Does it seem like things are building to some kind of crescendo? The mainstream sources of information have been holding back the onslaught, but the levy’s about to break. Material is now circulating freely, and at some point the legacy media will have to save its own credibility. You can bet they’re figuring out how to handle it right now.

No doubt you’ve noticed. The “save the planet” contingent wants us to eat meatless meat. That way they can justify getting rid of those pesky cows, contributing to methane in the atmosphere. Maybe you didn’t see the massive revolt in Holland. It only lasted a day, but it was a message that farmers are not about to put up with EU regulations that hamper their efforts and in some cases may put them out of business all together. They blocked highways, ports and spewed manure at government buildings. Let’s just say they’re displeased. Not hearing about this on the mainstream news? They can’t afford to let you know that somebody’s got the guts to blow off environmental nonsense.

Tucker Carlson is going where the mainstream dare not tread. He showed the extensive video of the mob swarming the streets and government buildings. Sri Lanka went green. They had other problems. They borrowed way too much money, and can’t begin to pay it back. Farms shut down on account of nitrogen fertilizer damaging the environment, so there’s a food shortage. Nothing seems to get people into a rage like a food shortage. The video is something out of a high budget film. The leaders fled a few days ago, no doubt brimming with pride over their ESG score. They can’t go back.

There’s all kinds of controversy over tennis great Novak Djokovic and whether he’ll be allowed entry into the United States. It seems he’s a foreigner without a vaccine. Maybe he should consider the southern border, they don’t have many requirements, and Then just show up at the tournament. Maybe the tennis association will look the other way. Unbelievable that the government is flexing mandate muscle this long after the fact. Australia pulled this stunt, to its shame. Novak likes his internal chemistry and doesn’t want to take a chance. Power can be exercised capriciously just so we all get it through our thick heads. You WILL comply or they’ll dream up a punishment.

We don’t know anybody that knows anybody, but the local news is rife with Corona virus outbreaks. They’re advising shots for toddlers and infants, as if we haven’t heard about the “rare” harm that may ensue. Word is that masks and vaccines are still on the table, and we’ve been advised to take action. Though it seems that the vaccine and booster shots are not particularly effective. But that kind of talk will get you canceled.

Educated people are warning that vaccines sometimes have unforeseen consequences. You know how they warn you of all the rare things that might happen if you take some advertised drug. In this case the drug companies are immune from whatever legal problems that might arise. So, how bad does Novak want to play in the U. S. Open? Not that bad. Maybe this seems off the subject, but it is global institutions calling the shots. The WHO (used to be a rock band) or the WEC. They don’t require logic. When Dr. Fauci speaks…

The City of New York is airing a public service announcement telling people what to do in case of nuclear attack. And you thought they hated everything about the 1950’s. That’s the last time we were schooled about nuclear attack. The pretender seems to be doing everything but sending troops to Ukraine to tick Putin off. Let’s hope he doesn’t have a terminal disease. Putin, that is. The pretender is in tremendous trouble, and probably won’t last more than a few months, in office that is. The mainstream media is beginning to abandon the impossible defense. The poll numbers are atrocious but
we suspect not near as bad as the truth.

These people (the pretender’s family) have got to be experiencing tremendous anguish. The kind that overtakes a person. It’s a weight, a cloud, a nightmare they hope to wake up from. But now it’s all over TV and there’s no escaping the damning video. There’s no denying the phone message everybody’s heard by now. It gives the lie to previous statements. The worst of escapades were filmed , and now it’s being released to the media. The mainstream media mostly knows nothing about it. But it’s all over TV and the internet. Still, they know nothing except it must be Russian propaganda. That dog won’t hunt. We’re not even going to describe the low rent conduct here. Good luck trying to hide this stuff now.

Apparently the January 6 committee is still going. Headlines in the mainstream claim that Trump has lost half of his support. (Right!) But their record for trying to herd us has not gone unnoticed. The headlines have been steering us wrong for as long as we can remember. The near universal mainstream hatred of Trump and his supporters has been obvious right along. It seems there is an effort to disqualify him permanently from office, and convince his supporters that they’d have to be crazy to back him. Why are they in such a hurry? It’s their last chance. Or who knows, maybe they’ll try again if this doesn’t do the trick.

There is ongoing fallout from the Supreme Court decision. There’s a reported bounty on Justices’ home addresses, and they might have to use the rear exit if dining out. The news reporting on the nonexistent “right” doesn’t seem quite accurate. In essence the Court washed it’s hands of the issue, sending it back to each individual state. But there are ramifications. You’ve no doubt seen that a long list of familiar corporate names have lined up to pay the expenses of a woman needing to go to another state.

The inflation rate was just released, and you know the result. Just over 9%. That’s spread out over a whole range of products. Chances are you buy more gasoline than other goods. In that case we’re talking way more than the number being reported. We know what gas is costing. Everybody, save the wealthy who can’t be bothered, just got a giant demotion. Take-home pay isn’t what it used to be.

The Pretender is embarrassing himself all over the Middle East at present. Don’t show us the gaffes. We can’t take it. He’s on bended knee before some of our worst enemies, and not a bit shy.

Much has been made of the poor old codger doing somebody’s dirty work, and blaming everyone else. As soon as he’s outlived his usefulness he’ll get all the blame, but the damage will have been done. It is being done. This one’s complicated, but God knows what’s up. We don’t need to stress too much. His Will definitely will be done, regardless.

Mark

Source: http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/fridayupdates.php

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – 15 July 2022 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

News of the shooting in a Copenhagen mall has circled the globe.  Maybe if they only had stricter gun laws this wouldn’t have happened.  Do you think somebody intent on killing people is going to care about the gun laws?  Lawful citizens already have to abide all kinds of regulations and federal “checks” to see that they’re in compliance.  Presumably the Copenhagen shooter fell through the cracks.  They’ll definitely need to pass more laws to see that this doesn’t happen again.

Here at home, the Supreme Court is driving the usual suspects crazy.  They struck down New York’s restrictive gun laws and the governor responded by making nearly everywhere someone might go a “gun-free zone.”  Would be shooters can reasonably expect that they’ll get no resistance if they go to one of those.

This morning we woke up to the news of the assassination of Shinzo Abe, former Prime Minster of Japan and by all accounts a great and humble man.  He was murdered by a homemade gun.  Mr. Abe appeared and gave an eloquent speech at Pearl Harbor on the occasion of the 75^th anniversary, expressing grief and sorrow for the attack against the men in the service and their loved ones.  He vowed, on behalf of Japan to never again resort to war, and promised to pursue a policy of peace.  But that doesn’t cover it. He praised the freedom of America and the American people, something apparently abhorrent to our embarrassment of an administration and the mainstream ideology.

Gun laws are extremely strict in Japan, so much so that the average person would never dedicate so much time and trouble to following the stringent regulations.  So this assassin just made them at home.  He claimed he was trying to kill someone else.  Either way, he was a fine man who rose above the visceral hatreds of the past and pledged peaceful cooperation on behalf of the Japanese people.  Donald Trump loved Abe and thought very highly of him.  That alone is enough to send liberals over the top with hatred, but they surely dare not express it right now.  It seems like every world leader you can think of has come out and expressed their profound respect and sorrow.

Also this week we have the resignation of Boris Johnson as the Prime Minister of the U K.  What a disappointment he turned out to be.  We thought he’d be the Donald Trump of England, and then suddenly he was all about climate change and coronavirus restrictions.  Then came the scandals, staples of British entertainment.  When all the ministers who had supported him through those trials resigned, he knew it was over and said so in a very good-natured resignation speech.  Apparently he will remain in office while succession is sorted out.  You don’t suppose EU membership will be revisited?

When you look around the world, the nations that we have counted on to be sane are in a kind of political limbo.  It’s hard to know what comes next in Israel.  Boris is now just a place-holder, Canada has the heavy handed governance of Trudeau, and he’s buddies with Mark Rutte of Holland.  They are both graduates of Klaus Schwab’s WEF.   As we all know, that outfit knows everything about everything, way more than you or me.  Especially when it comes to planetary survival.

We’ve reached the point where quoting the Declaration of Independence is an act of defiance against a government that has declared war on its citizens.  You know the maneuver that temporarily stopped the rising price of gas?  Strategic reserves were reportedly released on the world market and sold to China.  If there were brokers in between, we’ll find out sooner or later.  Probably later.

You’d think there was a five alarm emergency over the Supreme Court’s recent decision on Roe.  There’s gnashing of teeth and all manner of nonsense.  There should be a law!  Make it an executive order!  Several woke institutions want you to know that they’ll pay the travel and whatever other expenses for a woman who has to go out of state to procure “treatment.”  Meanwhile, the true believers are still chasing Supreme Court Justices around.

You’d not know if limited to the mainstream news, the Dutch farmers have mounted a rebellion against EU plans to save the planet.  It seems that they’ve got to cut nitrogen emissions, and that has all kinds of ramifications.  It’s not exactly leading the news, but word is getting out.  Police actually shot at a 16 year old driving a tractor around a roadblock.  The crowds in protest are vast.  It looks like the Dutch farmers have figured it out, and been pushed far enough.  What’s everybody going to eat when the farms are interfering with planet saving measures?  This climate-change farce looks like the bandwagon everyone has to get on, or else.  That, and gay and tranny nonsense, reparations for racism and vaccine mandates.

They think they can repeal the Laws of God if they can just get enough of us to go along.  If the mainstream media can just get most people to accept the logic put forth, then they’ll be happy knowing that rebellion against the Laws of nature is “universal.”  The blurred “pride” logo on network TV and the internet tells us it’s universal, and we’re responding out loud.  Not quite.

Mark

Source: http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/fridayupdates.php

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – 8 July 2022 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

By the time most people saw the story it had already been debunked.  When was the last time you saw the Secret Service release a statement about anything?  You’ve got the limo driver and the agent and they’re offering to testify under oath?  This is the Anita Hill tactic, but it’s not first person, she heard it from a friend.  Maybe that’s why hearsay isn’t allowed in a real court of law.  But this is not a court of law.   You have to wonder what fantastic stories we’ll be treated to as the Fall draws closer.  No doubt the story has plenty of drama, even violence.  As you try to envision it in your mind, it’s a little difficult.  Then you realize it’s not true.  Classic.  But unlike Russian collusion or treason in a phone call, this one’s crashed on takeoff, but the mainstream hasn’t noticed.

The gal none of us had ever heard of is having her 15 minutes of fame, longer if the mainstream media has anything to say.  If any of this were true she’d make a living on appearances and a book deal.  This is going to be in the history books despite it’s farcical nature.  She’ll either be a star or she’ll be thrown under the bus.

What’s up with Liz Cheney giving her comments from the Reagan library? (Mark Levine says Trump haters occupy top positions on the Reagan library board) It’s an indisputable fact that Ronald Reagan turned this country around, after interminable humiliation from some Iranian whack jobs.  Gas stations had lines around the block.  There was rationing.  Some are not old enough to remember, but it was depressing to say the least.  America was perceived to be weak, and constantly humiliated around the world.  Hardly any business was being done.  That’s what happens when interest rates go ballistic.  Ronald Reagan brought in an era of patriotism and strength.  He turned the country around.   For his name to be associated with this travesty of nonsense is shameful.

Since when is an administration bent on punishing its own citizenry?  The border news is so bad we don’t want to hear it.  Inflation is hurting everyone, especially those trying to make a living.  But none of that is as important as the “insurrection” and how close we came to “losing our democracy,” to coin a phrase.

Not only is Donald Trump guilty, having “lost his mind,” grabbing for the wheel of his limo and trying to choke a secret service officer, he’s guilty of being insane and trying to overthrow the country.  Just so that those who love and support him know what they’ve teamed up with.  If he’s guilty of “insurrection” and all the rest, what does that make his supporters?

We’ve been lied to straight faced by these committees, the networks, the newspapers and realized they’re no good at eating crow.  Instead of admitting what fools they’ve made of themselves with their sober proclamations and righteous predictions, they’re doubling down.  The hatred for Trump and his supporters runs deep.  You can’t believe in the Constitution and support Trump?  Liz Cheney, with that familiar look on her face, has decreed it.  Now we’ve heard everything.  That’s about as desperate as it gets.  It didn’t matter that the story was debunked as soon as it was told.  Nevertheless, the committee was deeply distressed.

Do they not realize that the same players put the people of this country through years of this nonsense under the guise of Russian Collusion and the fake impeachment.  Have we not seen all this before?  They’ve decided the people of this country are gullible.  If big names say something, repeated by the newspapers, the websites and the six o’clock news, it must be true.  A glance at the mainstream media revealed bombshell headlines.  You have to read nearly the whole article to find out that the actual first-hand witnesses say nothing of the sort ever happened.  These sober hearings weren’t designed to glean truth.  They were designed to be the last nail in the Trump coffin.

If the United States hasn’t been drawn into a proxy war in Ukraine, you’d never know it.  The public pronouncements have become provocative, weapons and the money more so!  So, who’s at war and why?  None of our business. Leave that to the experts.  Don’t think or say anything negative or some agency might send a swat team.  Some White House spokesman has proclaimed our several predicaments less important that the future of the “liberal world order.”  The what?  “This is about the future of the liberal world order, and we have to stand firm.”  Apparently everything’s already been fixed.  Don’t you love when they tell you what it’s “about?”  They’re committed and can’t go back now.  It’s double down time, and it looks like the American citizen is hostage to the liberal world order, whatever that is.

Eventually these buffoons find out what pipsqueaks they are.  But until then…

Mark

Source: http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/fridayupdates.php

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – 1 July 2022 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

France wants sanctions-hit Iran and Venezuela to return to the oil markets to alleviate a Russian squeeze of energy supplies that has spiked prices, a French presidency official said on Monday.

It also wants a planned mechanism to cap the price of oil to be as broad as possible and not be limited to Russian output.

The French official also said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told G7 leaders on Monday morning that the conditions were not right to negotiate with Russia and wanted to be in a position of strength before began any negotiations.

Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/business/france-wants-iran-venezuela-return-to-oil-markets/articleshow/92493085.cms

The post France wants Iran, Venezuela return to oil markets first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Today is the day the mainstream has been dreading.  In actual fact, the abortion issue has been handed back to the states.  The 1973 ruling was invalidated as a matter of law.  The idea that the U. S. Constitution handed some sacred “right” to women was a fantastic reach in the first place.  Finally, nearly 50 years later, it’s been overturned.  Some “crowds” (to be charitable) have been parading, banging drums and chanting in front of the homes of Supreme Court Justices.  Who are these people?  Are they wearing masks outdoors for fear of COVID, or to hide their identities?

If the hard left gets its way, there will be all kinds of mayhem.  Nobody seems interested in prosecuting those trying to influence the decision, a crime though it may be.  They seem to be doing the dirty work we were promised.  Will it set off riots?  Maybe looting and burning?

It’s Trump’s fault, of course.  Him and his ultra-maga supporters.  Biden is mad,  Maxine Waters says they’re going to be out protesting in their thousands, or millions.  “We are going to make sure we fight for the right to control our own bodies.”  (Where was she during the mask mandate?)  They’ll defy the Supreme Court.  How, other than causing a ruckus, we’ll see.

Obama says the court has curtailed our freedoms.  Michelle is heartbroken.  It is a “horrifying decision.”  They’re both calling on people to join protests and give Planned Parenthood support.  The Justice Dept. says it will “use every tool at our disposal to protect reproductive freedom.”  It’s hard to know what that means, but the weeks ahead should give us some idea.   AOC is shown with her mouth wide open, talking about “birthing people” and  chanting with protesters.  I guess this is supposed to let us know she thinks men can get pregnant.  But sure enough, some states are announcing that abortion is illegal, as of today.

World leaders are appalled.  Especially Justin Trudeau of Canada.  He’s horrified and can’t imagine the fear and anger that it will cause.  Even Boris Johnson is bent out of shape.  Just when the whole world was seeing the light and liberalizing laws governing abortion.

It’s the second time this week they’ve seen the court rule against their  beloved philosophy.  First it struck down New York’s gun law.  So they were already ticked.  The abortion ruling though, just might drive them over the edge.  The police caught a guy who said he’d come to “kill Kavanaugh.”  No big deal, according to the mainstream media.  Hardly worth reporting.  But all bets are off as we wait to see how crazy the protesters will get.  This may well justify riots and looting.  Even if the rioters and looters don’t know what they’re mad about.  Riot police are staging outside the Supreme Court, just in case.  But not everybody is down in the dumps.  Some are celebrating.  Trump says to God be the glory.

What ever happened to Ukraine?  It’s not in the news much lately.  The last thing we heard was that we were going to send billions of dollars and more.  Apparently Russia has had to call in troops that were stationed in other hot spots.  Some are worried that this thing may drag on and that other countries may get involved causing an escalation that may get out of control.  We hope they’re wrong.

Meanwhile UN officials are warning of food shortages.  The pope is hinting at resignation.  Maybe he’s done enough damage.  The American economy is reeling from inflation being driven by the  pretend administration’s war on oil.  They want you to know there’s nothing more they can do.  But at least something’s gone right today.    Have a great Sabbath.

Mark

P.S. The new Feast brochures are printed and will be going out with the next letter, probably Monday or Tuesday.

Source: http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/fridayupdates.php

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – 24 June 2022 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Everything is going according to plan.  We’re up to our ears in crises, the phony administration is saving the planet, but only in the U. S.  It would be fine if Saudi Arabia and Venezuela could ramp up the supply of oil.  But we’re not going to do it here.  Because we’ve gone “green.”  No need to explain that it’s still the same earth, and nobody produces cleaner energy than the United States.  But they’ve decided we’re dense, and they’re going to pound their point through our thick heads when we buy gas.  If there’s any consolation, it is that the global warming zealots have to buy gas and groceries too.

So the pretender sent a strongly worded letter to those greedy oil outfits.  He must have said “Putin’s price hike” or words to that effect four or five times.  You mean the guys at the apex of the oil industry need the pretender to tell them why prices have necessarily skyrocketed?   It’s no secret.  It’s the price of going green.  “Look in my eyes,” the pretender said before he said he would “end” fossil fuels.  We’ve got to destroy the western way of life to save the planet.  Nonsense.

The Major League Baseball franchises are being pressed to wear rainbow stars on their uniforms.  If not, some gal on ESPN will call players who refuse bigots and haters.  The media insists that support of gay marriage and transgenders is so universally supported that none dare oppose it.  Maybe that’s because there will be network and internet media attacks that will swing into action and call the non-supporter a bigot.  That sounds like a reason somebody might keep their head down.

They sing God Bless America in the seventh inning at major league games.  Talk about a conflict!  All while wearing the rainbow star, everybody but those hateful bigots who refuse it.  None of this makes any sense.  Did you ever consider that we’re being made to endure nonsense because the consequences are too disturbing?  Not for one minute do I accept that a majority is supportive of homosexuality.  The majority just doesn’t want to suffer the consequences of being called a hater and a bigot.  Asking God to bless America when there is apparent embracing of things He condemns roundly in both Testaments is insane.

Do we really all support this concept that someone can change genders on a whim?  Little children are being offered the “choice” as to whether they would prefer to go through life as a boy or girl.  They get to decide.  Little children who still believe in the Easter bunny and Santa Clause are being “educated” to choices they didn’t realize were an option.  Parents who believe in God and nature?  They’re just old fashioned and out of touch with the latest science.  You see, there are puberty blockers that will prevent under- age kids from developing naturally.  We can only guess at the side effects.  There will be comprehensive studies out in about fifteen years.  The Heritage Foundation just released a study showing that tranny children are more likely to kill themselves, sooner or later.  That sounds like a side-effect.

What did they think would happen when they confuse little children about their very identity?  It doesn’t end well.  How many trans are recognizable?  I can think of two, and neither is what you’d call a roll model.  There’s a reason they don’t show us what a wonderful life they’re living.  If they could, they would.  So you get the “drag-queen” shows, where guys in outrageous wigs, make-up and high heels mince around like they’re having fun.

We don’t want to get political, but we have a pretender who thinks we deserve wild gas prices.  We’re getting what we’ve got coming.  The pretender gets pretty miffed if he thinks he’s taking the blame for something.  He’s liable to lash out angrily.  It’s all Trump’s fault after all.  Him and his ultra-maga supporters.  And Putin, don’t forget him, and those greedy oil companies.

The dog and pony show known as the January 6, committee is failing. Everything else they’ve done to rid the playing field of Donald Trump also failed.  With any sanity, the J 6 committee will go the way of the Muller investigation, or the impeachment debacle.

The energy secretary says the prices at the pump make a compelling case for buying an electric car.  Don’t ask where the components come from.  It’s not pretty.  Don’t ask too much about charging the batteries, or what happens when they’ve breathed their last.  But it will only cost you half as much to drive.  If you’re not going to far.  Concerns about the grid are on the news.  How does a blackout effect a car’s charger?  There’s not a word about any of it in the commercials.  But it would have to be a second or third car, not one that you rely on for hassle-free transportation.

I have to credit my son with this.  He says, “They should have gone green when gas was cheap.”  They were preaching it, now we’re living it.  It’s as bogus as it was twenty years ago.  But we’re apparently paying for the companies and corporations suddenly preaching woke doctrine as if it’s universally accepted.  Our retirement accounts are tied up with a basket of companies we know little about.  Maybe you’ve noticed, the markets have not been kind of late.  Everybody’s taking a bath, and why?

Just seeing photos of monkey-pox is enough to give you nightmares.  If you knew what they had to do to get the disease, you wouldn’t sleep at all.  It seems like a return to aids, when the news told us it was an epidemic.  Nothing works like making people worry.  It seems everything we learn is designed to make us worry.  But monkey-pox is not airborne.  We aren’t going to get it.  Or a vaccine either.

Mark

Source: http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/fridayupdates.php

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – 17 June 2022 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

In April, the CDC overhauled its ratings system for assessing COVID-19 risk for travelers.

The Level 3 “high” risk category is now the top rung in terms of risk level. Level 2 is considered “moderate” risk. Level 1 is “low” risk.

Level 4, previously the highest risk category, is now reserved only for special circumstances, such as extremely high case counts, emergence of a new variant of concern or health care infrastructure collapse. Under the new system, no destinations have been placed at Level 4 so far.

The “Level 3: COVID-19 High” category now applies to countries that have had more than 100 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days.

The three places joining Level 3 this week are:

• Mexico
• New Caledonia
• United Arab Emirates

Mexico, a favorite destination for US tourists, and the UAE, the Middle East’s glitzy hot spot, were at Level 2 last week.

New Caledonia, renowned among scuba divers, was in the unknown category previously, meaning the CDC did not have enough data from the Pacific Ocean destination to assign a category.

There were almost 115 destinations at Level 3 on June 13. Level 3 locations account for almost half of the roughly 235 places monitored by the CDC.

Level 3
Mexico and the UAE aren’t the only travel favorites in the “high” risk category. Many other popular travel destinations are also at Level 3.

Much of Europe has been stubbornly lodged there for months as the summer travel season has begun. As of June 13, the following popular European destinations were among those remaining at Level 3:

• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Ireland
• Italy
• The Netherlands
• Portugal
• Spain
• United Kingdom

It’s not just European favorites that find themselves at Level 3. Numerous notable travel destinations around the world are among those in the ‘high’ risk category, including the following:

• Brazil
• Canada
• Costa Rica
• Malaysia
• South Korea
• Thailand

The CDC advises that you get up-to-date with your COVID-19 vaccines before traveling to a Level 3 destination. Being “up-to-date” means you have had not only the full initial vaccinations but any boosters for which you’re eligible.

Level 2
Destinations carrying the “Level 2: COVID-19 Moderate” designation reported 50 to 100 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days. Three places were moved to this level on Monday:

• Cape Verde
• Honduras
• Saba

The move was good news for Honduras and the quiet Caribbean island of Saba, which had been at Level 3. Cape Verde, an Atlantic Ocean archipelago off the coast of Africa, had been at Level 1.

There were only 16 destinations listed in Level 2 on June 13.

You can view the CDC’s risk levels for any global destination on the agency’s travel recommendations page.

In its broader travel guidance, the CDC has recommended avoiding all international travel until you are fully vaccinated.

If you’re concerned about a travel-specific health situation not related to COVID-19, check here.

Level 1
To be in “Level 1: COVID-19 Low,” a destination must have had 49 or fewer new cases per 100,000 residents over the past 28 days. Just two destinations were added to the category on June 13:

• Cuba
• Iraq

Both nations had been at Level 2.

Unknown
Finally, there are the destinations the CDC has deemed to be of “unknown” risk because of a lack of information. Usually, but not always, these are small, remote places or places with ongoing warfare or unrest. This week, two places were added to this category:

• Belarus
• Maldives

Both had been at Level 3 last week.

The CDC advises against travel to these places precisely because the risks are unknown. Other destinations in this category include Cambodia, the Canary Islands, Macau and Tanzania.

A medical expert weighs in on risk levels
Transmission rates are just “one guidepost” for travelers’ personal risk calculations, according to CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen.

We’ve moved into “a phase in the pandemic where people need to make their own decisions based on their medical circumstances as well as their risk tolerance when it comes to contracting COVID-19,” said Wen, who is an emergency physician and professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health.

There are other factors to weigh in addition to transmission rates, according to Wen.

“Another is what precautions are required and followed in the place that you’re going and then the third is what are you planning to do once you’re there,” she said.

“Are you planning to visit a lot of attractions and go to indoor bars? That’s very different from you’re going somewhere where you’re planning to lie on the beach all day and not interact with anyone else. That’s very different. Those are very different levels of risk.”

Vaccination is the most significant safety factor for travel, since unvaccinated travelers are more likely to become ill and transmit COVID-19 to others, Wen said.

And it’s also important to consider what you would do if you end up testing positive away from home.

While US-bound travelers no longer have to present a negative COVID-19 test to get home, the CDC still advises testing before boarding flights back to the States and not traveling if you are sick.

“Of course, if people have symptoms or exposure while traveling, they need to get tested, and if they test positive, to follow CDC’s isolation guidelines,” Wen told CNN Travel on Friday.

Source: https://www.erienewsnow.com/story/46680374/cdc-adds-3-destinations-to-high-risk-list-including-mexico

The post CDC adds 3 destinations to ‘high’ risk list, including Mexico first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

We didn’t know how the world could be so upside down.  Prosecutors seem to be on the side of criminals.  How is it that violent felons get off with a slap on the wrist, to go out and wreak mayhem?  We have the unbelievable situation where Supreme Court justices are being heckled at their homes with people in the streets banging drums and shouting chants.  Not that that’s not a crime, and a serious one.  But it seems they’re doing the bidding of those that loved the sacred “right” the Supreme Court gave them back in the Seventies.  Somebody with a gun apparently told Police he was there to “kill Kavanaugh.”  These political criminals aren’t the smartest in the world.  But they do have a support group that shrugs and says, “I told you we were going to have problems.”

“He will pay the price!”  That’s what an angry politician said about Brett Kavanaugh, suspecting that he’s swayed the court against Roe vs. Wade.  Is this the price?  “You won’t know what hit you!”  Those sound like intemperate remarks.  But what do you know?  He was right.  Must be a touch clairvoyant.

We’re not about to recount all the problems that have been caused since the suspicious election.  What we know for sure is that we’re deep into Jimmy Carter territory.  If you were up and running, you’ll remember that as the most humiliating and depressing experience ever.  Until now.

Interest rates haven’t yet reached the heights of the early Eighties, but everything else is not good.  We see examples of criminals visiting violence on unsuspecting citizens, and they’re right back out committing additional crimes.  It’s a trend.  We just can’t watch all the idiotic decisions being made, or the excuses made for everything going wrong.  Nothing makes sense anymore, and we get hammered about discrimination or bigotry for refusing to celebrate, or “honor” ridiculous movements determined to rope everybody in.  If you don’t celebrate “pride month,” you must be a bigoted discriminator.  Just one question.  What are they so proud about?  I don’t think that has ever been answered.  But if you don’t celebrate pride month, you might be a bigot.  Nobody will tell these goofballs how stupid this all is.  Who would dare!

We’re expected to believe, or if not, at least pretend to believe all the nonsense that spews from the mainstream.  Last night they treated us to some slickly produced propaganda.  It was on at least eight channels LIVE.  I heard some of the opening statements, despite not watching the charade in its entirety.  The upshot is that President Trump had a plan to overthrow the government, and the “insurrection” was the result.  Don’t say it wasn’t an insurrection, or some heads might explode.  So, it was an insurrection that Donald Trump devised, and you must repeat that and at least pretend to believe it, or you might be an accomplice.

There’s never been anything as bad as Trump, or any supporters that haven’t denounced him.   The committee chairman on the podium on TV news and on the radio said that attempts to justify what actually happened on Jan. 6 reminds him of slavery, the Ku Klux Klan and I don’t know what all.  Let’s all line up and feel for the poor guy.  Of all the things that were going to turn the public against Donald Trump or make you afraid to stand for any of the values of the United States, this may have been the weakest.  You haven’t forgotten COLLUSION with Russia, the lead story for two years.  Nor the impeachment over a phone call.  This was hopefully the last attempt to falsify the record and present something of substance.  It failed to live up to the hype, despite all the grim faces.  They edited statements and audio clips as if we didn’t know that the full statements blew their whole theory.  They’ve done it before.  We’re wise to it.

If against all odds there should be a resurgence of Trump support or the man should have any further success in politics, you can expect more.  Not only that, we all better get used to being targeted.  Nothing we believe lines up with these new “values” that are all over television or the internet.  Nobody will say the obvious.  Pride month can’t be over soon enough.  It’s just designed to make us go along, or get used to wearing some stupid labels.  I’ll take the labels any day.  There comes a time when you just have to say, “NO!”

Mark

Source: http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/fridayupdates.php

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – 10 June 2022 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Vice President Kamala Harris announced Tuesday morning that 10 new companies have pledged to pour more than $1.9 billion in investments into El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Companies and nonprofit organizations, including Gap, Visa, Coatl, and AgroAmerica, were among the newest batch of government partners.

“These, we think, are pretty sizable direct investments in economies the size of the three countries in question, and they will be responsible for creating tens of thousands of jobs,” a senior administration official said in a call with reporters Monday evening.

Clothing company Gap will increase its sourcing of materials from Central America to $50 million per year with an intention to surpass $150 million by 2025, according to a White House statement. It estimated that 5,000 additional jobs will be created in the region. Financial service company Visa will pour in $270 million over the next five years toward bringing people and small- and medium-sized businesses into the global financial system.

MIGRATION CRISIS TO US HAS WORSENED DESPITE BIDEN’S PLEDGE TO ADDRESS ‘ROOT CAUSES’

Family-owned sustainable food corporation AgroAmerica will invest $100 million across six projects that will create 1,000 permanent, living-wage jobs over the next five years. Projects include a food ingredients refinery, banana plantation, and an avocado plantation and processing plant. Digital service firm Coatl will expand access to high-speed internet in rural parts of El Salvador.

President Joe Biden pledged to interrupt the migration crisis by addressing the root causes that have led millions to flee Central America for the southern border in recent years. As a presidential candidate, Biden said that rather than focus on measures to stop migrants at the border, he would resolve the factors that prompt people in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to abandon their home countries — namely, widespread poverty and the threat of violent crime. The three countries sit at the northern end of Central America, directly south of Mexico.

In early 2021, the White House announced $310 million in aid to Central America and the appointment of Harris as the leader of diplomatic talks with regional leaders. It also released its “Strategies to Address the Root Causes of Migration in Central America.” The document laid out, in general terms, plans for improving business conditions, addressing corruption within governments, bolstering human rights, countering gangs and cartels, and combating domestic violence.

Sixteen months into Biden’s tenure, though, the situation at the border with Mexico is far worse, and the administration’s efforts to improve conditions in migrants’ home countries have not amounted to much. The senior administration official pushed back.

“We’ve acknowledged all along that the drivers of migration from Central America and elsewhere are long-term issues that can’t be resolved quickly,” the official said. “But we think that we have been tackling them and are seeing real progress in our efforts.”

El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras have a combined population of 33 million. Over the past 18 months, more than 1 million people from those three countries were encountered attempting to enter the U.S. at the southern border.

The overarching problem, according to one immigration analyst, is that the Biden administration’s efforts to get U.S. companies to create jobs in the Northern Triangle cannot compete with the amount of money that people in America earn, giving people little reason to stay.

“The pay differential at the lowest end of the scale in the United States and those countries is about 10 to 1,” said Andrew Arthur, a former federal immigration judge and now a resident fellow at the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, in a May interview. “If you’re not going to pay people comparable wages in that country, you will actually increase their GDP, but you’re not going to do much.”

GDP per capita was about $63,000 in the U.S. in 2020, according to World Bank data. In comparison, GDP per capita, adjusted for purchasing power, was $8,853.7 in Guatemala, $8,420 in El Salvador, and $5,420 in Honduras.

A major challenge for the Biden administration is that its focus on Central America ignores a new phenomenon that has unfolded over the past year. Migrants from more than 150 countries are arriving at the southern border annually, and more people are coming from all over the world, illustrating the limits of a regional strategy focused on addressing the factors that lead people to leave home.

The number of people encountered at the southern border from countries other than Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras made up 40% of all encounters at the border between September 2021 and March 2022, according to Customs and Border Protection data.

Source: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/immigration/kamala-harris-announces-2-billion-central-america-investment-amid-migration-crisis

The post Kamala Harris announces $2 billion Central America investment amid migration crisis first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Justice is fallen in the streets.  I guess you heard about the acquittal in what looked like a slam-dunk case.  It has political overtones, but it threatened to answer most of the questions that were obvious to those watching.  If it had gone the other way, it would have been fun to see how the mainstream handled it.  If the truth ever spills in to the mainstream we’re going to find out a litany of things that we already knew but the mainstream will never report.  Is that it?  All these years of investigations and the only case brought goes down in flames?  Oh there’s more, lots more.  We’re just wondering if any of it will ever see the light of day.  So far it looks like the goon squad may get away with what they did.  They used the power of government and some agencies in particular to carry out operations against their perceived enemies.  Will it ever get straightened out?  It’s looking doubtful.

We’ve been grappling with what to do with the next WATCH magazine cover.  No, I’m not going to give it away.  But it’s looking like the government can do whatever they want to beat down and impoverish the citizens, and nothing is their fault.  It’s Putin’s fault.  The gas prices?  Yep, Putin.  Food shortages?  They’ve been predicted, now it looks like all the stops will be pulled out to make that come true.  Oh, that’s the corporations.  Corporations that are determined to play government ball at any cost.

We’re drowning in crises.  Well, crises to us anyway.  The politicians are strutting around like they’re saving the planet.  Gas has gone over budget, way over.  Food is following suit, and we haven’t seen anything yet.  That will be Putin’s fault too, wait and see.  The only silver lining is that America-haters have to buy gas and groceries too.  They’re going to react when they figure out they’ve been slapped back a peg or two.  They’ll probably get some government handout to ease the pain.  Maybe their student debt will be canceled.  Yeah, the people who work can pick that up.  The government is spewing money as fast as they can print it, in spite of roaring inflation.  But act like they don’t have a clue.

You can’t have missed the monumental amount of military aid for Ukraine.  So what’s the goal?  There is no plan?  You mean…  Who can stand it?  Apparently they’re cleared to make life miserable for citizens, and they couldn’t be any happier.  Who’s they?  They’re at the microphones telling us how proud they are.  You can’t miss them.  You’d think Ukraine was attached to government somehow.  You’d be right.  The same lame-brains are trying to put us all back in masks, those that ever wore them.  The cancellation of the “mandate” for airlines is being appealed.  Never mind that Europe has canceled theirs.  Since when have the nations of Europe ever been a model for us?  We’re not who we thought we were, not since the pretender and his handlers started calling the shots.  Obama is so jealous?  No, Obama is taking the stairs two, maybe three at a time.  He had to pretend to be on our side.  The pretender doesn’t.

Not to alarm you, but a Russian TV show is talking about how easy it would be to take out the eastern seaboard of the United States.  Putin apparently is getting treated for some ailment, maybe cancer.  It probably wouldn’t pay to play chicken with him, having nothing to lose and all.  That would spell tribulation all right, and it’s the last thing we’re rooting for.  Pray that we get through this intact, and emerge as the nation we were intended to be.  Sounds like a long shot, but it is our hope.

Mark

Source: http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/fridayupdates.php

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – 3 June 2022 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.