The World Events Thread

[RUPERTKBD]

1 hour ago, CBH1926 said:

That’s what happens when you watch too much porn on your computer.

CDC is my porn....

[CBH1926]

1 hour ago, RUPERTKBD said:

CDC is my porn....

In that case you must be into S&M

[bishopshodan]

Hallmark is lame. 

 

Is this also 'cancel culture?' I'm not up on the terms

 

Hallmark pulls ads featuring 2 brides kissing after conservative group complains

https://globalnews.ca/news/6298922/hallmark-pulls-gay-ads/

[Gurn]

Australia is getting hotter:

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/weather/topstories/australia-braces-for-highest-temperatures-in-recorded-history-amid-blistering-heat-wave/ar-BBY5Gxe?ocid=spartandhp

"

Australia may set a record for its hottest day this week, as temperatures soar past 104 degrees (40 Celsius) in most of the nation’s major cities, with inland areas of Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia possibly eclipsing 122 degrees (50 Celsius). The heat wave, which is unusually severe for so early in the summer, is affecting the entirety of continental Australia, gradually progressing eastward from Perth to Adelaide and on toward Melbourne and Sydney by Friday.

The heat is sure to aggravate the already record-shattering bush fires, which have emitted massive amounts of greenhouse gases and choked Sydney residents beneath a blanket of unhealthy smoke. Health authorities in New South Wales are warning them to stay indoors during the heat of the day.

“When we average temperatures over the country we’re seeing some extremely high values coming up in the forecast,” Blair Trewin, a senior climatologist with Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), said in a video posted to the agency’s website.

Some of the records that have either already fallen or are expected to be toppled include:

• The existing national record for the highest nationally averaged temperature is 104.5 degrees (40.3 Celsius), which was reached in January of 2013. “Current indications are that we’ll be at least a degree above that on Wednesday and Thursday,” Trewin said, calling this “a really extreme event on a nationwide perspective.”
• The BOM is also forecasting that many locations will break monthly records for the hottest temperatures in December. In fact, some places in New South Wales could see their hottest temperature on record for any time of the year, particularly on Saturday, Trewin said.
• Already, Perth, located in western Australia, has broken its all-time December record for the number of consecutive days (three) reaching or exceeding 104 degrees (40 Celsius).
• In Adelaide, the forecast calls for four straight days with high temperatures of 104 degrees or higher, straight through Friday, according to BOM meteorologist Sarah Scully.
• Cities in southeastern Australia could see a sea breeze that prevents temperatures from climbing above 100 degrees during this event right along the coast, but areas just to the northwest of the ocean will sizzle.

According to BOM, extreme heat is Australia’s top weather-related killer.

Bush fires continue to burn out of control

© NASA Wildfires burning in New South Wales on Monday, with red dots corresponding to hot spots detected via satellite. (NASA)

As the heat peaks in southeastern Australia, it will make the job tougher for thousands of firefighters deployed to mega fires such as the Gospers Mountain blaze raging across nearly 1 million acres to the northwest of Sydney. Smoke from this fire and others has periodically shrouded the country’s largest city in noxious smoke, posing serious health risks, particularly for the young, those with asthma and other chronic conditions, as well as the elderly.

This blaze is so large and is burning across such a variety of terrain that Rural Fire Service firefighter Brian Williams told the Sydney Morning Herald it’s impossible to contain.

“It’s such an enormously big fire, it’s beyond human ability to control,” Williams said.

The bush fires stretch north into Queensland and southwest into Victoria. All of these areas are expected to see a sharp uptick in fire risk with the heat wave, particularly heading into the weekend.

“There are difficult & dangerous fire conditions forecast over coming days,” the New South Wales Rural Fire Service said via Twitter.

Climate studies have shown clear and causal links between bush fires, and wildfires in the United States, and long-term global warming. Climate change helps escalate fire risk by drying out vegetation and making it more flammable, among other effects.

Tracing the heat to the Indian Ocean, with a push from global warming

© Bureau of Meteorology Average annual temperature departures from average in Australia, with a 10-year running mean included (black line). (Australian Bureau of Meteorology)

The unusually warm and dry year in Australia is due, in part, to a weather pattern that has set up across the Indian Ocean. Known as the Indian Ocean Dipole, or (IOD), which is an air circulation pattern in the Indian Ocean. When the IOD is in its positive phase, the water is cooler than average off the coast of Sumatra, leading to reduced atmospheric lift there and reduced rainfall over Australia, and there are warmer-than-average waters off the coast of Africa.

This year has seen a record positive IOD, and this helped make the January to October period the second-driest such period on record in Australia. “It’s on track to be one of the driest years on record for Australia,” Trewin said, “So you don’t have any soil moisture or air moisture to moderate the heat.”

A positive Indian Ocean Dipole the past two years has meant drier-than-average conditions in much of Australia. The Bureau of Meteorology found that it’s unusual to have back-to-back years with a positive dipole, which helps influence precipitation patterns across South Asia and Oceania.

This natural climate cycle is changing over time as ocean and air temperatures rise in response to increased amounts of greenhouse gases in the air due to human activities, namely the burning of fossil fuels for energy. This is expected to make back-to-back positive IOD events more common, and make Australia even more prone to drought conditions accompanied by extreme heat.

“While the IOD is a natural mode of variability, its behavior is changing in response to climate change. Research suggests that the frequency of positive IOD events, and particularly the occurrence of consecutive events will increase as global temperatures rise,” the bureau stated.

Long-term climate trends in Australia show sharp warming and an increase in extreme heat events. Last summer, for example, was the country’s hottest on record, and the meteorology bureau found that climate change exacerbated extreme heat events as well as droughts during the year.

Australia has warmed by just over 1.8 degrees (1 Celsius) since 1910, with most of the warming occurring since 1950. The BOM has found there was an increase in the frequency of extreme heat events and severity of drought conditions during this period as well.

Eight of Australia’s top 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 2005, and 2019 is likely to join that list."

[RUPERTKBD]

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/funeral-home-that-mixed-up-bodies-mistakenly-cremated-one-faces-lawsuit/ar-BBY9zXl?li=AAggXBV

Quote

 

The family of a Berwick, N.S., woman whose remains were mixed up with another person and mistakenly cremated almost two years ago is suing the company that owns the funeral home where the "horror story" took place.

The lawsuit by Sandra Bennett's family was filed Dec. 16 in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Kentville. The defendant is 3270077 Nova Scotia Limited, the numbered company that operates the Berwick Funeral Chapel, as well as several other funeral homes in Nova Scotia.

 

The statement of claim alleges that Bennett's husband, Gary, and their son, Tim, were shocked when they went to a visitation on Dec. 27, 2017, at the Berwick Funeral Chapel and discovered it was not their wife and mother in the casket.

The lawsuit said funeral home director Ted McCreadie "repeatedly attempted to convince the plaintiffs that the casket contained the body of the late Sandra G.T. Bennett, but that the plaintiffs were too upset to recognize her."

It goes on to say that McCreadie then brought out a second casket containing the body of another female. When the family said it was not their loved one, the lawsuit said McCreadie again attempted to convince the plaintiffs the second casket contained Bennett's body.

 

I shouldn't joke, but I wonder if the employee responsible was fired.....

[Kragar]

On 12/12/2019 at 5:29 PM, bishopshodan said:

Interesting school assignment. 

 

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article238272648.html

 

‘How many slaves … equal at least 4 white people?’ NC parents blast school assignment

 

On 12/12/2019 at 5:36 PM, gurn said:

^ What planet are some people from?

Yeah, this is even more messed up than those who misunderstand the 3/5ths compromise to begin with.  

[RUPERTKBD]

3 minutes ago, Kragar said:

 

Yeah, this is even more messed up than those who misunderstand the 3/5ths compromise to begin with.  

3/5ths just seems so unfair....

 

....I really think it should have been 60% at least.....

[Kragar]

On 12/15/2019 at 10:06 AM, bishopshodan said:

Hallmark is lame. 

 

Is this also 'cancel culture?' I'm not up on the terms

 

Hallmark pulls ads featuring 2 brides kissing after conservative group complains

https://globalnews.ca/news/6298922/hallmark-pulls-gay-ads/

They caved again in the other direction.  https://www.msn.com/en-za/tv/news/hallmark-reverses-decision-to-ban-same-sex-marriage-commercial/ar-AAK9S3x

 

Given the channel's content, I'm guessing they made the wrong decision for their target audience.  Guess they'll find out when the next few sets of ratings come out.  Of course, it might be a better idea from an overall brand standpoint.

[canuckster19]

15 minutes ago, RUPERTKBD said:

3/5ths just seems so unfair....

 

....I really think it should have been 60% at least.....

I give this post a perfect 5/7.

[Gurn]

Grief can do strange things to parents. Imo the church in this story should be shut down for their part in this:

https://www.msn.com/g00/en-ca/news/world/us-megachurch-seeks-dollar100k-prayers-to-resurrect-singers-dead-child/ar-BBYaGk7?ocid=spartandhp&i10c.ua=5&i10c.encReferrer=

megachurch in California is soliciting prayers and US$100,000 in donations on behalf of two of its members, who are holding out hope that Jesus will "resurrect" their recently deceased toddler.

Kalley and Andrew Heiligenthal say their daughter, Olive Alayne, passed away on Dec. 14 at the age of two.

Kalley is a well-known singer at the Bethel megachurch in Redding, Calif., and she shared the news of her family tragedy with her 262,000 followers on Instagram Sunday.

"We're asking for prayer. We believe in a Jesus who died and conclusively defeated every grave, holding the keys to resurrection power," she wrote in the post.

 

"We need it for our little Olive Alayne, who stopped breathing yesterday and has been pronounced dead by doctors."

 

View this post on Instagram

We’re asking for prayer. We believe in a Jesus who died and conclusively defeated every grave, holding the keys to resurrection power. We need it for our little Olive Alayne, who stopped breathing yesterday and has been pronounced dead by doctors. We are asking for bold, unified prayers from the global church to stand with us in belief that He will raise this little girl back to life. Her time here is not done, and it is our time to believe boldly, and with confidence wield what King Jesus paid for. It’s time for her to come to life. A post shared by kalley (@kalleyheili) on Dec 15, 2019 at 7:34am PST

The post goes on to ask for "bold unified prayers from the global church to stand with us in belief that He will raise this little girl back to life. Her time here is not done, and it is our time to believe boldly, and with confidence wield what King Jesus paid for.

More than 151,000 people had liked the post and another 16,000 users left comments by Thursday. A majority of the comments encouraged her to keep hoping for the child's resurrection.

Her cause of death has not been released.

The Heiligenthals are clearly being encouraged by the Bethel Church, a powerful Christian organization in Redding that claims to have approximately 11,000 followers and nearly half a million fans on Facebook. Bethel also has its own TV service, music label and media wing, and it's in the middle of building a $96-million campus for itself in Redding.

The Bethel Church says it recently held its first-ever prayer service dedicated to a person's resurrection. The group's pastor, Bill Johnson, explained in a video on Wednesday that resurrection is possible because "we have biblical precedent; Jesus raised the dead."

Johnson did not say how long the church would pray for a resurrection.

 

READ MORE: Dad tries gluing ear after son bites part of it off at Mormon church party

 

"Bethel Church believes in the stories of healing and physical resurrection found in the Bible (Matthew 10:8), and that the miracles they portray are possible today," the church told the Redding Record and Spotlight newspaper on Tuesday.

The girl's body has been at the Shasta County Coroner's Office since it was transferred there from the hospital on Dec. 14, Bethel Church told local station KRCR News.

The church has set up a GoFundMe page to raise US$100,000 for the family, although it does not specify exactly what the cash will be used for. The campaign had raised more than $44,000 by Thursday afternoon.

The GoFundMe page quotes Kalley Heiligenthal's post about resurrecting her daughter, then calls for people to help "bless, honour and support the family in the coming days."

"We have set up a gofundme in an effort to support the Heiligenthals," wrote organizer Peter Mattis. "Please join us with your prayer, your solidarity and your financial support."

GoFundMe says the campaign is not in violation of its terms of service.

The campaign story is clear in that the funds are for financial support for the Heiligenthal family, and the family is entitled to use the funds for a memorial service of their choice," the fundraising platform told Global News in a statement.

 

READ MORE: Flooded nativity scene depicts Jesus born in an era of climate change

 

Bethel Church told KRCR that the page was set up to cover unknown expenses for the family during this time — as well as future expenses for their child, who is still deceased.

The church and the Heiligenthals have drawn sharp criticism from some individuals who have accused them of trying to make money off the tragedy. Some have also chastized the church for encouraging an impossible goal, rather than helping the Heiligenthals deal with their unfortunate reality.

"This is either lunacy or a giant scam in the making," Twitter user @5thTMNT wrote on Tuesday.

"This is so sad," tweeted author Chrissy Stroop. "I have observed firsthand people getting psychologically destroyed, for years, because they didn't get an expected miracle. Waiting for a resurrection, though, is next level unhealthy. But they also have a GoFundMe seeking $100,000 for ... what?"

Kalley Heiligenthal has been posting daily messages on Instagram, saying that each day is a "good day for resurrection."

 

View this post on Instagram

Day 4 is a really good day for resurrection. All hail, make way for King Jesus! Thank you so much for joining your faith to ours, we feel your strength and radical belief. Keep declaring life over Olive Alayne with us. “It is finished” were His last words before bursting back in resurrection life, so we’re not done. It is finished, so we’re not done. This is awakening. Come alive, Olive! A post shared by kalley (@kalleyheili) on Dec 17, 2019 at 12:02pm PST

Tens of thousands of people have replied to her posts. Many offer messages of support. Others have expressed sympathy for the couple's loss while pointing out that their expectations might be unrealistic.

"Is she currently on life support?" one person wrote. "Just curious on how that works logistically if she's been pronounced dead?"

"

[Kragar]

9 minutes ago, gurn said:

Grief can do strange things to parents. Imo the church in this story should be shut down for their part in this:

https://www.msn.com/g00/en-ca/news/world/us-megachurch-seeks-dollar100k-prayers-to-resurrect-singers-dead-child/ar-BBYaGk7?ocid=spartandhp&i10c.ua=5&i10c.encReferrer=

I don't share their beliefs, but hoping/praying for resurrection doesn't hurt anything.  I'm guessing the money is what you are objecting to?  It's not like the church is setting it up for themselves (which is what I thought at first when I saw the link).  However, 100K seems more than is needed here.  Hard to justify that amount, IMO.

[Gurn]

7 minutes ago, Kragar said:

I don't share their beliefs, but hoping/praying for resurrection doesn't hurt anything.  I'm guessing the money is what you are objecting to?  It's not like the church is setting it up for themselves (which is what I thought at first when I saw the link).  However, 100K seems more than is needed here.  Hard to justify that amount, IMO.

 

•  

• 
   

 

 

"Bethel Church told KRCR that the page was set up to cover unknown expenses for the family during this time — as well as future expenses for their child, who is still deceased."

 

Future expenses for a deceased child? Other than a funeral, what other future expenses could there be?

What ever happened to "It was God's will"?  Now this church seems to be supporting a rebellion against God, who the heck do they think they are?

 

[Kragar]

22 minutes ago, gurn said:

 

•  

"Bethel Church told KRCR that the page was set up to cover unknown expenses for the family during this time — as well as future expenses for their child, who is still deceased."

Future expenses for a deceased child? Other than a funeral, what other future expenses could there be?

What ever happened to "It was God's will"?  Now this church seems to be supporting a rebellion against God, who the heck do they think they are?

Yeah, that's some odd wording.  Funeral expenses, therapy, and perhaps some other short-term support (eg. a nanny/housekeeper if there are other kids in the family, but honestly others could pitch in to help instead).  100K is too much here, IMO.

 

In general, I'm not a big fan of crowdfunding efforts.

[Baer.]

Massive strikes and protests across all sectors continue in France, Eiffel Tower workers included:

 

https://apnews.com/6e8881cfd9882fdfe90e50999c4bb342

[Kragar]

37 minutes ago, Baer. said:

Massive strikes and protests across all sectors continue in France, Eiffel Tower workers included:

 

https://apnews.com/6e8881cfd9882fdfe90e50999c4bb342

Interesting articles in the link.  Lazy  bums.  it's not like the govt is proposing drastic changes to the universal pension plan, and not ones that impact anyone retiring soon.

[Gnarcore]

31 minutes ago, Kragar said:

Interesting articles in the link.  Lazy  bums.  it's not like the govt is proposing drastic changes to the universal pension plan, and not ones that impact anyone retiring soon.

It's some years ago now but they did the same thing when the govt tried to raise the work week from 30 to 35 hours....  I didn't know whether to think them lazy or amazing at the time. 

[Kragar]

10 minutes ago, Gnarcore said:

It's some years ago now but they did the same thing when the govt tried to raise the work week from 30 to 35 hours....  I didn't know whether to think them lazy or amazing at the time. 

Different culture when it comes to working, for sure.  Had some trouble in the past trying to set up a meeting with some workers there, and there was no way in hell they we going to attend a call after 3pm their time.  Given how much OT I had put in the previous year, it just blew me away how rigid they were.  Far cry from the Japanese I worked with, who were putting in 20hr days when crunch time came for the project launch.

[kingofsurrey]

With the world seeming to crumble right in front of our very own eyes.......

 

I kinda wish this message would be sent to everyone on our planet.... so we can have a few great days at this time of year.

 

 

[kingofsurrey]

My other message i would like to sent to everyone is....

 

 

[Gurn]

fish farm burns and thousands of fish escape up by Port Hardy:

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/nearly-all-atlantic-salmon-escape-bc-fish-farm-pen-after-damaging-fire/ar-BBYfyJi?ocid=spartandhp

 

"

Thousands of farmed Atlantic salmon have escaped their pen at a Vancouver Island fish farm and entered the waters after a damaging fire, the company confirms.

Roughly 21,000 fish were inside the pen at the Robertson Island farm near Port Hardy when the fire broke out sometime overnight between Thursday and Friday, Mowi Canada West said in a statement.

The company said late Saturday that "most" of those salmon have escaped the circular pen, which sits with several others in the waters of the Queen Charlotte Strait.

 

READ MORE: Studies shed light on impact of PRV virus on farmed Atlantic salmon in B.C.

 

"Those fish remaining in the pen have been secured, and will be removed," the statement reads.

The cause of the fire has not been determined. Mowi said the pen will be towed to land for an investigation after the remaining fish are removed.

Mowi said the 21,000 fish in the pen at the time of the fire were left over after harvesting took place last week.

The company says it has alerted "federal regulators and area First Nations about this development."

Global News has reached out to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the nearby ‘Namgis First Nation for comment.

Tavish Campbell, a freelance videographer who captured images of the pen from a helicopter Saturday, said the damage is significant.

"One pen was half sunken and just a wash, and a number of birds were crowded around and feeding on something, likely an escaped salmon," he said.

Campbell said environmentalists and local First Nations are concerned about the breach, as Atlantic salmon are non-native species that have now invaded the Pacific waters.

 

READ MORE: Time to end open-water salmon farming, says Pacific Salmon Foundation

 

"It's pretty disgusting," he said. "The risk of pathogen transfer is very high because we know these farmed salmon are carrying a lot of viruses and pathogens that aren't native to Pacific waters.

"They're now mixing with our wild salmon and moving into spawning areas, so I hope there's an effort by the company to capture these fish."

The company has not provided details on what efforts may be taken to recapture the salmon.

Open-net fish farms have come under fire in the past for net breaches.

In August 2017, net pens owned by Canadian company Cooke Aquaculture Pacific — the largest Atlantic salmon farmer in the U.S. — collapsed in the waters off northwest Washington.

Up to 263,000 invasive Atlantic salmon escaped into Puget Sound, raising fears about the impact on native Pacific salmon runs.

 

READ MORE: Opponents hope B.C. mirrors Washington state Atlantic salmon farm

The incident inspired Washington state to introduce legislation that would phase out marine farming of non-native fish by 2022.

Groups like the Pacific Salmon Foundation have called for the B.C. and federal governments to do the same in Canada.

In B.C., concerns about the decline of Pacific salmon have already risen to peak levels after the Big Bar landslide in the Fraser River near Kamloops, which scientists say could result in the extinction of multiple salmon runs by 2020.