N.J. priest at Vatican, removed in 2018, was accused of abuse in 2003

VATICAN CITY - U.S. Msgr. Joseph R. Punderson, a senior official of the Vatican’s highest court, was instructed by his bishop to resign his Vatican post late in 2018 and then was removed from ministry 15 years after he was found to be credibly accused of the sexual abuse of a minor.

The abuse was reported to the Vatican, and Punderson offered to resign in 2004, but the Vatican allowed him to continue working.

Punderson’s named was included on a list of credibly accused clergy published by the Diocese of Trenton, New Jersey, Feb. 13. Bishop David M. O’Connell heads the diocese.

After initially declining to comment, Alessando Gisotti, interim director of the Vatican press office said Feb. 20 that Punderson “is no longer in service at the tribunal of the Apostolic Signature and has been in retirement since last fall.”

https://cruxnow.com/february-abuse-summit/2019/02/21/n-j-priest-at-vatican-removed-in-2018-was-accused-of-abuse-in-2003/

AFRICA/CAMEROON - 170 students of the Catholic school of Kumbo kidnapped and then freed by English-speaking secessionists

Yaoundé (Agenzia Fides) - A new mass abduction of students from a school in the English-speaking area of Cameroon, carried out by guerrillas demanding independence from the rest of the country. On 16 February 2019, unidentified gunmen came into the campus of Saint Augustine’s College, in the northwest region, shortly after 6 a.m., and abducted some members of the College Community. They took along 170 students, 2 college security guards, one teacher and three of his children.

The abductees were released sometime in the afternoon of Sunday 17 February 2019. Shortly after that, they assembled in the main mission station of St Paul’s Parish, Kikaikom. From there, they were conveyed by the authorities of the Diocese of Kumbo, back to the college Campus. Following the serious episode, the school was temporarily closed.

http://www.fides.org/en/news/65597-AFRICA_CAMEROON_170_students_of_the_Catholic_school_of_Kumbo_kidnapped_and_then_freed_by_English_speaking_secessionists

ASIA/MIDDLE EAST - Patriarchs at the summit in Munich: the West is jointly responsible for Middle Eastern conflicts

Munich (Agenzia Fides) - The 55th International non-governmental Conference on Security, held in Munich from 15 to 17 February, also hosted a qualified representation of Middle Eastern Churches: Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako, together with Mor Ignatios Aphrem II, Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch. They had the opportunity to participate in many bilateral meetings with political representatives of different countries, and talk about the condition of religious communities in the Middle East, organized on 16 February by the Hanns Seidel Foundation.

Patriarch Sako, in his speech, recalled the long-term causes that contributed in the last century to making the condition of the Middle Eastern autochthonous Christian communities more precarious. The Primate of the Chaldean Church, created cardinal by Pope Francis, recalled that since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire the occupying Western powers did not show any intention to favor the creation of rules of Law in the Middle East. The Patriarch referred to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - as a historical factor that contributed to nurturing political Islam - and to the prejudice (dating back to historical events far away in time, such as the Crusades) which labels Middle Eastern Christians as "allies" of the Western policies and powers in the Middle East.

http://www.fides.org/en/news/65582-ASIA_MIDDLE_EAST_Patriarchs_at_the_summit_in_Munich_the_West_is_jointly_responsible_for_Middle_Eastern_conflicts

Trump's economy 'a little under' 3 percent growth goal: Fed

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration will fall “a little under” its target of 3 percent annual growth of gross domestic product for 2018, the Federal Reserve said Friday in a report that offers an economic scorecard of sorts for the first full year of President Donald Trump’s term.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-trump/trumps-economy-a-little-under-3-percent-growth-goal-fed-idUSKCN1QB2IG

Facebook, Robot Vacuum Cleaner and Pro-Surveillance Politician Voted Worst Privacy Intruders in Czech Republic

What do two Czech state entities, one Silicon Valley giant and one vacuum cleaner have in common? They were all winners in this year’s Big Brother Awards in Czech Republic, an “anti-awards” ceremony designed to shame those who violate people’s rights to privacy and data protection.

A jury of nine technology experts, lawyers and journalists determined the worst intruders based on suggestions made by the general public. At a February 14 ceremony in Prague, four anti-awards were handed to Facebook, the Financial Administration of the Czech Republic, the iRobot company and the surveillance camera-loving politician Petr Stuchlík. The only positive award, named after Edward Snowden, was given to BEUC, the European Consumer Organisation.

The tradition of Big Brother Awards was started by UK human rights organization Privacy International in 1998. In the Czech Republic, the NGO Iuridicum Remedium (IuRe) has been organizing them annually since 2005. Both organizations are members of the regional digital rights association European Digital Rights (EDRi).

https://www.activistpost.com/2019/02/facebook-robot-vacuum-cleaner-and-pro-surveillance-politician-voted-worst-privacy-intruders-in-czech-republic.html

>>5344356

The DEA is hiding surveillance cameras in vacuum cleaners

The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has hidden surveillance cameras in everything from streetlights to traffic barrels to road signs. Now, the agency will be using a vacuum cleaner for surveillance, according to recently released, publicly available federal contracting data.

https://qz.com/1486479/the-dea-is-hiding-surveillance-cameras-in-vacuum-cleaners/

There’s another African election this weekend few people are talking about

Nigeria’s delayed election has grabbed headlines in African and international media. With Africa’s most populous country delaying its Feb. 16 elections over logistics issues, Nigerians will now vote tomorrow (Feb. 23).

But the saga is happening at the expense of Senegal, which is set to vote for its next president on Sunday (Feb. 24) in polls which, in comparison to Nigeria’s, have been far less discussed. Unlike Nigeria, Senegal has had no logistics-related problems so far, and election observers expect the vote to go forward as planned. But like in Nigeria, Senegal’s youth—a large majority of the 6.6 million registered voters—will likely decide the outcome of the vote.

https://qz.com/africa/1557181/senegal-presidential-election-overshadowed-by-nigeria-polls/

>>5344391

All they really what is the schematics and floor plan of people's houses

>>5344424

They will legalize what they can to try and stay business and collect taxes.. not to mention the effect it has on making people docile

The disconnect between Amy Klobuchar’s parental leave policy and her public platform

There are a lot of noteworthy allegations (paywall) in the New York Times’ new exposé exploring how presidential hopeful Amy Klobuchar treats her staff. For instance, the Minnesota senator purportedly ate her salad with a comb and threw binders in the direction of employees in frustration. But perhaps the most surprising revelation is that her office’s parental leave policy is at odds not just with the typical standards of Capitol Hill, but also with her stated beliefs of the importance of paid family leave.

https://qz.com/1557749/amy-klobuchars-parental-leave-policy-for-staff-is-inconsistent-with-her-public-persona/

Cheesed-off investors wiped $16 billion off the value of Kraft Heinz

$12.6 billion is a lot of money. It’s roughly the cost of a US navy aircraft carrier, a bit less than what Amazon paid to take over Whole Foods, and if you had it in your wallet you’d be the 100th-richest person in the world.

It’s also the amount of money Kraft Heinz lost in three months at the end of last year, according to its earnings report filed yesterday after markets closed. Needless to say, it was the largest quarterly loss in company history. What’s more, the packaged-food giant—known for its ketchup, of course, but also Grey Poupon mustard, Toblerone chocolate, Jell-O, and many other iconic foodstuffs—also slashed its dividend and, for good measure, revealed that US securities regulators served it with a subpoena in an investigation into its accounting practices.

https://qz.com/1557269/kraft-heinz-lost-12-6-billion-in-2018s-fourth-quarter/

>>5344517

One hell of a good way to cut strings