Unprecedented: Pope Francis, Russian Patriarch Kirill to meet in Cuba to heal 1,000yr rift (Source RT)
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, is to meet his Roman Catholic counterpart, Pope Francis, during a historic visit to Latin America. The groundbreaking meeting is to happen in mid-February in Cuba. The meeting between heads the two major Christian churches would be an unprecedented move to mend a millennium-long rift between the Western and Eastern branches of the religion, which started with the Great Schism of 1054. The upcoming meeting confirms Russia’s status in the Christian world, according to Alexandr Avdeev Russia’s ambassador to the Holy See. “In light of the Western sanctions, the meeting between the two celebrants is a confirmation of Russia’s role in Christian civilization,” he told TASS. Persecution of Christians in the modern world is the main issue for the two leaders to discuss, the Russian Orthodox Church said. Christians are among the minorities suffering at the hands of groups adhering to radical Islamist ideology in places like Iraq, Syria and Somalia. In addition to Cuba, Patriarch Kirill’s Latin American tour from February 11-22 includes Paraguay, Chile and Brazil. The meeting with Pope Francis will happen on February 12.
The Russians are going to have a cow’: The US’s latest message to Putin ‘is a really big deal'(Source Yahoo) The US will devote a substantial portion of its defense spending to building up its military presence in Eastern Europe in an effort to deter Russian aggression in the region, Obama administration officials HYPERLINK “http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/02/world/europe/us-fortifying-europes-east-to-deter-putin.html?_r=0” \t “_blank” told The New York Times. Countries belonging to the NATO alliance in Central and Eastern Europe will apparently receive heavy weaponry, tanks, and other equipment from the US, which quadrupled its budget from $789 million to more than $3.4 billion for military spending in Europe through 2017. “This is a really big deal, and the Russians are going to have a cow,” Evelyn N. Farkas, the Pentagon’s top policy official on Russia and Ukraine until October, told The Times on Tuesday. “It’s a huge sign of commitment to deterring Russia, and to strengthening our alliance and our partnership with countries like Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.”
The move comes four months after Russia launched an air campaign in Syria to prop up embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a move widely seen as an attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to secure and expand Russia’s influence in the Middle East. Russia is unlikely to react kindly to an expanded NATO military presence along its western flank. In an interview HYPERLINK “http://www.businessinsider.com/vladimir-putin-interview-bild-obama-russia-us-2016-1” \t “_blank” with the German daily newspaper Bild in January, Putin asserted that Russia’s tensions with the West largely resulted from NATO’s eastward expansion after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Putin said: “NATO and the USA wanted a complete victory over the Soviet Union. They wanted to sit on the throne in Europe alone.”
White people have least confidence in the American Dream (Source marketwatch.com) Americans say the American Dream is suffering — and that our laziness and low morals may be partially to blame. Searches for “American Dream” have fallen 24% since Google began tracking this data in 2004 — and when you type “American Dream” into Google, three of the four top autofills are “dead,” “a lie” and “leaving America,” according to an analysis of Google Trends data released Friday in a report by brokerage firm Convergex. Read: Trump’s downtrodden supporters don’t deserve our sympathy Furthermore, three in four Americans now say that the “American Dream” — broadly, the notion that through hard work and determination every American can have a successful life — is suffering, according to the 7th Annual American Values Survey unveiled last year at the Aspen Ideas Festival. What’s more, 69% say the obstacles to realizing the dream are “more severe today than ever” — and note that a decline in work ethic is the primary hurdle to Dream achievement. The poll of more than 2,300 Americans was conducted by Burson-Marsteller and market research firm Penn Schoen Berland.
The Global Financial System Is Dangerously Unstable and Faces an Avalanche of Bankruptcies: Top Economist Who Predicted 2008 Crash (Source globalresearch.ca) William White [pictured left] is one of the world’s top economists. He was the head economist for the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) – the world’s most prestigious financial institution, called the “central banks’ central bank – comprised of the world’s central banks. He is now the chief economist for OECD, made up of most of the world’s richest and most powerful countries. As chief economist for BIS, White predicted the 2008 crash. While the mainstream financial media like CNBC has been trumpeting fake, happy news for many years, White confirmed yesterday what the best alternative financial sites have said for a decade: The global financial system has become dangerously unstable and faces an avalanche of bankruptcies that will test social and political stability. “The situation is worse than it was in 2007. Our macroeconomic ammunition to fight downturns is essentially all used up”. “Debts have continued to build up over the last eight years and they have reached such levels in every part of the world that they have become a potent cause for mischief,” he said. “It will become obvious in the next recession that many of these debts will never be serviced or repaid, and this will be uncomfortable for a lot of people who think they own assets that are worth something” “The only question is whether we are able to look reality in the eye and face what is coming in an orderly fashion, or whether it will be disorderly.
Zika Outbreak Epicenter in Same Area Where GM Mosquitoes Were Released in 2015 (Source globalresearch.ca) The World Health Organization announced it will convene an Emergency Committee under International Health Regulations on Monday, February 1, concerning the Zika virus ‘explosive’ spread throughout the Americas. The virus reportedly has the potential to reach pandemic proportions — possibly around the globe. But understanding why this outbreak happened is vital to curbing it. As the WHO statement said:“A causal relationship between Zika virus infection and birth malformations and neurological syndromes is strongly suspected. These links have rapidly changed the risk profile of Zika, from a mild threat to one of alarming proportions. Zika seemingly exploded out of nowhere. Though it was first discovered in 1947, cases only sporadically occurred throughout Africa and southern Asia. In 2007, the first case was reported in the Pacific. In 2013, a smattering of small outbreaks and individual cases were officially documented in Africa and the western Pacific. They also began showing up in the Americas. In May 2015, Brazil reported its first case of Zika virus and the situation changed dramatically. Brazil is now considered the epicenter of the Zika outbreak, which coincides with at least 4,000 reports of babies born with microcephaly just since October. Oxitec first unveiled its large-scale, genetically-modified mosquito farm in Brazil in July 2012, with the goal of reducing “the incidence of dengue fever,” as The Disease Daily reported. Dengue fever is spread by the same Aedes mosquitoes which spread the Zika virus and though they “cannot fly more than 400 meters,”WHO stated, “it may inadvertently be transported by humans from one place to another.”
Pope Begs Protestants’ Forgiveness (Source newser.com) Pope Francis has concluded an annual weeklong prayer for Christian unity by making a sweeping apology for Catholic wrongs committed against other Christians, reports the AP. On Monday, Francis asked forgiveness for the “sin of our divisions”. “I would like to invoke mercy and forgiveness for the non-evangelical behavior of Catholics toward Christians of other churches,” he said. “At the same time, I invite all Catholic brothers and sisters to forgive if today, or in the past, they have suffered offense by other Christians … We cannot cancel what has happened, but we don’t want to let the weight of past harm continue to pollute our relations.” Francis announced he will visit Sweden, home to about 150,000 Catholics, to mark the 500th anniversary of the start of the Protestant Reformation. The one-day trip Oct. 31 to the southern city of Lund, where the Lutheran World Federation was founded in 1947, will be the first papal visit to Sweden since 1989. The Vatican said the visit will “highlight the important ecumenical developments that have taken place during the past 50 years of dialogue between Catholics and Lutherans” and will include a common worship service. Martin Luther’s challenge to the Catholic doctrine of indulgences in 1517 is remembered as the start of the Reformation, from which the Protestant churches originated out of criticism of the Church of Rome led by the pope.
Zika Outbreak Epicenter in Same Area Where GM Mosquitoes Were Released in 2015 (Source globalresearch.ca) The World Health Organization announced it will convene an Emergency Committee under International Health Regulations on Monday, February 1, concerning the Zika virus ‘explosive’ spread throughout the Americas. The virus reportedly has the potential to reach pandemic proportions — possibly around the globe. But understanding why this outbreak happened is vital to curbing it. As the WHO statement said:“A causal relationship between Zika virus infection and birth malformations and neurological syndromes is strongly suspected. These links have rapidly changed the risk profile of Zika, from a mild threat to one of alarming proportions. Zika seemingly exploded out of nowhere. Though it was first discovered in 1947, cases only sporadically occurred throughout Africa and southern Asia. In 2007, the first case was reported in the Pacific. In 2013, a smattering of small outbreaks and individual cases were officially documented in Africa and the western Pacific. They also began showing up in the Americas. In May 2015, Brazil reported its first case of Zika virus and the situation changed dramatically. Brazil is now considered the epicenter of the Zika outbreak, which coincides with at least 4,000 reports of babies born with microcephaly just since October. Oxitec first unveiled its large-scale, genetically-modified mosquito farm in Brazil in July 2012, with the goal of reducing “the incidence of dengue fever,” as The Disease Daily reported. Dengue fever is spread by the same Aedes mosquitoes which spread the Zika virus and though they “cannot fly more than 400 meters,”WHO stated, “it may inadvertently be transported by humans from one place to another.”
GRENADE HURLED AT REFUGEE CENTER (Source Zero Hedge) Zero Hedge detailed the dramatic increase in Google search queries for gun permits in Germany. Specifically, since January 1, the number of Germans Googling “gun permits” has risen more than 1,000%. Meanwhile, sales of non-lethal weapons such as tear gas pistols have skyrocketed, as Germans look to protect themselves against what many see as a hostile foreign invasion. But while most Germans are (for now) content to counter the perceived threat from hostile migrants with non-lethal arms, at least one citizen decided to deploy a more deadly weapon in the “battle” to preserve German society: a grenade. “Unknown assailants hurled a hand grenade at a shelter for asylum seekers in southern Germany but the device did not explode and no one was injured,” AFP reports. The pin was pulled, but for whatever reason, it didn’t explode. Police later detonated it in a controlled explosion. Although no one was harmed in this particular attack, it underscores just how precarious the situation has become. Refugees probably thought the days of having grenades lobbed at them were over once they escaped the war-torn Mid-East. They were wrong. Meanwhile, a new poll by In so much how just how fed up Germans have become with Berlin’s refugee policy. According to the survey – which was conducted for Focus magazine – 40% of the country believes Angela Merkel should resign.
Kremlin slams White House over Putin corruption claim (Source AFP) The Kremlin on lashed out at the White House after it backed up an allegation from the US Treasury that President Vladimir Putin is corrupt. US Treasury acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence Adam Szubin said in a BBC documentary that Putin was a “picture of corruption”. White House spokesman Josh Earnest backed up that line, saying that the Treasury’s assessment “best reflects the administration view.” The Kremlin has already dismissed the US Treasury claim that it said amounted to an “official accusation”, but ratcheted up the rhetoric after the White House got involved. “We consider this statement outrageous and offensive,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.”We really need further explanation because such a statement is absolutely unprecedented.” Ties between Moscow and Washington have plunged to their lowest point since the Cold War over Russia’s meddling in Ukraine. The two sides, however, are currently engaged in an international peace push on the conflict in Syria, although they support different sides in the civil war. Peskov accused Washington of firing the starting gun on attempts to discredit Putin ahead of Russia’s next presidential elections in 2018, even though he insisted Putin has not yet decided to run. In a sign that the allegations could further damage ties between the two countries, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov raised the issue with his counterpart John Kerry in a phone call. “Lavrov expressed outrage at the contrived and unforgivable allegations against the Russian leadership,” Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement. “It was emphasised that the blame for the deliberate whipping up of tension in bilateral affairs falls squarely on Washington,” the statement said.
Russia shows military might in Syria ahead of peace talks (Source AP) Helicopter gunships sweep low around Russia’s air base on the Syrian coast and air-defense missile systems tower at the base’s edge as warplanes take off one after another. The sound is deafening. Russia’s heavy airstrikes in Syria continued days ahead of the hoped-for start of talks on how to end one aspect of the country’s five-year-old war, where government forces fight rebels, and militants including the extremist Islamic State have seized substantial stretches of territory. Even though the front line is dozens of miles (kilometers) away and the area around the base is tightly controlled, the Russian military methodically patrols to make sure there is no ground threat. Two heavy transport planes were parked near the main terminal as soldiers toting assault rifles stood guard. Since Russia launched its bombing campaign in Syria on Sept. 30, its warplanes have flown 5,700 missions. The number is remarkable for a force comprising just a few dozen warplanes. Since The Associated Press first visited the Hemeimeem base in October, the Russian military has put a second runway into service and has deployed powerful S-400 air defense weapons. Asked how long the Russian air campaign may last, Konashenkov said only that Russia’s goal is to strike extremist infrastructure in support of Syrian government troops. Russian ordnance includes bunker-buster bombs capable of piercing seven meters (23 feet) of rock to destroy underground facilities, Konashenko said. Some of the bombs are laser-guided, but all Russian warplanes at the base are equipped with a sophisticated targeting system, allowing them to use even regular bombs with pinpoint accuracy, he said.