Number of Atheists in Russia Halves in 3 Years – Poll

© Sergey Pyatakov / Sputnik

The number of Russians who describe themselves as atheists has fallen from 26 to 13 percent in just three years, according to recent research. The share of those who back the Church’s involvement in state politics has increased slightly.

The poll, conducted by the Russian independent research center Levada in late June, showed that majority of Russians (62 percent) describe their attitude to atheists as “good and respectful,” with only 8 percent stating negative feelings towards this group. These figures remain virtually unchanged since 2014.

At the same time, the share of those who describe themselves as atheists fell sharply over this period – from 26 percent in 2014 to 13 percent today. Nine percent of participants in the poll said that they considered themselves “very religious” and 44 percent said they were “partly religious.”

That would leave 34% as 'religious'.

In the same poll, 28 percent of respondents said that they were confident that the Church must influence the decision-making process in the upper echelons of state power. This is up from 26 percent three years ago.

The share of those who oppose such actions remained unchanged at 36 percent, while 39 percent said that in their minds the influence of the Church on state politics was “exactly at the necessary level.”

When researchers asked the Russian public about their attitude to representatives of various popular religions and confessions, Orthodox Christianity came out as the most popular with the approval of 92 percent of respondents. Just under three-quarters (74 percent) said that they had positive feelings towards Catholics and 61 percent said they felt respect towards Protestants.

The share of those who reported positive feelings towards Muslims is now 59 percent – which is unchanged since 2013. Seventeen percent described their feelings towards Muslims as “controversial” and 13 percent as “fear and hostility.”

Just over half (55 percent) of Russians said they had a good attitude to Jewish people, with 17 reporting controversial feelings and 11 percent stating they had negative sentiments.

Analysts from the Levada Center noted in comments published on the group’s website that while the share of religious people in the country was on the increase, the strength of their faith was apparently getting weaker.

“The increase in the number of believers is not accompanied by sincere faith or understanding of importance of the religion for spiritual life,” the comments read.

“Indirectly, the weakness of Orthodox Christian norms can be confirmed by growing opposition to restrictions imposed during major fasts – such as the restrictions on entertainment, alcohol or sex. The number of people who say that they are not ready to bear this burden has increased up to two times over the past few years.”

The Russian Orthodox Church expects partial fasts on Wednesdays and Fridays, plus they have a plethora of other fasts that vary from forbidding a few things to not eating from Monday morning until Wednesday evening. While many of the fasts are aimed at monks and clergy, it seems devout Orthodox believers often try to follow them as well.

Fasting is a powerful tool in the church, but it seems to me that it should always be volunteered, not imposed. Fasting, while resenting the fast, is not only ineffective but is probably quite a negative experience. Jesus disciples shocked the religious establishment when they picked a few ears of corn to eat on the Sabbath. They had that freedom in Christ as do all who believe in Him. 

Two ‘Honor Killing’ Suspects Charged After Teen Found Dead in Fridge in UK

Two men have been charged in connection with the alleged honor killing of a teenage girl whose stuffed body was found in a fridge in a south London property.

On Wednesday evening, authorities discovered a body of a 19-year-old girl in a £1.5million property in Kingston-on-Thames. According to initial reports, the corpse had been found inside a fridge.

Investigators believe the victim was kidnapped along with another woman described as being in her 20s, but who managed to escape her captors after being slashed across the throat. She remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Immediately following the murder, the Metropolitan police detained three suspects – two men and a woman – in connection with the killing. While the 29-year-old female has been released, police charged both male suspects.

The 33-year-old man was “charged with the murder, rape and kidnap of a 19-year-old woman,” police said. “He is further charged with the rape, attempted murder and kidnap of a second victim, a woman aged in her 20s.”

The second suspect in the case was “charged with the kidnap of both the 19-year-old woman and the woman aged in her 20s.”

Both men, who have not been named, are scheduled to appear at the Wimbledon Magistrates Court Monday.

Earlier, media reports indicated that the perpetrators were believed to be the uncle of the 19-year-old and the step-father of the other victim. Neighbors also told local news outlets that the crime could have been an honor killing.

That has not yet been officially confirmed.

Police earlier noted that both kidnapped females knew their kidnappers who subjected them to the violent attack.

Police have also dismissed reports that the teenage victim had been “chopped up,” saying the woman was discovered “intact,” the Daily Mail reported.

A formal identification of the body has not yet taken place, but the post-mortem examination Friday confirmed an incised wound to the neck as the cause of death.

Police have identified the deceased and have informed her next of kin. They have yet to release her name.

Soros and EU Striving for ‘Mixed, Muslimized Europe’, says Hungarian PM Orban

We know that most European countries have birthrates of nationals that are not sufficient to even sustain the current population. And, we know that Muslims generally have a birthrate that nearly doubles their numbers in a single generation. Add more immigration to that mix and you have the makings of a Muslim state in a few generations - in all EU countries.

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Business magnate George Soros © Reuters

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has hit out at George Soros and the European Union as the statesman’s war of words with the Hungarian-American billionaire continues to escalate.

During a state visit to Romania Orban accused Soros of using the EU in order to create a "new, mixed, Muslimized Europe,” according to AP.

The prime minister said that Soros is now more powerful in Brussels than in Washington or Tel Aviv and he argued that European institutions should fight to limit his influence, reported Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet.

“The European Union, the European Commission must regain independence from the Soros Empire before the billionaire finishes his program for the destruction of the continent,” Orban said in a speech at the 28th Bálványos Summer University event in southern Romania.

When life imitates art

Where have I seen this theme before?

The Hungarian stated that reforming Europe can only begin by stopping illegal migration into the EU and that Hungary’s border defenses will help with that effort.

During the speech Orban also pledged that Hungary will support Poland in a row with the EU over its controversial judicial reform plans.

“The inquisition offensive against Poland can never succeed because Hungary will use all legal options in the European Union to show solidarity with the Poles,” he said.

Orban and Soros have clashed in the past, most prominently over the Soros-backed Central European University. In June the financier labelled Hungary a “Mafia state” and said he is the target of an “unrelenting propaganda campaign.”

Orban described the comments as “a declaration of war.”

”The only network which operates in mafia ways, which is not transparent... in Hungary is the Soros network," he said.

A poll in Sunday’s Magyar Nemzet revealed that 43 percent of Hungarians think Soros is a threat to Hungary. Nearly as many people, 35 percent, said this is not the case.

UK Tories Jump Both-Feet Into the Loony Bin

One could argue that with Theresa May as leader of the Tories,
jumping into the loony bin was inevitable

Tories promote the right to choose your own sex

Transgender reforms for birth certificates

Tim Shipman and Jason Allardyce

Adults will be able to change their gender legally without a doctor’s diagnosis under government plans that will transform British society.

Men will be able to identify themselves as women — and women as men — and have their birth certificates altered to record their new gender.

Ministers plan to tear up the existing rules that mean people have to live for two years as their desired gender before they can officially change sex.

A consultation on the Gender Recognition Bill, to be published in the autumn, will also include proposals to scrap the requirement that people get a formal medical diagnosis of “gender dysphoria” before applying to switch gender.

Critics warned that allowing people in effect to “self-identify” as a member of the opposite sex, while maintaining the anatomy of their birth gender, would unleash a firestorm of legal cases over access to women-only hospital wards, prisons, lavatories, changing rooms and competitive sports.

Not to mention churches and religious schools.

Justine Greening, the minister for women and equalities, called the move to give more rights to transgender people the third great “step forward” after equality for women and the legalisation of same-sex marriage in 2013.

The third step into the loony bin! 

The announcement is timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967. Greening said ministers want to “streamline and demedicalise” gender change to make it easier for people to switch their identity legally.

In future people are expected to be required only to make a statutory declaration that they intend to live in the acquired gender until death — in line with arrangements already adopted in Ireland.

The consultation will address whether those whose gender is “non-binary” should also be able to define themselves as “X” on their birth certificates.

Non-binary gender (loony bin)

Non-binary gender (see also genderqueer) describes any gender identity which does not fit the male and female binary. Those with non-binary genders can feel that they:

Have an androgynous (both masculine and feminine) gender identity, such as androgyne.

Have an identity between male and female, such as intergender.

Have a neutral or unrecognized gender identity, such as agender, neutrois, or most xenogenders.

Have multiple gender identities, such as bigender or pangender.

Have a gender identity which varies over time, known as genderfluid.

Have a weak or partial connection to a gender identity, known as demigender.

Are intersex and identify as intersex, known as amalgagender

Have a culturally specific gender identity which exists only within their or their ancestor's culture.

A separate consultation in Scotland will go further than England and Wales by recommending that “non-binary” people should be able to define themselves as “X” on passports. It will also propose a cut in the age at which people can change their gender from 18 to 16.

Anti-woman?

The plans will be controversial. Prominent feminists including Germaine Greer and Dame Jenni Murray, the presenter of Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, have questioned whether men can become women even if they undergo a sex-change operation.

And if they don't undergo a sex change operation, it would appear these two iconic feminists would be loath to call them women.

Stephanie Davies-Arai of Transgender Trend, a parents’ group, said: “This has huge implications for women. There will be legal cases. The most worrying thing is if any man can identify as a woman with no tests and gain access to spaces where women might be getting undressed or feel vulnerable — like women’s hospital wards, refuges and rape crisis centres — women will just stop going to these facilities.”

Self-identifying was recommended by a parliamentary committee last year chaired by the former cabinet minister Maria Miller and it has the backing of Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn.

Greening also announced the government will make it easier for gay men to give blood. At the moment men who have had sexual contact with other men are barred from donating for 12 months. That will be reduced to three months.

Anti-religion

Ministers will launch a national survey of Britain’s estimated 1.5m LGBT people to help inform policy.

The education department has also announced £3m will be spent on “anti-homophobic and transphobic programmes”. Schools, including faith schools, will be required to include LGBT issues in relationships and sex education.

Oh, that should be fun!

Greening, who is in a relationship with a woman, said: “This government is committed to building an inclusive society that works for everyone, no matter what their gender or sexuality.

It won't work for people of faith. 60% of Brits identify as Christians although the vast majority of them are nominal Christians only. But the devout Christians probably number only about 10% of that. Even so, that is 2-3 times as many devout Christians as there are LGBTQs. But Christians are being selectively excluded from society, not included. 

Then there is the question of how neo-liberals are going to keep Muslims included in society while undermining the Quran?

“We will build on the significant progress we have made over the past 50 years, tackling some of the historic prejudices that still persist in our laws and giving LGBT people a real say on the issues affecting them.”

Not all 'progress' is good. Islam is progressive - progressive toward Sharia; and sin is progressive, for instance, pornography often progresses toward child pornography which progresses to younger and younger children and more and more violent sexual assaults.

Ruth Hunt, chief executive of Stonewall, the lobbying organisation, welcomed the plans. “We need a simple process which isn’t medicalised, intrusive or demeaning,” she said.

The move will put the government on a collision course with some religious groups. Simon Calvert of the Christian Institute said: “It is worrying when the leaders of the main political parties are so out of touch with the concerns of ordinary people."

“Allowing men to self-identify as female without any medical diagnosis allows them to invade the privacy of women and girls."

“It’s time for a reality check. Some things can’t be changed. May and Corbyn want to elevate the principle of ‘gender self-declaration’. But it is wrong, it is anti-scientific and it is dangerous.”

A source who is close to Greening acknowledged that the proposed changes could be problematic. “That’s why we are going to have a consultation, so we can examine all the implications,” the source said.

A Scottish government spokeswoman said it hopes to have “new arrangements in place by 2020”.

Interpol Fears ISIS Trained 170+ Bomb Attackers for Europe – Media

FILE PHOTO: Islamic state fighters © Medyan Dairieh / Global Look Press

A list of dozens of suspected ISIS militants trained to deal with explosives and potentially aiming at terrorist attacks in Europe has been shared with EU intelligence by The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), the Guardian reports.

Interpol issued a list of 173 terrorists linked to Islamic State, who “may have manifested willingness to commit a suicidal attack or martyrdom to support Islam,” the Guardian reported on Friday, saying it obtained the names.

The specially trained attackers “can travel internationally, to participate in terrorist activities,” but it is unclear whether they managed to reach Europe, the report says.

While the document identifies the suspects and provides their photos, it also features such details as the date of recruitment and possible addresses, even including the mosques they could attend.

The list apparently stems from US intelligence data which was obtained through “trusted sources” during operations against ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

The potential attackers were pinpointed “through materials found in the hiding places of ISIL,” according to the paper.

Interpol reportedly sent the warning to its European counterparts on May 27 and asked to share information on the suspects.

In March, then-FBI director James Comey warned that European states may face an unprecedented “terrorists diaspora” in five years, as after the defeat of ISIS, terrorists will spill over into Western Europe. 

On Friday, the UK’s most senior police officer, Cressida Dick, stated that advances against ISIS in Syria and Iraq do not reduce the threat for the country.

Earlier, German Police Chief Holger Muench said that around 700 Islamists may pose a threat to German security, local media reported.

ISIS continues to plan more complex and mass-casualty attacks in the West, particularly in Europe, according to a report from Europol. The agency also warned that terrorist tactics and techniques are transferred from the current conflict zones, including the “illicit spread of bomb-making knowledge and instructions.”

Trump to End of CIA Support for Anti-Assad Forces in Syria

US special operations chief confirms end of CIA support

for anti-Assad forces in Syria

Stunner: who saw this coming? USA doing something that might actually contribute to the ending of the conflict in Syria. Now, if they could just rein in the movement of weapons...

A US army general has confirmed that Washington has decided to put an end to a CIA scheme to equip and train certain rebel groups fighting the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. He insisted the policy shift had nothing to do with improving relations with Russia.

© Alaa Al-Faqir

US Army General Raymond Thomas, head of the Special Operations Command, said the decision was "based on assessment of the program."

"At least from what I know about that program and the decision to end it, (it was) absolutely not a sop to the Russians," Thomas said at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado on Friday, Reuters reported.

Unnamed government sources told various media outlets last week that the decision to end the program had been partly due to the Trump administration wanting a better relationship with Russia.

Trump reportedly ordered the end of the program weeks after meeting with CIA director Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor HR McMaster.

'Everything will Collapse': German Courts ‘Overwhelmed’ by Asylum Seeker Claims

© Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters

The number of cases filed by asylum seekers challenging the decisions of immigration authorities in German courts has brought the legal system to the brink of collapse, a top German judge has warned in an interview.

The sheer number of cases filed has overwhelmed the civil courts of the country, said Robert Seegmuller, chairman of the Association of German Administrative Law Judges while speaking to the publishing house Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND).

“The situation is dramatic for administrative courts,” Seegmuller told RND. “We are now completely stretched to our limits.”

Seegmuller had been complaining since spring about the number of lawsuits being filed against the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). Thousands of applicants have challenged the decisions delivered on their cases by the BAMF, including deportation orders back to potentially unsafe countries such as Afghanistan.

Based on RND’s estimations, there are approximately 250,000 asylum-related cases waiting to be brought before the courts.

Good grief! What about all the other civil cases - they will have to wait for years to be heard.

“The administrative court system cannot endure such a figure in the long run. At some point, everything will collapse,” Seegmüller warned. “Things may go well for a while, but not permanently.”

With such a vast volume of cases, the German legal system finds itself lacking judges and other personnel, space, and IT capabilities, he added.

“The justice system is indeed determined to bulk itself up, but it is ever more difficult to find the desperately needed personnel,” he said.

Seegmuller said in addition to the volume of work, the courts have to deal with poor decision-making by immigration authorities. He would not elaborate further.

The situation has been further complicated by a explosive reports earlier this year, in which a group of German soldiers with right-wing affiliations, allegedly plotted the assassinations of left-wing politicians with the intention to pin the crimes on migrants.

One of the suspects had managed to obtain a second identity as a Syrian refugee, prompting an early review of up to 100,000 asylum decisions which has created an even bigger backlog, according to the German Interior Ministry.