I figured I'd try to start using steemit on a regular basis by posting a news roundup whenever the whim seizes me. The whim has seized me so lets start:

NEWS ITEM ONE

From BBC News: Climate change: Global impacts 'accelerating' - WMO.

Ah, what does WMO stand for? World Meteorological Organisation. The news article is reporting on this organisation's annual report.

This year's State of the Climate report from the WMO is the 25th annual record of the climate.When it first came out in 1993, carbon dioxide levels were at 357 parts per million (ppm) in the atmosphere. These have now risen to 405.5ppm and are expected to increase further. This is having a significant impact on temperatures, with 2018 the fourth warmest year on record, almost 1C above what they were in the period between 1850-1900.

The report is a 44 page PDF document that can be downloaded here. The agencies that contributed to the report were ICAO, IOC-UNESCO, IOM, FAO, UNEP, UNHCR, UNISDR, WFP and World Health Organisation (WHO) so this is full-on mainstream propaganda relentlessly pushing the man-made global warming agenda. However, having downloaded the report, I will read it over. Whether humans are causing the planet to heat up by contributing to greenhouse gas omissions is one thing but it's abundantly clear that these global watchdog bodies are only helping to make matters worse. Yesterday, I read this interesting article The Dirty Secret Of Renewables Advocates Is That They Protect Fossil Fuel Interests, Not The Climate and this is something that more and more climate action advocates are waking up to. This lengthy article by Cory Morningstar explains the scam in much more detail.

Cory is a climate activist who firmly believes that humans are contributing to global warming and that drastic action needs to be taken. However, if you read her article, you will realise that she is totally disillusioned by the action that is being recommended today by climate advisory bodies. Personally, I'm doubtful that human greenhouse gas emissions are having a significant impact on global temperatures. My feeling is that the Sun is the main driver of global temperature change. YouTube channel Adapt 2030 is a good one to watch for more information about this. Of course, it's obvious that humans are having a devastating effect on the planet in other ways but the current focus on curbing greenhouse gas emissions is nothing but an elaborate scam by big business to resuscitate a failing global economy. An alternative focus, encouraging people to eat less meat, would be of some use but vested business interests would vigorously oppose this of course.

NEWS ITEM TWO

Another story from the BBC is of interest: Ebola disbelief widespread in DR Congo hotspots. The article begins:

More than a quarter of people surveyed in Ebola-hit areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo told researchers they do not believe the disease exists. Some 36% of respondents also believed that the disease had been fabricated to destabilise the country. The authors of the study said this mistrust was a factor in prolonging the epidemic.

Far be it from me to suggest that the disease doesn't exist but it is certainly seems to be milked to produce as much hysteria as possible. Apocalyptic films and television series reinforce the notion that there are pathogens out there that could easily mutate and wipe out humanity. The only protection is VACCINATION. Africans have every reason to be suspicious of vaccinations and the motives behind their dissemination. What impoverished Africans need is improved sanitation, housing and diet but instead the limited health budgets in African countries are diverted to vaccination programs that benefit only Big Pharma and corrupt government officials.

NEWS ITEM THREE

I read The Jerusalem Post on a regular basis these days as it provides an insight into what the most dangerous country on Earth is up to. Generally, it's up to no good of course. What caught my eye this morning was this article TEL AVIV HOSTS LARGEST LGBTQ SPORTS EVENT IN THE MIDDLE EAST. To quote:

This weekend, Tel Aviv is playing host to 1,250 athletes and hundreds of spectators from around the world participating in the largest LGBTQ sports event in the Middle East. The Tel Aviv Games is the second LGBTQ multi-sports tournament hosted by the Tel Aviv LGBTQ Sports Club and the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality. Athletes from 17 countries, including teams from France, the UK, Germany, Greece, The Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Norway, Suriname, Australia, the United States, Canada and Russia will compete in seven different sporting competitions over the course a three-day celebration of participation and inclusion.

Just as any skepticism about global warming will get you branded a climate denier, and any reservations about vaccinations will get you branded an anti-vaxxer, similarly any criticism of LGBTQ will get you branded a homophobe or worse. Here goes anyway. Sporting events do not exclude individuals who identify as LGBTQ, so why a special event for them? Well, it's promotional of course. Tel Aviv wants to be seen as an LGBTQ-friendly city and this is an opportunity to raise its profile (already high) in this regard. Muslim countries are not well-disposed to the recognition of LGBTQ rights. In fact the rising influence of the LGBTQ movement worldwide is prompting a backlash toward this community in those countries, nowhere more extreme than in Brunei that on April 3rd will introduce the penalty of death by stoning for gay sex.

This backlash is not limited to Muslim countries. Parents everywhere are questioning the increasing penetration of LGBTQ-themed teaching modules into education systems in Western countries. The LGBTQ acronym is an awkward one as far as acronyms go and I wonder how many individuals who might fall into this category actually embrace the term. It's inherently divisive, emphasising an LGBTQ community versus a straight community. Does it create inclusiveness or exclusiveness? Some argue that there is an agenda afoot to undermine the family unit and foster gender-confusion amongst children so that young people are more easily manipulated by increasingly powerful and coercive governments. They argue that the LGBTQ movement is part of this agenda, that it has not arisen spontaneously and that, like the recent student demonstration for climate action, it is orchestrated. The fact that elements within Israel are such enthusiastic supporters of this movement arouses my suspicion. After decades of silence and even hostility, the manipulated and manipulative mass media is also unreservedly supportive and this should also ring alarm bells. As always, things are not at all like they at first seem.