thesun--2019-01-10--Robots will steal HALF of all jobs in the world within 15 years creating unemployment crisis for mil

Robots will steal HALF of all jobs in the world within 15 years creating unemployment crisis for millions, AI expert warns

ROBOTS will steal half of all current jobs in the world within 15 years, a leading artificial intelligence expert warns.  Workers in many fields face a crisis "akin to that faced by farmers during the industrial revolution", says former Google and Microsoft exec Kai-Fu Lee.  Truckers, salesmen, office clerks, warehouse staff, fast food workers and couriers all risk becoming redundant in the AI age.  Only those jobs focused on person-to-person contact such as nurses and teachers will be safe as computers can't match human empathy, he says.  Lee, bestselling author of AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, And The New World Order, says it's important to "warn people there is displacement coming, and to tell them how they can start retraining."  He told DailyMail.com in the US: "People aren't really fully aware of the effect AI will have on their jobs."  Most at risk are telemarketers and telesales people, he said, pointing by example to Google's controversial AI bot that can fool humans.  He said: "You've probably already received robo-calls, but future calls will be more natural.  "AI can use customer profiles, past purchases, and emotional recognition to find ways to appeal to them - even using a soothing female voice or a persuasive male voice."  The same goes for customer support staff and call centre operators, he says.  Education will have to change radically to encourage a new way of thinking, making people "more individualistic, and more empathetic".  Lee said: "Human to human interaction is safe, providing comfort and satisfaction is safe."  The expert, a former chairman of Google China, says AI cannot be creative or conceptual, do complex strategic planning, or perform tasks that require precise hand-eye coordination.  So authors, artists, strategic managers and doctors will still find work, along with marriage counsellors and social workers.  We will also need plenty of AI researchers and computer scientists to teach the new army of robots what to do.  Other experts have previously warned of an AI apocalpyse as robots take over the world and treat humans as guinea pigs.  Leading military powers are also developing robot soldiers that could eventually go into battle - making autonomous decisions on who to kill.  The US and Russia recently blocked a UN move to ban such AI weapons.  We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.


breitbart--2019-09-26--Sen David Perdue OKs Silicon Valley Takeover of College Graduate Job Market

Sen. David Perdue OKs Silicon Valley Takeover of College Graduate Job Market

Perdue’s decision to end his opposition to the bill clears the way for Lee to rush his bill through the Senate on Thursday. If no other senators object, Lee’s bill will move through the Senate, putting it much closer to becoming law.  The bill allows investors and their companies to reward many more Indian graduates who agree to take the college graduate jobs needed by young American graduates. The reward is the grant of 120,000 invaluable green cards — up from roughly 20,000 today — to the Indian outsourcing workers and their families.  That’s a huge boost for the investors in the U.S.-India Outsourcing Economy, who now import Indian graduates to spike stock prices by chopping white-collar payroll costs. So Perdue’s retreat is also a huge economic hit to the roughly 800,000 Americans who are graduating in 2019 with degrees in health care, science, engineering, accounting, business, software, math, or architecture.  The bill could also disrupt the immigration system for many other foreign migrants, including younger “dreamer” illegals and university scientists, as well as the next wave of foreign students, scientists, and professionals who are seeking to move into the United States. The House has already passed its version of the bill, H.R. 1044.  Perdue’s retreat was reported by Immigration Voice, a lobbying group of foreign workers who were imported by investors to take the middle-class jobs sought by U.S. graduates. The McClatchy News Service reported Perdue’s switch:  The Indian visa workers are now urging their members to call Sen. Dick Durbin’s (D-IL) office out of fear he might block Lee’s giveaway:  Durbin’s potential opposition was spotlighted by a September 7  report in the Wall Street Journal:  Perdue’s office did not respond to Breitbart News. On September 19, Perdue explained his hold on Lee’s bill:  I want to comment my good friend from the great state of Utah, SM Lee,  for his work on putting this bill together and pulling the people together to support this bill. I support this bill. Madam President. We have some language that needs to be clarified, and I still have some concerns about the impact this legislation would have on some specific industries, you know in my state but in the country. I want to work with Senator only in addressing these concerns and come to a resolution on this very quickly. I commit to working with him and his team to make sure that we get to a resolution because we want the exact same thing. And this is totally consistent with President [Donald] Trump is trying to do in as long term work to fix our broken immigration system in with that.  Activists say no GOP senators are ready to step forward to protect American graduates from the huge inflow of underpaid Indian graduates. Even populist senators such as Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) have avoided criticizing the investors’ stealthy no-hearing, no-debates rush to pass the bill.  Their passive stance comes amid a huge but stealthy push led by the technology companies and investors, such as Jeff Bezos, owner of Amazon and the Washington Post. The backers include Mark Zuckerberg, who met with Lee on September 19, on the same day that Perdue blocked his bill.  Business groups have told senators that the bill is a minor change to immigration law and is intended to rectify what they describe as anti-Indian “country caps” discrimination. Those business groups already employ roughly 1.5 million foreign white-collar workers in the United States, including at least 800,000 Indians graduates.  Opponents and supporters of the green card giveaway are using Facebook and Twitter to urge their supporters to call senators to block or support the bill.  Only one GOP senator is needed to stop Lee’s bill, which is expected to be brought to the Senate floor on Thursday for a no-debate, no-media, fast-track “Unanimous Consent” approval process.  Few Democrats — if any — oppose Lee’s S.386 bill, which is strongly backed by the pro-Democrat Silicon Valley investors.  Nearly all Democrats voted for the House version of the bill.  Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials have said they oppose the Indian outsourcing bill — but White House officials have not said if the bill will be opposed by President Donald Trump — even though Trump needs to boost his sagging support among white-collar suburban voters.  White-collar Americans have formed a series of groups to defend their careers against the investors’ visa workers. They include the American Workers Coalition, ProUSworkers, and Doctorswithoutjobs.com.  These groups say that the expanded number of green cards will flood the labor markets for engineers and software experts. The bill will also allow U.S. investors to annually recruit hundreds of thousands of Indian graduates to compete for American college jobs and green cards. The Indians can get work permits via the uncapped Optional Practical Training (OPT), B1, L-1, H4EAD, and H-1B visa worker programs. U.S. workers also say they are routinely discriminated against and excluded by the U.S.-based Indian managers and Indian recruiters who run the U.S.-India Outsourcing Economy.  Lou Dobbs, on Fox News, has repeatedly denounced the giveaway:  Populist groups — such as Americans for Legal Immigration PAC — also oppose the Silicon Valley takeover.  Additionally, would-be immigrants are opposing the Lee bill because it will push the investors’ current army of at least 300,000 Indian tech workers — plus more to come — up to the head of the line for 120,000 green cards each year. For example, the Multinational Coalition includes many Chinese graduate students who will have to work as low-wage student lab technicians for many years in their late 20s if they hope to get green cards.  These pro-migration opponents of Lee’s bill also include Support All of Us and many other pro-migration groups who are keeping their opposition quiet.  This shift towards Indian outsourcing will also cut off the flow of employer-sponsored migrants into Florida’s Spanish-speaking economy, say immigration lawyers in Florida.  But Perdue’s shift is being cheered by the India visa workers who take the graduate jobs needed by Americans. For example, “Ramesh S,” who is working in North Carolina, applauded Perdue’s switch:  Most of the Indian workers are being imported to run the U.S. side of the U.S.-India Outsourcing Economy, which is used by investors to transfer Americans’ salaries into their Wall Street stock values.  For example, Walmart is boosting its stock value by outsourcing 569 finance and accounting jobs in North Carolina to cheaper H-1B workers from India. If the company saves $10,000 per employee, Walmart will save $5.7 million per year. On Wall Street, Walmart’s price to earnings rate is 25 to one, so the $5.7 million in payroll savings will boost its stockholders’ value by $142 million.  Walmart picked an American company, Genpact, to supply the Indian workers. The company is a spin-off of General Electric, and it prospers by providing Indian H-1B workers to many companies in the United States. For example, the company asked for 271 H-1Bs in 2018, 410 H-1Bs in 2017, and 307 H-1Bs in 2016.  Genpact’s H-1Bs work on the U.S. side of the vast and growing U.S.-India Outsourcing Economy, now worth roughly $78 billion per year. Part of the H-1Bs’ job is to funnel additional work back into India. For example, Genpact may only need to use 100 H-1Bs in North Carolina to help steer the work of the 569 fired American finance experts back to large teams of low-wage Indian graduates in India.  Genpact’s $3.3 billion in revenue is enough to generate $7.5 billion in stock value for its investors, which include Bain Capital, Blackrock, and Charles Schwab Investment Management.  Employers reward the low-wage Indian workers by giving them green cards, which allow them to become U.S. citizens — and to then import their immediate and extended families from India to the United States.  The investors are mostly based on the coasts, so their wealth is helping to spike income and real estate values in New York and California — while the reduced investment and payroll in heartland states reduce their business income, real estate values, skilled workforces, and political power.  The cheap-labor economic strategy also pushes Americans away from high-tech careers, and it sidelines millions of marginalized Americans, including many who are now struggling with drug addictions.  The labor policy also moves business investment and wealth from the Heartland to the coastal cities, explodes rents and housing costs, undermines suburbia, shrivels real estate values in the Midwest, and rewards investors for creating low-tech, labor-intensive workplaces.  But Trump’s “Hire American” policy is boosting wages by capping immigration within a growing economy. The Census Bureau said September 10 that men who work full-time and year-round got an average earnings increase of 3.4 percent in 2018, pushing their median salaries up to $55,291. Women gained 3.3 percent in wages, bringing their median salaries to $45,097 for full-time, year-round work.


businessinsider--2019-09-10--Signs of a slowing job market are piling up left and right

Signs of moderation have piled up in the labor market in recent weeks, stirring concerns about one of the brightest spots in an economy expected to slow.  The Labor Department on Tuesday said the number of job openings fell by 31,000 in July to a seasonally adjusted 7.2 million, the latest sign of weakening labor demand. The results showed openings remained plentiful, but they came just days after the department reported weaker-than-expected figures for August employment.  "Last week's jobs report sparked a debate over whether the slowdown in hiring is due to an economy hitting full employment, but today's JOLTS report indicates that this is actually a labor market that is losing momentum," said Nick Bunker, an economist at Indeed Hiring Lab.  The US added 130,000 nonfarm payrolls in August, a slowdown from a month earlier and compared with forecasts for a print of 160,000. Economists said the real increase was closer to 105,000 last month, however, without taking into account a wave of temporary workers hired for the 2020 census.  Earlier Tuesday, the National Federation of Independent Business said small firms reported fewer open positions that they could not fill in August as outlooks for the economy dimmed.  "The good news — relatively — is that capex plans rose a point, though the trend remains weak and continues to signal a clear downshift in business investment through the end of this year and into early 2020," said Ian Shepherdson, the chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.  Trade tensions between the Trump administration and other major economies have escalated in recent months. US businesses have warned over the past year that the effects of tariffs would ripple into the labor market, as they raise costs and uncertainty.  Read more: A majority of Americans think a recession will strike in the next year — and they're blaming Trump's trade war


jerusalempost--2019-11-21--Pope Francis meeting Thai king, Buddhist patriarch in visit

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tass--2019-10-02--Lavrov calls for continuing dialogue between Russian patriarch and pope

SOCHI, October 2. /TASS/. The continuation of the dialogue between Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and Pope Francis would help secure religion against political games, particularly in conflict regions, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the 16th annual session of the Valdai International Discussion Club on Wednesday.  "The dialogue that was initiated by His Holiness Patriarch [Kirill] and Pope [Francis] could be continued in order to secure religion against political games, especially the games in the regions where conflicts are raging and crises have erupted," he pointed out.  Lavrov pointed to the need to use other mechanisms to protect religious groups. "The UN has an inter-civilization dialogue. That’s a very interesting forum, which has not been used very often so far. There is UNESCO’s interreligious dialogue. On our initiative, that work began there, it can likewise be used more intensively," he went on to say.  "I hope that, together with the Russian Orthodox Church and other confessions and in cooperation with the relevant foreign partners, we will be able to shield religious feelings from any politicization in a more active manner," Russia’s top diplomat added.  The first ever meeting between the head of the Roman Catholic Church and the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church took place in Cuba on February 12, 2016. Negotiations between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill were held at Havana airport. The clerics signed a joint declaration on global policy issues, relations between the churches and values in today's society following the meeting.


rawstory--2019-11-21--Pope Francis begins Asia tour with visit to Buddhist temple

Pope Francis will visit one of Thailand’s famed gilded temples Thursday to meet the supreme Buddhist patriarch, on the first full day of his Asian tour aimed at promoting religious harmony.  The 82-year-old pontiff is on his first visit to Buddhist majority Thailand, where he will spend four days before setting off to Japan.  His packed schedule a day after touching down in Bangkok includes a meeting with the king and the prime minister before leading an evening mass expected to draw tens of thousands of people from across Thailand, where just over 0.5 percent of the population is Catholic.  He also has an appointment with the Buddhist Supreme Patriarch at the glittering gold Ratchabophit temple in Thailand’s historic old quarter, built 150 years ago by Thailand’s former king mixing traditional and gothic styles.  It is a highly symbolic visit for the head of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics, who carries a message of peace, religious tolerance and nuclear disarmament on his sweep through Asia.  “Pope Francis always respects other religions, always treats his counterparts with respect… that’s why he would like to pay respect to the leader” of the Buddhist faith in Thailand, said Chainarong Monthienvichienchai, who helped with some of the visit planning.  Before arriving, Francis praised the Southeast Asian country as a “multi-ethnic nation”, and hoped his trip would strengthen the Catholic community’s bonds of friendship with “many Buddhist brothers and sisters”.  Earlier Thursday the Pope was met by Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Cha-O-Cha at government house for a red carpet welcome with dozens of top officials.  He was accompanied by his cousin Sister Ana Rosa, who has lived in Thailand for decades and will be accompanying the pontiff as a translator.  In a speech to civil society, officials and diplomats, he said the visit with the patriarch was “a sign of the importance and urgency of promoting friendship and interreligious dialogue”.  The Pope’s trip to Thailand is the first papal trip to the country since pope John Paul II visited in 1984.  It coincides with the 350th anniversary of the first Catholic missionaries who established the “Mission de Siam” in the late 17th century.  Pope Francis arrived Wednesday in the Thai capital where he was greeted by cheering worshippers who lined the streets hoping for a glimpse of the Catholic leader in his motorcade.  He heads to Japan on Saturday, where he will visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki, two cities devastated when the US dropped atomic bombs at the end of World War II in 1945.  The pope, who years ago had hoped to be a missionary in Japan, has made strong calls for the ban of the “immoral” use of nuclear weapons.  Since Francis’ election six years ago, he has made two trips to Asia, visiting the Philippines and Sri Lanka in 2014, followed by Myanmar and Bangladesh in 2017.


thedailycaller--2019-02-10--Pope Francis To Visit Moroccan Imam Training Institute To Promote Moderate Islam

Pope Francis will visit a Moroccan training center for imams at the end of March to promote moderate Islam and efforts to combat Islamic extremism.  The pontiff will visit Morocco from March 30 to 31 in the wake of his visit to the United Arab Emirates where he signed a declaration of fraternity with Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar, calling for peace and dialogue between Muslims and Christians. Francis’ visit to Morocco will be a continuation of his campaign to promote moderate Islam and an end to violence in the name of religion, according to Crux Now. (RELATED: Francis Conducts First Ever Papal Mass On Arabian Peninsula In UAE)  While the imam training center, named for King Mohammed VI, is one of the tools that the Moroccan government began employing to reduce rates of radicalization in 2004, Moroccans still feature prominently among the ranks of Islamic terrorist organizations like ISIS. The school teaches approximately 700 students a year from Europe, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.  Francis will also meet with the king of Morocco during his visit and conduct a Mass for Catholic faithful in Morocco. The country allows for both citizens and visitors to practice whatever faith they adhere to, but strictly forbids “enticing a Muslim to convert to another religion,” according to the U.S. State Department.  Morocco’s laws state explicitly that it is a Muslim country. The country is predominantly Sunni, Christians and Shia Muslims often choose to attend religious services held in someone’s home rather than at one of the state sanctioned churches or mosques, for fear that state authorities will harass them at the state sanctioned sights or accuse them of violating Morocco’s religious laws.  Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.


tass--2019-09-29--Putin praises Russian Jewish organizations role in maintaining interreligious dialogue

Putin praises Russian Jewish organizations’ role in maintaining interreligious dialogue

MOSCOW, September 29. /TASS/. President Vladimir Putin congratulated Russian Jews on Rosh Hashanah holiday, which symbolizes the beginning of the year in the Jewish calendar, praising the role of Jewish organizations in maintaining interethnic and interreligious dialogue in Russia.  "It is important that Jewish organizations in Russia have great respect for precious spiritual, historical and cultural heritage of their ancestors and acquaint young people to paternal traditions and customs. Their active participation in public life, in implementing important social and charity initiatives, in maintaining constructive interethnic and interreligious dialogue in our country deserves the most sincere recognition," the president said in a telegram published on the Kremlin website.  Putin also noted that Rosh Hashanah symbolizes people’s strive towards spiritual purification and self-improvement.  Rosh Hashanah is one of the most important Jewish holidays. It is celebrated during the first two days of Tishrei, which is the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year (in late September-early October). It is believed that the God created the world and the first man, Adam, during this month.


aljazeera--2019-02-03--Pope Francis seeks dialogue on first trip to UAE

Pope Francis started a three-day visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the first for a leader of the Roman Catholic Church in the Arabian Peninsula.  Francis was greeted by Abu Dhabi's powerful crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on his arrival late on Sunday.  The pontiff will attend the Global Conference on Human Fraternity at the behest of the UAE's leadership, which has proclaimed 2019 the "Year of Tolerance", a move scorned by human rights activists.  Along with Saudi Arabia, the UAE is heavily involved in the war in Yemen - dubbed the world's worst humanitarian crisis - and has a problematic human rights record. The UAE has also imposed an air, land, and sea blockade on Qatar, which has severely affected relations among Gulf countries over the past two years.  Whether Pope Francis will address these issues is not clear, but expectations run high that the pope may do so in private talks with the UAE's leadership.  The international gathering of religious scholars is aimed at promoting tolerance and peace between the two faiths, said the Muslim Council of Elders organising the event.  Pope Francis is also expected to meet with the Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyib, Head of Al Azhar, one of the highest religious authorities in the Muslim world.  On Tuesday, the pope will deliver a mass to about 135,000 worshippers who were able to get a free ticket to attend the celebration at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi.  "I thank the friend and dear brother the Grand Imam Sheikh al-Tayyib and those who have organised this meeting for the will and courage to affirm that faith in God unites and does not divide us," said Pope Francis in a video message to the Emirati people.  "I thank God for this opportunity to write, in your land, a new page in the history of the interreligious dialogue, to confirm that we are brothers despite being different," the pope added.  Dialogue with Islam is one of the main features of Francis' pontificate, following in the path of some of his predecessors. Pope Paul VI made the first pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1964, and Pope Jean Paul II was the first pope to set foot in a mosque in 2001.  In his six years as pontiff, Francis has conducted 25 trips abroad, out of which 13 were to Muslim countries. From Turkey to Palestine, Egypt to Jordan, Bangladesh to the Central African Republic, the pope has prayed in local mosques with their imams, invoking tolerance and peace between worshippers of the two faiths.  "This is a historic visit. The first time for a pope in Arabia is a milestone in the history of relations between Islam and Christianity," said Orazio La Rocca, a Vatican expert and author, who has covered the Holy See for over 30 years. The message the pope carries to Abu Dhabi is summed up in his video message, he said.  "In Francis' greeting to Sheikh al-Tayyib lies the essence of his manifesto: Christians and Muslims are brothers in their faith, and faith never divides. This has been the leitmotiv of his pontificate since its inception in March 2013," said La Rocca.  The 83-year-old pontiff, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, an Argentinian of Italian descent, is considered by many to be a progressive, whose forgiving remarks towards unmarried and divorced couples and homosexuals have infuriated the most conservative branches of the Catholic Church.  In his speeches on global poverty and social injustice, migrations and climate change the pope has tackled some of the most pressing issues of our time.  While his supporters say the pope is just bringing to life the message of the New Testament, his critics have gone to the extent of accusing him of blasphemy. The dialogue with Islam is a bone of contention with his detractors, who have attacked his staunch rejection of any association between religion and terrorism.  "The ultraconservative factions, especially across the Atlantic, are sponsored by lobbies within the Church who abhor not only dialogue with Islam but even with other Christian confessions," said La Rocca.  According to Father Bernardo Cervellera, director of Asia News, Gulf countries like the UAE, Qatar and Oman where Christians from around the world have come to live and work, show that coexistence between Islam and Christianity in a modern Muslim society is possible.  "The UAE and other Gulf countries set a positive model that can be an example also to neighbouring countries like Saudi Arabia, for instance, where to this day Christians are not allowed to practise their faith," said Cervellera.  Asked whether Muslims and Christians can have a fruitful dialogue nowadays and counter extreme thinking on both sides, Sheikh Ali al-Qaradaghi, secretary-general of the International Union of Muslim Scholars told Al Jazeera that dialogue is a necessity.  "The visit of Pope Francis is a positive thing if it leads to a constructive exchange between the two faiths and some tangible outcomes," said al-Qaradaghi.  "Our region is marked by deep internal divisions and conflicts from Syria to Yemen, and I hope the visit of the pope may lead to some positive result also in this regard."  2019 has been dubbed the Year of Tolerance, to mark the legacy of the late president and founding father of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan. But today, the country is involved in one of the worst conflicts of our time in neighbouring Yemen, where 18 million people are on the brink of famine.  At least one million Christian live in the UAE today where, for over three decades, the late Bishop Bernardo Gremoli has led to the inauguration of some 13 churches across the country, in addition to churches in Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.  Christians in Gulf countries amount to approximately 4 million, but they are mainly economic migrants of different nationalities who stay in the region for a limited amount of time due to tight restrictions on residency.  In the rest of the region, the numbers of communities of indigenous Christians, whose presence dates back centuries, are in decline.  The visit of Francis to the Gulf comes at a time of upheaval for Christian communities in the Middle East.  As a result of the protracted wars and ongoing instability, about 50 percent of all Christians have fled the region over the last five decades, with an acceleration over the past few years following persecutions by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS).  According to statistics published by the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, Christians in 2017 in Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, Israel, Egypt and Jordan totalled 14.5 million out of a population of 258 million.  A million Christian Chaldeans have fled Iraq and out of half a million Armenian Catholics, only 50,000 still remain in the Near East. Syrian Orthodox and Catholics have also thinned along with other minority communities such as Yazidis and Shia.


france24--2019-03-30--Pope Francis visits Morocco to boost dialogue

Andreas Solaro, AFP | Pope Francis celebrates a penitential liturgy mass on the third Friday of Lent, March 29, 2019 at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.  Pope Francis arrives in Morocco on Saturday for a visit which will see him meet Muslim leaders and migrants ahead of a mass with the country’s minority Catholic community.  The spiritual leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics was invited by King Mohammed VI as part of the “development of interreligious dialogue”, according to Moroccan authorities.  Improving relations with other religions has been a priority for the Argentine pontiff, whose papacy has been marred by a wave of child sex abuse allegations against clergy.  The Moroccan capital Rabat has stepped up security ahead of his arrival.  Buildings have been repainted, streets decorated and lawns manicured ahead of the first papal visit to Morocco since John Paul II in 1985.  Francis is due to be welcomed at the airport by the king and presented with dates and almond milk. Then the pontiff will step into his Popemobile and the monarch into a limousine.  They will drive to a welcome ceremony at a mosque and a mausoleum, attended by 25,000 and beamed onto giant screens, before the king hosts Francis at the royal palace.  The monarch is known as the “commander of the faithful” in Morocco, where 99 percent of the population is Muslim.  Francis will also visit an institute where around 1,300 students are studying to become imams and preachers, teaching “moderate Islam” and backed by the king.  “It’s a very significant event, the first time that a pope is welcomed to an institute for the training of imams,” said Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti.  During the visit, Francis is due to hear from two students - one African and one European - as well as a statement by Morocco’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs.  A concert drawing inspiration from Islam, Christianity and Judaism is also on the agenda.  Last month Francis visited the United Arab Emirates, where he met with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the imam of Cairo’s Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam’s prestigious seat of learning.  The two signed a document on “human fraternity for world peace”, which among other things called for “freedom of belief” and “full citizenship” rights for minorities.  Francis will not hesitate to refer to the text, which from now on he will give to all heads of state, Gisotti said.  In Morocco, where Islam is the state religion, authorities are keen to stress the country’s “religious tolerance” which allows Christians and Jews to worship freely.  But Moroccans are automatically considered Muslim if they are not born into the Jewish community, apostasy is socially frowned upon, and proselytising is criminalised.  Those who try to “rock the faith of a Muslim or to convert him to another religion” risk a prison term of up to three years.  After years in the shadows, since 2017 the small number of converts have called openly for the right to live “without persecution” and “without discrimination”.  Around 30,000 to 35,000 Catholics live in Morocco, many of them from sub-Saharan Africa.  The pope is due to finish his Saturday schedule by meeting migrants at a centre run by Catholic humanitarian organisation Caritas.  The charity runs day centres for migrants who are trying to reach Europe across the Mediterranean, as well as supporting their access to services.  The number of people taking the sea route from Morocco to Spain has increased recently due to the closure of the border with Libya.  In 2017, Caritas centres in Rabat, Casablanca and Tangier welcomed 7,551 new arrivals, according to the charity.  Rabat claims to have a “humanistic” approach to migration and rejects allegations by rights groups of “brutal arrest campaigns” and “forced displacement” to the country’s southern border.  Francis has throughout his papacy highlighted the plight of migrants and refugees, calling on Catholics as well as politicians to show solidarity with those in need.  On Sunday, the pope will celebrate mass at a Rabat stadium with an estimated 10,000 people attending.


lifesitenews--2019-11-27--Pope praises document about God willing diversity of religions in ‘interreligious dialogue’ speech

November 26, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – Pope Francis has once again promoted the Abu Dhabi document “Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together” at a meeting organized in Rome by an Argentinian group under the auspices of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.” Part of the document, which was signed in February by the Pope and a Grand Imam, states that a “pluralism and diversity” of religions is “willed by God.”  On November 18, the Pope addressed the participants of the meeting during a private audience in the Vatican, in the presence of the Argentinian ambassador to the Holy See, Rogelio Pfirter, its promoter, in collaboration with the “Instituto de Diálogo Interreligioso” (Institute of Interreligious Dialogue, IDI) of Buenos Aires of which he was himself the initiator in 2002, as Cardinal-Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio.  During a meeting on November 15, attended by Cardinal Miguel Ayuso and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Father Guillermo Marcó of IDI made a “historic announcement” saying that in Argentina a council is being formed between the bishops’ conference, the Jewish center AMIA, the Islamic Center of the Argentinian Republic, the Argentinian Federation of Evangelical Churches, and the Institute of Interreligious Dialogue.  Pope Francis especially congratulated the group for having focused on the Abu Dhabi document during its discussions, without expressing any reservations regarding its erroneous claim that “the pluralism and the diversity of religions, color, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom.” Instead, he declared himself “pleased to note that this document, which is universal in nature, is also being disseminated in the Americas.”  “I am convinced that the particularity and sensitivity of different countries and continents can truly contribute to a detailed reading of this document and to a greater and more effective understanding of the message it conveys,” he said.  Among those present were Rabbi Daniel Goldman, Sheikh Omar Abboud and Father Guillermo Marcó, a Catholic priest, as well as the current Argentinian secretary for religious affairs and the president of the Islamic center of Buenos Aires.  Pope Francis was therefore addressing representatives of Judaism, Protestantism, and Islam when he proclaimed: “Our religious traditions are a necessary source of inspiration to foster a culture of encounter. It is fundamental for there to be interreligious cooperation, based on the promotion of sincere and respectful dialogue that goes towards unity without confusion, maintaining identities.”  While some forms of “interreligious dialogue” focus on temporal issues, with the aim of avoiding hostility or bloodshed among believers or promoting natural law together, Pope Francis calls for “unity that transcends the mere political pact.”  He quoted a “very wise man, a very wise European politician” whom he said spoke to him about the Abu Dhabi declaration last February in these terms:  “Let us think of the end of the Second World War, let us think of Yalta; in Yalta a balance was struck in order to break the impasse, a balance that was weak but possible. The cake was shared, and a period of peace was maintained, but these documents, this attitude that goes towards dialogue among the transcendent, creates fraternity, surpasses pacts, surpasses the political; it is political in that it is human, but it surpasses this, it transcends this, it makes it nobler.”  The Yalta Pact divided the world that had emerged from the Second World War into two zones of influence under the winners of the global conflict: that of America on the one hand and that of Soviet Russia on the other. It left hundreds of millions of people in that country under the heel of communist power. The “peace” that was brokered abandoned large parts of Eastern Europe to Stalin’s “influence” and prepared communism’s total domination in East Germany, Poland, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and the Baltic States…  The invocation of Yalta as a model, albeit an imperfect one, is surprising if not insulting to the memory of the innumerable victims of communist tyranny after the Second World War.  Pope Francis told the group that “the world observes us, believers, to see what our attitude is to the common home and to human rights” – the “common home” is the expression used by environmentalists who accuse humanity of being responsible for “global warming” and ecological catastrophes – and said collaboration among believers and non-believers is necessary to respond effectively to war, hunger, poverty, “the environmental crisis” and that of the family, and so on. “And, above all, the lack of hope.”  Pope Francis’ speech showed he believes there is a new element at play since the signature of the Abu Dhabi document:  “The intention of the document is to adopt: the culture of dialogue as a way; common collaboration as conduct; mutual knowledge as a method and criterion. From now on, it can be affirmed that religions are not a closed system that cannot be changed, but with their own identity. And this is the key: identity cannot be negotiated, because if you negotiate identity there is no dialogue, there is submission. With their own identity, they are in motion.”  The operative words are: “From now on … ” The Pope said in substance that religions must be prepared to adapt to a situation where they maintain their “identity” while accepting to modify their attitudes in favor of world peace and prosperity.  His later comments explain what can be understood from these words. “It is important to demonstrate that we believers are a factor of peace for human societies, and that we will thus respond to those who unjustly accuse religions of fomenting hatred and being the cause of violence,” he said.  Innumerable documents emanating from the United Nations or from UNESCO do just that: they accuse national traditions and historic religions of being responsible for hate and conflict within humanity. The point of “interreligious dialogue” that rests on the false premise that true and false religions can find a common denominator to which all can subject their particular sets of beliefs, is here to put all religions and spiritualities on a similar plane. What is new – “from now on” – is the formal acknowledgment of the relativistic attitude that says all men can find God through their particular religion while at the same time cooperating with other religions for the really important things: fighting against “global warming,” for instance.  The Pope went on to say “dialogue among religions” is “about changing historical attitudes.”  “A scene from The Song of Roland comes to me as a symbol, when the Christians defeat the Muslims and put them all in line in front of the baptismal font, and one with a sword. And Muslims had to choose between baptism or the sword. That is what we Christians did. It was a mentality that today we cannot accept, nor understand, nor can it work anymore,” Pope Francis said.  The Song of Roland is actually a medieval “chanson de geste” – or epic poem – with its legendary overtones and disregard for historical reality. The scene evoked by Pope Francis never took place: Charlemagne never conquered Zaragoza as the Song of Roland proclaims, nor were Roland and his knights killed by the Moors at Roncesvalles, but by Basque highlanders, as Bernard Antony, president of the French Christian defense league AGRIF recalled on his blog.  “But in the Song, what wonderful freshness of soul, poetry, beauty, grandeur, expression of faith, honor and courage, what an exaltation of heroism and of marvelous chivalry!  “All this was certainly added to the historical truth of the fierce conquest of Spain by the Muslim, Berber or Arab hordes of Tariq ibn Ziyad and Abdal Aziz ibn Musa; and then by the dynasty of the three Abd al Rahman, and later by the successive bloody dominations of the Almoravids and Almohads.  “But no more than he has read or understood or remembers The Song of Roland Song, does Francis weigh, as his greatest predecessors did, what would have happened to Christianity if there had not been the long resistance and Reconquista by the Christians of Spain.”  Antony deplored that instead of choosing a true example of Christian culpability, Pope Francis should have “ignorantly and stupidly attacked one of our cultural roots.” The cultural roots of France but also of England, since the first known written version of the epic Song of Roland is the Oxford Manuscript of 1170.  Instead, in his concluding remarks to the Interreligious Dialogue group from Buenos Aires, Pope Francis said, “Beware of the fundamentalist groups: everyone has his own. In Argentina, too, there is a little fundamentalist corner. And let us try, with fraternity, to go forward. Fundamentalism is a scourge and all religions have some kind of fundamentalist first cousin there, which forms a group.”  Are “fundamentalists” those who believe their own religion to be true, to the exclusion of all others? In the light of the Abu Dhabi document, it would seem so.  The Instituto del Diálogo Interreligioso of Buenos Aires, a civil association, was founded by Cardinal Bergoglio in 2002 as the “crystallization of the interreligious experience that started when, as spokesman for the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, he organized the first ever visit of a bonaerense Archbishop to the Islamic Center of the Argentinian Republic,” of which Omar Abboud was then the Cultural Secretary. A similar exchange took place with the Bet-El community where Goldman has been the chief rabbi for 25 years.  Pope Francis has maintained links with the Institute since he was elected to the Chair of Peter.  In March 2018, IDI participated in the “Dawn of Interspirituality Conference” in Costa Rica that included representatives of many religions. The event was organized by the Satyana Institute founded in 1996 to promote training programs in “ecopsychology” and “gender reconciliation” as well as “women’s spiritual mastery.”  During that event, Father Thomas Keating, a Trappist monk and “pioneer” of interreligious dialogue from Massachusetts (see his obituary here), told the participants: “You are invited to take a step into the unknown, toward a possible future that can only be imagined, when the religions of the world truly meet each other.”  IDI proudly speaks of its presence at that meeting, which was also attended by Fr, Marcó, one of its co-founders. It gave a conference in Moscow on November 11 at the State Pedagogic University.


aljazeera--2019-06-02--Pope apologises to Roma for Catholic churchs discrimination

Pope apologises to Roma for Catholic church's discrimination

Pope Francis has apologised to the Roma ethnic minority for their history of discrimination in Europe and paid homage to Romanian Catholics persecuted during communist rule as he wrapped up his third and final day in Romania.  Francis reached out to the minorities of Transylvania during a deeply symbolic visit to Romania about 20 years after St John Paul II made the first-ever papal trip to the majority Orthodox country.  In his final stop on Sunday before heading back to the Vatican, Francis visited a community of Roma, also known as Gypsies, in a newly built Catholic church that was so small organisers asked the clergy to leave to make more room for Gypsy families to get in.  There, Francis apologised for the "many experiences of discrimination, segregation and mistreatment experienced by your communities", a reference to the second-class status of the Roma minority in Romania and throughout Europe, where Roma are more likely to be poor, uneducated and at risk of harassment, according to European Union studies.  Francis recently met with members of Roma communities in the diaspora at the Vatican and knows well the hardships they face.  "History tells us that Christians too, including Catholics, are not strangers to such evil," Francis said, in an apparent reference to World War II-era deportation of Roma along with Romanian Jews that is commemorated by a Holocaust memorial in Bucharest.  "I would like to ask your forgiveness for this," Francis said.  "I ask forgiveness - in the name of the Church and of the Lord - and I ask forgiveness of you. For all those times in history when we have discriminated, mistreated or looked askance at you ... and were unable to acknowledge you, to value you and to defend you in your uniqueness."  Francis has made it a point to use his trips and meetings with foreign leaders to ask forgiveness for past injustices, just as John Paul did.  He apologised to indigenous peoples for the colonial-era conquest of the Americas while in Bolivia and during a Vatican meeting with the president of Rwanda, apologised for the failures of Catholics in the Rwandan genocide.


disrn--2019-12-22--Pope says Christians should never seek to convert unbelievers, anyone who proselytizes "is not a dis

Pope says Christians should never seek to convert unbelievers, anyone who proselytizes "is not a disciple of Jesus"

In a dialogue with Catholic high school students in Rome this weekend, Pope Francis responded to a question about how to deal with atheists and people of other faiths by saying that Christians should never proselytize — and any who do are not truly Christians.  The Pope's lengthy answer, reprinted in full at the bottom of this article, contained numerous notable remarks illustrating the Pope's views on evangelism, including:  ? Last year, Pope Francis told a grieving boy that his late father was in heaven, despite the fact that he was an atheist, because he had his children baptized.  Let's go to your first. When I taught what a look and what words I had towards believing children or of other religions. But in Argentina there is a social phenomenon, which is the migratory phenomenon. After the two great wars there were waves of migration from Europe, also from Asia Minor and the Italians. He thinks that 40% of Argentines have an Italian surname, almost the other 40 Spanish. Then Poles, Russians, all ... even Arabs, whom we called "Turks" because they came with the passport of the great Ottoman Empire. There is a mixture of blood, a strong mixed race in Argentina — I am the son of a migrant, and this has made a culture of coexistence. I went to public school and we always had companions from other religions. We were educated to coexist: "There is a Jew, Russian, ah — come, come! I am a friend of Russian!" They said Russian because the majority of the Jews came from Odessa, some from Poland but the majority from Odessa. Then there were some Arabs, Lebanese, Syrians — "Ah, Turkish! Come, come!" This was Muslim, this was Jewish. But we all played football together, we were all friends.    This has taught me so much, that we are all the same, all children of God — and this purifies your gaze, it makes you human. In Argentina there is a small group of closed-minded Catholics who do not want Jews, do not want Muslims, but this group ... I have never liked it, is a group that is on the fringe, they have a cultural magazine but they do not have impact in society ... This is the secret: You must be consistent with your faith. It didn't occur to me and it doesn't have to be like saying to a boy or a girl: "You are Jewish, you are Muslim: come, be converted!" You be consistent with your faith and that consistency is what will make you mature. We are not in the times of the crusades. It is a bad thing but it made me suffer so much, a step of the "Chanson de Roland," when the Christians, the crusaders had conquered the Muslims and then a line of all the Muslims was queued and the priest was in front of it and a soldier. The priest in front of the baptismal font and everyone came — read that passage — he asked: "Either the baptism or the sword." This has happened in history! They also do it with us Christians in other parts, they are also doing it but what we did was shameful because it is a story of forced conversion, of not respecting the dignity of the person. This is why my experience was natural with people of other religions because my dad my dad's job was an accountant and he had so many Jewish business clients and they came home, it was normal and I didn't have this as a problem. But it must be normal. Nothing to leave them aside because they have another faith ...    The first is all. In front of an unbeliever the last thing I have to do is try to convince him. Never. The last thing I have to do is speak. I have to live consistent with my faith. And it will be my testimony to awaken the curiosity of the other who says: "But why do you do this?" And yes, I can speak then. But listen: Never, never bring the gospel by proselytizing. If someone says they are a disciple of Jesus and comes to you with proselytism, they are not a disciple of Jesus. Proselytism is not done, the church does not grow by proselytism. Pope Benedict had said it, it grows by attraction, by testimony. Football teams proselytize, this can be done. Political parties, can be done there. But with faith there is no proselytism. And if someone says to me: "But why?" Read, read, read the Gospel, this is my faith. But without pressure.


bbc--2019-05-07--Social media effect tiny in teenagers large study finds

Social media effect 'tiny' in teenagers, large study finds

The effects of social media use on teenage life satisfaction are limited and probably "tiny", a study of 12,000 UK adolescents suggests.  Family, friends and school life all had a greater impact on wellbeing, says the University of Oxford research team.  It claims its study is more in-depth and robust than previous ones.  And it urged companies to release data on how people use social media in order to understand more about the impact of technology on young people's lives.  The study, published in the journal PNAS, attempts to answer the question of whether teenagers who use social media more than average have lower life satisfaction, or whether adolescents with lower life satisfaction use more social media.  Past research on the relationship between screens, technology and children's mental health has often been contradictory.  Prof Andrew Przybylski and Amy Orben, from the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford, say it is often based on limited evidence which does not give the full picture.  Their study concluded that most links between life satisfaction and social media use were "trivial", accounting for less than 1% of a teenager's wellbeing - and that the effect of social media was "not a one-way street".  Prof Przybylski, director of research at the institute, said: "99.75% of a person's life satisfaction has nothing to do with their use of social media."  The study, which took place between 2009 and 2017, asked thousands of 10 to 15-year-olds to say how long they spent using social media on a normal school day and also rate how satisfied they were with different aspects of life.  They found more effects of time spent on social media in girls, but they were tiny and no larger than effects found in boys.  Less than half of these effects were statistically significant, they said.  "Parents shouldn't worry about time on social media - thinking about it that way is wrong," Prof Przybylski said.  "We are fixated on time - but we need to retire this notion of screen time.  "The results are not showing evidence for great concern."  The researchers said it was now important to identify young people at greater risk from certain effects of social media, and find out other factors that were having an impact on their wellbeing.  They plan to meet social media companies soon to discuss how they can work together to learn more about how people use apps - not just the time spent on them.  Ms Orben, co-study author and psychology lecturer at University of Oxford, said the industry must release their usage data and support independent research.  "Access is key to understanding the many roles that social media plays in the lives of young people" she said.  Dr Max Davie, officer for health improvement at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, backed the call for companies to collaborate with scientists and called the study "the first small step".  However, he said there were other issues to explore, such as screen time's interference with other important activities like sleep, exercise and time with family or friends.  "We recommend that families follow our guidance published earlier this year and continue to avoid screen use for one hour before bed, since there are other reasons beside mental health for children to need a good night's sleep."


birminghammail--2019-02-06--200 secret internet terms teenagers use - and parents need to know

Police have revealed more than 200 terms teenagers have been using online to communicate - many of which will be unknown to parents.  The huge list has been divided into three different categories - ranging from 'Fun' terms, to 'Warning flags', Nottinghamshire Live reports.  Nottinghamshire Police released the 228 total terms that include acronyms, hastags and abbreviations which may be a "cause for concern".  The police say it is hoped this list will allow parents and guardians to understand more of what is happening under their noses, particularly as rooming has become "easier" in the technological age.  Police published the list on Safer Internet Day and advised parents that they are "aware of the risks of some of the main social networking sites".  A lot of them will already be know to parents and kids alike, but there will be plenty more that you may never have heard or seen before.  Read all three lists below:  Safer Internet Day is co-ordinated in the UK by the UK Safer Internet Centre and hundreds of organisations get involved to promote the safe use of digital technology for children and young people.  Children's charity the NSPCC emphasised the importance of keeping up-to-date with online content.  An NSPCC spokesman said: “One of the best ways for parents to keep their children safe online and spot risks is to open up conversations about their online lives.  “It is important for parents to keep up-to-date with the type of content, features and risks, as well as know the minimum age of the sites and games their children are using.  "Particularly, when we know one in four young people have been contacted over social media by an adult they don't know, with a third of these children 13 and under.  “One of the ways we, in partnership with O2, are helping parents keep updated with their children’s online lives is through our Net Aware site which reviews the 50 most popular apps, sites and games their children are using.”


birminghammail--2019-02-14--Violent video games are not linked to aggressive behaviour in teenagers study says

Violent video games are not linked to aggressive behaviour in teenagers, study says

Playing violent video games does not cause teenagers to be aggressive, according to a new study.  Researchers at the University of Oxford surveyed around 1,000 British 14 and 15-year-olds and their parents or guardians to test the view held by some that there is a link between the games and aggressive behaviour.  They said the results, published in Royal Society Open Science, did not support claims of connection.  The study was led by Professor Andrew Przybylski, director of research at the Oxford Internet Institute.  He told Sky News: "What we found was that there are a lot of things that feed in to aggression.  "There are some effects of gender and some people who are from different life backgrounds have higher or lower ratings, but video game play didn't really seem to matter here."  For the study, the teenagers provided reports of their recent gaming experiences.  The violent contents of the games were categorised using official EU and US ratings.  Their parents or guardians then provided accounts of the teens' "aggressive behaviours" in the previous month.  The researchers then assessed if recent violent game play was positively related to aggressive behaviour in the parents or guardians' accounts.    Prof Przybylski said: "Violent games don't seem to drive aggressive behaviour in young people.  "But really we should be looking at other things - maybe it is frustrations, maybe it is family or life circumstance - that we should be spending more time on."


eveningstandard--2019-05-02--Over half of teenagers say technology makes them feel less lonely research finds

Over half of teenagers say technology makes them feel less lonely, research finds

There’s a lot of anxiety around how young people, particularly teenagers, use the internet but new research by TalkTalk suggests some of these fears may be overblown.  In a recent study, 2,000 young people aged 13-16 year olds and the parents of the same teenagers, were interviewed about their attitudes to technology and loneliness.  The teens were mainly optimistic about technology and its uses. Over half (51 per cent) said that during times when they felt lonely, tech provided a solution to their loneliness such as enabled them to make new friends, receive support and advice, as well as read positive comments online.  However, social media was citied as a cause for feeling lonely by 12 per cent of teens, who said they felt lonely because they didn’t have many friends on social media.  When it comes to the parents, on the other hand, it demonstrated that there is an education gap between worrying about the internet, and knowing what to do about it.  For instance, 70 per cent of parents worry about their teens using the internet, but 65 per cent said they did not limit the hours their teen spends using social media and tech, and 70 per cent reported they don’t use parent protection controls and software.  Around 37 per cent said they feel ill-equipped or unsure about how to manage their teens online.  It seems like when it comes to teens on the internet, the main issue is with the parents not understanding what they’re doing. Research by Oxford University academics found there was little evidence between screen time and mental health in teenagers. The study used a mixture of self-reporting techniques as well as time-use diaries.  The research reflected another study earlier this year by the same academics that found technology use explains at most 40 per cent of adolescent wellbeing.  We’re still learning about how things like social media impact our health and wellbeing, but at least in this instance, it demonstrates that the Generation Z’s digital savvy nature means they may have more of a hold on tech and its effects than their parents do.  If you are a parent and worrying about your child's screentime use then security company Norton has put together a handy guide on how to manage it, such as setting limits on screen time, encouraging them to discuss their online activities, and talk about the risks of sharing private information on social media.  Subscribe to Women Tech Charge, a new podcast from the Evening Standard.  From fashion to finance, technology is revolutionising our lives. Meet the extraordinary women who are leading the charge.  Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.


eveningstandard--2019-12-12--Teenagers optimistic about their power to influence climate change

Young people in the United Kingdom are seriously worried about their future in a warming world - but remain optimistic about their ability to influence climate change, a survey has found.  The findings from the British Science Association showed that 87 per cent of teenagers surveyed were worried about climate change, but 64 per cent believed their generation had the power to have a positive impact on the crisis.  Meanwhile, two-thirds said they were trying to reduce their carbon footprint, by cycling, walking, using public transportation, trying to cut down on their energy use and eating less meat.  The BSA-commissioned survey of 2,224 teenagers aged 16 to 18 comes amidst a growing youth movement campaigning for more to be done to tackle climate change.  Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, who has just been named as Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year”, has become the 16-year-old face of this movement.  Thunberg, who more than 61 per cent of the teens in the BSA survey said had inspired them to act, was given credit for how she transformed “vague anxieties about the planet into a worldwide movement calling for global change”.  Ever since she set up camp outside the Swedish Parliament with a sign “Skolstrejk för klimatet (School Strike for Climate)” the teen has sparked worldwide attention; challenging heads of states; meeting the Pope and inspiring millions to join in global climate change strikes.  BSA’s head of education Maria Rossini said it was inspiring to see how driven youth were in tackling the issue of climate change.  “It is inspiring to see the determination amongst young people at gatherings, like the recent climate strikes, or the swell of support for Greta Thunberg on social media, in challenging policymakers and tackling climate change head on.”  The research found that many teenagers had lost faith in the politicians of today. More than half (54 per cent) believed politicians had “stolen their dreams and their childhood with their empty words”.  The BSA research also found that nearly two-thirds (60 per cent) of teenagers were worried about their future; and more than one third (35 per cent) were concerned about starting a family as a result of the climate crisis.  However, it found that 20 per cent of teenagers, who were worried about climate change, were inspired to take the matter into their own hands and work on solutions to address the challenges wrought by the crisis.  Chief Executive of the British Science Association Katherine Mathieson, said these results sent a powerful message around how the future generation felt about the state of the world.


thedailyrecord--2019-11-14--Protect our Pensioners: Paisley Daily Express hand out campaign stickers to combat doorstep crooks

The Paisley Daily Express’ campaign to tackle bogus callers will help protect pensioners in their homes as we prepare to hand out hundreds of campaign stickers.  Print & Copy It in the town’s High Street printed 400 labels which the local company provided free of charge.  The bright and informative stickers are set to be given out to hundreds of pensioners living in the community.  Each one gives tips for people who may be unsure of anyone at their door and urges them to call the police if they feel scared or threatened.  The special stickers also include our Nominate a Neighbour scheme, which encourages OAPs to write details of someone they trust who they can contact if someone they don’t know comes to their door.  Paisley Daily Express editor Gavin McInally said: “The Nominate a Neighbour scheme gives elderly people a bit more security if someone comes to their door they can give them a call and ask them to come and assist.  “A lot of the time, just the idea of another person coming over to verify what someone at the door is saying is enough to scare them off.  “These stickers are our next step in helping to protect the elderly people in Renfrewshire who are being targeted by crooks.  “We want to get as many out there as possible across the local authority and help make people aware of what they should do if they feel unsafe.  “We are grateful to William and his staff at Print & Copy It for helping us get our message out there.”  Our campaign has already celebrated success, having made its way to Holyrood where it was given a special mention by MSP Neil Bibby in Scottish Parliament.  We have highlighted a number of shocking cases across the area, including an 89-year-old man with dementia who was conned out of £30,000 by bogus workmen and a 68-year-old who lost a five-figure sum of cash in a cruel Bitcoin scam.  Come of the country’s largest companies such as Scottish Water and Bank of Scotland have also thrown their weight behind the campaign.  Both businesses already make valiant efforts to stop callous crooks using their company name as a front to carry out crime.  The Protect Our Pensioners stickers have been praised by both elderly support charity Roar - Connections for Life and Police Scotland - who are backing the campaign.  Nicola Hanssen, CEO of Roar - Connections for Life said: “Roar is delighted to support PDE’s Protect our Pensioners Campaign and we want to protect older people physically as well as financially.”  Inspector Tracy Harkins, from Paisley’s community policing team, said: “These stickers will be a practical and visible reminder for older people against the dangers of bogus callers.  “They will undoubtedly help to prevent crimes against some of the most vulnerable members of our society and I would encourage older people or their families to get one.”  Meanwhile, bogus double-glazing salesmen are operating in Paisley, police have warned.  A crew of dodgy workers offered householders in Alice Street windows on The Green Deal - a now defunct government funding scheme.  Police say the conmen, who were dressed in dark clothing, appeared in the south end of the town between 2pm and 2.30pm on Monday.  It’s understood the four men were driving a white van and a white Volkswagon Polo.  One of the suspects was wearing an official looking lanyard.  They offered work on The Green Deal, which was a government initiative launched in 2013 to encourage consumers to make energy-saving improvements to their home, such as loft insulation or double glazing.  However, funding was pulled for the scheme in 2015.  Inspector Tracy Harkins, from Paisley Police office, urged people to be aware of the bogus callers offering the deal and urged anyone who spots them to call the police.  She told the Paisley Daily Express said: “These men approached homeowners in Paisley’s Alice Street offering to install windows financed by the Green Deal.  “The Green Deal ended in 2015, so it appears this is a scam.  “I would urge householders approached in this way to be very careful and not engage.  “This group were travelling in a white van and potentially a white Volkswagon Polo. They were wearing black clothing and one of the men may have had a UNICEF lanyard around his neck. If you see this group, please let us know.”  She added: “If anyone comes to your door and you feel in any way pressured or intimidated don’t hesitate to call the police on 999.  “Never let anyone over your door if you are in any way unsure.”  “If you are approached by a company offering to do work at your property, check customer reviews before committing to any work”  Anyone with information should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously 0800 555 111.  More of the latest news from the PAISLEY DAILY EXPRESS


lewrockwell--2019-02-15--Mankind Has Lost the Art of Map Reading

Mankind Has Lost the Art of Map Reading

The inventor of GPS has lamented that people are unable to read maps because they are now ‘too dependent’ on using their smartphones or sat-nav devices.  Bradford Parkinson, the pioneer inventor of the navigation system relied upon by billions of people, said that he ‘worries’ about what impact its failure could have.  Professor Parkinson received the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering in London last night for his key role in developing the Global Positioning System or GPS, along with the rest of his team: Professor James Spilker, Jr, Hugo Fruehauf, and Richard Schwartz.  They originally began working on the system in the 1970s as a military project but were unaware of the revolutionary impact it would have on wider society.  GPS signal is made by a network of around 30 spacecraft in orbit that transmit positional information and precise timing to receivers around the globe.  Amazon.com Gift Card i... Buy New $25.00 (as of 01:30 EST - Details) It helps cars, trucks, planes, ships and trains to navigate as well as providing a timing reference for the financial industry.  Professor Parkinson said that many of the tasks it performs were not anticipated when it was created but that it is vulnerable to failure, the Times reports.  ‘Like all good things, GPS is something on which we can become too dependent,’ he said.  The rise in the market of GPS ‘jammers’, devices which are plugged into car cigarette lighters and can stop tracking systems, can interfere with other signals beyond the one they intend to block.  According to experts, the devices are used for people who don’t want to be detected and can create a 500-metre bubble around a vehicle.


channel4uk--2019-01-10--Brexit debate What young people really think

Brexit debate: What young people really think

We hear from people aged 18 to 20, who could not vote in the EU referendum but are now of voting age, to discuss the future of the United Kingdom.


birminghammail--2019-01-12--Should pregnant women be allowed to use parent and child parking bays

Should pregnant women be allowed to use parent and child parking bays?

Parking when you're going shopping can be a nightmare at the best of times, without the added struggle of being pregnant.  Maneuvering in and out of the car door can prove almost impossible when there's a bump in the way and that's without having young children to help out too.  So should expectant mums be allowed to use parent and child parking bays to make life a little easier?  These are what the rules are at supermarkets and what the law says.  Unsurprisingly this has been a topic of debate on Mumsnet , this is what they thought.  One mum said she used them when she was pregnant with her first child: "If I parked in a normal space, some idiot would always park so close to my car that I struggled to get back in."  Another agreed: " I used them if necessary but only after a passenger one day couldn't believe the contortions I was going through to try to get out of the car at 37 weeks and that it hadn't dawned on me. Seems perfectly reasonable to me!"  A third user said: "Of course you should feel free to use them. It would be a very harsh person who would think you shouldn't. And if any idiot comments you should simply say 'I'm practising...'"  Another parent with a toddler said: "I reckon you probably need the space more than me."  But not everyone was convinced: "If it's just extra space you need I don't think you should be using a P&C space which could be used by a parent with toddlers who we would all want to be kept out of the way of cars.  "I would suggest you park further back in the car park and away from other vehicles to give yourself the space you need."  One mum even suggested that pregnant women at 36 weeks shouldn't be out shopping: "Well really if you need a special space then surely at 36 weeks shouldn't be going around the shops, that is my logic. I don't use them unless i have my 2 year old with me.  "Am 30 weeks. Will be either sending husband or ordering online at 36 weeks, i will need to be resting no doubt."  He said: “It’s a very woolly area of law as pregnant women are with child, but not in the technical sense. Heavily pregnant women need extra space in the same way a parent with a small child would need extra room to load shopping and children into the car.  “You’ll see designated priority spaces close to entrances on trains and buses - so public transport recognises this need - but there’s no law extending this to private car parks, meaning it’s at the land owner’s discretion.  “Some areas of law such as personal injury cover ‘en ventre sa mere’ – meaning a child in a mother’s womb – but this currently doesn’t extend to contract law which governs car parking.  “By entering a private car park, you’re effectively entering into a contract with the parking company, with the sign disclaimers creating the agreement.  "Closely monitor this signage as some do state the child must be with you to warrant parking in the parent and child spaces, while some don’t.  “Use caution and in the worst case if you’re slapped with a fine, you may be able to challenge it if the signage isn’t clear on whether or not the spaces can be used by pregnant women, but this is at the discretion of each car parking firm’s stance.”  Well Ikea is a step ahead of many retailers by offering specific 'expectant mum' spaces.  Unfortunately that's only in America and there currently aren't any plans to introduce them over here.  A spokesman said it would be down to individual stores as to whether a pregnant woman could park in one of their parent and child bays.  He said: "Our main aim is to make the shopping experience as smooth as possible for each customer and many stores offer extra assistance for those who need it."  At Sainsbury's pregnant women can use the parent and child bays, but need to clear it with the individual store first.  A spokeswoman said: "Use of the bays must be arranged with the store. They have to be aware so they can give the registration to the parking attendants monitoring the bays, in case it's not immediately clear that the customer is pregnant."  Asda's policy is similar and pregnant customers would need to mention the fact they are using one of the bays to staff.  • There are lots of great things to do with kids in Birmingham. To keep updated, like our Brummie Mummies Facebook page. You can also sign up to our weekly Brummie Mummies email newsletter .


cbsnews--2019-08-29--Young people and pregnant women warned not to use pot

The federal government issued new health advisories on the risks of marijuana use for youth and pregnant women, among other vulnerable groups.  Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Surgeon General Jerome Adams said at a briefing in Washington Thursday that the government is now looking to expand its work in research, education and prevention efforts surrounding the use of the drug.  And Azar and Adams noted that President Trump donated $100,000 of his presidential paycheck to efforts on the digital side of the department's plan to combat the marijuana culture.  The new advisory is intended to raise awareness about "the known and potential harms to developing brains, posed by the increasing availability of highly potent marijuana in multiple, concentrated forms."  While marijuana use has surged in recent years as more states have moved to relax laws on recreational use, health experts warn that pregnant women in particular face increased risks because this demographic uses marijuana more than any other illicit drug, often to try to control nausea from morning sickness.  "There is a false perception that marijuana is not as harmful as other drugs. I want to be very clear - no amount of marijuana use during pregnancy or adolescence is known to be safe," Surgeon General Adams warned.  The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's recently released 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data showed that marijuana continues to be the most widely used illicit drug and that further, frequent marijuana use among youth ages 12 to 17 and young adults, appears to be associated with risks for opioid use, heavy alcohol use and major depressive episodes.  In 2017 alone, approximately 9.2 million youth aged 12 to 25 reported using marijuana in the past month, and 29% more young adults aged 18 to 25 started using the substance.  Adams pointed to risks associated with brain development and marijuana use as more products with higher levels of THC, the compound found in marijuana, are becoming more accessible nationwide.  The urgent warning by the federal government comes on the heels of steps recently taken to improve access to legal marijuana for medical and scientific government researchers. The Justice Department announced just this week that it would take action on long-delayed applications to expand the number of entities certified to grow marijuana plants.  Support for more marijuana research has been growing. Earlier this year, a bipartisan group of lawmakers sent letters to the DEA urging the agency to resolve the outstanding applications.  Currently, a majority of Americans support legalizing cannabis, but a recent CBS News poll found the issue may not have have much of an impact on voters in the upcoming 2020 election. According to the poll, 65 percent of Americans think marijuana should be legal, but 56 percent said the issue wouldn't sway them to vote for a candidate across party lines.


abcnews--2019-01-07--Senators renew attempt to protect special counsel Mueller

Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are renewing their attempt to protect special counsel Robert Mueller's job, sending a signal to President Donald Trump as he keeps up his criticism of Mueller's Russia investigation.  The legislation, sponsored by incoming Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and three other members, is expected to be introduced this week. The same bill was approved by the panel in April but later blocked by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said it was unnecessary and who allowed the legislation to expire at the end of the year.  But there will be more pressure on senators this Congress as Democrats now have the House majority and have already introduced a similar bill.  Graham is a friend and ally of the president's but has frequently warned him not to mess with Mueller's job.  "I think this will serve the country well," Graham said in a joint statement ahead of the bill's introduction.  Both Graham and North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, the bill's other Republican sponsor, have said they don't think Trump will move to have Mueller fired.  "I still believe that is true," Tillis said in the statement. "However, I also believe this bipartisan legislation is good government policy with enduring value across the current and future administrations."  The legislation would allow any fired special counsel to seek a judicial review within 10 days of removal and puts into law existing Justice Department regulations that a special counsel can only be fired for good cause. It would also order that staff remain and documents be preserved while the matter is pending.  Democratic Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware and Cory Booker of New Jersey are also sponsors of the bill.  "This is a time when Republicans and Democrats need to stand up and protect the rule of law in this country," Coons said in the statement.  Trump regularly criticizes Mueller's Russia investigation on Twitter, calling it a "witch hunt" and a "hoax." In December, he suggested he would do a counter report to challenge Mueller's probe into contact Trump's Republican presidential campaign had with Russia. On Dec. 3, he tweeted that Mueller and his staff "only want lies."  Graham, Tillis, Coons and Booker originally introduced bills in the summer of 2017 after Trump started to criticize the special counsel. They agreed on a compromise version in early 2018, and the panel approved it with the support of four Republicans on the panel. One of those Republicans, former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, tried to force McConnell to pass the bill in December by saying he would vote against all judicial nominees at the end of the year. But McConnell refused to consider the legislation.  House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., introduced a companion bill in the House last week, his first major action as chairman.


activistpost--2019-03-10--The National Emergency Scam

The “National Emergency” Scam

Donald Trump found himself in hot water last month with critics and supporters alike. His new spending bill didn’t sit well with fiscally concerned Republicans, who watched as our annual deficit topped $1 trillion. Meanwhile, his more border-hawkish supporters were disappointed to see only $1.3 billion set aside in funding for the border wall. What caused the chaos most though was the “state of emergency” Trump declared as he admittedly decided to seek funding for the wall through alternative means. This left both sides clamoring to sort out a number of issues like whether or not there even is an emergency on our southern border, the constitutionality of the decision and the future precedent set by it. One thing we can see from the evidence is that, when it comes to the crises we’re facing, national emergencies need less government, not more.  Let’s start with the most obvious aspect of this: declaring a national emergency doesn’t magically solve any problems. What’s more, there appears to be a direct correlation that these situations deteriorate further once an emergency is declared. There are currently thirty national emergencies declared, with Trump’s latest making it thirty-one. These range from the proliferation of WMDs back in the ’90s, seizing Colombian assets in the War on Drugs, responses to human rights violations in Venezuela, to sanctions on countries like Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Sudan. As you can see, two things immediately stick out from that list. National emergencies seem to focus on things happening in other countries, not particularly our own. And almost every single issue was made worse upon it being seen as a national emergency. The nuclear proliferation treaty with Russia has since expired; Venezuela has become a socialist’s nightmare; the War on Drugs has created a heroin epidemic that’s led to overdoses becoming the number one cause of death in Americans under 50; there is a genocide going on in Yemen; Libya has open slave trades after our toppling of Gaddafi; while Sudan and Syria have undergone brutal civil wars. This is not to claim the emergency declaration is directly responsible for these problems, but to say they’ve been anything but complete failures is utterly untrue. In fact, almost every one of these emergencies would be better off had the government not set its eyes on trying to fix it.  Which brings us to the current emergency on the border, where again we see some telling problems. Donald Trump, in his entertaining yet sloppy, off-the-cuff style, begins by contradicting himself almost immediately after declaring the emergency, saying that he “didn’t really need to do it.” Which, even by those in favor of the move, undermines the idea of its necessity and, therefore, of it being an emergency. Leading directly to the precedent set here. Sure, you could say Obama, Bush, Clinton, etc. all did it, too. What’s the big deal? Unfortunately, policies have a rather steady track record of coming around and being used against those who once favored them (anyone old enough to remember Harry Reid using the nuclear option on Supreme Court votes? I’m sure Brett Kavanaugh does). And while past presidents may have declared their fair share of emergencies, none on that list are such a blatant response to the inability to get legislation through Congress (as if Obama’s “I’ve got a pen and a phone” executive orders weren’t bad enough?). Only making the idea of executive overreach that much more acceptable in political life; something both Republicans and Democrats should recognize the danger of.  Even without the absurd precedent and executive overreach though, the argument is still yet to be made as to why more government involvement will solve this so-called emergency. Granting that it is an emergency only seems to damn the case further, too. Which reason should we cite? Drugs crossing over from more than half a century of perverse incentives and failed policies from the War on Drugs? We can’t even keep drugs out of prisons today (I think they even have walls, too). Perhaps it’s the immigrants we fear will come here and abuse our welfare system. Except government runs those programs, too. Maybe they should just end the incentive to come here by getting rid of them, but I won’t hold my breath; seeing as how American citizens use more welfare  than immigrants. In reality, there isn’t a single argument for why this issue constitutes a crisis that cannot be traced right back to one government policy or another.  Still, the debate about borders and how we should “solve” immigration has been a tireless and emotional argument, and often argued in poor judgement. The only thing anyone seems to agree on is just how arduous a process it is. With what we know of the slow and often unscrupulous nature of government policy, the best conclusion we could come to is that national emergencies need less government, not more.


bbcuk--2019-09-16--Boris Johnson insists UK will leave EU on 31 October

The prime minister has told the BBC that he will follow the law, but will leave the EU at the end of October.  "I will uphold the constitution, I will obey the law, but we will come out on October the 31st" he told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg.  A bill was passed by Parliament in early September to prevent the UK from leaving the European Union without a deal.


channel4uk--2019-12-20--MPs back Johnson’s EU withdrawal bill

MPs back Johnson’s EU withdrawal bill

We are one step closer to Brexit. That’s what the Prime Minister told the Commons today after his withdrawal bill was passed by a large majority.  It still has some hurdles to clear – but it now looks certain the UK will leave the European Union on the 31st of January.  The bill is not exactly as it was before – most notably a clause on workers rights has been removed – and one has been added which would make it illegal for the transition period to extend beyond 2020


inquisitr--2019-01-11--183 House Republicans Voted To Not Resume Food Safety Inspection

While the ongoing federal government shutdown has most notably impacted approximately 800,000 furloughed employees — who have been affected financially due to a lack of a regular paycheck — the fallout from the shutdown continues to grow as each day passes.  As previously reported by the Inquisitr, charities around the country have been severely impacted, as an influx of government employees have flocked to local food banks to offset their lack of income. National parks have also gained widespread media attention due to the accumulation of trash, a side-effect of having no government employees available to handle garbage disposal duties, as noted by USA Today.  Another consequence of the government shutdown has recently come to light: food safety. As reported by ThinkProgress, due to the ongoing shutdown, the Food and Drug Administration has ceased a majority of its food safety inspections, a potential issue which is compounded by recent E. coli outbreaks across the country, which have contaminated harvests of romaine lettuce.  In an effort to respond to this issue, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill yesterday. This particular piece of legislation, H.R. 265, would provide funding to small portions of the federal government, allowing for a reopening of both the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These offices directly handle food safety, agriculture, and rural development.  While the bill was passed following a vote yesterday, ThinkProgress notes that the legislation was approved by a margin of 243 to 183. Breaking down the votes a little further, 233 Democratic representatives voted in favor of the bill, with 10 Republicans joining them. With eight congresspersons abstaining from voting, this leaves a total of 183 Republican representatives, who voted against the bill.  In total, 10 Republican representatives voted across party lines, including Washington’s Jaime Herrera Beutler, Illinois’ Rodney Davis and Adam Kinzinger, Pennsylvania’s Brian Fitzpatrick, Texas’ Will Hurd, New York’s John Katko and Elise Stefanik, New Jersey’s Chris Smith, Michigan’s Fred Upton, and Oregon’s Greg Walden.  As ThinkProgress details, Alabama Representative Robert Aderholt led the opposition of H.R. 265. Aderholt took issue with the lack of funding for President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall, as well as a program to address the lack of rural broadband internet access.  In regards to the border wall, Trump has recently come under fire for his funding plan. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Trump’s goal of seeking federal funding to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border directly contradicts campaign promises he made in 2016, which explicitly stated that the border wall would be paid for by Mexico. During a speech he delivered in Texas, Trump explained that he did not intend for constituents to believe that Mexico would directly pay for the construction of a border wall.  “When I said Mexico would pay for the wall in front of thousands and thousands of people… obviously I never meant Mexico would write a check,” he explained.


ipolitics--2019-04-10--House backs motion calling on Senate to pass UNDRIP sexual assault training bills

House backs motion calling on Senate to pass UNDRIP, sexual assault training bills

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has successfully moved a motion calling on the Senate to pass legislation harmonizing Canadian laws with the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and requiring sexual assault training for judges.  Singh rose in the House after question period Wednesday to ask his fellow MPs to support sending a message to the Upper Chamber calling for both bills to be “passed into law at the earliest opportunity.”  In the motion, Singh called the bills “critical pieces of legislation” that had been passed by the elected House and had been before the Senate for “many months.”  It was unanimously adopted by the House.  Both pieces of legislation are private member’s bill that won relatively broad support in the House.  NDP MP Romeo Saganash’s Bill C-262 to have Canadian laws conform with UNDRIP was passed by the House last May. It was supported by all parties in the House save for the Tories, and enjoys broad support among Indigenous groups, including the Assembly of First Nations.  Bill C-337, known alternatively as the JUST Act, would mandate sexual assault training for everyone seeking a federal judicial appointment. It was sponsored by former interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose, citing concerns over the behaviour of judges handling sexual assault cases.  In the most notable instance, an Alberta judge questioned the accuser in a sexual assault case he was overseeing about why she “couldn’t just keep [her] knees together.”  The bill was passed unanimously in the House in 2017, however,  it has not advance quickly in the Senate, where it remains at committee. Saganash’s bill is at the second reading stage in the Upper Chamber.  Ambrose has frequently criticized the Senate for moving slowly on her bill. In a recent CTV interview, she blamed a “group of old boys” in the Upper Chamber for stalling the bill. A website promoting the bill that prominently features Ambrose has a running clock on how long the Senate has been “delaying the JUST Act.”  As of Wednesday, it stood at 694 days.  That, in the opinion of the House, bill C-262, An Act to ensure that the laws of Canada are in harmony with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as bill C-337, An Act to amend the Judges Act and the Criminal Code (sexual assault), are both critical pieces of legislation that have been duly passed by the House of Commons, and have been in possession of honourable Senators for many months; that both bills should be passed into law at the earliest opportunity; and that a message be sent to the Senate to acquaint that House accordingly.


politicscouk--2019-08-28--Prorogue The government takes its shot

Prorogue: The government takes its shot

So we finally get to the meat of it. After months of threats and bluffs to cancel parliament so Boris Johnson can force through no-deal, it looks like the plan is finally revealed.  The news broke today that the government intends to prorogue parliament from around the 12th of September to October 14th, when it will lay out a new Queen's Speech.  First things first: this is not cancelling parliament, as we'd feared over the summer. It does not cross the October 31st line. That means that when you take all the Dominic Cummings-type threats out of it, what their offensive really amounts to is simply limiting the time MPs have available, not stopping them from responding at all.  Some of the reporting suggests MPs have lost the ability to stop no-deal. That's wrong. This timetable still leaves parliament sitting from the 3rd of September to around the 12th. There would then be two weeks before no-deal for MPs to stop it. And there will now be a Queen's Speech for them to use to attach amendments to. There is still time to block the government.  And in a nuclear option, they would still have the option of a no-confidence vote in late October, and picking anyone - anyone at all, the time constraint adding urgency to the discussion - to act as caretaker, extend Article 50 and set a date for an election.  This isn't a sign of strength. In reality, it reveals how weak the government is. It cannot, as it once claimed, stop MPs preventing no-deal. It can just try to limit the time they have to do so. When the Cooper-Letwin bill was passed forcing Theresa May to extend Article 50 earlier this year, it was done in a few days.  Johnson and his ministers will now claim that this is all entirely normal and ask how can anyone get upset about it. It's nonsense, of course. They are deliberately trying to limit parliamentary involvement in the most important decision it will take in our lifetime. This helps the government, which already has advantages over the control of the parliamentary timetable.  But MPs - and especially those moderate Tories wavering on how to act next week - should take careful note. The government is going to gun hard for no-deal. They have to act, and act quickly. That should begin immediately, as soon as parliament resumes, with legislation to rule out no-deal, as was agreed by opposition parties yesterday.  This does not mean, as the government would have people believe, that no-deal can't be stopped. It simply means MPs will have to be quick about it.  Ian Dunt is editor of Politics.co.uk and the author of Brexit: What The Hell Happens Now?  The opinions in Politics.co.uk's Comment and Analysis section are those of the author and are no reflection of the views of the website or its owners.