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Continuing a recent streak, Friday saw the fourth successful orbital launch from China in one week. This time, the Zhongxing-1D (ChinaSat-1D) satellite was inserted into orbit by a Chang Zheng 3B rocket launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The ChinaSat (Zhongxing) series of satellites, built by the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), fall under the communications category. The ChinaSat-1 series is specifically designed for military communications, with the first of this type launched in 2011. Two types of military communications satellites are used, with Friday’s launch exhibiting the Feng Huo-2, used for tactical communications providing Chinese...

Russia on Thursday successfully placed into orbit a military satellite believed to be part of the Kremlin's early warning anti-missile system. A Soyuz rocket carrying a classified payload blasted off from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northern Russia in the early hours of Thursday morning, the defence ministry said. At 0109 GMT a rocket was launched that put a "space apparatus into orbit in the interests of the defence ministry", the ministry said in a statement carried by the Interfax news agency. It did not provide further details. According to the Spaceflightnow website, which covers space launches, the launch could be...

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — For decades, the tiny Marshall Islands has been a stalwart American ally. Its location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean has made it a key strategic outpost for the U.S. military. But that loyalty is being tested amid a dispute with Washington over the terms of its “Compact of Free Association” agreement, which expires soon. The U.S. is refusing to engage the Marshallese on claims for environmental and health damage caused by dozens of nuclear tests it carried out in the 1940s and ’50s, including a huge thermonuclear blast on Bikini Atoll.... ... China...

Federal agencies paid out at least $548 million to informants working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), in recent years, according to government audits. A few informants became millionaires, with some Amtrak and “parcel” delivery workers making nearly $1 million or more. Many informants were authorized to commit “crimes” with the permission of their federal handlers. In a four-year period, there were 22,800 crime authorizations (2011-2014). The FBI paid approximately $294 million (FY2012-2018), the DEA paid at least $237 million (FY2011-2015), and ATF paid...

“Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief” (Proverbs 28:14).

Tom Cruise may have pulled of his most ambitious feat yet as he was seen hanging upside down from the wing of a World War II biplane while filming scenes his upcoming Mission Impossible 8 movie The actor, 59, was seen filming the death-defying stunt at Duxford Airfield in Cambridge this week, with the 1941 Boeing B75N1 Stearman biplane performing a stomach-churching loop-the-loop and nose-dive with the actor onboard As the plane soared across the Cambridgeshire countryside, Tom - who was attached to the plane by a harness - perilously dangled himself upside down from the wing The plane then...

Over the automotive industry’s 100+ year history, companies such as Ford, Chevrolet, and Mercedes-Benz have produced some truly iconic cars.Whether they’re designed for excitement, luxury, or just simple transportation, Visual Capitalist's Marcus Lu notes that these vehicles offer a set of features that make them highly desirable to consumers. The most successful models will undergo numerous revisions over time, sometimes sticking around for many decades.To learn more, this graphic from Alan’s Factory Outlet lists the 35 vehicles with the longest production runs of all time. Here are the top 10 below.As we can see, successful models come in many shapes...

Yesterday the WHO labelled the sars-cov-2 variant B.1.1.529 as a “variant of concern” and officially named it “Omicron”.This was as entirely predictable as it is completely meaningless. The “variants” are just tools to stretch the story out and keep people on their toes.If you want to know exactly how the Omicron variant is going to affect the narrative, well The Guardian has done a handy “here’s all the bullshit we’re gonna sell you over the next couple of weeks” guide:The Omicron variant is more transmissable, but they don’t know if it’s more dangerous yet (keeping their options open)It originated in...

No cases of the new Omicron virus variant have been identified in the United States as of yet, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus variant was first seen in southern Africa earlier this month and has been designated a variant of concern by the World Health Organization, which says it may be more transmissible than the Delta and Alpha strains.“No cases of this variant have been identified in the U.S. to date,” the CDC said in a statement Friday.“CDC is continuously monitoring variants and the U.S. variant surveillance system has reliably...

When naming the latest coronavirus variant, the World Health Organization (WHO) skipped the fourteenth letter of the Greek alphabet that just-so-happens to have the same spelling of a certain tyrannical world leader’s name. On Friday, news broke that scientists and world leaders have grown increasingly concerned about the “Omicron” variant, prompting New York to call a state of emergency and the U.K. to restrict travel from several African countries. Given that the variant names jumped from “Mu” all the way to “Omicron,” skipping “Nu” and “Xi” respectively, people on Twitter speculated that the WHO tinkered with the order so as...

The World Health Organization (WHO) has explained why it skipped the Greek letters “nu” and “xi” in naming the new COVID-19 variant Omicron.“Two letters were skipped—Nu and Xi—because Nu is too easily confounded with ‘new’ and Xi was not used because it is a common surname and [the] WHO best practices for naming new diseases … suggest avoiding ‘causing offence to any cultural, social, national, regional, professional, or ethnic groups,'” the United Nations agency said in a statement to The Epoch Times on Saturday.The WHO best practices for naming new diseases was developed in conjunction with the Food and Agriculture...

A clip has gone viral of a woman sitting at a table on her own after no one showed up to her planned dinner. Christian Zamora, who goes by the handle ‘Kidalloy’ on TikTok, shared footage of his girlfriend’s empty dinner table in a video that’s been viewed almost 15 million times. In it, he explained Maryann had been planning two weeks in advance for her “Friendsgiving” event, decorating her entire basement and cooking a huge feast. [cut] “My girlfriend was so excited for her first Friendsgiving but no one showed up,” [cut] “They were planning everything, everything was all...

The recent ruling represents a significant shift in the insulated nature of actors.This week a hearing delivered a small surprise when it ruled on a case involving Hollywood star Kevin Spacey in a case brought against the actor by the production studio MRC. The arbitration found that Spacey will be responsible for tens of millions of dollars payable to the studio because of the manner that he impacted the production of the television show “House Of Cards”.It was in 2017 when Spacey was taken down for inappropriate sexual behavior, as the MeToo movement provoked a number of individuals to testify...

We tend to think of Black Friday as the day that we can pick up some good deals at the stores.But instead, we’ve been seeing people thinking they could get more than a good deal — a five-finger discount, in fact. It’s happening at expensive stores in Democratic cities, particularly in California when they know that because of leftist prosecutors there, they will likely not suffer any real consequences even if they are caught in the act. This is all courtesy of the Democratic policy of being lenient on crime.When even CNN is recognizing this as a problem in cities...

On Saturday, November 13th, former National Security Advisor General Michael T. Flynn issues an emergency warning to the world! That Warning has now come true. Video...

We reported on the announcement of a new COVID variant which they are now calling the Omicron variant.The variant was just discovered this week, but already you can hear the race to paint it in the worst light possible, suggesting that there was a lot to be concerned about because it was “heavily mutated,” that immunity and the vaccines might not protect against it. We saw the Dow take a huge plunge immediately after, likely in part because of thinking that this news could lead back to more government restrictions and problems.The Biden administration reacted in a chaotic fashion. First,...

MOSCOW/WASHINGTON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Russia's defence minister on Tuesday accused U.S. bombers of rehearsing a nuclear strike on Russia from two different directions earlier this month and complained that the planes had come within 20 km (12.4 miles) of the Russian border. But the Pentagon said its drills were announced publicly at the time and adhered to international protocols. Moscow's accusation comes at a time of high tension with Washington over Ukraine, with U.S. officials voicing concerns about a possible Russian attack on its southern neighbour - a suggestion the Kremlin has dismissed as false. Moscow has in turn...

BBarbados is about to cut ties with the British monarchy, but the legacy of a sometimes brutal colonial past and the pandemic's impact on tourism pose major challenges for the Caribbean island as it becomes the world's newest republic. Famed for its beaches and love of cricket, Barbados will this week replace its head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, with her current representative, Governor General Sandra Mason. Ceremonies on Monday evening into Tuesday will include military parades and celebrations as Mason is inaugurated as president,... In October, Barbados elected Mason to become its first president, one year after Prime Minister...

A tumultuous week in France, COVID and more on the plate. The rising number of positive tests bringing in new measures this week. Masks ordered indoors and outdoors. Third-dose "booster shots" also rolled out for all adults in France. On Wednesday, the migrant issue came to the forefront as a migrant boat sank off the French coast in the English Channel with 27 deaths. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron that France should take back migrants if the UK catches them. France then shut the British out of meetings to discuss the...

Shepherding the Flock Out of the 1962 MissalThe time has come, says God to Moses. You must lead my people out of Egypt, out of captivity, toward the Promised Land.1 Unfortunately for the eager travelers, the journey lasts 40 years,2 and along the way the people murmur; they look back in nostalgia at the good things they once had.3 And they doubt that they will ever make it to the Promised Land. Many of them, in fact, die along the way.4 It is not easy to shepherd a people from one place to another physically; it is much harder to...