It’s Tuesday, December 7th, A.D. 2021. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Kevin Swanson
3 missionaries in Haiti released Monday
Three more of those missionaries held hostage by the 400 Mawozo Gang in Haiti have been released as of Monday, according to Christian Aid Missions.
That leaves 12 in captivity of the original 17 captured. Please continue to pray for the release of these brothers and sisters in Christ.
U.S. diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics
The United States will not be sending government officials to the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022. It’s a protest against what the Biden administration calls “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity.”
The diplomatic boycott comes specifically for the persecution of the Uyghur Muslim population and other ethnic and religious minority groups in the Xinjiang district. This is not a complete U.S. boycott, as our athletes are still allowed to compete.
Ecclesiastes 8:12-13 provides some wisdom here: “Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him. But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God.”
100,000 Russian troops to Ukrainian border ahead of Biden visit
In other international news, the Russian military has moved 100,000 troops and armored vehicles to the Eastern Ukrainian border.
That’s the second time this year.
The Washington Post reports the Kremlin has been moving troops toward the border with Ukraine while demanding Washington guarantee that Ukraine will not join NATO and that the alliance will refrain from certain military activities in and around Ukrainian territory.
The crisis has provoked fears of a renewed war on European soil and comes ahead of a planned virtual meeting next week between President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Bob Dole, presidential candidate and veteran, died at 98
Bob Dole, who overcame disabling war wounds to become a sharp-tongued Senate leader from Kansas, a Republican presidential candidate and then a symbol and celebrant of his dwindling generation of World War II veterans, died Sunday, reports Reuters. He was 98.
He received two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star for his military heroism.
He ran for president three times – in 1980, 1988, and finally in 1996 when he won the Republican nomination.
DOLE: “Tonight, I stand before you tested by adversity, made sensitive by hardship, a fighter by principle, and the most optimistic man in America.” (applause)
But Dole lost in the general election to President Bill Clinton. In fact, a few months before his death in April 1994, Richard Nixon had warned Dole, “If the economy’s good, you’re not going to beat Clinton.”
Dole announced in February 2021 that he’d been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.
We have a special link to a fascinating 9-minute story on CBS Sunday Morning in our transcript today at www.TheWorldview.com.
Average inflation rate nearly 14% for Americans
A recent Gallup poll finds that 45% of Americans are suffering economic hardship due to rising prices. And the statistics are bearing this out.
The Conference Board has announced an average pay increase nationwide at 3%. That’s not going to do much for inflation.
Housing is up 19.5% year over year. Used cars are up 24%, year over year. Beef steak prices are up 22%, and food prices are up 5.3% on average. Furniture is up 11%. Electricity is up 6.5%. Natural Gas is up 28%, and gasoline prices are up 30% on average over 2020 prices.
Based on these numbers, the average inflation rate for 2021 will be 13.8% on an American family budget. That’s quite a bit higher than the average raise of 3% for American workers this year.
The latest inflation run is attributed to the Federal Reserve’s $4.5 trillion of money-printing in the last 21 months.
Proverbs 20:23 warns, “Diverse weights are an abomination to the Lord, and dishonest scales are not good.”
Cost of house requires $144,192 of income
Clever Real Estate has determined that an American family looking to buy a home needs to be earning an average income of $144,192. That’s way above the median income of $69,000.
Wolf Street reports that the largest real estate bubbles since 2000 were in Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, San Francisco, and Portland. All of them were in the 200-260% range.
NYC mandates COVID shot for 184,000 businesses
New York City is following in the footsteps of Germany and Austria.
Mayor Bill de Blasio is mandating the COVID shot for all private sector employees, reports CBS News.
DE BLASIO: “Look, this is how we put health and safety first. By ensuring that there is a vaccine mandate that reaches everyone universally in the private sector.”
The mandate takes effect two days after Christmas, and affects 184,000 businesses in the Big Apple.
de Blasio is just weeks away from the end of his term.
Senate funds Biden’s COVID-shot mandate
In spite of attempts by conservative Republican Senators Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, and Roger Marshall to bar funding for OSHA’s enforcement of the president’s corporate vaccine mandate, the U.S. Senate passed the federal government’s funding bill, reports FederalNewsNetwork.com.
Both Middle-of-the-Road Democrats — Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona — supported the vaccine mandate enforcement.
The funding bill passed late last week by a vote of 69 to 28.
New COVID peak’s implications
The official records for new COVID infection cases appear to be demonstrating a third major peak.
The first peak occurred on January 8th, 2021 with 307,000 new cases per day. The second on September 1st with 191,000 new cases per day. The current new case rate stands around 147,000 per day, and rising.
Each rise has taken about two months to reach the peak, which would put this next peak somewhere around January 10th, 2022.
All that said, get ready for more restrictions from most of the states and countries around the world.
Only 22% of Democrats want Biden in 2024
Joe Biden is not winning many points in his own party, while Donald Trump is still holding ground. That’s the conclusion from several recent presidential election polls.
In a Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll released exclusively to The Hill, Trump leads a hypothetical 2024 GOP primary at 47% to DeSantis’ 10%.
Meanwhile, the Democrats are less enthusiastic about their candidate. Only 22% want President Biden next time, and a paltry 12% of Democrats support Vice President Kamala Harris for Commander-in-Chief.
Bitcoin’s tumble
And finally, Bitcoin, a decentralized digital currency, has proven itself scary-unstable this year, reports CNBC.
The third major drop since April occurred last week, dropping in value from $64,400 to $49,000 and change. That’s a whopping 24% contraction!
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Tuesday, December 7th, in the year of our Lord 2021. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I’m Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.