Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts

Thursday, August 13, 2020

Peace agreement announced between Israel and United Arab Emirates

President Donald Trump announced that a "historic peace agreement" has been reached between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters that the two countries will exchange embassies and ambassadors and "begin cooperation across the board."

Trump expects other countries to follow the UAE's lead and said the United States is "already discussing this with other nations."

The UAE is the first Gulf Arab state to establish full diplomatic ties with Israel and only the third Arab country to recognize Israel's existence, joining Egypt and Jordan.

President Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed released a joint statement saying the historic peace deal will help "chart a new path that will unlock the great potential in the region."

Tuesday, October 01, 2019

TMT protest

10/1/19 - Mayor Kim unveils plan to build TMT

8/19/19 - Alan Arakawa says they didn't fool around

7/19/19 - Hundreds of people gathered to demonstrate against the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope in Mauna Kea

Saturday, July 06, 2019

Putin meets the Pope

ROME — Pope Francis is viewed by many European liberals as the greatest moral voice against the resurgence in populism and the demonization of migrants.

But for many European nationalists, anti-migration politicians and opponents of gay rights, the real spiritual strongman of their movement is the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, their alternate pope.

So when Mr. Putin visited the Vatican on Thursday, it was more than a mere meeting — their third — between the two men. Rather it was a tête-à-tête between the standard bearers of competing views of Christianity on the European continent as ideological polarization between nationalists and liberals cleaves the West.

The men exchanged gifts, and also what the Vatican later described as ‘‘cordial’’ conversation on “questions of relevance to the life of the Catholic Church in Russia,” ecological issues, and the political situation in Syria, Ukraine and Venezuela.

For Mr. Putin, the meeting was a way to burnish his reputation as a global leader. For Francis, Mr. Putin’s cooperation is essential for the protection of Christians in the Middle East, where Russia is active. The pope is also pursuing unity, or at least better relations, with the Russian Orthodox Church.

Saturday, May 25, 2019

abortion ban

5/24/19 - Missouri to ban abortions after eight weeks

Wednesday, May 01, 2019

Alabama approves abortion ban

Alabama's House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a near-total abortion ban, a piece of legislation that the bill's sponsor called a "direct attack" on Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that protects a woman's right to an abortion. Politicians in the statehouse voted against adding an amendment that would have added an exception for victims of rape and incest.

After several hours of contentious debate Tuesday evening, Alabama politicians overwhelmingly passed House Bill 314, the "Human Life Protection Act," 74 to 3, pushing the bill forward to the state Senate. Of the state's 105 representatives, 28 refused to vote after Republicans blocked the rape and incest amendment.

If passed into law, the legislation would criminalize abortion, classifying it as a Class A felony in Alabama. That means that a doctor caught performing abortions in the state would face up to 99 years in prison under the proposed law.

"The heart of this bill is to confront a decision that was made by the courts in 1973 that said the baby in the womb is not a person," said Representative Terri Collins, the bill's sponsor, during the debate. "This bill addresses that one issue. Is that baby in the womb a person? I believe our law says it is."

Because federal law supersedes state law, Alabama would be in violation of the U.S. Constitution if lawmakers attempted to implement the legislation, noted several politicians. If passed, the legislation would likely join a host of other contested laws that anti-abortion activists hope will rise to the Supreme Court and potentially overturn Roe v. Wade. The proposed law flatly rejects the decision, saying that "judges and legal scholars have disagreed and dissented with its finding."