Pope to Gay: ‘God Made You like That’

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By The Telegraph. The Pope made the remarks, which went significantly beyond his previous tolerance for homosexuality, during a meeting three weeks ago with a Chilean man who had been sexually abused by Catholic priests.

The Pope offered a heartfelt apology to Juan Carlos Cruz, who was a victim of Chile’s most notorious abusive priest, Fernando Karadima.

Mr Cruz, who is gay, said the conversation moved on from the abuse crisis to the nature of homosexuality.

“He told me ‘Juan Carlos, that you are gay does not matter. God made you like that and he loves you like that and I do not care.

“The Pope loves you as you are, you have to be happy with who you are,’” Mr Cruz told El Pais, the Spanish newspaper. (Read more from “Pope to Gay: ‘God Made You like That'” HERE)

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Pope Francis Reportedly Tells Gay Man, ‘God Made You That Way and Loves You’

By Fox News. . .The Los Angeles Times reported that the Vatican did not confirm the pope’s comments given that it was a private conversation.

The pope has upheld Catholic teaching on homosexuality, reiterating the church’s opposition to same-sex relationships.

Francis uttered his “Who am I to judge?” comment during his first airborne press conference in 2013, signaling a new era of acceptance and welcome for gays in the church. Francis followed up by meeting with gay and transgender faithful.

Fr. James Martin, the author of “Building a Bridge,” told The Times that Francis’ reported comments are a “big deal” because it is likely the first time the pope made a comment “about gay people being born that way.”

Martin told the paper that the pope made the reported comment in private and not on the record, which is a big difference. (Read more from “Pope Francis Reportedly Tells Gay Man, ‘God Made You That Way and Loves You'” HERE)

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Thanks Trump? China Pledges to Buy More American Products, Reduce Trade Deficit

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By The Daily Wire. President Donald Trump drew major heat for announcing, months ago, that he would boost tariffs on goods coming into the United States from China, in an effort to re-balance what he considered an economically fatal trade deficit.

But after months of negotiations, it seems the President’s commitment ot the “art of the deal” has changed our relationship with China without many major changes on the part of the U.S., and though nothing is yet official, China says it will buy more American products to “even out” our trade partnership.

According to CNN, China has pledged to “significantly increase” “purchase of goods and services” from American companies, in order to “reduce the trade imbalance.” The news comes at the tail end of weeks of trade talks between American and Chinese officials that both parties have called “productive.” (Read more from “Thanks Trump? China Pledges to Buy More American Products, Reduce Trade Deficit” HERE)

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U.S. and China Call a Ceasefire in Trade Dispute

By CNN. After weeks of tensions, China and the United States have reached a ceasefire.

Both sides this weekend said they had agreed to not impose new tariffs on one another while talks continue, after reaching an initial agreement on trade.

In a joint statement on Saturday, the countries said China would “significantly increase” purchases of US goods and services to reduce their trade imbalance. This was a top demand of the Trump administration during two days of trade talks in Washington with Chinese officials.

“We’re putting the trade war on hold,” US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told “Fox News Sunday. “We have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework.” (Read more from “U.S. and China Call a Ceasefire in Trade Dispute” HERE)

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Hamas Rioters Paid $100/Day to Attack Israel, Funding Came from Obama

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. . .But in reality Israel has shown restraint at what were actually Hamas-incited protests and riots that involved the terrorist group paying Palestinians to participate, according to Daniel Greenfield of Front Page Mag, who exposed the absurdity of the media coverage with a biting opening paragraph.

“Hamas supporters in Gaza held the world’s first peaceful protest with hand grenades, pipe bombs, cleavers and guns. Ten explosive devices were peacefully detonated. There were outbursts of peaceful gunfire and over a dozen kites carrying firebombs were sent into Israel where they started 23 peaceful fires. And Israeli soldiers peacefully defended their country leaving multiple Hamas attackers at peace,” Greenfield wrote.

Greenfield noted that despite the media focus of the past few days, the Hamas-led protests and violent riots have actually been ongoing since late March, and offered proof obtained by a U.K. Telegraph reporter in April that Palestinians were being paid $100 per day by Hamas to take part, more if they suffered injuries or died.

That reporter discovered that merely participating in the protests earned $100, while being shot (whether with real or rubber bullets) garnered $200, severe injuries netted $500 and death warranted a $3,000 payment to the surviving family.

Considering an estimated 40,000-50,000 Gazans participated in the most recent protests and riots — which were really an effort to breach the barrier separating Gaza from Israel so Hamas terrorists could rush through and do their worst — that event likely cost Hamas millions of dollars. (Read more from “Hamas Rioters Paid $100/Day to Attack Israel, Funding Came from Obama” HERE)

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Doctors Accused of Forcing Terminally Ill into Assisted Suicide

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A terminal ill man who needs around-the-clock care filed a lawsuit claiming doctors are pressuring him to go home or die in medically assisted death. . .

[Roger] Foley [of Canada] suffers from an incurable brain disorder called cerebellar ataxia, a condition which limits his ability to move his arms and legs and leaves him unable to perform mundane tasks such as feeding himself and lifting himself up. . .

According to the February 14 lawsuit, Foley was given two options on how to move forward with his medical care: ‘forced discharge’ from the hospital ‘to work with contracted agencies that have failed him’ or medically assisted death.

He said there were two instances in which he received horrible home care providers and even contemplated suicide after one provider allegedly left him so sick he needed to be hospitalized.

‘I have been given the wrong medication,’ he claimed. ‘I have been provided food where I got food poisoning, I’ve had workers fall asleep in my living room, burners and appliances constantly left on, a fire, and I have been injured during exercises and transfers. When I report(ed) these things to the agency, I would not get a response.’ (Read more from “Doctors Accused of Forcing Terminally Ill into Assisted Suicide” HERE)

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Plane Explodes into Ball of Flames

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A Boeing 737 plane has crashed moments after taking off from Havana’s Jose Marti International Airport – just one day after more than a third of its fleet were grounded over safety concerns.

At least 100 are dead after the internal Cubana de Aviacion flight, which was carrying 113 passengers and crew, including five children, crashed into a yuca field near a high school, in the Santiago de las Vegas neighborhood, on Friday.

Just four survivors were recovered and taken to hospital in critical condition, according to Cuban media. One has since died in hospital.

Photos of the scene show fire crews attempting to put out the still smoking wreckage of the aircraft which was devastated in the crash. Debris was left scattered across the surrounding area after the explosion. . .

The flight was leased by airline Cubana from a small Mexican airline called Damojh or Global, Cuban state media said. Holguin has some of the island’s most pristine beaches, and attracts tourists.

(Read more from “Plane Explodes into Ball of Flames” HERE)

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Remember the Dead Palestinian Baby? Turns out She Didn’t Die from Israeli Forces

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. . .As evidence of the cruelty of Israeli security forces toward innocent Palestinians in Gaza, the media focused on a dead Palestinian baby. The infant’s tragic death, however, turned into a propaganda win for the terrorist organization.

A prime example of what could easily have been written by the Hamas propaganda department itself was an article in the Los Angeles Times which lamented the death of the 10-month-old baby girl — Layla Ghandour.

But a former journalist for the L.A. and New York Times astutely noted that, buried midway through the blatant piece, it was revealed by a doctor in Gaza that the baby had died from a pre-existing heart condition.

The 16th paragraph of that report read: “A doctor at the hospital where Layla was treated said she had a preexisting heart condition that caused her death. He asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to discuss the child’s medical history.” . . .

The preceding paragraph even cited Israeli military spokesman Ofir Gendelman, who stated without elaboration, “We have evidence casting doubt on the truthfulness of reports about the death of a baby girl in the Gaza Strip.” (Read more from “Remember the Dead Palestinian Baby? Turns out She Didn’t Die from Israeli Forces” HERE)

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Shocker: Even Leftist Columnist Rips Hamas, Says They Committed ‘an Act of Human Sacrifice’

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Appearing on CNN with Anderson Cooper, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, who has spent his career attacking the Israeli right wing, astonishingly ripped into Hamas for the violence along the Israeli-Gaza border and the Palestinians who were killed, saying Hamas had committed “an act of human sacrifice.”

Cooper precipitated Friedman’s response by assuming Friedman would buy into the media’s false narrative of the correlation between the opening of the embassy in Jerusalem and the Hamas riots, ignoring that Hamas had been rioting every week for weeks: “Tom, it was striking yesterday to watch members of the Trump Administration celebrating the unveiling of the new embassy and at the same time Palestinians were being killed on the Israeli-Gaza border.”

Shockingly, Friedman ignored Cooper’s attempt and targeted Hamas instead, saying:

You know, the whole thing, Anderson, is just like diplomatic pornography from beginning to end. Let’s start with Hamas and Gaza. I mean, it was an act of human sacrifice. I’m sorry, when you throw thousands of your youth, the flower of your youth against an Israeli fence, supposedly to get into Israel, some of them surrounded by armed Hamas fighters, it was inevitable that a lot of people were gonna get killed. Israel was not going to open the border to them and Hamas knew that, and this was entirely designed by Hamas to distract the attention of the world, not to mention the Middle East.

. . .

Friedman answered, “Absolutely. They’re totally in control. And this is their answer to failed leadership, to turn Gaza into some kind of decent flourishing state, which they could have done. They had the choice to do that before all these blockades began and they chose not to. They have a lot to answer for.” (Read more from “Shocker: Even Leftist Columnist Rips Hamas, Says They Committed ‘an Act of Human Sacrifice'” HERE)

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Trump Issues Warning for Kim Jong Un

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By The Guardian. Donald Trump has threatened Kim Jong-un with the same fate as Muammar Gaddafi if the North Korean leader “doesn’t make a deal” on his nuclear weapons programme.

The US president issued the threat at the White House when he was asked about the recent suggestion by his national security adviser, John Bolton, that the “Libyan model” be a template for dealing with North Korea at a summit between Trump and Kim planned for 12 June in Singapore.

The model Bolton was referring to was Gaddafi’s agreement in December 2003 to surrender his embryonic nuclear weapons programme, which included allowing his uranium centrifuges to be shipped out to the US.

But Trump appeared to be unaware of that agreement, and interpreted the “Libyan model” to mean the 2011 Nato intervention in Libya in support of an insurrection, which ultimately led to Gaddafi’s murder at the hands of rebels in Tripoli.

“The model, if you look at that model with Gaddafi, that was a total decimation. We went in there to beat him. Now that model would take place if we don’t make a deal, most likely. But if we make a deal, I think Kim Jong-un is going to be very, very happy,” Trump said, suggesting that the regime’s survival could be assured if Kim agreed to disarm. (Read more from “Trump Issues Warning for Kim Jong Un” HERE)

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North Korea Summit: Trump Contradicts Bolton on ‘Libya Model’

By BBC. US President Donald Trump has contradicted his own national security adviser, saying the so-called “Libya model” for denuclearisation is not being pursued with North Korea.

The suggestion by John Bolton angered the North, which threatened to pull out of a summit with Mr Trump next month . . .

On the planned summit, Mr Trump said: “Nothing has changed on North Korea that we know of. We have not been told anything.

“And if it does that’s fine and if it doesn’t I think we’ll probably have a very successful meeting.” (Read more from “North Korea Summit: Trump Contradicts Bolton on ‘Libya Model'” HERE)

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Turkey’s Edrogan Calls for Muslim World to Unite Against Israel Due to Gaza Massacre, Jerusalem

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By Press TV. Turkey has urged Islamic countries to review their ties with Israel after dozens of Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire on the Gaza border.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told his ruling party in parliament that Ankara would call an extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

“Islamic countries should without fail review their relations with Israel,” Premier Yildirim said, adding, “The Islamic world should move as one, with one voice, against this massacre.”

Yildirim said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the body, called the OIC summit on Friday.

Yildirim said that after the summit at 3:00 pm a giant rally would be held at the vast Yenikapi meeting area in Istanbul under the slogan of “Stop the Oppression” to express solidarity with the Palestinians. (Read more from “Turkey’s Edrogan Calls for Muslim World to Unite Against Israel Due to Gaza Massacre, Jerusalem” HERE)

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Did Israel Use Excessive Force at Gaza Protests?

By BBC. Palestinian health officials say more than 100 Palestinians have been killed and 10,000 injured by Israeli troops over the past six weeks at a series of protests along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. . .

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel’s military of carrying out “massacres” of unarmed civilians, but Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted its troops acted in self-[defense] and blamed the militant group Hamas, which dominates Gaza, for the deaths. . .

Before the protests began, Israeli officials said soldiers would be permitted under certain rules to fire live ammunition at anyone attempting to damage the border fence, and even against people coming within 300m (985ft) of it – a figure that was reportedly later reduced to 100m.

Despite the warnings, thousands of Palestinians approached the fence during the protests. A number threw stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli soldiers deployed on the Israeli side of the border, and flew kites laden with petrol soaked material intended to start fires on Israeli territory.

Israeli troops responded by firing tear gas, rubber bullets and various types of live ammunition. (Read more from “Did Israel Use Excessive Force at Gaza Protests?” HERE)

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“All the Rage” in Sweden and on the Farm: The Mark of the Beast May Be Closer Than You Think

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By Futurism. . .[A] growing number of people — including, for whatever reason, about 3,000 Swedes — are opting for something even more invasive, and arguably practical: a surgically inserted microchip, according to the Associated French Press.

The chip itself essentially acts as a digital keychain. NFC (near-field communication) is a way of sending information wirelessly from a passive chip to a reader, but only when they are about 4 cm (1.6 in) apart (you might have heard of radio frequency identification, or RFID — NFC is a more sophisticated form of it). A chip in the hand can help people do things like sign into the gym, unlock doors to cars and offices, and make credit card payments. Over time, as the technology progresses, the implant will be able to do even more. . .

But now, people who get the implant aren’t counterculture biohackers — they’re the everyman. This is especially true in Sweden, where these chips are so mainstream that, since June 2017, people have been able to buy train tickets with their microchips.

More bodies equipped with microchips doesn’t necessary sound like good news to everybody, however. NFC chips right below the skin give corporations a fair amount of control over you — they could track where you are, how long you take for lunch every day, or how many times you went to the bathroom, if the chip were scanned by a reader. And since most chips are offered through big companies, it’s just a matter of time until this happens. And opting out of this kind of data collection is a lot more convoluted when you’ve got a chip implanted in your bodily tissues. If you want to go off the grid in even the smallest way, you can leave your wallet at home, but removing a microchip requires bit more, uh, effort. (Read more from “All the Rage” in Sweden and on the Farm: The Mark of the Beast May Be Closer Than You Think” HERE)

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Subcutaneous Fitbits? These Cows Are Modeling the Tracking Technology of the Future

By Technology Review. . .These cows are the first to try a device called EmbediVet, created by a startup named Livestock Labs. For now, they’re just going about their normal lives, unintentionally providing data that helps train an artificial neural network. The hope is that in the near future, this AI will help farmers figure out quickly and easily how well cows and other livestock are eating, whether they’re getting sick or about to give birth—things that are typically done today just by watching and waiting but are difficult to spot when you’ve got hundreds or thousands of animals to keep an eye on.

Embedded RFID sensors and other trackers have long been used in livestock, though generally just for identifying each animal. There are already some behavior-tracking wearables out there, such as collars, that use sensors to pinpoint events like cud-chewing and illness. But Livestock Labs claims that once EmbediVet is implanted—currently in a surgical procedure done under local anesthetic—it’s less annoying to the cow than a wearable and, potentially, a more powerful way to collect useful data and spot bovine behavior patterns over time. . .

Within months, Livestock Labs readied a new device—now called EmbediVet—for testing in cattle. Covered in a clear resin, it includes an ARM processor and Bluetooth and long-range radios, as well as a thermometer, accelerometer, and heart-rate monitor and pulse oximeter for measuring heart rate, blood oxygen levels, temperature, and basic activity. It runs on a coin-cell battery the company expects will last for about three years.

Why do it? Rood thinks that this kind of device can be more accurate than a wearable one such as a collar or an anklet, especially when it comes to tracking a metric like body temperature, which correlates with disease, in thick-skinned animals. (Read more from “Subcutaneous Fitbits? These Cows Are Modeling the Tracking Technology of the Future” HERE)

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