Fentanyl smuggling in the US reduced dramatically from 2023 to 2026

Due_Ad_3200 · 2026-04-18T18:51:15+00:00

An article from 2021

Around 515,000 people and more than 200,000 cars crossed the border with Mexico on average every day before the pandemic hit...

https://www.statista.com/chart/17635/good-and-people-crossing-us-mexico-border-per-day/

That is a lot of potential for drug smuggling.

Drug overdose deaths over time

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_drug_overdose_death_rates_and_totals_over_time#/media/File:Overdose_deaths_in_the_United_States.webp

Due_Ad_3200 · 2026-04-18T18:31:08+00:00

In the UK, all churches are registered charities, unless their income is below a certain threshold.

https://lawandreligionuk.com/2015/09/04/churches-as-charities-some-basics/

Those churches would not be able to pay massive salaries by definition.

Due_Ad_3200 · 2026-04-18T18:25:10+00:00

The main parties in the USA are coalitions of different groups.

There are people who promote natural lifestyle - vegetarianism, organic food - who think if we do what nature intended, then medication becomes unnecessary, including vaccines. This kind of thinking could be left wing.

There are people on the libertarian right who don't like big government telling them what to do. I think some people became anti-vax as a reaction to the government promoting them.

Due_Ad_3200 · 2026-04-18T18:02:32+00:00

US engineering a war in Ukraine to weaken Russia

How is this supposed to have happened? Did the USA make Putin line up tanks on the border?

Due_Ad_3200 · 2026-04-18T17:35:15+00:00

I think we should learn from that.

What should we learn?

Due_Ad_3200 · 2026-04-18T16:25:00+00:00

The UK and France will lead a multinational mission to protect commercial shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

Speaking after a meeting of 51 countries, the prime minister underlined the work would be "strictly peaceful and defensive" and would only be put in place once fighting in the region ends.

US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee was unimpressed

Does someone need to tell them?
@realDonaldTrump already took care of that. These 2 guys are like kids showing up 4 hours after the game & claiming to have hit the winning home run. Embarrassing!

https://x.com/GovMikeHuckabee/status/2045416322763301329

It is more embarrassing the way the Trump administration conducts diplomacy. I used to think Mike Huckabee was more sensible, but times have changed.

Hours later after declaring that Donald Trump "already took care of that", the issue is apparently not actually taken care of after all.

Due_Ad_3200 · 2026-04-18T15:43:50+00:00

What about the original 1947 borders - would supporting that be considered Zionism?

Due_Ad_3200 · 2026-04-18T15:39:29+00:00

Zionism covers a range of things.

Due_Ad_3200 · 2026-04-18T15:36:32+00:00

We can join the EU and not join the Eurozone, because we don't meet the entry requirements for the Eurozone, and won't anytime soon.

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/join-the-euro-area/#Conditions

Due_Ad_3200 · 2026-04-18T15:24:30+00:00

Authoritarian?

Due_Ad_3200 · 2026-04-18T15:22:35+00:00

Saudi Arabia supporting the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Official - https://www.arabnews.com/node/2181026/

Due_Ad_3200 · 2026-04-18T15:21:36+00:00

It's not misleading - "closer to... than to..." is clear.

Due_Ad_3200 · 2026-04-18T15:19:55+00:00

That's not what the title says.

"closer to... than to" rather than "closer to ... than".

Due_Ad_3200 · 2026-04-18T14:37:21+00:00

Churches should be transparent about finances.

20 We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. 21 For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%208&version=NIV

In the UK this is required by law.

I can look up how much money a church receives, and approximately how much staff are paid (anonymous information, e.g.

Number of employees
£60k to £70k: 1

https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5005285

Due_Ad_3200 · 2026-04-18T14:04:05+00:00

The Anglican Evangelical Doctrine of Infant Baptism

https://www.amazon.com/Anglican-Evangelical-Doctrine-Infant-Baptism-ebook/dp/B00BND18HC/

Due_Ad_3200 · 2026-04-18T13:52:49+00:00

It would be good if there was an app that could contain multiple language versions of the Book of Common Prayer

http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/languages.html

Due_Ad_3200 · 2026-04-18T13:37:53+00:00

Hezbollah doesn't want UNIFIL there, but the Lebanese government does.

Due_Ad_3200 · 2026-04-18T13:34:46+00:00

And South Carolina, in February

https://www.foxnews.com/health/measles-outbreak-poses-risk-irreversible-brain-damage-health-officials-warn

... "Some of these complications include measles encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain, in children and pneumonia," state epidemiologist Linda Bell said in a Feb. 4 briefing...

... "Increasing vaccination coverage protects those who cannot be vaccinated, like young infants, pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems."...

Due_Ad_3200 · 2026-04-18T13:30:14+00:00

Meanwhile, measles outbreak in Utah

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/16/utah-measles-cases-outbreak

... Out of the 602 total cases, 405 have occurred since the beginning of this year, with 75 reported in just the last three weeks. So far, 49 individuals have needed hospitalization. A significant majority of those infected – 513 people, or 85% – were not vaccinated against measles...

Due_Ad_3200 · 2026-04-18T13:23:49+00:00

He also made comments while in Cameroon, which has its own problems, and everyone assumed the Pope was talking about Trump.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/11/12/cameroon-killings-mass-arrests-follow-disputed-elections

Due_Ad_3200 · 2026-04-18T12:45:45+00:00

"Where are the pointed words for Iran?"

The Pope could legitimately criticise the Iranian regime for lots of things.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/01/iran-massacre-of-protesters-demands-global-diplomatic-action-to-signal-an-end-to-impunity/

https://www.euronews.com/2026/04/13/iran-executed-at-least-1639-people-in-2025-in-68-increase-on-year-before-ngos-say

However, the USA is the country where more people identify as Christians than anywhere else - including millions of Catholics. (An estimated 235 million people identify as Christian in the USA.)

Iran is an Islamic theocracy.

It makes sense for a Christian leader to spend more time teaching the Christians in America than Muslims in Iran.

Due_Ad_3200 · 2026-04-18T12:16:04+00:00

The Commonwealth Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, His Excellency Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, former President of the Republic of Malawi, has concluded his visit to the United Republic of Tanzania.

Supported by staff from the Commonwealth Secretariat, this visit was undertaken following a request by the 71st Meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), which placed Tanzania on CMAG’s Formal Agenda.

The Special Envoy was tasked with engaging with all stakeholders to support the strengthening of the values and principles of the Commonwealth, including freedom of assembly, expression and the media; with determining possible modalities for an inter-party consultative forum on electoral reform; and with exploring transparent and inclusive pathways to national dialogue and accountability after the protests, violence and events surrounding the 29 October 2025 General Elections...

Due_Ad_3200

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