Supreme Court rules in favor of NY churches/synagogues
The US Supreme Court has ruled in favor of churches in New York. The court ruled 5-4 in favor of churches in that state being allowed to reopen. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo had previously restricted religious gatherings down to between 10-25 percent capacity. The governor accused the Supreme Court justices of partisanship concerning the ruling. Cuomo in his response said the ruling is a reflection of the three conservative judges nominated by President Trump. Cuomo said of the ruling , “You have a different court and I think that was a statement that the court was making…we know who he (President Trump) appointed to the court…we know their ideology.” Legal experts believe the ruling will be used to challenge restrictions against churches and other religious institutions in other states. President Trump responded to the ruling by retweeting the Supreme Court’s decision announcement and added Happy Thanksgiving. The churches and synagogues involved in the lawsuit said they are grateful to the court for the decision.
Persecution of Christians in China intensifies
Christian groups are reporting continued restrictions against The Church in China. The magazine Bitter Winter reports churches in China are now required to have Civilization Practice Stations in their church buildings. The practice stations must feature displays of over 100 Chinese leaders from the past, present, and Chinese flag. Pastors are also now forced to include stories in sermons about Mao Zedong (founder of the Communist party in China). One anonymous source says if the churches oppose the government they could be banned from meeting or loose their church building. Christians in China have seen an increase of persecution in the past few years. Previous raids on the churches included prison time for church leaders, removal of crosses from church buildings, and the destruction of church buildings based on fake building violations from government officials according to Christians in that nation.
Israel continues to build relationship with Bahrain
The relationship between Israel and Arab nations continues to develop. Bahrain’s foreign minister recently arrived in Jerusalem to continue diplomatic ties with Israel. The visit is the first time an official from Bahrain has made a government sponsored trip to Israel. The meeting with Israel’s Prime Minister included US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The announcement of the official visit was announced around the same time as news concerning Israel and Saudi Arabia. According to several Israeli news sources the Prime Minister flew to Saudi Arabia for a meeting with the Crown Prince of that nation. The meeting also reportedly was attended by Secretary of State Pompeo. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to confirm or deny the meeting.The Prime Minister would only say he is optimistic about continued negotiation with Israel’s neighbors. Secretary Pompeo has denied Israel was apart of that meeting with Saudi Arabia.
SNBC HEALTH report : face masks study released contradicting mainstream reports
More unbiased reports on face masks are now being released. According to mercola.com there are finally more studies being released on the effects of wearing face masks. Most wellness experts have been critical of local and state governments mandating the wearing of face masks in public and for extended periods of time. A study released in the Annals of Internal Medicine find 50 percent of those wearing face masks did not reduce their infection rate. The study conducted in Denmark followed over four thousand Danish citizens in the spring and summer of this year. Dr. Tom Frieden former director of the CDC quickly criticized the study in his statement which was featured in the same medical journal. Frieden says the study had limitations and did not instruct participants how to wear their masks correctly. He also claimed the compliance rate was better in the study than in regular society. Frieden added the study was done in a nation where the population has low Covid-19 outbreaks. The lead doctor in the study, possibly due to peer pressure from colleagues, acknowledged the criticism. The doctor was later quoted as saying if masks could prevent risks even in a small amount, it would be worth continuing to wear masks in public. Dr. Vinay Prasad, a doctor and associate professor at UC San Francisco says this study was ignored by most medical communities. Dr. Prasad says the idea of wearing masks has been sold to people around the world. He continued saying this study by Danish doctors shows there is no sufficient evidence to suggest wearing a mask protects you from infection. Dr. Prasad says the emotions attached to this current situation have gotten in the way of true science as the topic of wearing masks has become political.