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Protests against Hamas have erupted in Gaza, with Gazans taking to the streets in multiple locations, including Beit Lahia and Deir al-Balah, calling for an end to the war and the removal […] The post Gaza protests: “Hamas terrorists,” “Hamas out” first appeared on The Expose.

by Geoffrey Grinder, Now The End Begins: Drones exhibiting very advanced technology continue to fly with complete impunity over sensitive American military and nuclear installations, seemingly unstoppable Last year all through November, December and into January of 2025, baffling and mysterious drone sightings suddenly and inexplicably increased in states like New Jersey, New York, Arizona and Kansas. Donald […]

This Man, clinically dead, claims he saw the other dimension filled with massive, glowing, colorful stars. These appeared to him as energetic beings. He found that life on Earth is like an illusion—a trick or a game designed to forget who humans truly are. He saw Aliens similar to those shown in the film Communion. […] The post This Clinically Dead Man Claims Encounter with Otherworldly Dimension and Beings Resembling ‘Communion’ Aliens appeared first on How and Why's.

A prominent diversity, equity, and inclusion nonprofit declared bankruptcy this month after its board accused its founder and top employees of stealing millions of dollars, a Daily Wire investigation found. Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey are set to keynote a conference run by the alleged thief, apparently through his for-profit firm, next month. The National Diversity Council filed for bankruptcy on March 17 after its board said in a lawsuit that its founder R. Dennis Kennedy “improperly paid himself millions of dollars from NDC’s donor funds.” The suit said Kennedy “paid himself a grossly excessive salary” while using the nonprofit as a front for his for-profit diversity consulting business called Diversity & Leadership Inc (D&L). The group’s 2020 IRS disclosure said Kennedy was paid $450,000 for 10 hours of work per week. In 2022, at the height of corporations’ DEI hype, Kennedy, chief executive officer Ángeles Valenciano, and chief financial officer Jason deGroot also “unilaterally decided that they were owed almost $3 million in ‘back pay,’ and then paid themselves more than $1 million of donor funds,” the lawsuit said. As board members became suspicious and determined that there was no basis for the payments, Kennedy systematically moved the nonprofit’s trademarks and web domains into his own name, and essentially created a fake organization with the same name that would trick people into paying him directly, the suit indicated. “Kennedy, Valenciano, and deGroot conspired to protect their scheme and ill-gotten gains by attempting to destroy NDC and move its resources and partnerships to another organization where they could continue exploiting donors’ funds and the organization’s resources with minimal oversight,” it said. The suit said the trio’s conduct “gives rise to criminal liability…at a minimum, a third degree felony.” NationalDiversityCouncil.org now leads to a website of an organization that purports to be the National Diversity Council, listing Kennedy as its founder and no board. Dawn Hooper, an accountant who is managing the bankruptcy for NDC’s board, told The Daily Wire that the site is “not operated by the National Diversity Council.” In addition to the for-profit D&L Inc., Kennedy ran two Texas-based nonprofits, the Texas Diversity Council and the California Diversity Council, which were used to double-dip on salaries for the trio and siphon off consulting revenue from NDC, while using NDC staff and resources for all the groups’ expenses, the lawsuit said. According to tax disclosures, in 2021 Kennedy was paid $787,000 in salary by the national nonprofit and $351,113 from the Texas one; Valenciano was paid $460,000 from NDC and $133,000 from Texas; and deGroot was paid $460,000 from national and $123,000 from Texas. The IRS filings claim Valenciano and deGroot worked 40 hours a week for the Texas nonprofit while also working 35 hours a week for the national nonprofit. They also claim Kennedy worked 40 hours a week for the Texas nonprofit, which would leave little time for his many for-profit ventures or the national nonprofit. “Kennedy, along with his co-defendants, used NDC resources, such as their own time and the time of NDC staff, to assist with non-NDC organizations in order to benefit Kennedy’s other ventures and, ultimately, Kennedy himself,” the suit said. Dwayne L. Mason, a lawyer for Kennedy, did not return a request for comment. The imposter NDC website advertises a conference in Los Angeles next month from April 7-10, which it says will feature Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey. The website is vague about who is actually running the conference; on one page there is a passing reference to this year’s conference being “Hosted by Diversity First Consortium.” A web page for Diversity First Consortium says Kennedy and deGroot are on its staff. A company called DiversityFirst was incorporated by Kennedy in Texas in 2005, but its charter was revoked in February 2024 for failure to pay taxes. A tax form provided to help attendees pay for conference tickets indicates that the payment would go to D&L Inc. According to Texas business filings, D&L Inc.’s corporate registration was revoked in March 2023 for failure to pay taxes, but was reinstated two months later. The fake NDC website says “The National Diversity & Leadership Conference celebrates its 25th year as one of the largest and most prestigious events dedicated to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace and beyond. This year’s conference will feature an inspiring keynote address by Oprah Winfrey.” The conference site says that Bill Clinton, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, and left-wing professor Cornel West will also keynote. Conference-goers can meet them for $4,999. In 2024, in what was advertised as the conference’s 21st year, Hillary Clinton, Magic Johnson, Castro, and Eric Holder spoke. For $8,900, participants could “take photos with each keynote speaker listed on the Speakers page except for Hillary Clinton.” For years, people were led to believe that the elaborate conference was part of NDC’s charity work, not Kennedy’s for-profit business. In 2020, a press release said “The National Diversity Council will host the 2020 National Diversity and Leadership Conference virtually on October 27-28, 2020, and November 4-5,2020.” A video documenting the 15th annual National Diversity & Leadership conference in 2019, showing Barack Obama as its keynote speaker, had the NDC logo, introduced Kennedy with his NDC affiliation, and made no mention of any other group. The lawsuit said “at some point during his relationship with NDC, Kennedy covertly began a scheme to utilize NDC’s trademarks, reputation, and contacts to establish and build separate for-profit and non-profit organizations designed to compete with NDC and personally benefit Kennedy—all while being compensated by NDC.” In 2021 and 2022, Kennedy filed for 350 trademarks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, registering NDC’s name, initials, and key program names such as the National Diversity Awards to himself personally. In some cases, Kennedy allegedly waited for notification that the NDC’s trademarks were expiring, and instead of renewing them for the organization, he re-trademarked them in his own name without telling the board. To prove that he personally owned the phrase “National Diversity Council,” Kennedy sent USPTO a screenshot of NDC’s website, which said at the top, “National Diversity Council (NDC) is a non-partisan 501-C3 organization.” Kennedy and deGroot bought thousands of domain names with NDC credit cards, but put them in Kennedy’s personal control. Kennedy allegedly created new websites with the same names and branding, seemingly tricking major corporations into thinking they were supporting a longstanding nonprofit instead of an imposter. Kennedy is “now directly competing with NDC for conference participants and sponsors; and, upon information and belief, is using information and materials that he misappropriated from NDC to do so,” the suit said. In December 2023, a board member requested that they return the supposed “back pay,” saying there was never anything in NDC’s financial books justifying it. “Unbeknownst to NDC at the time, this email prompted Kennedy, deGroot, and Valenciano to conspire about ways to destroy NDC and/or remove its Board members who were seeking to exercise proper and necessary oversight over Defendants’ recent misconduct (i.e., self-dealing),” the lawsuit said. Kennedy, who was chairman of the board, told deGroot and Valenciano to ignore the board, and deGroot began working to destroy NDC’s revenue by canceling events and causing corporate sponsors not to renew, according to emails presented in the lawsuit. “Any deliberate attempt to suspend NDC’s partnership renewals would be detrimental for two reasons: (a) it would potentially force Board Members to roll off because their board positions are contingent upon their affiliate organizations having a partnership with NDC, leaving NDC without a governing board; and (b) it would cut off a key revenue stream for NDC,” the suit said. On January 13, 2023, Valenciano asked a NDC employee to copy all of its documents so they could be used by another organization, according to the lawsuit, leading the employee to write that “I do not feel comfortable doing so.” Four days later, Kennedy wrote an email to the other two plotting a coup, saying he would “remove board from website & Create a New Board,” and “Drop the insurance for the Board; cancel today.” On January 22, 2023, the board voted to suspend the trio with pay, pending an investigation. When the board instructed its IT person, Jason Lee, to lock Kennedy out, Lee — who is now listed as working for Kennedy’s for-profit firm — instead helped Kennedy expropriate NDC’s documents and emails, according to the suit, which named Lee as a defendant. Valenciano and deGroot were supposed to be interviewed as part of the investigation on February 1, 2023, but the trio resigned that day instead. Shortly before resigning, deGroot transferred $200,000 to the Texas nonprofit, the suit said. A Daily Wire review found that Kennedy is now operating a slew of purported diversity organizations, all of which appear to secretly be fronts for his for-profit firm, such as: The Racial Justice Institute, which says it is holding the National Conference on Racial & Social Justice on April 10 at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles The National Belonging Institute, which says it is holding the Belonging Institute Conference at the same time The Inclusion Lab, which sells an “Inclusive Leadership Certification” for $2,499 The National ESG Council, which sells certifications for $999 The Center for Diversity Certification The Global Diversity Council The National Women’s Consortium The Alabama Diversity Council The groups feature near-identical websites with photos of their “founder,” Kennedy, sharing the stage with figures like Barack Obama. They all sell paid training, consulting, or certifications, and make no mention of being affiliated with any company. The sites are largely devoid of substance, instead featuring boilerplate content and pablum such as a quote from Kennedy saying “If I could inspire a movement, it would definitely be providing more opportunities for youth in inner cities to reach their full potential, while focusing on education reform.” In January 2025, the Texas Diversity Council changed its name to the Texas Leadership Consortium, according to a state business form filed by deGroot. Its website says it currently employs Kennedy, deGroot, and Valenciano. Valenciano did not return a request for comment. A bio says before she “shattered glass ceilings when she assumed the position of Chief Executive Officer at the National Diversity Council (NDC), becoming the first woman to ever hold this position,” she was “the director of diversity and inclusion for 84 Lumber Company,” where she ensured that the lumberyard was “underpinned by a rich tapestry of inclusivity.” NDC’s finances were further strained by a lawsuit in which Kennedy a decade ago accused a contractor of, ironically, conducting a similar scheme to unlawfully enrich herself using DEI trainings. The group racked up significant legal fees going after Carmen Michelle Carter, but never recovered any money. Carter, while a full-time professor at Strayer University, took a job as a Chief Talent & Diversity Officer for NDC, but arranged for a client, agriculture company Archer Daniel Midlands, to pay the $147,000 it spent on diversity consulting — including $3,375-a-day “training” — to her personally instead. Carter declared bankruptcy to try to get out of a judgment, but a judge ruled in 2018 that it was not dischargeable because she repeatedly perjured herself. The lawsuit by NDC against its executives, which is still ongoing, was filed in 2023 but has not been previously reported. This month’s bankruptcy filing was first spotted by CourtWatch. Kennedy, Valenciano, and DeGroot have sued the national nonprofit demanding backpay, and also sued its insurer for refusing to cover their legal fees. A judge agreed that NDC’s insurer should not have to pay to cover executives that NDC itself alleges engaged in “fraudulent and willful misconduct… including misappropriation of donor funds and self-enrichment.”

On February 18, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Expanding Access to In Vitro Fertilization.” Americans expected this action; Trump promised during his campaign to advance IVF. Infertility, of course, isn’t new to humanity. The Bible records seven couples who struggled to have children, beginning with Abram and Sarai in Genesis 15. Perhaps the most well-known biblical account of infertility is that of Hannah, who “was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly” (1 Sam. 1:10). Some reading this are all too familiar with praying and weeping as Hannah did. My wife and I certainly are. When we began trying to build our family, we received a diagnosis of infertility, making us part of the approximately 15 percent of couples who today face this issue. After initial tests, interventions, and treatments failed, we were encouraged to consider IVF. Value of Every Human Life The rightful ache for a child of one’s own that we and so many others share with Hannah is a key reason why reproductive technologies like IVF were developed. Trump’s executive order appropriately recognizes the importance of family and the government’s role in helping promote and support the bearing and rearing of children. However, the executive order makes the mistake of promoting the idea that because IVF produces some live births—albeit fewer than most people realize—it’s a good thing and, thus, something that should be expanded. To be clear, the children born through IVF are gifts. Like all other human beings, they’re created in God’s image. Several places in Scripture speak to the great worth of human beings, how God knows each facet of our lives. Psalm 139, for example, details his intimate knowledge of us: “You know when I sit down and when I rise up.” God has known us since the beginning of our lives. God “formed [our] inward parts” and “knitted [us] together” in our mothers’ wombs. These promises—and it’s promissory that God knows us and cares about every detail of our lives—apply equally to all human beings without exception as God sovereignly rules over every person regardless of the circumstances of their conception. Moreover, out of his great love for us, God the Son was incarnated as one of us, fully God and fully man at the same time. Luke recounts that the angel Gabriel told Mary, “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son” (Luke 1:31). It’s amazing to think that the incarnation began with Jesus Christ as an embryo. Hidden Reality of IVF Few people know that 93 percent of all embryos created through IVF don’t result in a pregnancy. Some embryos don’t survive long enough to be transferred into a womb. Some fail to implant when transferred, and many are left frozen indefinitely. Supporters of IVF point to the fact that embryos are also lost in the ordinary course of human procreation and question whether this might mitigate the fact that, as recent headlines affirm, “Embryo Loss Is Integral to IVF” and “Discarding Embryos Is Inherent to the IVF Process.” It’s worth asking, though, whether there’s a difference between what happens in the normal course of events in a fallen world and what happens in the work of a technician in a lab. I would contend that there is a moral difference between the possibility of natural embryo loss and the intentional use of a laboratory technique we know will result in embryo loss. It’s amazing to think that the incarnation began with Jesus Christ as an embryo. In January 2025, MIT Technology Review reported, “Millions—or potentially tens of millions—of embryos created through IVF sit frozen in time, stored in cryopreservation tanks around the world. The number is only growing thanks to technological advances, the rising popularity of IVF, and improvements in its success rates.” This should be deeply troubling to Christians, but too often, it isn’t. We, too, may think IVF must be a good thing because it sometimes leads to live births. But a closer look at what IVF entails raises questions of whether it’s wise for Christians to engage in it. As it’s generally practiced, not only does IVF result in the creation of many embryos who will never be given an opportunity to grow and flourish, but the technique frequently involves testing, grading, and ranking embryos by their fitness or even by sex. Those embryos who don’t meet the parents’ expectations or desires are either frozen indefinitely or discarded. These embryonic assessments turn what should be the reception of a miraculous gift into, frankly, the manufacture of new human beings who are immediately subject to quality control measures. IVF moves human beings from begetting or siring to the “metaphor of the factory, ‘re-production.’” Celebrate Life While Questioning the Method The most common objection I hear is that in calling IVF into question, I’m somehow calling into question the lives of the children born through IVF. But we rightly celebrate their lives just as we do the lives of all children, no matter the circumstances of their conception. No one doubts that a child born to teenage parents is of inestimable value and worth, yet teen pregnancy isn’t something we wish to encourage. Similarly, with IVF, we can have deep reservations about the practice even while we celebrate the lives of those born by this method. However, we must also celebrate the lives of those embryos who even now await their opportunity to grow and flourish. A closer look at what IVF entails raises questions of whether it’s wise for Christians to engage in it. A first step in addressing the ethical issues is for Christians who engage in IVF to refuse to freeze any embryos, without exception, even if they think they’ll transfer them into the womb later. Next, parents with embryos in frozen storage should prayerfully consider retrieving and transferring them, if at all possible. There are many obstacles to this, not least the cost of the transfer process, which may be prohibitively expensive. Then there’s the creation of a larger family than the couple initially intended, further increasing the economic burden. Churches could see this as an opportunity to support these families, but many churches, particularly smaller ones, will have only modest resources available. In addition, not all families with frozen embryos will be able to transfer them into the mother’s womb. Medical complications, for example, may prevent it. I’ve written elsewhere about the options available when this is the case. Personal Journey with Infertility The destruction of embryos and the production of frozen embryos are only two of the many problems with IVF. Several Christian writers have addressed other ethical issues and whether Christians should engage in IVF at all (for example, see my arguments and those from Oliver O’Donovan and Matthew Lee Anderson). Thankfully, other options exist, even though they aren’t well known. Techniques based on fertility awareness and restorative medicine are well-developed approaches that seek to address the underlying causes of infertility rather than sidestepping them through technologies like IVF. My wife’s and my experience of infertility and the offer of IVF led us to additional prayer and much research. Ultimately, our conviction was that IVF wasn’t for us. We believe “the process of generating new life” shouldn’t occur in the laboratory. And so my modest suggestion is that we mourn directives like “Expanding Access to In Vitro Fertilization,” grieve with those who suffer the pain of infertility, and champion avenues that look for ways to heal the body rather than exclude the body from bringing new lives into the world.

If you’ve studied the principles of Bible interpretation, you know “allegory” is a bad word. Allegory is a way of reading a text that takes the details and makes them say something other than what they appear to mean. Because the Bible is God’s Word and because the Bible tells of people, places, and events from human history, we cannot read its historical narratives allegorically. Seen in that light, “allegory” is a bad word. Or is it? Throughout his letter to the Galatians, the apostle Paul reviews Genesis’s account of Abraham’s life. At one point, Paul looks at how Abraham came to have two children (Ishmael and Isaac) from two different women (Hagar and Sarah). In his exposition, the apostle says something startling: Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. (Gal. 4:24–26) It appears Paul has done what our teachers told us not to do. He seems to have taken a historical account from the Old Testament, made it say what it didn’t say, and labeled his reading “allegory.” Let’s take a closer look at what Paul is doing. Galatians 4 in Context In Galatians 4:21–23, Paul summarizes the historical details of Genesis 16–21. But beginning in verse 24, he goes beyond the text of Genesis. He relates Hagar to the Mosaic (Sinaitic) covenant in verse 25, and he relates Sarah to the Abrahamic covenant in verse 26. Paul has already argued in Galatians 3:6–4:7 that God intended from the beginning for the Abrahamic covenant to find its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. This prepares us for what Paul does next. In verse 27, Paul quotes Isaiah 54:1. Why does Paul use this reference? A few chapters earlier in Isaiah (51:2), Sarah gets her only mention by name in the book. There she’s said to have given birth to Zion. In the next verse, God promises to make the “wilderness” of Zion “like Eden, her desert like the garden of the LORD” (v. 3). That work of God brings “joy” to Zion (v. 3), and it’s the command “rejoice” that begins Paul’s quotation of Isaiah 54:1 in Galatians 4:27 (“Rejoice . . .”). How will this joy-producing work of God come about? Through his new exodus through the suffering Servant (see Isa. 52:1–53:12). This reality explains what Paul says next. Believers, “like Isaac,” are “children of promise” and—also like Isaac—are “born according to the Spirit” (Gal. 4:28, 29). Paul’s opponents, who rely on the Mosaic law for justifying righteousness before God, are—like Ishmael—“born according to the flesh,” enslaved, and standing to inherit nothing (vv. 29, 30). As such, they have no proper place in God’s people (v. 30). What has Paul done? He has followed a thread from Genesis through Isaiah to Christ. He has traced how God’s promises to Abraham were confirmed and expanded through the prophet Isaiah and were ultimately realized and fulfilled in Christ’s person and work. Paul has told the whole Bible’s story of redemption in just 11 verses. God’s promises to Abraham were confirmed and expanded through the prophet Isaiah and were ultimately realized and fulfilled in Christ’s person and work. The technical word used to describe what Paul has done is “typology.” Typology sees a prophetic correspondence between one person, place, or event and another. It does so in a way that fully respects the historical integrity of each. Critically, this correspondence involves heightening—the latter person, place, or event is the fulfillment and intended completion of the former person, place, or event. God had designed the Abrahamic covenant to find its fulfillment in Christ, and the rest of the Old Testament charts the path that God took to reach that goal—namely, Jesus Christ. What ‘Allegory’ Really Means What are we to make of the word translated “allegorically” in Galatians 4:24? First, “allegorically” may not be the best translation. As Douglas Moo has argued, the word can be rendered—and here should be rendered—“interpreted figuratively.” Typology sees a prophetic correspondence between one person, place, or event and another. It does so in a way that fully respects the historical integrity of each. Second, Paul is signaling by this word that he’s doing something different from what he’d done earlier in Galatians 3:15–4:7. There, he made arguments from particular texts about the specific covenants that God had made across redemptive history. Here, Paul summarizes those arguments in brief and panoramic form. He uses the word translated “interpret figuratively” to describe his typological interpretation of Hagar and Sarah in Galatians 4. Paul’s reading of Sarah and Hagar isn’t an outlier in the New Testament. Nor is it a cause of embarrassment, something we should try to explain away. It’s the capstone of all Paul has been doing in this letter. It shows us what Paul always shows us—that the Old Testament, in part and in whole, is a book that God authored for one purpose: to point sinners to the person and work of Jesus Christ, the Savior. And that’s a good word indeed.

Melissa Kruger and Courtney Doctor talk with Jen Wilkin about how to embrace a more biblical view on bodies, aging, beauty, and youth. They discuss why we should see aging as a gift rather than a disease and how we can prepare our spirits for the decline of our bodies. This conversation won’t tell you where to draw the line when it comes to pursuing a more youthful appearance through beauty treatments, but it will renew your perspective so that question will seem less important. Recommended Resource: On Getting Out of Bed by Alan Noble Related Content: Five Lies About Your Body How to Grow Newer When You’re Not Growing Younger Not the You You Remember Wrinkle Cream Can’t Redeem You Discussion Questions: 1. What’s your favorite thing about being in the decade of life you’re currently in? 2. What are some ways you’ve experienced cultural pressure to value and preserve youthfulness? How has this affected your thoughts, feelings, and actions? 3. What role does social media play in shaping your perceptions of aging? 4. Can you think of people in your life who are aging gracefully? What have you learned through their examples? 5. What wisdom have you gained as you’ve grown older? How does this help you see aging as a gift rather than as a disease? 6. What does pursuing “imperishable beauty” in your life look like right now? How would you like to be more intentional in this area?

“The American free market system is the greatest engine for prosperity and opportunity that the world has ever seen. Freedom works.” – Senator Ted Cruz The post The Editors’ Quote of the Day: appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, we look at the Western European Defense Surge. The European Union’s $11 Trillion Defense Plan Reader Tim M. sent this: EU slams the door on US in colossal … The post The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.