[Gee, what a shocker. Roberts joins liberals.]
[Just The News] In a rare late-night ruling, the Supreme Court on Friday voted 5-4 to reject an emergency appeal by a church that challenged California Gov. Newsom's limits on attendance at worship services designed to protect against the coronavirus.
Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative, crossed over to join the court's four liberal justices as the deciding vote and to write the majority opinion.
Newsom's restrictions permitting churches to operate with 25 percent of seats filled and no more than 100 worshipers at a time are consistent with the First Amendment because they treated other public venues like concerts, movies and sporting events similarly, Roberts wrote.
"Although California's guidelines place restrictions on places of worship, those restrictions appear consistent with the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. Similar or more severe restrictions apply to comparable secular gatherings, including lectures, concerts, movie showings, spectator sports, and theatrical performances, where large groups of people gather in close proximity for extended periods of time," the chief justice wrote.
"And the Order exempts or treats more leniently only dissimilar activities, such as operating grocery stores, banks, and laundromats, in which people neither congregate in large groups nor remain in close proximity for extended periods," he added.
The Supreme Court's ruling upheld lower courts in rejecting the argument from South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista, Calif., that the restrictions on how many people can attend their services violate the Constitution's religious liberty protections.
In a dissent, Justice Brett Kavanaugh argued the California restriction "discriminates against places of worship and in favor of comparable secular businesses."....
#3
rejecting the argument... that the restrictions on how many people can attend their services violate the Constitution's religious liberty protections.
Not a lawyer, but I believe the argument was not restrictions per se, but that churches were being treated differently than businesses like restaurants.
#5
..ah, yes, take that up with the SCOTUS holy 'Separation of Church and State' doctrine. Suddenly the state runs the church with state approved doctrines.
#6
Nonsense. The Constitution states that Congress will not make a law for the establishment of religion. I should think the Founding Fathers did not want another Church of England.
Unfortunately, that horse is already out of the barn.
#8
#3 has it. Big box stores and "essential Businesses" get waivers from restrictions (*wink wink* Governor Wolf) especially if they're donors. Yet they aren't mentioned in the Constitution. Don't treat them better than the religions
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/31/2020 11:53 Comments ||
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#9
So who has been going into the Mosques, temples and Churches counting heads?
[NYPOST] The coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague) ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men... has killed over 365,000 people worldwide in just five months — but that’s nothing compared to what could be coming if humans don’t clean up their act when it comes to chickens.
In his new book, "How to Survive a Pandemic," Dr. Michael Gregor, a scientist and physician who once testified for Oprah Winfrey in her "meat defamation" trial, warns that an apocalyptic virus emanating from overcrowded and unsanitary chicken farms has the potential to wipe out half of humanity.
Greger, a space alien from the Vega system vegan, writes that "In the ’hurricane scale’ of epidemics, COVID-19, with a death rate of around half of one percent, rates a measly Category Two, possibly a Three. ... The Big One, the typhoon to end all typhoons, will be 100 times worse when it comes, a Category Five producing a fatality rate of one in two. ... Civilization as we know it would cease."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2020 00:00 ||
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#1
India and USA is tremendous news. Worlds largest Vaccine manufacturer. Now add Israel and at some point Russia. I know our media madness with Russia but I see a stronger rapport with them than China. Then Japan, Vietnam, and South Korea. China is a bad neighbor. Encircle and confine. Forget the EU. UK, Australia also into the fold. So India has a retro virus problem. Don't we all.
[CampusReform] Fake transcripts and essays, falsified letters of recommendation and test scores, paid consultants, and fake passports and IDs. These are just some of the many methods that Chinese nationals have reportedly used to gain acceptance into U.S. colleges and universities.
What once might have been a few isolated incidents has now turned into a vast, international money-making industry.
Hiu Kit David Chong, an admissions official at the University of Southern California (USC), pleaded guilty in April to wire fraud in and helping Chinese students defraud their college applications. According to the Department of Justice, Chong admitted to making $40,000 from clients over the years by providing "false college transcripts with inflated grades," "fraudulent personal statements," and "phony letters of recommendation" for the applications of his Chinese clients.
He also offered to provide surrogate test takers for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam for international students.
Chong was not the only person offering such services. In fact, according to a 2012 report by Time Magazine, a "huge industry of education agents" has emerged to appeal to the increasing number of Chinese nationals who want to study abroad at U.S. universities.
Zinch China, a consultancy firm, found that 80 percent of Chinese students use agents to apply to U.S. colleges, with even more engaging in cheating. The company approximated that 90 percent of recommendation letters and 70 percent of college essays submitted by Chinese students are fraudulent. Additionally, 50 percent of previous grade transcripts are also fake. Ten percent lied about academic or extracurricular achievements, and 30 percent lied about financial aid information.
Surveys indicate Chinese families see a U.S. education as a luxury that can provide future financial benefits, which drives the "whatever it takes" culture surrounding the application process and the fraud committed to achieve it. Zinch China also noted the competition among college consultants and the pressure from parents also contributed to cheating.
"Cheating is pervasive in China, driven by hyper-competitive parents and aggressive agents," Tom Melcher, the chairman of Zinch China said.
While Chinese students have existed in the U.S. for decades, there has been increased growth over the last ten years. According to the Power of International Education, the number of Chinese foreign students in the U.S. as of 2019 was 369,548, which was more than the next three nations, India, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia, combined. Chinese students represent approximately one-third of all international students, and their presence has grown by 56.68 percent since the 2012-2013 academic year.
Peggy Blumenthal, senior counselor to the president of the Institute of International Education, says colleges began to more heavily recruit Chinese international students after the Great Recession when college enrollment was on the decline. Agents can cost anywhere from thousands of dollars, or even up to $40,000 according to the Beijing Overseas Study Service Association. Foreign Policy even discovered a family that paid $90,000 to an agent.
In one example from 2015, CNN reported on a Chinese student named Jessica Zhang from Jiangsu Province. Zhang’s family paid $4,500 to three different consultants, who filled out her application and wrote her essay and recommendation letter. Zhang even had her visa arranged by the consultants and said she hired them because the process would’ve been "too much hassle" on her own.
The international college consultant business is only worsened by the commissions that agents receive from U.S. colleges and universities for enrolling students. While federal laws prevent higher education institutions from paying to recruit domestic students, there is no law to prevent them from paying commissions to recruit international students....
$40k a head (to the 'consultants,' essay-writers, test-takers et al) x ~100k Chinese students entering each year = total avail market of maybe $4 billion in annual revenues.
#3
"Fake transcripts and essays, falsified letters of recommendation and test scores, paid consultants, and fake passports and IDs." Formerly used by athletic recruiters and Hollyweird families.
Someone needs to tell them that those US paper mill credentials are as useful as face masks made in China.
#4
Someone needs to tell them that those US paper mill credentials are as useful as face masks made in China.
A positional good demonstrating the fiscal fitness of the family coupled with the kind of international polish necessary to fit in with the offspring of CCP upper echelons and international elites they must charm to elicit business investment. And all that independent of learning anything those earnest academics strive so hard to teach them.
#CCP urgently evacuating Chinese students in the US after @realDonaldTrump announced that "I will issue a proclamation to better secure our nation's vital university research, and to suspend the entry of certain foreign nationals from China, who we have identified as... pic.twitter.com/A1pJToJqaK
[NRA-ILA] On April 5, 2019, three days after New Zealand's Arms Amendment Act 2019 advanced from its first reading in parliament, NRA-ILA noted that "[g]iven the abundant research on Australia’s similar gun confiscation efforts, New Zealand officials can expect that their gun control measures will do little more than trample the natural rights of gun owners..." This week the first evidence vindicating this position came in when Radio New Zealand (RNZ) published figures it had obtained from the government showing that for last year crime involving firearms was the highest it had been since 2009.
According to an RNZ article titled, "Rates of gun crimes and killings using guns at highest levels in a decade in 2019," last year "there were 3540 occasions where an offender was found with a gun." The report went on to note that "in both of the last two years, the rate of deadly incidents involving a firearm was the highest it had been since 2009" and that "[t]he number of guns seized by police is also on the rise, up almost 50 percent on five years earlier at 1263 last year." Making clear that the figures cited in the article were not skewed by the horrific shooting in Christchurch, the report noted that "[t]he 15 March terror attacks were listed as two separate firearms-related incidents."
[Jpost] During the First World War, tens of thousands of Jews served in the Bundeswehr, including some rabbis.
My maternal grandfather was among them as a gunnery sergeant. He was awarded an Iron Cross, for some reason, which did him absolutely no good later..
The German parliament voted unanimously on Thursday to allow rabbis back into Germany's armed forces so as to provide religious assistance to Jewish soldiers for the first time since Adolf Hitler ...late Fuehrer of Germany, founder of the Third Reich, currently communing with his pals Himmler and Heydrich. He is reincarnated every few days as a politician somebody doesn't like... rose to power, according to German newspaper Deutsche Welle (DW).
Until now, German soldiers were offered religious services with Christian military representatives alone.
German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer announced the beginning of the procedure in December of 2019 as a move to combat growing antisemitism in the country.
Kramp-Karrenbauer additionally announced, after the parliament approved the decision, that she would be next attempted to allow imams and Christian orthodox priests to "perform similar chaplaincy roles," according to DW. Until now, the Christian military chaplains were only either Protestant or Catholic.
There are currently approximately 300 Jewish soldiers in the military in addition to the 3,000 Moslems and 90,000 Christians.
During the First World War, tens of thousands of Jews served in the Bundeswehr, including some rabbis. Among them was the prominent theologian Leo Baeck.
German Jewish Central Council President Josef Schuster said that it is "an important support for the democratic attitude of the soldiers" to allow rabbis back into the military.
Is there some co-dependency going on here or what?
[AA] Turkey's Defense Ministry on Friday said two US' B-1 Lancer aircraft were refueled over the Turkish airspace.
"Within the scope of military cooperation between allied countries, two B-1 USA aircrafts flying over the Black Sea were given in-flight refueling support with our tanker aircrafts," the ministry said on Twitter.
Within the scope of military cooperation between allied countries, two B-1 USA aircrafts flying over the Black Sea were given in-flight refueling support with our tanker aircrafts. https://t.co/VNqVabW3hn
‐ T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) May 29, 2020
Posted by: Clem ||
05/31/2020 00:00 ||
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#1
It is tragic that no one in Washington can explain locically the need for the present alliance with Turkey. That being said, given its stupidity it must be a policy fostered by the Pentagon.
#5
/\ It's the 5th entry down. They have 7 of them, along with 6-8 other US made airframes. Forgive me for using the tired-arsed phrase 'follow the money.' But.... follow the money.
Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, United States aerial refueling KC-135R 7 each.
You and what army? Maps are easy — reality is hard.
[TheHindu] The government of Nepal on Sunday tabled the crucial Constitution Amendment bill to formalise the country’s new map which claims parts of India as its territory.
The Constitution Second Amendment bill will change the Schedule 3 of the Nepalese Constitution and replace the existing map with the map that was unveiled on May 20. The new map depicts the sliver of strategically important land covering Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani as part of Nepal. The area is currently part of Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand but Nepal has disputed the Indian position based on historical documents and bilateral understanding.
Ms. Tumbahangphe said the Coat of Arms of Nepal will be altered after the amendment is passed as it will depict the new map. The tabling of the amendment bill came a day after the chief opposition, the Nepali Congress, extended support to Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli’s government which ensured that the bill will get the required two-thirds majority in the parliament. The entire process is expected to take around a week.
Posted by: John Frum ||
05/31/2020 08:18 ||
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#1
...The Nepalese Army is small, but professional - trouble is that the Indian Army vastly outnumbers and outguns it, and they're even more professional. I'm hoping that this is for domestic political consumption and not a effort to take advantage of India while they're staring down the Chinese - it won't end well at all.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
05/31/2020 11:17 Comments ||
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#2
The silver of land this is all about (surrendered to the East India Company by treaty 170 years ago) allows India supply access to hundreds of km of the LAC defacto border with Chinese occupied Tibet. The Nepali PM Oli, who is losing support from his own Communist Party cadres, has seized upon this issue both to shore up domestic opinion and to curry favor with China.
Posted by: John Frum ||
05/31/2020 12:42 Comments ||
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#3
Basically the Nepalis have an issue with a 170 year old treaty demarcation now in 2020 because India has recently built roads and other infrastructure that allow it to defend the LAC from the PLA.
Posted by: John Frum ||
05/31/2020 12:44 Comments ||
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#4
Nepalis seems to mean CCP Puppets?
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/31/2020 12:46 Comments ||
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#5
The Nepal government is run by the Nepal Communist Party -founded in 2018 under CCP guidance by unification of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) and Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre). So yes, CCP puppets.
Posted by: John Frum ||
05/31/2020 12:54 Comments ||
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#6
So yes, CCP puppets.
Noted. Now set to Commies — thank you for explaining, John F.
#3
We'll discuss that with them after they've stopped China's organ harvesting, Iran's hanging gays, Turkey starting wars with everyone who looks at them cross-eyed, and returns human rights to Venezuela.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
05/31/2020 7:02 Comments ||
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#6
It takes practice to know ow how to keep the pavement bouncing spray impacting below the knees. Point of aim is about 2/3 of the distance to the recipients and an engagement meeting of about 40 ft? DC Mayday AntiWar riot in DC.
[Jpost] Students and parents at the Gymnasia Rehavia school in Jerusalem expressed anger at the conduct of both students and the school's administration as the school became one of the epicenters of the newest round of coronavirus outbreaks in Israel, with 104 students, 15 staff members and three parents confirmed as infected so far.
One student at the school, Amit Sason, wrote on Facebook that the school itself neglected to enforce or follow Health Ministry guidelines, putting over 15 students close to each other in each class and not making teachers wear masks. The Prussian model of middle education been deteriorating for a 100 years - especially after it was taken over by feminazis. Nowadays, an average school teacher has below average IQ, and no - not rote memorized, without real understanding - knowledge of their subject. This ignorance is coupled with overweening arrogance & sense of entitlement. And a burning desire to promote their own kind of, almost, good enough at the expense of their betters. Seen a statistic once: in Israel, 80% of high school students take private lessons.
Hopefully, the blessed CV19 will usher the death of this corrupt institution.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[NYPOST] The 
[CampusReform] Fake transcripts and essays, falsified letters of recommendation and test scores, paid consultants, and fake passports and IDs. These are just some of the many methods that Chinese nationals have reportedly used to gain acceptance into U.S. colleges and universities.
