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After a surge in COVID cases caused by the BA.2 Omicron sub-variant, Austria is set to re-impose mask mandates that were dropped just two weeks ago. And there you were thinking the technocrats had finally let it go. Mask mandates in every area of the country apart from the capital Vienna were lifted as part of the general continent-wide trend of finally learning to “live with COVID.” That included ending the requirement for Austrians to show proof of vaccination or a negative test to enter most premises. However, despite the BA.2 variant proving even less dangerous than the original Omicron...

On March 9, LGBTQ employees and allies at Pixar Animation Studios sent a joint statement to Walt Disney Company leadership claiming that Disney executives had actively censored “overtly gay affection” in its feature films. The stunning allegation — made as part of a larger protest over the company’s lack of public response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill — did not include which Pixar films had weathered the censorship, nor which specific creative decisions were cut or altered. But in at least one case, the statement appears to have made a significant difference. According to a source close to the...

According to the poll, two-thirds of voters likely to participate in the recall election say they will vote “yes” to the question “Shall Chesa Boudin by recalled (removed) from the Office of District Attorney?”

Russian Catholics cautious about opinions but welcome consecration to MaryWARSAW, Poland — Although Russia’s Catholics hold different views about the conflict in Ukraine, a spokesman for the country’s bishops said all are united in welcoming Pope Francis’ plan to consecrate their country to the Immaculate Heart of Mary March 25 in a service at the Vatican.However, a Catholic professor in the country said the pope’s plan was likely to provoke a negative reaction from the Russian Orthodox Church, which could see it as infringing its “canonical territory.”“For Catholics, this gesture isn’t about faith, but about people and peace between two...

Evening meeting...

Evening meeting...

Valery Gerasimov: Russian General of the Army, the current Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, and first Deputy Defence Minister. Sergei Shoigu: General of the Army who has served as Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation since 2012. Shoigu has also served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Defense of the Commonwealth of Independent States since 2012. Nikolai Patrushev: Security officer and intelligence officer. He served as Director of the Russian Federal Security Service, which is the main successor organization to the Soviet KGB, from 1999 to 2008, and he...

Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) said Thursday on CNN’s “Newsroom” that if former President Donald Trump got the Republican nomination for president in 2024, “many” people would “move heaven and earth to ensure he doesn’t win.” Discussing Trump, Sciutto said, “Final question if I can? You are among the names mentioned who might challenge him for the nomination in 2024, should he decide to run. It looks more and more like he will run, maybe Liz Cheney, perhaps Mike Pence. Do you believe there will be a competitive GOP primary that you will get the opportunity to do so? We saw...

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution Tuesday setting March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia. The resolution, adopted by consensus by the 193-member world body and cosponsored by 55 mainly Muslim countries, emphasizes the right to freedom of religion and belief and recalls a 1981 resolution calling for “the elimination of all forms of intolerance and of discrimination based on religion or belief.” It expresses deep concern at “the overall rise in instances of discrimination, intolerance and violence, regardless of the actors, directed against members of many religions and other communities in various...

Jesuit Cardinal Hollerich of Luxembourg and Bishop Bätzing of Limburg have both called for changes to the Church’s teaching on homosexuality in recent interviews.VATICAN CITY — Cardinal George Pell has called on the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) to publicly reprimand two of Europe’s most senior bishops for what he said was their “wholesale and explicit rejection” of the Church’s teaching on sexual ethics. In a statement released March 15, Cardinal Pell asked the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation to “intervene and pronounce judgment” on comments made by Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, the relator general of the Vatican Synod on...

Santiago (Agenzia Fides) - "Every day we are faced with the choice of being good Samaritans or indifferent travelers. Every day we are offered a new opportunity, a new stage. We should not expect everything from those who govern us, it would be childish. We benefit from a space of co-responsibility capable of initiating and generating new processes and transformations. Let us actively participate in the rehabilitation and rescue of our wounded society". This is a passage from the homily delivered by the President of the Episcopal Conference of Chile, Cardinal Celestino Aós, Archbishop of Santiago, during the traditional ecumenical...

Transgender University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas took first place today in the 500 freestyle, surprising no one. Lia Thomas just took first place at the 2022 NCAA Division 1 Women's Swimming & Diving Championships in the 500 freestyle. #SaveWomensSports pic.twitter.com/UWvDQMYHRJ — Colin Wright (@SwipeWright) March 17, 2022 Caitlyn Jenner has weighed in on Thomas; according to Pink News, Jenner said, “I don’t see how you can be happy beating other girls under these circumstances. You have to have a sense of personal responsibility. You can still enjoy sports but not play at a competitive level, right?” In its tweet...

"Tonight, I have a hard & honest conversation with my friend and fellow @BlazeTV host @RubinReport about his decision to have kids through surrogacy. He tells me "I get why the right has these often legitimate fears." But that CAN'T stop us from having respectful discussions."

Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health did her best to angle toward continued fear of Covid-19 and the importance of public readiness to get vaccinated and wear masks even as she noted the county had reached a "low risk level" per guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control.

***** Tunes For Our Troops ~ The Freeper Canteen Music Dedication Presents: YeeHaw! ~ *****~ Support The Artists You Hear Throughout The Canteen ! ~ ***** Warning: Not all music may be appropriate for children! Please click with caution. Thank you! Tunes For The Troops This music is provided for the entertainment of our Troops, Veterans, Allies & their families! Enjoy the variety of musical selections that the Canteen DJs provide throughout the thread. Please ping any DJ with your requests for the Troops! All music is removed on Monday.Thanks to all the DJs for their time & effort...

Following up on his earlier demand that President Biden send assassins to kill Russian President Vladimir Putin, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) went on "Fox and Friends" and called for "a broader net to be cast. It is shameful that our country is not unified behind the President in this time of war. Public figures who could and should be rallying the people behind his efforts to defeat Putin are going public with statements that sow doubt and distrust of his strategy." Admitting that he doesn't yet have a comprehensive list, Graham named "Tucker Carlson, Tulsi Gabbard, and Donald Trump as...

A Canadian man has died after he was pulled into a wood chipper in the middle of a suburban street. Daniel Vanheyst, 22, had been removing trees in Oshawa, near Toronto, on Wednesday morning when the tragic accident unfolded. A traumatized resident told the Toronto Sun that he was filming the crew disposing of tree branches at the exact moment Vanheyst got caught up in the chipper. “I saw his feet leave the ground. It was that quick,” the unnamed man said.

A Catholic archdiocese in India condemned the burning of effigies of two cardinals on Thursday by laypeople opposed to the introduction of a uniform liturgy in the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. Lay activists set fire to effigies of Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, the prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Eastern Churches, and Cardinal George Alencherry, the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church, on March 17 in Kochi, southwestern India. Photos and videos shared on social media showed flames rising from two figures dressed in white cassocks with red fascias, or sashes, the customary dress for bishops in the Syro-Malabar Church. The...

Russia has one of the largest and most powerful armed forces in the world, but that has not been apparent in its initial invasion of Ukraine. Many military analysts in the West have been surprised by its performance on the battlefield so far, with one describing it as "dismal". Its military advances appear to have largely stalled and some now question whether it can recover from the losses it has suffered. This week, a senior Nato military official told the BBC, "the Russians clearly have not achieved their goals and probably will not at the end of the day". So...

Connecting Turkey's European and Asian shores, the 1915 Canakkale Bridge was built by Turkish and South Korean firms with an investment of €2.5 billion ($2.8 billion). It has the longest main span -- the distance between the two towers -- of any suspension bridge in the world. The main opposition CHP has criticised the potential cost of the bridge to the public purse, with media reports saying the build-operate-transfer agreement includes an annual payment guarantee of €380 million ($420 million) to the operators or a total €6 billion over the duration of the accord. Erdogan said the price for passenger...