"They're Called Christians": Conservatives Mock Obama, Clinton For Tweets About Sri Lankan 'Easter Worshippers'

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are being roundly criticized for their apparently coordinated decision not to use the word 'Christian' to describe the victims of the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, which targeted three Catholic churches, among other targets. Some even speculated whether Obama's and Clinton's decision was intended to undermine the Christian faith in the US.

Instead of using the label "Christians", Obama and Clinton referred to the victims of the attacks as "Easter Worshippers", elicited ridicule from conservatives on Twitter.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-04-22/theyre-called-christians-conservatives-mock-obama-clinton-tweets-about-sri-lankan

Israeli soldiers shoot blindfolded, handcuffed Palestinian teen fleeing arrest for stone-throwing

Israeli soldiers shot a handcuffed and blindfolded Palestinian teenager who was attempting to flee after being detained for suspected stone-throwing in the West Bank on Thursday.

The minor was detained by the Israeli forces after he had been shot, but was later evacuated by Palestinians to receive medical treatment at Beit Jala near Bethlehem. He appears to have been shot in the groin area.

A witness told Haaretz news agency that the boy is 15 years old.

Video taken at the scene shows Israeli soldiers clashing with a group of Palestinians as they attempted to help the wounded teen.

https://www.rt.com/news/457227-israeli-soldier-shoots-blindfolded-teen/

Denmark's Richest Man Loses Three Children In Sri Lanka's Easter Suicide Bombings

The death toll in Sunday's devastating wave of Easter Sunday suicide bombings, which rocked three Catholic Churches and four luxury hotels popular with tourists, has climbed to 290, while more than 500 have been injured, making the assault even deadlier than the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

As the Sri Lankan government scrambles to apprehend anyone who conspired with the at least seven suicide bombers who carried out Sunday's attacks, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe appealed for international help "to find out if there was foreign assistance" to the bombers. Domestically, Sri Lankan police have already arrested two dozen suspects. A state of emergency is expected to be declared starting at midnight on Monday. The Colombo stock exchange has been closed for the foreseeable future as the capital city tries to process the aftermath of the attacks.

Meanwhile, the climbing death toll has established the attacks in Sri Lanka as the deadliest in South Asia in recent memory.

Here's a ranking by death toll:

290 (as of now): Sri Lanka bombings, 2019

257 Mumbai attacks, 1993

189 Mumbai train blasts, 2006 166 Mumbai attacks, 2008

151 APS/Peshawar school attack, 2014

149 Mastung/Balochistan election rally attack, 2018

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-04-22/international-network-behind-sri-lanka-easter-suicide-attacks-death-toll-climbs-290

Poles BEATING & BURNING long-nosed effigy of Judas sparks fury of Jewish group

The World Jewish Congress has condemned as anti-Semitic a tradition upheld by a small Polish town, which involves beating and burning an effigy of Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus Christ.

A video showing this year’s celebration of a dubious local tradition in Poland was published by a local news website ekspresjaroslawski.pl and drew international attention. The World Jewish Congress has condemned it in a statement on Sunday.

“Jews are deeply disturbed by this ghastly revival of medieval anti-Semitism that led to unimaginable violence and suffering,” CEO Robert Singer said. “We can only hope that the Church and other institutions will do their best to overcome these frightful prejudices which are a blot on Poland’s good name.”

The peculiar rite of “judaszki” or “trial of Judas” is kept by the town of Pruchnik in southeastern Poland, which has a population of about 3,500. With its roots traced back to at least 18th century, the rite is conducted on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

https://www.rt.com/news/457218-polish-rite-judas-effigy/

Three scientists ousted from top US cancer research center over concerns they provided confidential information to China

'This is part of a much larger issue the country is facing'

MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston has ousted three scientists over concerns that the researchers had connections to China's attempts to steal U.S. intellectual property.

The move followed emails from the National Institutes of Health last year that pointed to conflicts of interest or unreported foreign income by five professors, the Houston Chronicle reported. The center was given 30 days to respond to the investigation, which was assisted by the FBI.

"As stewards of taxpayer dollars invested in biomedical research, we have an obligation to follow up," Peter Pisters, president of MD Anderson Cancer Center, told the newspaper. "This is part of a much larger issue the country is facing — trying to balance an open collaborative environment and at the same time protect proprietary information and commercial interests."

If MD Anderson didn't take action, the NIH could have withheld the center's grant funding. The center received $148 million in NIH grants last year.

MD Anderson is ranked as the No. 1 cancer center in the world.

What's the story?

The center began the termination process for three of the five professors suspected of espionage. Two resigned before the proceedings began, and one has just started the process.

Officials found that firing one of the professors wasn't necessary. A fifth professor remains under investigation.

The terminations come amid the federal government's heightened concern around foreign governments' attempts to capitalize on U.S.-funded research to use students and visiting scholars to steal confidential information from grant applications. The intellectual property is used to operate "shadow laboratories" in their home countries.

All five professors were of Asian descent, according to the Houston Chronicle, and at least three are Chinese.

Three of the five were believed to be involved with China's Thousand Talents program, which Pisters described as "predatory." The U.S. government, including the NIH, believes the program is the main source for handing over U.S. intellectual property to China.

While MD Anderson policy allows participation in the program, it requires disclosure of all foreign sources of research. None of the researchers had disclosed any involvement.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/scientists-ousted-from-cancer-research-center-over-espionage

Cell Tower Removed from School After Multiple Students and Teachers Diagnosed with Cancer

After close to a dozen people attending and living near a school with a cell tower inside the campus have been diagnosed with cancer, parents and officials have had the tower removed.

Ripon, CA — As 5G technology begins to roll out across the country, it is being met by a massive wave of resistance over concerns that it can cause health problems. While 5G is still relatively new, concerns over 4G and older technology still persist as well. A school in California has taken things to the next level and removed a cell tower from their campus after several students and teachers were diagnosed with cancer.

Since 2016, four students and three teachers have been diagnosed with different forms of cancer at Ripon Elementary. Also, two smaller children — too young to attend school — who live near the school tower, have been treated for a malignant tumor and leukemia, and a 22-year-old former student has recently undergone surgery for a brain tumor.

“I think it is admirable,” Monica Ferrulli, a parent of one of the children with cancer said. “I was actually very hopeful at first but after going to school district meetings I had lost a lot of hope. We have eliminated one factor that could cause the students to be unsafe.”

Ferrulli’s son, who attends Ripon elementary, spent two years trying to get the district to remove the tower after her son was diagnosed with brain cancer.

According to the Modesto Bee:

Various studies have concluded the electromagnetic fields created by cell towers can cause cancer. The American Academy of Pediatrics has advised parents to limit their children’s use of cell phones.

The school district and Sprint have cited independent tests showing the tower met safety standards. Parents have said it’s possible the different pediatric cancer cases near the school site could be tied to another cause.

According to Ferrulli, the school district has collected samples to test the soil and water at Weston.

On the website for Ripon Unified School District, administrators noted that Sprint is complying with their request, saying, “Sprint has turned off the cell tower at Weston Elementary School and is moving forward with leasing, permitting and deploying a new site.”

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/school-removes-cell-tower-cancer/

41 Swedish municipalities being forced to shelter returning Islamic State members

A list recently released by the Centre for Violent Extremism (CVE) disclosed that 41 of Sweden’s 290 municipalities are set to be forced to welcome back scores of returning ISIS members.

According to the Swedish broadcasting company SVT, the Centre for Violent Extremism invited officials from the 41 municipalities to an event which aims to teach them about returning terrorists in order to “provide support to the municipalities that have or may be able to receive returning children and adults from areas previously controlled by the Islamic state.”

A senior advisor at CVE by the name of Anders Kretz stated that the information they have on ISIS members who were currently en route to Sweden from former Islamic State territories in the Middle East or who had already made their way back to Sweden had been given to them from Swedish security forces, Säpo.

Press officer for Säpo, Karl Melin, confirmed that they were indeed working alongside the CVE on this matter, stating, “The information goes on to all those who are involved in one way or another for the best way to work with the issue.”

Melin continued, saying, “The purpose of this is to create the conditions for the police and municipalities to be able to handle individuals who are or have been in the conflict areas and possibly returning to Sweden.”

Because returning Islamic State members have Swedish passports, as per Swedish law, they can’t be turned away. This is the pretext by which the 41 municipalities are being forced to take in the ISIS returnees.

It’s seems as if – according to Swedish liberals – that the ISIS returnees simply have the right to settle back in wherever they see fit and to even claim social benefits.

About 50 percent of the 300 ‘Swedes’ who made the trek to Iraq and the Levant in and around 2012 to join their terrorist brothers and sisters in the Islamic State have already returned back to Sweden.

Some left-wing politicians in the country have even suggested that the Swedish government should integrate returning ISIS fighters back into Swedish society. Several municipalities have offered returning jihadis free driving lessons, free housing, and even debt forgiveness to make their transition back into Western society more comfortable.

But not all municipalities are so keen to welcome back returning jihadists with open arms. Christian Sonesson, the municipal board chairmen of Staffanstorp, has expressed his desire to deny to any municipal services to returning jihadis.

Last month, Sonesson, who is a member of Sweden’s Moderate Party, stated, “We think it’s unreasonable. If you have joined this type of terror-stamped organization, you have also turned away from the democratic society and the welfare systems we have.”

But it isn’t just Sonesson who is making a fuss about all of this. Other individuals – who are also members of the more reasonable camp of Swedes – have also expressed grave concerns over the return of Islamic State fighters. Michael Helders, an anti-violent extremism activist in Malmö, has asserted that returned ISIS members have already begun the process of recruit new members in underground mosques.

https://voiceofeurope.com/2019/04/41-swedish-municipalities-being-forced-to-shelter-returning-islamic-state-members/

HOW DID MITCH McCONNELL TURN $193k INTO $24M?

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/how-did-mitch-mcconnell-turn-193k-into-24m/