (Read more from “Brazil’s Bolsonaro Says He Will Accept Aid to Fight Amazon Fires” HERE)

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Bernie Tries to Praise Communist China, Accidentally Praises Capitalism

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Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who is one of the leading Democratic presidential candidates, attempted to praise communist China on Tuesday during an interview with The Hill and accidentally ended up promoting capitalism.

“China is a country that is moving unfortunately in a more authoritarian way in a number of directions,” Sanders told Hill.TV’s Krystal Ball. “But what we have to say about China in fairness to China and it’s leadership is if I’m not mistaken they have made more progress in addressing extreme poverty than any country in the history of civilization, so they’ve done a lot of things for their people.”

What Sanders did not acknowledge was that free-market principles are what allowed China to lift millions of its citizens out of poverty. Forbes reports:

…never before in history have so many people escaped poverty in such a short time as in the past decades in China. According to official World Bank figures, the percentage of extremely poor people in China in 1981 stood at 88.3%. By 2015 only 0.7% of the Chinese population was living in extreme poverty. In this period, the number of poor people in China fell from 878 million to less than ten million…

…China’s success provides clear evidence of the power of capitalism. Under Mao, the state had an omnipotent grip over China’s economy. What has happened over the past few decades can be summed up in a few sentences: China has progressively embraced the tenets of free-market economics, introduced private ownership, and gradually reduced the influence of the once all-powerful state over the Chinese economy. That the state still plays a major role today is simply because China is in the midst of a transformation process that began with complete state dominance of the economy.

(Read more from “Bernie Tries to Praise Communist China, Accidentally Praises Capitalism” HERE)

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NASA, Scientists Crush Climate Change Hysteria Around Amazon Fires — Here’s the Truth

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While climate change alarmists spread fear over wildfires in the Amazon rainforest, data from NASA shows there is no reason for concern — or there should have been concern in past years.

From media outlets to politicians, the wildfires have sparked a wave of misinformation and hysteria. The wildfires are so frightening because the Amazon produces 20 percent of the world’s oxygen, they claim. Others alleged the fires could speed up climate change.

And even though fires are common, NASA analysis shows that current fire activity is at or below average.

As of August 16, 2019, an analysis of NASA satellite data indicated that total fire activity across the Amazon basin this year has been close to the average in comparison to the past 15 years. (The Amazon spreads across Brazil, Peru, Colombia, and parts of other countries.)

Though activity appears to be above average in the states of Amazonas and Rondônia, it has so far appeared below average in Mato Grosso and Pará, according to estimates from the Global Fire Emissions Database, a research project that compiles and analyzes NASA data.

(Read more from “NASA, Scientists Crush Climate Change Hysteria Around Amazon Fires — Here’s the Truth” HERE)

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Shocking Report: ‘Persecution of Christians Worldwide Close to Genocide’

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According to a shocking new report, Christians are “by far the most widely persecuted” members of a religion in the world. It also warns that this persecution is now nearing “genocide” levels.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) shared the report compiled by the Bishop of Truro the Right Reverend Philip Mounstephen. It states that violence and oppression against Christians is worsening as time goes by.

“Evidence shows not only the geographic spread of anti-Christian persecution, but also its increasing severity,” the report states. “In some regions, the level and nature of persecution is arguably coming close to meeting the international definition of genocide, according to that adopted by the UN.”

The evidence shows that Christianity is “by far the most widely persecuted religion.” This is extremely noteworthy because as many as one-third of the world’s population are suffering persecution because of their religious beliefs. Of those, an estimated 80 percent are Christians. (Read more from “Shocking Report: ‘Persecution of Christians Worldwide Close to Genocide'” HERE)

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Trump Announces Massive Japanese Trade Deal Potentially Worth ‘Billions’

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United States President Donald J. Trump alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced on Sunday the framework for a massive trade deal between the two countries. While nothing has been signed yet, the potential agreement could bolster both economies by billions.

“We’ve been working on a deal with Japan for a long time. And we’ve agreed in principle,” President Trump told the press at the G7 Summit.

“We successfully reached consensus with regard to the core elements related to agricultural and industrial trade,” Abe told the media via a translator. “We still have some remaining work that has to be done at the working level.” . . .

“With regard to the potential purchase of American corn, in Japan, we are now experiencing insect pests on some agricultural products,” Abe added. “And there is a need for us to buy some of the agricultural products.”

(Read more from “Trump Announces Massive Japanese Trade Deal Potentially Worth ‘Billions'” HERE)

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Trump Tariffs Tank Asian Equities, Chinese Yuan. China Ready to Negotiate.

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By Daily Wire. President Donald Trump’s latest trade war escalation against China appears to have had an immediate effect on Asian markets and the Chinese Yuan, sending both tumbling early on Monday morning.

“China’s yuan currency fell to 7.1487 to the dollar, its weakest level since early 2008 at the height of the global financial crisis,” AFP reported. “On equity markets, Hong Kong led losses, slumping more than three percent, with investors also spooked by fresh violent protests in the city that saw police use water cannon for the first time. Shanghai lost 1.3 percent and Tokyo ended the morning more than two percent off.”

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He indicated early on Monday that the communist nation was willing to negotiate with the U.S. to prevent the trade war from escalating. (Read more from “Trump Tariffs Tank Asian Equities, Chinese Yuan. China Ready to Negotiate.” HERE)

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China Willing to Resolve Trade Dispute With U.S. via Dialogue: Newspaper

By Reuters. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said on Monday that China is willing to resolve its trade dispute with the United States through calm negotiations and resolutely opposes the escalation of the conflict, a state-backed newspaper reported.

Liu, China’s top trade negotiator, was speaking at a tech conference in Chongqing in southwest China, the Chongqing Morning Post reported. (Read more from “China Willing to Resolve Trade Dispute With U.S. via Dialogue: Newspaper” HERE)

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