Gold Coast Mayor concedes more thought should have gone into prayer room after interest from satanists

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate says he should have thought twice before converting a disused office at council chambers into a prayer room, following attempts by a group of satanists to use it for a blessing.

Key points:

Tom Tate says prayer room should have been called "R U OK room"

The room is no longer publicly available after satanists attempted to use it for blessing

Mr Tate says the appointment of a controversial spiritual adviser will help coordinate church and council resources

The prayer room was implemented in March following the appointment of the mayor's long-time spiritual adviser Sue Baynes as council's pastoral adviser.

Ms Baynes has publicly advocated for the controversial Seven Mountains Mandate — a dominionist religious movement that seeks to gain influence over seven spheres of society, including government, education and media — and shift their focus towards evangelical Christian beliefs.

At a religious service in November 2021, Ms Baynes also warned that a "demonic stronghold" had been established at the city's Home of the Arts (HOTA) resulting in a "spiritual battle".

In response, the Noosa Temple of Satan attempted to book council's prayer room in April for a satanic blessing — a request that was denied.

Should have been 'R U OK' room

Mr Tate said he "didn't name the room" but has since had a rethink.

"If I had my time over again, I would have called it an R U OK room," he said.

"It is a quiet time really primarily for our staff, or somebody's already gone through security to meet council inside and go 'I need to breastfeed, let's go in there'."

Mr Tate said the experience with the satanists brought issues with the prayer room into focus.

"God works in different ways, even utilised the satanists to help me realise I should have called it R U OK room," he said.

"So thank you very much."

No public access

Mr Tate said the prayer room is no longer available for public bookings.

"The decision on anyone who [is] coming in our building is operational matter," he said.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-18/gold-coast-mayor-tom-tate-concedes-on-prayer-room/101075832

https://www.coreysdigs.com/global/17-goals-toward-enslavement-exposing-the-real-agendas-behind-the-2030-agenda/

Man they want civil unrest bad

Charges Against Black Michigan Man Who Beat Elderly White Nursing Home Patients Dropped

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/05/charges-black-michigan-man-beat-elderly-white-nursing-home-patients-dropped/

Ransomware Gang Threatens To "Overthrow" Costa Rica's Government As Attack Deepens

Last week, Costa Rica declared a state of emergency after a Conti Group ransomware attack infected government computer networks. Now, the ransomware gang responsible for the attack said its objective is to overthrow the government, according to AP News.

On Monday, newly elected President Rodrigo Chaves told reporters that the Russian-speaking cyber gang had increased ransom payment to $20 million. He said the ransomware had impacted 27 government institutions, including federal agencies, state-run utilities, and municipalities.

"We are at war, and that's not an exaggeration," Chaves said, adding officials believe they're dealing with a national terrorist group with collaborators inside Costa Rica.

Also, on Monday, Conti said: "We have our insiders in your government … are also working on gaining access to your other systems, you have no other options but to pay us. We know that you have hired a data recovery specialist, don't try to find workarounds."

The ransomware attack was first discovered in April, infecting the Finance Ministry, including customs and tax collection networks. AP notes other government networks have been infected and have not worked properly in a month.

Conti has also said: "We are determined to overthrow the government by means of a cyber attack, we have already shown you all the strength and power, you have introduced an emergency."

If the ransomware is not paid promptly, the cyber gang said they would delete the decryption keys, effectively paralyzing critical networks that run certain government agencies.

Brett Callow, a ransomware analyst at Emsisoft, said, "the threat to overthrow the government is simply them making noise and not to be taken too seriously."

However, Callow did say, "We haven't seen anything even close to this before, and it's quite a unique situation."

Could this be the first instance a cyber gang attempts to overthrow a government with ransomware?

https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/ransomware-gang-threatens-overthrow-costa-ricas-government-attack-deepens

Turkey Will Agree to Sweden & Finland NATO Membership If S-400 Sanctions Are Lifted - Report

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on May 16 that his country could not approve Sweden and Finland's NATO membership, as these two countries imposed sanctions against Turkey in 2019 and have refused to extradite Kurdish militants.

Turkey has demanded that European countries end restrictions on the export of weapons, as well as the lifting of US sanctions for the purchased Russian S-400 systems, in return for agreeing to the membership of Sweden and Finland in NATO, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

Three senior Turkish officials told the agency that Ankara insists that Sweden and Finland “recognize its concerns about Kurdish militias – both inside Turkey and across its borders in Syria and Iraq.” They noted that, in addition to recognizing the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) as a terrorist organization, the same should be done with all groups associated with it.

Apart from that, Turkey reportedly demanded that Sweden and Finland, along with other European countries, end the arms export restrictions they imposed on Turkey after its invasion of Syria in 2019, aimed at pushing the Kurdish Defense Units (YPG) away from its border.

According to Bloomberg, Turkey has other demands from the NATO alliance itself. One of them is the resumption of the program for the production of American F-35 fighters, from which Ankara was excluded after acquiring Russian S-400 systems. Ankara also demanded the US allow the purchase of dozens of F-16 aircraft and upgrade the kits for its existing fleet.

Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey cannot agree to the membership of Sweden and Finland in NATO, since these countries have refused to extradite terrorists and imposed sanctions against Ankara. He added that the two Nordic nations should not bother sending delegations to convince Turkey of their bids.

In January, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that Finland and Sweden, if they apply for NATO membership, will be able to quickly join the alliance. Sweden and Finland are going to apply for NATO membership on May 18.

https://sputniknews.com/20220518/turkey-approves-swedenfinland-nato-membership-if-sanctions-for-s-400-purchase-are-lifted-report-1095591710.html

WH press secy Karine Jean-Pierre's relationship with CNN anchor sparks Cuomo-like scandal concerns

Karine Jean Pierre, 44, is set to take over from Jen Psaki, 43, as the WH press secretary on May 13 after serving as her deputy since 2021

Karine Jean-Pierre, the new White House press secretary replacing Jen Psaki, has reportedly been in a long-term relationship with a prominent CNN correspondent and even shares a daughter with her. This has raised questions about a potential conflict of interest for the already scandal-plagued network.

Jean-Pierre, 44, is set to take over from Psaki, 43, on May 13 after serving as her deputy since 2021. She is currently in a relationship with CNN reporter Suzanne Malveaux, 55, and they are parents to a seven-year-old daughter, Soleil. Many celebrated the historic nature of her appointment as the first black lesbian to take up the job. However, others were concerned about the potential conflict of interest and whether CNN can offer impartial coverage considering the intimate relationship.

https://meaww.com/new-wh-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-dating-cnn-anchor-suzanne-malveaux-conflict-of-interest